Post by Tekun Valos on Jan 11, 2013 3:07:22 GMT -5
February 15, 22 CLE
Heavy prints trailed behind and were covered as the Immortal Soldier continued his venture through the frozen expanse of Freljord. The IronSpike Mountains were especially dangerous during the winter time; only the most daring, foolish and brave would ever venture alone through the treacherous territory. Snow came down heavily now and the wind had picked up, howling much like the wolves had done. But, it was even starting to become too dangerous for the wildlife. The sky was always a dull grey that bordered upon white. Though Tekun knew the way, his vision was limited and slowly becoming more obscured.
“The weather shouldn’t be this bad…” Tekun thought as he trudged on through the barren land with no companion to rely upon. However, he knew his destination was close now. Even now the surroundings were becoming slightly more familiar to him and for a moment he became lost in nostalgia. It was exactly the same; nothing here had changed even though it had been more years than he cared to recount. Even the path was the same.
“Such a warm feeling…” He looked at the world ahead which was blanketed in a layer of white, but a familiar stone formation on the edge of his vision came into view. It was a comforting sign. It meant he wasn’t lost.
Post by The Cryophoenix on Jan 11, 2013 3:58:30 GMT -5
Little moved during the long winters of the Ironspikes. The clouds marched on relentlessly, dropping their endless snows upon the mountainsides. Cities and villages were among the first to disappear, lost among the banks of snow. Yet the snows fell on. It was no blizzard; no onslaught of snow and wind forced travelers to shelter. They never left in the first place. Anivia watched her realm fade, shrouded in the purest of whites. Rocky crags vanished. Trees vanished. Nothing but the sharp Ironspike peaks remained. It was home.
Yet now, a time of year when not even the Yeti dared venture forth to hunt, she spied a lone figure trudging through the valley. Was he a foreigner, unversed in the ways of Freljord? It could not be. Such a man would never make it this far. Was he lost, turned around in the snow, venturing ever farther from his destination? She contented herself to wait and watch as he the next turn on the path. He should have turned back now, return to the new capital of Freljord. Instead, with the briefest of pauses, he continued his march into the heart of the mountains.
She launched from her perch. She would save this lost fool. She owed a debt to the Freljordian king, whether he tracked such things or not. As she shook her head at the mans misdirection some tension in the air seemed to snap. With slight groan, the mountain peak itself seemed to slide sideways. Anivia snapped her wings closed for what boost of speed she could gain while the snow began to boil.
Post by Tekun Valos on Jan 11, 2013 4:07:41 GMT -5
Tekun heard the sounds in the distance and he was sincerely sorry to say he recognized it. It echoed down to below where he was. Tekun picked up the pace and tried to move out of a potential line of effect. He realized very well he could be buried alive or crushed, which would be incredibly inconvenient. He had no doubts he would survive it, but it meant injury which would ultimately make things more difficult and complicated.
And then there was something else, he looked about and something shined in the snow and was diving toward him. Glistening like ice. He had no idea what the hell it was or what it’s intent could possibly have been.
“Well this escalated quickly…” Tekun quietly muttered to himself. This was usually these things went. From calm to dire in seconds.
Post by The Cryophoenix on Jan 11, 2013 5:09:54 GMT -5
At least he had noticed. The power of an avalanche this large was legendary. Anything in its path would be leveled, smeared into a fine film beneath a pristine new coat of snow. Outside of the heat of battle, Anivia might have wondered why she cared. Hundreds of animals would die in the winter: predator, prey, and colonizer alike. But this fool was hers; she had claimed the protection of his life and would give her all to do so.
Her eyes blazed red as she tightened her wings, accelerating in her freefall. As fast as he may try to run, there was nowhere to go. The mountain roiled like an ocean now, a wave of solid ice with a foam of crystals rising from its mouth. He spotted her then drawing a sword with his back to certain death. There was no time to scoff at the futility of the gesture: she barreling directly towards him without a hint of slowing.
