This isn't a crystallography book

Posts : 8 Join date : 2018-02-04

Huffing softly in his paws, he gazed around, almost… alone, for the first time in many years. Who knew losing that old… bastard would leave him so lonely. But, all things had to end… Even if they did have access to almost limitless access and use of magic. Shrugging to himself, and glancing around the cold, lifeless halls, and huffed, before turning himself back, glancing at the book opened on his ‘lap’ before lifting a paw, wriggling his claws before clicking them, the flames springing into life in the long unused fireplace. Ice dragon or not, his previous mentor had kept the place in what had seemed to feel like sub-zero temperatures… ‘good for the books’ he’d say every time he’d asked why it was so cold, and ‘bad for the books’ was the answer he received every time he had asked to light a flame… But now… He leaned back, watching the flames flicker, and sighed softly. This place, the books… all his now. The first thing he would do… make it warmer. For sure. A touch of magic would ensure the books stayed crisp and unharmed… and then. Open. His mentor had had such a weird and… twisted view of knowledge, deeming it only fit for those ‘worthy’ to obtain it… worthiness judged by him alone. Chuckling to himself, he shook his head, softly. The things he had said to people who had come looking for books… on medicine… Well, mostly just medicine… A book wouldn’t help them grow things in such a deadly place…

Humming to himself, he flicked through the pages of the worn, leather bound journal, admiring the faded, yet easily legible script. Such a powerful artefact… and here he was. Sitting here in front of a fire reading. He chuckled softly at the prospect, shaking his head, before smiling, faintly. Well. He leaned his head back, gazing towards the roof, styled long ago to mimic the skies that appeared above and beyond the almost constant storms that raged amongst the peaks outside. It wasn’t a nice or kind place… far from it. Constant storms, subzero temperatures… the only living beings for hundreds of miles were a single small village, mostly dragons long-since adapted to live in these otherwise lethal environments… and here. The library at the roof of the world… Well. Almost roof… Sighing simply to himself once more, he smiled, so faintly. Soon… Soon this wouldn’t be a dead place, with knowledge of lost species rotting away on it’s shelves… soon… It would be a hub of knowledge… For all, instead of only some select few...

Posts : 6 Join date : 2018-07-30

Cold, cold cold...

The wind howled over her head, the storm seemingly whistling past her form, diverging and converging rapidly around her form. Shining like a true diamond, her crystalline form pushed through the sow and ice. Although she had a quest, it didn't work out quite how she had planned several years ago. Or was it more now? But the details surely didn't even matter at all, long ago her father had passed away. All because this stupid, icy form couldn't force her way into the volcanic ranges. She couldn't get further than the edges and her shrill howls wouldn't ever reach the ears of the ones that needed to hear here. All for this book. This book that was strapped over her chest, slapping faintly against her side as she continued to plough her way through the snowstorm. Or, more accurately, the howling blizzard.

Annoyingly, all that she could hear were the screeches of the wind around her. But she knew that up here, tucked away in the mountains was just exactly what she was after. She would simply return that useless piece of garbage to that dreadful, curse giving maniac and be done with it. Ignacia knew that it was highly unlikely that she would ever be able to convince that horrid, wretched excuse for a being to undo what they had done and as such, she didn't bother with aching and longing for that anymore. Instead, she just wanted to return the book and get out of there.

Before they could do anything else to her. That would be ideal.

Beyond the flickering white, there was what she sought. Generally considered just another wave in the rock, the doorway was beautifully carved in such a way as to fool those without a trained eye, ensuring its protection. The only glaring weakness of it all was the fact that she'd managed to find it once by accidentally throwing a spit of fire at it, quite some time ago.

Giving a grumble, Ignacia pushed herself forward, closer to that door. With a rather deep, annoyed sigh, her paw cracked twice against the grand doors. But she knew that it would be just as icy there as it was out in the blizzard. After all, that cold, wretched thing loved it the way they were. Icy cold. Never warm. Although it was this warmth was something that she longed to feel once more, without her crystal hide splintering and cracking.

