Ire Works

[Cyrus the virus]

Fallien was not a comfortable respite to the Audeamus members who walked its sands. Luc's abilities were enough to keep them cool and prevent sand from slapping violently into their faces, but it did nothing to ease the ache in their feet. They hadn't been walking long, having appeared an hour ago thanks to Luc's transportation glyph, but the deep sand made travel unpleasant.

Dan set a brisk pace, trudging powerfully through dunes. Luc followed not far behind, eyes locked ahead as the sun forced his eyes into a squint. They were moving, trying to reach a the tent of a man who was renowned as a glassmaker. Why he chose to live nowhere near civilization, the mage didn't know. All he knew was that his teleport aim had been off once again, and they were all paying for it.

"A bit more west," he said. Dan adjusted his direction accordingly, and the others did the same. Luc could vaguely sense magical beckoning from the glassmaker's location - some weak magical artifacts the man kept. It was a useful way of making sure they were on the right track.

Audeamus had plans for Fallien. Aspirations of murder, of domination and conquest. Luc didn't see the draw in a place like this, not as a visitor and not as an owner. It was hot, uncomfortable, and lacked the aesthetic properties that could make up for it. Still, it was a start.

Behind him walked the new one, Kade Salidan. Dan and Luc's encounter with him had been sudden, surprising, as the man showed prowess neither Audeamus member predicted. His invitation into the group was made on a whim, a response to his surprising power - this was his first mission, and his performance was to be closely watched.

Victoria Kane was a woman Luc knew next to nothing about, but had earned a predetermined curiosity from the mage. She was, as far as appearances could be trusted, an elf. He had no reason not to assume she was expendable, but was willing to have his mind changed.

Jacob was a physical fighter that Luc hadn't had the chance to see in action, yet. The second of the two apprentices coming along, Luc and Dan were interested in showing them how Audeamus could operate. It was, after all, newly rebirthed. Luc saw intrigue in the eyes of the new blood, knew this mission could shape their thoughts and opinions.

They would get their rings today. Kially, walking beside Luc, would receive one as well. It was amazing how far the boy had come already. The mage couldn't suppress a small smile.

"Just over that rise," he spoke to the others.

[Valentine]

The fabled trials and tribulations of the Fallien desert's infamously jeopardous desert did little to live up to their lofty expectations when one was in the company of a geomancer with some measure of skill. Buffeting sand collided harmlessly with an invisible barrier, blazing hot rays from the sun, supposedly so strong in this region, were siphoned away by comforting magic and the torturous humidity was reduced to nothing but a pleasant breeze across satisfied faces.

The others may have been trudging slowly through sand which sucked their feet in with every step, but Kadarus Salidan followed a pace that he found almost comfortable. Even without the geomancer's protection, he was confident that he could have toughed out this desert. This wavering confidence in himself coupled with the monstrous stamina in his body persuaded him to bring up the rear of the party, ensuing that no one fell too far behind. This position of kind guardian was not one that he had occupied for a long time and he had not yet decided whether the feelings he got from it were ones he savored or ones that he had to endure through gritted teeth.

This entire experience with Audaemus was filled with similar conflicts; the samurai had joined this group for reasons that were ambiguous and grey, even to himself. A ring had chosen him, or at least deemed him worthy to wield it, and it just so happened that ring belonged to a set worn by members of Audaemus. This ring had immense power, even the tip of its abilities that had manifested so far frightened the samurai. Fear, it seemed, had certainly paid a huge part in why he had joined Audaemus' ranks, for he was scared that rejecting the overtures of the immense Saraelian demon, Dan and the commander of the elements, Luc Kraus was not exactly something that people did often.

Joining Audaemus wasn't completely without its benefits though. Kadarus had a debt to pay to a very powerful being and once that debt was finally repaid, he would be rewarded with a prize that he would treasure over any amount of material wealth. Joining this band of ring bearers was certainly fueling the funds that he needed to repay his debt, which wasn't exactly measured by the amount of gold pieces in hand.

Kadarus found that recently, his thumb had barely left the edge of that powerful ring, which now resided on his right ring finger. His thumb mainly loitered over a symbol he had never seen before a few days ago but was now becoming so familiar to him that he could have written it with the tip of his tongue dipped in ink. The Saraelian symbol for 'Sin' was the small, intricate emblem etched in black on his dark grey ring that he had stared at and run his finger over so many times it might as well have been engraved on his retina and tattooed on his thumb.