Mere meters away, she flung open her wings with a snap to rival the roaring snows. Ignoring the pain, she flung her power behind the man, generating a shield of pure ice in the avalanches path. It was not nearly enough to stop her motion. Her wings spread fully, she crashes through his guard, landing in a heap over top of him. With moments to spare, she braces herself for the onslaught of snow. Her wall shatters like glass, leaving only fragments to divert the flow.
With Tekun struggling under her weight, she bears the brunt of the avalanche's force, pinning them both in place as the mountain of snow rolled over them. After what seemed like an eternity, the ice stopped moving, instead packing tight into a frozen tomb. In a still and silent world, she opens her eyes, finding them but inches from her quarry's.
Post by Tekun Valos on Jan 11, 2013 5:32:19 GMT -5
Tekun felt the full weight of the Cyropheonix slam into him; his sword twisted to its flat as the wall behind him shattered and felt himself floored. The air had been forcibly expelled from his lungs on impact and felt himself dazed and winded. The avalanche came down while pinned and disoriented. His body, what wasn’t shielded was buffeted by the passing mass that greedily consumed them and everything that the snow could blanket. The world went dark. Still. If not for the feeling in his body yet, he would have thought himself dead.
When his world came back into focus, the soft glow of pink eyes greeted him in this icy tomb, the biting cold that came with it was not unfamiliar but was unwelcome. Tekun starred at his apparent savior. Normally, he would be the one to shield someone from something so devastating but instead he found himself relatively unharmed.
“Anivia?” Tekun questioned. He had his guesses, but he had not gotten a clear enough look. But it was certainly heavy enough to be her. “Huh…it is Anivia right? Well…in any case. I appreciate what you did…” But that wasn’t needed. He silently added. “…Not the best way to meet. But I suppose an introduction is in order. I’m Tekun Valos.”
Post by The Cryophoenix on Jan 11, 2013 11:48:28 GMT -5
Anivia let out a crooning moan as shifted cautiously, moving the bulk of her weight from Tekun's body before collapsing bodily in the tiny cave she had created. She took stock. Her wings had been damaged by the continuous battery of snow, ice and debris. Had she been free, she would not be flying soon. As it stood the were trapped, spread wide under snow and ice: the cost of gaining her companion a few hours worth of air. Her talons were likewise buried in the snow. It was impossible to know how much snow lay atop the pair. Not the best position she had ever gotten herself into, but given a week or so, she could dig herself out.
She suddenly realized the man beneath her was trying to speak. She shook her head, baffled at his resilience, shouldn't he at least be unconscious? Instead he was well, jovial even. Her eyes shone as two points of dim light in the darkness, bathing her companion in their red glow. It would appear she had caught herself a seasoned warrior. "I am called Anivia," she felt herself sapping the warmth from her companion too quickly, unable to curtail the flow of magic from her damaged wings, "And you are in trouble, Tekun Valos."
Post by Tekun Valos on Jan 11, 2013 16:47:34 GMT -5
“I figured as much. But it looks like you’re in a bind as well. Are you pain?” Tekun didn’t hear her voice strain and he shifted himself and grasped his the handle of his blade. The weapon began to glow softly with a blow glow. “We’ll get out of here.” Tekun kept his mannerisms calm, composed. This wasn’t the first time he had starred death in the eye even though it was the first time he had been buried alive. Tekun took the time to try to figure out which way was up, it looked like he was upon his back, so that meant that it was past Anivia.
“Just need to dig our way out…I need to get to the ceiling. Can I get past you?” Tekun knew she was slowly sapping his body heat, but to comment on it would be pointless. Getting excited in any form would also encourage suffocation, which is what he worried about more than freezing to death.
Post by The Cryophoenix on Jan 11, 2013 19:22:19 GMT -5
As the sword's light bounced through the tiny chamber, it became all the more apparent how desperate their situation was. Anivia's wings formed a solid crystalline dome over Tekun, though fractures disrupted the regularity of her feathers. The ends of her massive wings disappeared under the ice.