Posts : 8 Join date : 2018-02-04

Flailing about, the male almost tumbled from the chair he had been resting in, the book launched from his lap as his head whipped around towards the door, before he glanced upwards. Late… far too late. Frown writ on his maw, ignoring the book, knowing that even if it had landed in the fire, which was unlikely, it wouldn’t even singe the pages. Wrapping a heavy blanket around him, that lay next to his chair, he held it close, as he waddled towards the doorway, frowning at the impressive array of latches, hinges, locks and bolts. Gah… most of them would need to be removed, and soon… He’d read enough to know that even a few seconds could be the difference between life and death in areas like this… “Give me a few moments!” He called, even doubting his voice could be heard through the thick wood.

A few long moments, more and longer than he would have liked, he braced himself, and pulled the door open wide, blanket wrapped around him, head to tail, his eyes down to stop himself being blinded by the shard-like snowflakes, more akin to iceflakes than anything. “Quickly now!” He yelled, attempting to bundle and shepherd the traveller inside out of the cold, slamming the door closed as violently and forcefully as he could the moment their tail had crossed the threshold, blocking out the shrieking, piercing winds, his body shivering as he quickly waddled back over to in front of the fire, loafing close to it like a cat or dog would. “S… Sorry. Was having a little nap… although, at these hours, I guess it was more… sleeping.” He chuckled, before glancing up, embarrassed.

“Sorry… again.” He muttered, climbing to his paws, and rummaging around in a cupboard close to the door, pulling out a worn and fraying, but heavy and warm blanket, much like the one he wore, and offered it to the crystalline dragoness in front of him. “It’s obvious you’re used to this given the fact you’re not dead… but still. Never pleasant to be colder than one has to be!” He chuckled, offering the blanket, and pushing books out of the way around the chair he had been resting in, picking up and placing the leather-bound journal on a stand. “Please. Sit down in front of the fire. I’m sure I have some tea-leaves around… and some mountain leaper from dinner… Would you like something to eat or drink? Another blanket?”

Posts : 6 Join date : 2018-07-30

Time passed slowly, the wind whipping against her scales and normally would threaten to put out even the boldest of flames. However, these days, not a single piece of smoke could leave her nostrils without causing this blasted hide to crack. Much to the females annoyance, she had been left to only some of her more erratic and untameable skills to use in a in attempt to keep herself from harm. And yes, this indeed was very very vain.

More time passed in the howling blizzard, the dragoness giving a small sigh, resigning herself to the fact that she most likely wasn't going to be giving this book back to its owner any time soon. However, much to her surprise, the ancient doors gave a small shudder, before groaning as they opened. The pelting snow quickly became like a sheet of ice on the ground inside and she could barely hear his voice shouting over the snowstorm. With a quick nod, and careful to avoid touching them in anything way, shape or form, she slide into the room next to him, her head cocked to the side in question. The figure before her was certainly different to what she could remember... but what that would mean was something out of her grasp. She followed the strange blackened dragon, her brow slightly pulled into a frown as she watched him sit by the fire, soaking in its heat.

Oh how she would long to do that once more...

Ignacia gave a small shrug to his words, "Sleep is sleep, it is what the body needs to do to recover. It would be rather taxing to live here and be awake constantly." The dragoness spoke honestly, her strong voice carrying through the room which sent a small shiver down her spine. She never did like this place. He apologised, before moving to take out a rather heavy looking blanket. But, as he really cyan eyes would pick up, by the fraying, they would most likely be a little old. The fact almost surprised her. Something old? Here? Blasphemy! Feeling obliged to, the dragoness took the blanket from the male carefully, draping it over her neck and back. However, to the rest of his offers, the dragoness would shake her head.

"Fire shatters my hide and the warmth fractures it. It isn't exactly a clever thing for me to sit there, as I would have thought to would know... although I don't exactly recognise you, aren't you the Librarian here? Because... if you are, I'm not here for drinks and food. I'm here to leave the book I st- borrowed without permission... and that is all." She spoke honestly, a claw raising to slice the rope around her neck. Quickly the same paw twisted to catch the hefty book and she pinched it between her claws for a few moments as she slowly held it out towards him. "By the time I managed to take it and get back home, it was already too late... so I figured that I should give it back to its rightful owner. Please, take it, so that I can go back, the blizzards don't affect me anymore so leaving in this weather is fine."

