Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » The Wyverns' Next Stand (IC)

Aliminia only stared blankly at Aeon, as the Wyvern tried to process what he had said. It felt as thought he had spoken rather quickly in his fluency to her. This made Aliminia frustrated, as she tried to interpret his words, and translate them so the young Wyvern could understand. After a few moments, Aliminia turned to Vuletka, slightly looking for a little guidance.

"Did you understand what he said..?" Aliminia questioned in the native language, hoping that the older Wyvern could translate for her. The young Wyvern's tail thumped repeatedly on the grass, as a rather chilly breeze blew past momentarily. "Because.. I couldn't fully understand what he said," Aliminia added quickly. "At.. all."

A smooth voice from within the tree nearby spoke in the native tongue of the wyverns, relaying what Aeon had said to them. His crimson eyes glowed from within the leaves of the tree as he dropped down, hardly disturbing the leaves and rocks on the ground as he landed.

"An unusual situation you have found yourself in kiddo." Sarquine said to Aeon. Something incredibly odd however, is that Sarquine spoke in a language that both the wyverns and Aeon could understand instinctively.

The elder hummed low as Aliminia attempted a coherent sentence, and grew into a frustrated growl at her plea for assistance. A puff of smog leaked as he snapped at the air. "Your lack of confidence betrays you! A decent attempt is made unbearable by your pauses. The accent requires attention as well... And of course I am correct!" Vulekta seemed very distraught at the implied questioning of his knowledge, even if she was only reaffirming it.

Addressing Aeon, Vulekta relaxed from his badgering to speak more or less calmly. "Magic, Mana, Source, Ichor, Magia. I've heard these names interchange. It matters not what we call it, for it is all that is and will ever be." Vulekta nudged toward Aeon's object. "The only difference from that stone and a mundane pebble is the concentration they each possess. That gem reminds me a great cavern filled with similar minerals lining its innards. Stalagmites of brilliant solidified Mana, or Ichor as you may prefer. I'm sure it has been found and abused since my visit..."

His near off-topic reminiscing of the past made his raspy voice somewhat saddening, until it quickly rose to annoyance once more at the young'ns plea for translation. "Search for context, Aliminia! 'Gem', he pulls out a shimmering stone. That is a gem. 'Ichor'... well, I can forgive that as it's so foreign to even the Gaurlidian humans, but still!" These were the sort of impatient rants which kept many at a distance of the white wyvern.

Thankfully, it was cut short by the arrival of another. Vulekta opted to rest himself, as he was beginning to feel breathless at this unusual amount of chatter. He could go on and on in his youth, but this was beginning to get the better of him. Still, he listened cautiously. If the newcomer had ill intentions, and was what he suspected, the wyvern would have to make some effort to prevent Aeon's blood from being sapped into a husk.

"Why so quiet all of a sudden? You were talking just fine earlier." Sarquine said as he approached closer, carrying with him the smell of blood and iron.

"Still, you're quite imposing nonetheless." He said as he looked up towards Vulekta.

"And a young one right here. It's rather amusing that you have trouble conversing in the language of the humans." He spoke with a chuckle.

Aeon slipped the gem back into his bag, taking a step back from the new stranger. He shifted his hand on the handle of his dagger, something about the stranger just set him in an off mood. He looked the stranger over, looking at the wyverns then back to the figure.

Aeon stood silently, just being around the stranger gave off a startling or disturbing feel to him. He stood firmly, nervously glancing around for any signs of danger or threat, ready to draw his dagger at the slightest sign or hint of danger. He spoke after a moment, "Who and what might you be stranger?"

Aliminia huffed, as the young Wyvern glanced at the newcomer. She'd stop biting her tongue for a moment, as the Wyvern only stared in silence.

Well, this is 'fantastic!'

Aliminia hesitated to do something, but she ended up remaining in place, as her eyes continued to goggle at Sarquine. The Wyvern simply listened as Aeon questioned who the newcomer was.

Aliminia glanced back at something for a slight second, before looking away from that direction. The young Wyvern's tail continued to swish around casually, as Aliminia took a quiet breath, and awkwardly stared.

Vulekta took a long breath. His demeanor was outwardly relaxed, still laying on the grounds of his homeland, rounded nail tapping slowly. It was a lie to mask his racing mind.

Not an apparition. A material body. Human body. Yet not a human. The smell is horrid. Eluded my ears... Stalking me. Listening. Speaking this language... what was it? Confidant. Predatory. Interesting. Surprising. I loath surprises.

Vulekta spoke with intrigue, acting as though he were musing to himself than speaking directly to the chuckling figure. "I've yet to devour an assassin so foolish as to make themselves known before they strike. That isn't likely. But truth can be strange, at times. Is that who we have here, prodding into my business? I'd hope it were more complex. The means at which it speaks to both wyvern and man's understanding is most peculiar."

"My name is Sarquine. I am no assassin. I am a Watcher. I simply observe, and maybe interfere at times. I do understand that this forest is being slowly destroyed, which is why I have chosen to interfere now. You will need my help if you wish to preserve what little nature remains within this sylvanian garden of beauty." Sarquine spoke once again in that odd language that all could understand.