"Pain is a construct of the mind," she replied noncommittally. She had been dealt countless times. With a slight grunt, she heaved her body against the top of the dome once more to give the warrior space to breathe and think. If they were going to escape this hole together, it would be by his ingenuity. His second question, however, struck a chord. Can he reach the ceiling. "I do not know." She tugged at her right wing again, but the gesture was futile. Her strength lay in the folding of her wings, not their extension or retraction. "I cannot move on my own, though you would do best to touch me as little as possible." The normal snow was insulating, and would keep him warm. Her body was not.
Her attention came to rest on the glowing blue sword in his hand. "Are you a mage of some kind?" she asked in some confusion. His weapon, physique, and scarred visage all pointed toward hand-to-hand combat.
Post by Tekun Valos on Jan 12, 2013 0:02:47 GMT -5
She couldn’t move, contact with her body would lead to his demise if he kept an extended touch and she completely blocked his way to the ceiling of their prison. The problem was slowly becoming more lethal. “I’m not a mage. However, I’m not your typical warrior.”
“I could have dug my way out; I know she intended to save me…but she’s created a death trap. Damn it all.”
His face grew quite serious as he decided a course of action. The first thing was first, she needed to be free enough so he could reach the top of his potential grave.
“I guess we’ll have to fix this. Let me work.” Tekun compressed his body so he could shift and turned so that his back was to Anivia. His grip on the sword tightened as if it was the only thing keeping his from death, right now his weapon was his best friend. He began to press himself against Anivia, pushing his backside against the breast of the Cyrophoenix for leverage and to make room. Even with the clothing to protect him, it was among the coldest thing he had ever touched, shuddering ever so slightly for warmth. Now that he had sufficient room, he swung his weapon as fiercely as he could against the packed snow which hindered Anivia from moving.
The weapon cut cleanly through the snow, going as far as to cause it to unpack and loosen the area around the clean cut. The glow of the weapon had since stopped, the energy dispersed. He waited for a moment after he withdrew his blade from his first mark. He pushed the cold to the back of his mind; his resolve to act was unwavering. When it was clear to him that the structure wouldn’t collapse in, he acted again. The blade glowed; he swung near the previous mark. His progress was notable, but even still this would take some time. Tekun pushed himself from Anivia into the snow and felt noticeably colder.
His next move was to dig out the snow that had loosened and to make the indention cleaner and easier to work with.
Post by The Cryophoenix on Jan 12, 2013 2:58:35 GMT -5
No, definitely not typical. Anivia watched the warrior work with increasing concern. Despite whatever energy he might be channeling from the blade, his progress was agonizingly slow compared to the alarming speed at which his body cooled. He’d never be able to release her before freezing to death. There was a simpler solution. Fool! “Tekun...” she called softly, almost fighting with herself to say the name aloud. He will take you down with him! “What manner of magic empowers your blade?”
She fought her inner demons even while waiting for his reply. The man had sealed his fate by walking into the wilderness on his own. After he passed easily from the cold, she could work her way out of the tomb. Why should she risk herself any more for a fools sake? But he did not act the fool, composed under pressure with a purpose to every action. There must be a greater goal, great enough to warrant a fool’s errand. And then there were his eyes. When their gaze met, however briefly, some terrible knowledge had passed between them. Those eyes had seen too much already, and would continue to see so much more. She would fight for his life as hard as he did.
Post by Tekun Valos on Jan 12, 2013 3:57:10 GMT -5
“It’s an empowerment through the runes on the weapon. Because this weapon is attuned to me specifically, I can draw upon my own...I suppose you could call it a “mana pool” to make the weapon stronger.” Tekun answered as he glanced at her before he repositioned himself and struck; the process repeating methodically as if Tekun was a machine.