At that moment, the wind picked up in a powerful gust, knocking the doors around a little. Ignacia flinched a little. Sure, the cold didn't really kill her, but the wind certainly drained her. But not to mention talking to a male dragon also drained her; she could already feel her headache throbbing a little.

Just what she needed.

Posts : 8 Join date : 2018-02-04

Lifting his gaze, Rihzome’s face moved from concern to confusion, and then to suspicion, as he moved back, slowly towards Ignacia. Reaching out, he took the book softly from between her claws, and frowned, as he gazed at the cover. “A study of the effects and remedies for magical overuse…?” Glancing from the book, up towards Ignacia once more, his face quickly turned soft, before letting out a gentle chuckle, taking the book. “The Li… My mentor… spent decades trying to track this book down…” He murmured, softly, a lopsided smile on his maw. “Whenever I asked him about it, he always simply said some… Well, he used a word I won’t repeat here, but you can guess, stole it from him for a ‘reason that didn’t matter’... He and I often disagreed on a number of things, worthiness of someone and their plight one of those things..." He softly continued, as he took the book, and placed it on a stand for sorting later. “Magical overuse was the thing that ended up killing him. That book may have very well saved his life… Serves him right for not simply sharing what he knew, wouldn’t you say?” He mused. I truth, it was unlikely the remedies in the book would have worked for his mentor, too saturated with magical energy, but it was likely it would have afforded him a few extra years.

“Regardless, I cannot allow you to go out in a storm like this. I know… he would have happily thrown you… anyone, really, out into it, but he and I… Well. I wasn’t his student because of choice.” He chuckled, “Anyway… we should take this conversation to my home, yes?” He asked, shivering slightly. “It is a bit warmer… but you won’t have to deal with the wind or… anything.” He informed her, as he started to shuffle towards the door, putting just a few locks in place, to ensure it wouldn’t be blown off it’s hinges. “You’re free to go of course… But..." He fell silent for a few long moments. “His reputation preceded him… Those who live in the village down the slopes are terrified to come up here… just as I’m sure the stories of the ‘Library at the roof of the world’ and its ‘monstrous guardian’ have spread to the lowlands… What I’m trying to say is… I would like it if you stayed. Company is a rarity up here… and this library is far too large to feel anything other than cold and dead with only me here…” He murmured, gently, before lifting his head with a faint smile. “I might be able to take a look at some old crystallography books and see if there’s anything on crystalline dragons as well… I’m sure your species used to live up around here originally… and their information is just as likely to be in there as a biology book… More likely in the former knowing him.” He muttered, the last sentence under his breath.

Posts : 6 Join date : 2018-07-30

His eyes spoke a curiosity, wondering, debating. Wanting to know what the snow covered book truly was. Finding its title was easy as, via the passing, their paws knocked the white coating away. Although she had to pull her head back slightly to arc it higher when she realised that there was a rather surprised look on the dragons face. Although now that she thought back, Ignacia didn't exactly recall anyone else being here aside from the rather cold hearted monster that use to live there. Or at least she assumed it was more of a 'use to' case as if they had still been there, they certainly would have chased her crystalline hide out of there by now. They never really did like visitors, much less people who dared to steal from them.

The foreign dragon noted the title, to which Ignacia dipped her head. "Correct, although I am surprised you can read the scrawled writings... It wasn't for me, but seeming you stated it oh so kindly, I took it for someone close to me. Or at least, they were. That bastard knows how to curse, I have to admit." She explained, her cyan eyes watching him closely. She didn't exactly trust the dragon before her and as such, Ignacia held herself with her right paw slightly crossed and in front of the other, eyes slightly narrowed. Defensive. On guard. But what else would she have been, the last time she was there, her life literally hit a standstill. All against her will. Although it took several moments for the words which left her muzzle to register in her mind and she almost turned around and glanced behind her for the sole purpose of ensuring that that thing wasn't near her- that would be the last thing that she would want at that current point in time!

But then again, he did say he was dead. Right?

At the strange dragons words, her eyes narrowed. "If you wanted me to stay here and keep you company, I suppose you might want to actually know my name, and vice versa?" Ignacia began herself, her eyes watching them rather closely. She was well aware of their reputation, after all, very few people were willing to take a crystal dragoness under their wing. "Although, I should warn you now, I'm glad that the book wasn't here to help your mentor, as harsh at that sounds. However, they didn't give me the book that I stole, and as a consequence for me stealing it..." Slowly, the crystal dragon shook her head, a paw raising to lightly press against her temple. Darn headache.