"I exist in many places far beyond what you could possibly comprehend. It is a strange life I lead, correcting the course of humans by putting them in their place." He said thoughtfully.

After the newcomer had spoken, Aliminia felt somewhat drawn in. Her tail shot up as the Wyvern continued on staring, now awkwardly, but in somewhat of.. awe. Aliminia shook her head for a moment, as she repeated his last few sentences in her mind.

"Wait... You said that you correct the course of humans by 'putting them in their place', right..?" Aliminia asked. "If so, then.." the young Wyvern lost her train of thought for a moment, but managed to finish her question. "...Then, what do you mean by.. 'putting them in their place'?" Aliminia's tail then lowered, as she awaited the response.

Aeon shuddered as Sarquine finished his speech. Putting them in their place, the statement rang out in his head repeatedly before he snapped back to reality.

"Y-you don't mean a slaughter of all of them, do you?" His voice shook as he spoke back to Sarquine. Clearly the stranger's statement had frightened Aeon, making him more concerned about what Sarquine had meant.

The white wyvern hummed at Aeon's guess. He'd come to the same conclusion. Of course for Vulekta, it wasn't so horrid a solution. Blunt: yes. But if tensions continued to escalate, it would eventually prove necessary. Many questions remained. Especially regarding to which realm this thing crawled out of. It was both worrying and exciting to think there was such important knowledge which he'd yet to discover.

"What exactly does a...Watcher gain from the protection of this... sylvania? This forest. Silva... silvan..." He tasted the root word and its variations. It felt too natural, as though he'd always known it despite having not a clue as to how to speak the rest of the ancient words. He immediately set a goal to obtain such a useful tool.

"Slaughtering the many humans out there is an extreme case. I've only done it once, and I did not enjoy it. Usually it involves my creating some sort of threat or natural disaster that they must work together to overcome. Or if they are unworthy, the threat will blast them back to the Stone Age. As for what I gain from protecting this forest, I gain both admiration from my peers and a bit of extra power from my employers." Sarquine said.

By this time, the foul smell that emanated from Sarquine was gone and replaced with the pleasant scent of a seaside shoreline.

Aeon's hand moved away from his dagger, still skeptical of Sarquine. "Your manner of speaking, what is it? I understand it well, but its not of the human language, and by the looks of it, it seems the wyverns can understand it as well." He shifted in place, eyeing Sarquine over, he didn't quite trust him yet, but the original feelings had subsided as he smelt the aroma of a seaside shoreline.

In confusion of the smell he thought upon several matters in his head. What is that smell? Surely we are far from the coast, but why do I smell the sea? Must be Sarquine, he is quite puzzling, but I see his motives are mostly for himself, admiration from his peers, petty reasoning if you ask me, but I wonder if he has other motives as well, only time will tell.

"And what did you mean by 'threat or natural disaster'? Surely a natural disaster would put this forest at risk along with the humans, correct?" He asked, still having more questions, but not wanting to burden Sarquine with all of them at once. He continued to study Sarquine's figure as he waited for a reply.

"A valid reason for worry. But with the abilities I have, they are not entirely uncontrollable. I can unleash a devastating flood and still keep an old decrepit house intact. But I doubt such extreme measures would be required to protect this forest. And as for my manner of speaking, it is a language that is understood by everything, from a wyvern to a rock. It is taught to us Watchers so as to avoid the need to learn many languages."

Sarquine knew he was revealing too much, but he couldn't help it. He knew better than to reveal that this language could be used to command the very world around him to some degree.

Vulekta chalked up the change of the suspicious man's odor as a sign that he'd given up on intimidation, as he himself had in scaring off Aeon. Their was little doubt in his mind that blood and iron wasn't this Watcher's natural scent.

"I've yet to make the acquaintance of this coven of Magi; the Watchers." He grumbled in the human tongue. "Had I met them sooner, I could have acquired such a useful language long ago... Sarquine. I will skip formalities, I am sure you've already overheard. I offer you a proposal. A trade. Knowledge for knowledge. I know many arts, some of which may prove advantageous in your... how does one say... 'sucking up' to those above you. Name one, and I shall name one hundred words in this Ancient tongue. Such a pact may lead to something beneficial for the both of us."

Vulekta's tail dusted the dry leaves behind him, nearly striking the poor ignored Aliminia. He was obviously excited. He didn't seem at all concerned with translating the personal request and left it to her to piece together whatever she could.

"I honestly wish I could teach you the language, however it is not allowed by my employers. However I could make a request to see if one of them could teach you. It's unlikely however. The reason you have not run into the Watchers in the past is simply due to the organization being so small. There are only 7 Watchers at any one moment, and a total of 15 people in total with the organization. I am among the lowest rank but I have the unique ability of being able to watch over multiple realms and worlds at once." Sarquine had spoken this in the language of the wyverns since he did not want to reveal this information to Aeon.