This party weren't as talkative as the usual group of adventurers on their way to visit a person of considerable power were, but then again, this group was far from ordinary. Kadarus didn't know much about the others, but had a feeling that with the Valentine Bleeder in their company, adventure and excitement would never be left in the dust.

[The Writing Writer]

As weary feet trudged through thick, coarse sand, The Mad Poets broken mind wandered- wandered as they did through the unforgiving desert. Were it not for one of his new companions sorcery, the harshest rays of sun and the strongest desert winds would be hammering down on the party with all their fury. In days past, the Writer had read much about the strange land of Fallien, though he had never had any reason to travel to the land closest to the sun, until now.

As it happened, Jacob's murderous habits had finally garnered him some attention. In this case, it was of a criminal organization known as The Audaemus. Jacob had to admit that even he, a former scholar and writer, had never heard of this group until they approached him themselves. They offered him power in the form of two. First, they offered him membership as an agent in their organization, which would grant him their protection from outside forces, though they could not promise him safety from other members of the group, as only the strongest survived. Secondly, they offered him a ring- a band rather, that would augment his power. They had explained that only official members were given one of the more powerful rings of ten, but an agents ring was certainly nothing to sneeze at.

At the time, the Writer was in a bad way. He had been unable to find a suitable lair to replace his former abode, and he was running short on friends. His traveling companion, Vigo, had disappeared from the face of Althanas- no doubt on a quest for power himself. Bounty hunters from Radasanth were hot on his trail, and he needed friends to watch his back. So it was no suprise that the Mad Poet accepted their invitation nearly as quickly as they had delivered it.

Of course he never expected that upon accepting membership into the group he would be shipped off to the deadliest desert in all of Althanas with people he knew absolutely nothing about. The only familiar face was that of a warrior Jacob had seen fighting Letho in the massive free for all at the citadel, though the Mad Poet did not last long enough to see the victor.

Though the heat of the sun was shielded by magic, it's light shined bright as ever. Jacobs face was beginning to grow sore from squinting constantly. The soles of his feet and the muscles in his legs were growing tired as well. His mouth was dry, and his tongue begged for water. The Mad Poet shot a glance towards the magic wielder of the group. It was he who shielded the group from the elements. The Writer wondered if he could produce them as well.

" Pardon me friend, oh twister of earth,
Might I make known my aquatic dearth?
My tongue is a dry as the sand we tread.
Please, can you put my thirst to bed? "

[Cyrus the virus]

Luc found that, gradually, the wind took on a pattern he could anticipate. At the beginning of their second hour of walking, he had fully created a current around the party that not only protected them from the swirling sand, but cooled them with a breeze. It appeared that Fallien's weather, if nothing else, could be tamed. The comfort was the least he could provide, given his poor aim with the teleportation.

It was an embarrassing result. He'd saved them at least a week of travel, surely, but Luc Kraus didn't like to be inaccurate. It was part of the learning experience, however, the gradual understanding of the desert and its locations. In time he'd be able to take Audeamus across the world in a heartbeat, to the doorstep of whomever, or whatever, they sought.

Jacob's voice carried eloquent, liquid tones, despite the strangeness of his speech. He and Luc had spoken more than once before, but the sudden poem took the mage by surprise. It took him a moment to understand, and then to realize that he, too, was thirsty. No doubt the others were as well.

"My apologies, you must all be parched," he said, dry throat attacking his words, weakening them. He put a hand gently against Kially's head, wondered how the boy had gone so long without complaining.

Luc stopped the group, holding out both hands and chanting words in a language none of them, not even he, knew. They had always seemed right. Perhaps they weren't words at all, but a way of beckoning the universe to grant him what he desired. In his hands spawned two bottles of water, glass and clear, which he passed to Jacob and the young Kially. He replaced these water bottles with more, until all six travelers held one.

They were near the top of this final dune, having climbed upward for several minutes. Luc sensed vitality in his comrades, however, united in the excitement of their future conquests. As he sipped from the bottle, he hoped this enthusiasm wasn't all in his head.