The blade glowed, and Tekun struck. Progress was being made slowly, but it was progress nonetheless. “I made a promise to come back to Rakelstake after I made my venture. I keep all my promises. This is just an obstacle.” Tekun stated to Anivia before he completed his fourth set. The warrior shivered a great deal now as he began to dig more of this unpacked snow out.
He began a slow hum to himself and began a small utterance to himself as continued his deadly work. A song. He didn’t seem to know all the words but, he knew enough.
“…when the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums; there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes…will you join in our crusade, who will be strong and stand with me? Beyond the barricade...is there a world you long to see…”
Post by The Cryophoenix on Jan 12, 2013 16:21:23 GMT -5
After a very long moment, Anivia's voice calls out coldly, devoid of any emotion. "Turn the blade on me." Coward! It would be difficult. He had so little room to swing the sword, but maybe with his enchanted blade, it would only take a few blows. "Strike me down and you can reach the ceiling. Dig your way to freedom." But there's no telling how far he may have to dig. The snow above them could be an arms length, or it could be meters. You don't want to struggle with him; To become attached, only to watch him freeze. It was partly true, but with her out of the way, he at least had a chance.
And how difficult would it be? He may be a warrior, but a killing blow was exceedingly unlikely. Could she just stay still and wait through five strikes? A dozen? Perhaps the blade was no sharper than steal after all and this too was futile. She shuddered involuntarily.
Post by Tekun Valos on Jan 12, 2013 18:50:24 GMT -5
“I’m not killing you.” Tekun spoke up; breaking his place and train of thought, his voice was no longer quiet and had taken on an edge of finality to it. . A sixth set was done and then seventh set. The progress now had become clear, as had Tekun’s shaking. He paused and pulled himself away to look at the Cyrophoenix, his hands dug through the pockets of his cloak before he pulled out what seemed to be an ornate flask that warm to the touch. The warrior unscrewed the cap; a pleasant steam emitted from the container it as did an odd smell, and began to drink from it greedily but carefully. He wanted every last drop of the mixture.
Slowly, it seemed the warrior was regaining his composure and his body was slowly regaining vigor. It was a temporary reprieve, but a much needed one.
“Besides. You make good company and it’s not a good way to repay good intention.”
Post by The Cryophoenix on Jan 13, 2013 3:10:40 GMT -5
Anivia blinked at the warrior's resolve. She had anticipated questions, not flat refusal. Then again, if he was fool enough to wander the Ironspikes in the dead of winter, it shouldn't be a wonder that he undervalued his life. "Do you fully understand your position? Every second you lean against me saps you of the strength you'll need to climb from this tomb, however deep we may be. Every breath depletes what precious air you have left, yet you waste it by digging in the wrong direction." She tugged on the wing again in frustration, succeeding only scattering a burst of loosened snow into the air. What fate had conspired to force her to convince a man to attack her in cold blood.
Even the draught he consumed seemed to fly in the face of her words as the warrior was renewed before her eyes. She could see in his face that he had faced death before. But he could not rely on such magics forever. "I'm not asking you to destroy me, Tekun Valos. I'm asking you to strike me down so that you might keep your promises and live to make new ones. That we might meet again on the surface."
Post by Tekun Valos on Jan 13, 2013 3:34:53 GMT -5
“I’m fully aware of what you’re asking me but out of principle. I’m not going to. I’m freeing your wing and that’s that.” Tekun screwed his cap back onto his flask and then continued his next set with more vigor than before. Only now he didn’t need to lean into her.
“I’ve survived the Rune Wars. I’m going to survive this.” Another set soon followed. Followed by another. “And I’m going to drag you to the surface, conscious and alive, whether you want me to or not Anivia.” He began hollowing out the area more and created something that resembled that of a small tunnel that didn’t go all that deeply in. “…I’m a survivor. Getting through impossible odds is part of what I do. Even if it does come off as stubborn and stupid.”
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