Sair

Sair had been meaning to make her way here for quite some time. Juggernaut had told Sair that this was his home, and she had fully intended on visiting the crab-creature before she had gotten distracted by the gifts, and the bag, and the lesser competition, and well... everything in between. The caves were bustling, and remnants of its history were everywhere. She couldn't help exploring!

It just so happened that some mysterious place in Gemini had also caught her attention, and so the (now fully grown) horse did finally decide to pay the cave a visit. This cave, much like others she had travelled through, was covered in white fungus the smelled nothing short of repulsive. She hoped it wouldn't stick to her coat, now with sparkly galaxy-like patterns on her black patches thanks to Azure.

"Hello?" She called into the vastness of the cave, half addressing the portal and half waiting for... something. Someone. Was Juggernaut near? What about his family? She hadn't met them yet, but she hoped they would be as kind. Would Juggernaut like her new legs, coat and bag? Maybe he would like something from Azure too? She did say she'd bring a sacrifice!

"Speaking." Thinking. Doing.
OOC:

We don't know how to accept we're just a product of a chance /
And less like gods but more like plants

Somewhere far beyond, above, a man spoke with urgent tones. "We should have left this. It's Verin. If someone sees it-"

He hurried around the wagon, careful to keep it concealed beneath his cloak. The second he was sure nobody could see them, he tossed the items away, discarding them into 'storage.'

---

The rift abruptly began to hum, then expanded with a flash of light. Something tumbled forth--no, two somethings: the first with a clack and clatter on the stone, the second with a soft thud.

A moment later the rift had quieted, dimming once again.

What lay before Sair was half useless to her, although an object of distinct interest and likely good for a trade. The other half was useful, in an ironic way. The first: a finely made recurve bow, formed of a dark, teak-like wood. A copper-hued grip, of metal, had a scene delicately engraved in it; a strong woven string was well-maintained.

Then, the quiver: ironic in that it could serve as a bag, although deeper and narrower than the one Sair had already obtained. It was rigid, though, formed of ebony, with more copper-colored trimmings and a white leather strap. (This strap would not be large enough for a horse to wear.) Arrows within half scattered out as the quiver came to a halt: dark wood, tipped in fletched chicken feathers, the arrowheads that same copper-colored metal.

Scenes etched in the quiver echoed the ones on the bow's grip: human shapes, clad in heavy armor, battling with bow, spear and axe. Some held shields, and it seemed both depicted battles that were similar or the same.

@Sair

Sair

It was not Juggernaut who responded, or any gembound for that matter. There was some commotion up above, which she had thankfully been warned about. It meant that the Rift, whatever it was had responded to her presence.

It took a minute for Sair to make sense of the objects that fell out, a bag of sorts and a wooden object with a tight string. They were well-crafted, both carved and with metal trims. Shapes of creatures like Eleanora, decorated in bulky gear with shields and weapons decorated the metal, facing some unseen foe just past the edge of the carving. A question left unanswered. Some of the figures carried objects like the ones at her hooves, curved wood with a string drawn back, and arrows hooked onto the strings. Not something she could do with her anatomy, but a good historical find. A good trade, once she was done studying and cataloguing it. It was too well-cared for not to be given good use. Proper use, though. She would find someone willing to keep it in good condition for future generations to see the carved stories.

There had to be more to the drawings, more to how it was crafted. Where had it come from? What battle did it depict? She wanted to see into the past, to look at it as if she was the one telling these stories, carving these drawings, crafting the bow... Was that possible? She called out to the caves for an answer, pulling on her magic as she touched a hoof to the quiver.

"Speaking." Thinking. Doing.
OOC:

We don't know how to accept we're just a product of a chance /
And less like gods but more like plants

The vision was brief, given the faltering magic, but brilliant in its bright colors and light. The light alone would be foreign to Sair, plunging her into blinding visions.

It glared down, seeming to ignite swirling dust into white flame. It gleamed off the metal helms and shoulderplates arrayed in long rows and columns, and lit the red banners flapping in the wind like bloody fire.

There were hundreds of men in formation, shields and spears at the ready; and at the rear, the archers. This bow, this quiver, was held by one of a hundred soldiers. It was impossible to tell one from another at a glance. Soft-skinned, bipedal, like very few creatures Sair would have seen within the caves. And cloaked in surcoats that draped over that gleaming steel armor...

Behind them: a mountain range, and a sky. A sky, and not cave rock: an expanse of hazy blue thick with that swirling dust, extending on forever. Just open space, as far as the eye could see.

The last thing she caught was the scent of blood on the wind, and a thick, black smoke joining the dust. A voice called out, its last words lost to the fading vision: "READY... AIM..." and a final whisper in her mind seemed to add, 'fire.'

@Sair

Sair

The caves answered, but the flickering vision was anything but the cave. Blindingly bright light much stronger than the cave lights, a massive group of creatures that were not often born in the caves, and... sky. The word came with the vision, settling in her mind like a religion. It was something important, something unexplainably large, something untouchable. Sky. It was beautiful, and it was... not from here.

Sair looked at the Rift for a long moment, wondering, knowing. There was more than just the caves. There was something... above. Somewhere open and endless. Is that where the ancients went? The ones who built what was now ruins? Or was that where the ancients came from, falling through the same boundary between their worlds that had delivered these items at her hooves?

War. Enough of these creatures resided in that untouchable world that they fought, but Sair still did not know why, only where. Only blood. The smell of it was sickening, thick with iron, and only overshadowed by the choking smell of smoke. But why? There was so much space there, an endless sky above and such a large population was proof enough of that, and yet they fought? With an unsatisfied huff, Sair focused on the idea of crafting, trying to redirect the vision as she touched the bow this time. It was not how it worked, she knew, but she would hope anyway.

"Speaking." Thinking. Doing.
OOC:

We don't know how to accept we're just a product of a chance /
And less like gods but more like plants

Sair

Nothing. Today was not a great day for magic, it seemed, given the flicking vision followed by, well, nothing. Too many questions and not enough answers, as per usual. Well then.

There was still no company to be seen, which Sair was thankful for now as she tried to balance both bow and quiver into her satchel. It took a few tries given the size of both object in comparison, and she would have to adjust them as she walked, but it would work for now. Long enough to find somewhere to store them, she hoped, given that she still hadn't decided on a home cave. It was a shame that Azure would find no use in such things, but Sair would research them further another day before trading them anyway. Some gembound had thumbs, even if she did not.

Disappointed in the lack of progress for the day, Sair trotted off, planning to return at a later date to visit Juggernaut and the family.

"Speaking." Thinking. Doing.
OOC: /exit

We don't know how to accept we're just a product of a chance /
And less like gods but more like plants