"The glassmaker will provide you with your rings, symbols of power that mark you as one of us," this he said as he removed his right glove, revealing the red ring on his middle finger. "From then on, we are linked together, and we travel to the territory of the winged harpies."

He cleared his throat, threw aside the empty bottle of water, replaced his glove. "They will either aid us against the island of Irrakam, the Jya and her followers, or they will die. Should it come to battle, choose your fights carefully. We would be sorely outnumbered. Find your places behind Dan, Kaderus and I, we will make things more manageable."

"There may be no need for battle, but stay aware of your surroundings. Let's continue."

Again they set out, over the top of the dune. Sand billowed around them at this height, but was washed away by Luc's constant wind. Looking down the slope, the group could see a tent surrounded by debris, huge shards of glass from Nirrakal that the glassmaker presumably used for work. The tent itself was large, easily the size of any typical one-story home in Radasanth. The tarp of it looked thick, strong, as if from the hide of an older beast.

Hardly hesitating, Luc set a quicker pace down the slope.

[Kially Gaith]

The sand was by far Kiallys’ domain, the warm sun beating on his pale form would perhaps later give him some colour. Sand flew towards him in the air, only to suddenly whisk about his form as it reached him, continuing on behind him. Keeping a few steps behind Luc, Kially idly hummed to himself as he made good to follow.

Just why he was here or what he was to do here had not been questioned, Luc always seemed to go about things that Kially had no problems abiding with and this whole outing was just one of those things.

Kially had not introduced himself to the other guests that walked on ahead, but it was all very possible that Luc had abided in them Kiallys’ name earlier on in the day, this was hardly an issue to the boy who continued to follow Luc, gazing every once in a while to his hand, wishing he could perhaps hold it – What brought this urge on, was beyond his young minds comprehension and thus he gave no thought to it, even though the want for some idea that he was not alone remained beating with his little heart.

For now, instead, he waited quietly to see what would unfold, quietly singing a song in Naturian that his sweet little voice carried perfectly, a haunting tone that could possibly soothe those who listened, in the unlikely event of those who understood Naturian, the song consisted of 7 verses, all which melded into a single song, each verse about a different type of tree and what their best uses were.

Continuing to sing, he stared upon the sand beneath his dainty feet, eyes catching every once in a while on shards of glass which caught the light of the sun, these kept Kiallys’ attention pretty well, even to the point he reached down with a single hand and took up a hefty handful, just to see what it felt like.

Between his fingers, the granules felt rough and spiky, but found when he clenched his hand, that pressing them together made the granules stick together firmly, some leaking through the gaps between each finger.

Kially could easily guess that today would be full of new experiences.

When the bottle of water flew through the air towards him, Kially snatched it up with little effort, still not saying a word as his singing continued without faluter. Within the space of a few seconds, the child had already drank down half of the bottle, his singing breaking for but the brief seven seconds it took him to devour half the liquid saviour. When he felt appeased. the bottle was suddenly and abruptly thrown high up to the right of him, where immediately his right hand followed after it as a clenched fist. Upon his arm reaching its' max length, his fist was unclenched directly into a palm, this resulted suddenly in the air forming a large hand of air, the bottle locking in suspended motion as it quietly floated then disappeared into his none-existant bag - That water may prove handy later.

Paying attention to the words of Luc, Kially fell silent, deciding singing was not best for himself nor the group, he'd already kept himself to himself, there was no need to complain when an urge to complain had not arose, Kially had probably already shown Luc that he was no ordinary child, possibly even that he was not human, more an elemental spirit with a beating heart of golden proportions.

Maybe it was best he spoke, there was no reason why he shouldn't, he just had to identify the common he recognised and split it out from that which he did not then simply question it.

"Rings?" The word was understood fine, but why they had came all the way out into the desert for rings was beyond him, anyone could make rings, there were lots in all the cities his travels and taken him and further more in those that Luc and he had arrived within.

The idea of combat did not threaten Kially, the child who lived only for the planet, though the idea of coming to the desert plainly for rings alone left much concern in the boy - What in Gaias' name was so special about a few poxxy rings? This hesitation could be easily interpreted as fear, though it would be expected that Luc knew better of the boy.

Soon enough, the tent added even further curiosity, his eyes flickering over the large shards of glass more than the tent itself - Kially trully had an addiction to shiny things.