"Let me just say that you won't find my 'kind' under crystalline dragons. You're more looking for something to do with 'cursed fire dragons' or something along those lines." Ignacia paused for several long moments, before giving a deep, deliberate bow, her wings slightly unfurling towards the ground to make it a little more formal. "Ignacia, the cursed fire dragoness, firstborn of the Ignis Tribe of the East... and their sole surviving heir. A pleasure to meet you." Maybe the name would mean something, maybe it wouldn't, who would know?

Slowly, she rose from the deep bow, a nervous rumble tickling her throat as she watched him closely for any form of reaction.

Posts : 8 Join date : 2018-02-04

“Of course I can read them… I’m a librarian after all. What kind of one would I be if I couldn’t read a book?” He asked, an amused tone in his voice, before frowning, just a bit. Well. It made it obvious, didn’t it? This was the dragoness who had been cursed… Mayhaps even the same one from so long ago… He’d been years, decades younger, and had been sent out in a roaring blizzard to obtain some… pointless herb or ingredient for his mentor to help with some pain or another, and… well. It was an excuse to get away. Told volumes about him, that he would rather brave a blizzard than dealing with him crotchety and angry… Nearing the library once more, he had seen… someone, some… thing burst into a clear patch of the storm, the eye, glittering in a thousand different ways, before throwing itself into the raging storm… as it running from something horrific… How true his thought had been.

“Oh, yes! Names of course!” He replied, snapped from his thoughts by the dragoness voice, as he dipped into a low bow of respect for the female in front of him. “Rihzome. Second Lib… Well, First Librarian of the Ancient Archives… At your service.” He introduced himself, puffing out his chest, just a tiny bit at the title, realising that was the first time he’d ever got to properly use it when introducing himself to another. He frowned, just a touch as she spoke again, before, surprising even himself with how easy it was, gave a roll of his shoulders. “He…” Letting out a sigh, he smiled, faintly, and shrugged. “Let’s just leave it ‘sometimes even gods make mistakes.’.” He chuckled, gently.

As she spoke once more, the frown returned, in force, a deep and thoughtful frown as he examined the problem in front of him. “I…” He glanced around, before darting back to the stand, placing the book down, only to pick up the journal, holding it tightly. “There might be something on that. But don’t quote me. If there’s one thing I’m thankful for about that old… My mentor… it’s that he was painfully observant and meticulous… Whatever he did to you… would be written down in here in either retrospective… or it was already scribed. Regardless... We’ll find what he did. Then the easy part! Fixing it!” He chuckled. “Oh? Ignacia? A wonderful name! But…” He frowned, eyeridges knitted in thought as he put the puzzle pieces together. Fire dragoness, book on magical sickness and remedies, hide that was destroyed by heat and fire, sole surviving heir… Of course. “What I said before… that was out of the goodness of my heart. But now… Nix what I said, and quote me on this. That old bastard ruined enough lives in his time on this world. When I took the mantle he left, I promised myself, to quite simply, be better than him… not that that’s a challenge… but that involves trying to fix the many, many messes he made. And the stars have seen fit to deliver me a starting point. You. So. Ignacia, firstborn and last surviving heir of the Ignis Tribe of the East, I promise you, on the mantle of the Librarian, I will find a way to break what was done to you. Or so help me, I’ll surrender the power I was given.”

Posts : 6 Join date : 2018-07-30

"I don't think it was wise to swear such an oath." Ignacia began, her form shining like the crystal waters as she took a step forward. Elegantly she raised her paw, a single claw extending, not in malice, not in any way to harm or irritate. And with a simple 'scold', she tapped it against the very tip of his nose, an eyeridge arched in question towards him. "Even if the stars smile down upon you this once and grant you the... Privilege of attempting to rectify one of your former mentors faults, his screw ups, they very well may have presented before you one of the most difficult things. After all, he did seem rather... Exhausted, if I may put it that way, after casting that spell down upon me. And of course it would take its sweet time, an agonizingly slow time as it replaced each and every one of my scales with the fragility of crystalline objects such as this." Ignacia mumbled, forcing herself to look away as her paw once more returned to her temple, using the palm to partially cover her face in frustration. Why that was entangled into this mess of a curse, she would never know, but it sure as hell was hampering her ability to even speak to this dragon.

The very one that knew a way to break it, potentially, was unintentionally going to make her life a living nightmare until the day the hammer would come down to shatter the crystals from her form once and for all. Although when that time and day would come, no one would know. After all, the stars never knew when they would cease to shine and would one day find themselves unable to keep burning. That was the same with these sorts of intense issues. Although, the dragoness had to admire the dragons- no, Rihzome's courage and bravery for facing such a task, seemingly alone. But something was bugging her.

"So, you're... That creatures... Prodigy? From my memory, if I recall correctly but could be very wrong... He was one of those... Guardians, wasn't he? And by mantel, you mean...?" She left the sentence open, as if inviting him to finish it. Every word that left her mouth made her uneasy, vivid, painful memories of her amber scales sheering away to blue. The bolt of ice that pierced her heart when she even had those moments when she came face to face with that monster!

Shuddering a little, she turned her neck, paw lowering to the ground as she took a step back. In a smooth motion that continued from that, she forced herself to lay down, giving a gentle growl as she did so- and accidentally made the blanket flop over the top of her head. Undignified, she shook her head, a partial look on her face which could only be described as a little goofy. Ignacia gave a small chuckle, the sound almost like the tone of shattered glass. "I totally meant to do that. Although... I do ask, are you sure you could undo your mentors spell? He was quite the umm... Magician, if I must say so myself. He was probably more of a magician than he was a librarian." She uttered dryly, a look of annoyance on her face.

Posts : 8 Join date : 2018-02-04

“Wise or not… is my duty.” He told her, plainly and simply, his snout wrinkling as it was gently tapped, looking at her. “Long before I came to study under him he was withering away. Old and corrupted, he had started to wither and decay from the inside out. The power he wielded, while impressive by every measure… It was nothing compared to what he could have, or I could do.” He admitted, truthfully. The book had come to resent and regret it’s choice… no doubt the one who had passed the mantle down to his mentor, even if that was truly what had happened, would no doubt be turning in their grave if they had born witness to what he did with all that power and knowledge… Hoarding it away in a corner of the world and robbing the world of it… ”Please. Let me…” He murmured, gently, seeing her lift the paw, sliding his upwards as well, fingertips gently pressing against the opposite temple, attempting to place a simple song, melodic and gentle, into her mind, to spring from the corners and depths of her mind, like water snaking through a crack, weaving a gentle web of soothing harmonies. It was nothing more than a psychic band-aid, a simple… massage of the mind as it were… And he doubted it would even work… but if it did, it would certainly help with such headaches… magically influenced or not.

“Yes. Yes I am his prodigy. Was. And yes once more. He was a guardian. Guardian of a rare and powerful artefact… A book, of course, said to contain powerful knowledge, even that lost to time…” He murmured, gently, eyes gently closed as he kept his fingers pressed to the side of Ignacia’s head, for a few moments longer, before pulling away. Watching her move her own way, a small smile, and chuckle, escaped his maw, the sound soft and warm, at ends with his hardened scales and the thoughtful and serious expressions he seemed to wear endlessly. “I’m sure you did…” He murmured, softly, before giving another soft smile. “I’m not sure I could, no. Imagine trying to use a hammer to try and take a nail out of something… I mean, you could do it, but it would likely destroy whatever the nail was driven into. The nail being the curse, the thing you, obviously. But for every hammer there’s a claw. And vice versa. We just have to go find…” He paused for a few moments. Very long moments. He’d never told him. He knew of the other artefacts, and which was the opposite, the sword, of course… but… He’d never told him where, who… even what was in possession of the artefact! For all he knew a… A human across the other side of the globe had it! And he didn’t have to get started on the possibility it wasn’t even a real sword and just some fancy symbolism… “Okay, nevermind that for now. I have a book with most of the world’s knowledge in it. Just… It may take a while, okay?” He told, and asked, a smile on his maw. “I just need to… find the name of the, uh… sword bearer. Once that’s done, everything’s easy. You know how it is… Don’t want everyone knowing your name!” He chuckled, sounding only a little forced.

Posts : 6 Join date : 2018-07-30

Before the female could even warn the dragon about his incoming action, it was already too late as the finger brushed against her hide. Instantly, while he attempted to allow her to listen to the soft melodic tune, her hide splintered, cracking like lightning and arcing over her face. Her eye snapped shut and, hissing in pain, Ignacia lowered her head to be away from the contact. Pain arced through her as the hiss turned into a growl as she slowly shook her head, her form taking her a step away from the onyx dragon. A single cyan eye would open again, looking over to Rihzome. "I bet you weren't expecting that one, were you?" She asked, dryly, before giving him a look of annoyance. "You can thank your mentor for that one." Ignacia muttered angrily as she sat on her haunches. Her paw rose to rub against the cracks and splinters, trying at least to soothe them but, ultimately, she failed in that as well as her headache arced through her mind as well.

But damn, that was annoying to her...

Turning her head, she looked to him a bit more, attempting to listen through the killer headache that was now accompanied by the sharp stabbing sensation over the side of her face. "I was... Somewhat aware of that, I have to admit." She said dryly, giving him a half smirk, "But only after I had been foolish enough to try and fight him. That was a rather interesting tale, but something that I shouldn't repeat... Especially as that..." Her voice trailed off, unable to give her an answer to what she was trying to remember. Figuring that it was unimportant, she returned to listening, before slowly nodding to what he was saying. "I see..." She began, after he was finished.

"But I don't suppose that by... The sword bearer, you don't mean Vyllaea... Do you? I think that was the name your mentor mentioned right before a blow more powerful than I ever could imagine hit me, and I felt like I couldn't move..." Ignacia offered, giving him a bit of a grin. Yes. She certainly was a lucky dragoness to still be alive despite everything else which had happened. "Maybe it wouldn't be a good idea for me to bump into her any time soon... But how long would this book take to find... And how long do you think it could take to find it and break this annoying curse your mentor decided to cast on me?" Ignacia certainly was a curious dragoness and somewhat laid down where she was standing, head tilted as she looked to him, curiously.

Although, as Rihzome was soon to find out, at a greater distance than what she actually wanted to admit, the female tilted her head back towards the sky. The metal sang against her hand as her finger traced over the hilt, a faint smile on her face. She could have a lot of fun with this, scare that newcomer into knowing just who she was. Or in another case, if she were nice, perhaps she could finally have a partner to this that wasn't going to go insane whenever they had to do a task together. Although, that was being rather hopeful. Vyllaea's head was still tilted up as she walked, acknowledging the snow that whipped against her form. With a small chuckle, her hand rose from the sword and she twisted it slightly. Instantly, the snow began to divert itself around her, clearing away from her form. Proudly, she continued her walk up the mountain, head held high as she looked onwards.

Soon, she would meet the new keeper... After all, the door to their marvelous library was just in the mountains ahead of her.

Posts : 8 Join date : 2018-02-04

Paw snapping back, the male watched with an aghast look on his maw as the crystalline surface over Ignacia’s snout and face started to crack and splinter, the sound horrific to him as he sat there watching it spread, for a moment looking as if it break her eyes and snap her snout in two… pausing only moments before it appeared it would. “Oh… by the goddess…” He almost whispered, in shock, shaking softly, lifting a paw, slowly, a look, a mixture of shock, horror and something… darker shifting onto his maw as the paw stopped, claws hovering close to Ignacia’s hide before falling away to his side. “I’m so… so sorry.” He breathed out, shaking once more, before twisting his head around. Rather than wait as she spoke, rubbing at the spider webbing of cracks and fractures, he lifted himself to his paws and dashed off, shoving open a doorway into a room that seemed far smaller, lit brightly, the door ajar as several things were thrown, at least a few shattering upon hitting the ground, before he rushed back out, holding a jar containing a thick, pitch-black paste. Trembling, he unscrewed the lid, an oddly earthy scent emanating from the mixture. “Take some. Please. I… I grow crystals in my spare time, used to… This is a mixture I used to grow them… made from certain elements the crystals here thrive and build from… it can fill in and ‘heal’ cracks in their surfaces and help them grow at a rapid pace… Just try?” He almost seemed to be begging, obvious horrifically apologetic for the damage he had done.

Sitting there, offering the jar, he barely registered her speaking, his face shifting a bit as he heard that name. Vy… Vyllaea… It seemed to strike a chord deep within him. A small voice in his head putting a name to the feeling in the back of his mind… something that had only developed as he had taken the mantle… A faint pressure… Not his own mind… but something else. He had thought it was something of the book… a presence imbued in the pages, a sentience of some sort… but no. His partner. His equal, and opposite. The wielder of the Sword… Of course. Shaking himself, he nodded. She’d need to know what the curse was… he did as well. What she could do... He lay the jar down, pushing it towards Ignacia, as he pulled out the book, the leather bound journal having changed its appearance to something more fitting of the situation, a thick, heavy tome, the front and back inlaid with complicated celestial imagery in gold, stars, planets and their links. Opening to a random page, he scanned it, quickly, growling and flicking to another, no order or choice, random completely, doing this three or four times before pressing his claw to the page in question. “17 seconds.” He muttered, as he turned the book around to face Ignacia, the words shimmering for a moment, before showing a moving picture to the dragoness, arcane and illegible symbols in a dead language re-arranging to show a dragon being consumed, almost eaten alive, by a crystalline mass, before once more being able to move.

“As for breaking it… Well. I don’t know. This… Vyllaea could be hundreds, thousands of miles away. Across the other side of the world, fighting in the wars of an un-named nation for all we know…” He muttered, softly. “Weeks I’d say, at the very least. Months, even… but don’t you worry. I’m sure we’d be able to crack the code before then… every spell has a trace, a pattern… A way to undo it. Even this one.” He muttered, a grim, but surprisingly determined snarl on his maw.

Posts : 6 Join date : 2018-07-30

Ignacia was honestly rather surprised when she looked up and Rihzome was back, his chest heaving just a little, but a seemingly desperate look on his face. He held the container out towards her, giving the explanation as to what they truly were. Hesitantly, Ignacia outstretched her paw and, careful to avoid his touch, dipped two claws in to pull out just a few dozen. They may not have been the right colour, but they were close enough. Before placing them over her snout and eye, she examined them slightly, raising them into a better light to see them more clearly. "You grow crystals as well?" She asked, somewhat surprised as she investigated them, noting that each one, despite being so small, were almost perfectly smooth in their faces. With a curt nod to herself her paw moved to her face and carefully placed them throughout no the deeper cracks over her hide which had began to leak a weird blue-ish liquid. They quickly patched up the 'holes' in her hide before she gave Rihzome an apologetic look. "Don't beat yourself up for it, you weren't to know. And it's... difficult to explain to others, unfortunately." Ignacia cut herself off, feeling her headache flare once more. Giving a grumble and the shake of her head, she laid down, content, pained but content.

He took out the book, where from, Ignacia had no idea. It just seemed to appear to her. Instantly he opened before randomly flipping around between pages. After almost twenty seconds were up, with Ignacia finding herself incredibly curious and actively leaning forward to try and see what he was doing, he flipped it open to the right page. Although, when he turned the book to face her, once more the dragoness would cast away her gaze. "That isn't the wisest thing for me to do. Most of the time, even... just speaking now..." The fractures grew a little more, in accordance to what was written in the book. The closer she got to the topic and mentioning just what was wrong, the more pain she would be in and the more cracks would appear over her crystalline hide.

Although, Ignacia tilted her head to the side at his comment. "But... if you are a new keeper for the book... won't she need to come and see you? Or do you automatically know who the other is?" She asked, the curiosity getting the better of her and a topic that she could jump to was more than welcome.

Vyllaea gave a sigh, stretching out her back a little as she stood at the base of the giant doors. Of course she had cheated a bit to get here as walking had become just that little bit too boring for her. The snow that came before her had already hidden the tracks of the dragon, and the pale haired woman looked up at those giant doors once more. Normally, they would have opened by now for her. But then again, she was dealing with a new Ancient and as such, they didn't exactly know all the rules.

At least, that was what she figured.

With the shrug of her shoulders, she raised a hand before giving several raps against the door, hoping to get their attention,