A Summoning

[RuneDragoon]

((I forgot the names of my guildmates I ran around with the other night... I appologize to you two. ))

From a great distance, the squeals of angry, enraged, injured and dying gruoks and grulets filled the normally serene snowy landscape west of Brandon's shelf, the snow darkening to red from its once pristine state as many of the creatures were cut down by a towering grey and blue figure accompanied by a pair of bipedal spellcasters.

"That one was not the one either..." they noted, searching the growing pile of corpses for the fearsome herd leader. The trio had a bounty upon this one's head, and it was nowhere in sight. Giving up after hunting the entire field, they headed to pursue their second quarry, the golem Blizzard who had terrorized the travellers of the road.

Upon arrival, the mages flung their best upon the annoyed golem, while out of the sky dropped the dragon upon it, in a flurry of claws and fangs which shattered it. Runos was more than happy to loudly announce the victory with a roar.

"A grand kill, my guildmates..." she noted with a grin as the two discussed divisions of the spoils.

A distant voice began to ring out within her head. While she kept this quiet from the other two, attempting to focus on it to amplify the voice of a distant friend almost had Runos not notice the golem pieces reassemble and get back up once again, barely stepping aside in time to allow the oblivious ice golem to wander off.

"I think I am done for now, but if you wish to continue with Runos, feel free." one of the bipeds said, as they recalled.

Lost in her own mind, she finally managed to hear it faintly enough to understand the little voice: It was calling for help.

"Friend, what has happened?" Runos thought to herself, hoping that this friend would hear the thoughts. It whispered back faintly, some words lost over a great void: "They .. at last... none would listen ... to prevent... Now ... too late... Battle is lost... Survivors scattered... Argh!"

A great pain ripped through Runos' chest. Placing a claw over it, her legs gave out their strength temporarily, and she came crashing down upon the snowy ground with a thunder. Rolling onto her back, she could not help but writhe in pain, leaving the bloodmage standing next to her slightly confused. As suddenly as it had come, it had faded enough to get back to her feet.

"Azarael... Remember I am bound to you, I feel your pain... You have been wounded horribly, I can tell." the grey dragon thought out.

"... Last survivors ... fleeing ... bought them time ... to hide... I ... escaped... in hiding... but always ... danger ..." the one named Azarael noted.

"Remain safe, all I can do right now is funnel some of my own life to heal you. But I will see if I can devise a way to help." The dragoness thought with a focus on the painful act, a little portion of a precious thing slipping away to somewhere else.

"... Thank ... " whispered the voice.

The voice became a little silent, although Runos knew that as long as she was alive, the other would be as well, and it at least eased that part of the dragoness' mind. The part that was uneasy, was how to save one not physically in your world, without going there yourself...

The only method coming to mind was to remove Azerael from the realm entirely, and move them to the somewhat safer Istaria... but to do so would involve an art normally forbidden to dragons: Summoning. Yes, there have been dragon summoners, but they often have been reclusive or found themselves in a bit of trouble with what they had summoned... To find a gifted summoner who understood how to target and pluck something from another realm would be difficult, and likely bipedal. Perhaps a library had a book about the thesis behind it, just in case Runos could not find one to develop a ritual...

Bowing politely to the bloodmage, Runos recalled and headed into the great library of Dralk. While it was unlikely that anything would be within it, she poured over countless books and scrolls hoping for at least the chance to find that shred of information she sought, one forgotten book in a dusty corner... Alas, every last book of the library and not one piece, the exhausted dragon passed out to sleep upon the ground of the chamber, reflecting the fatigue of the injured otherworldly naka duskael.

((I hope to continue this if others find it interesting enough...))

[Litarath]

I'm liking it, do continue ^^

[RuneDragoon]

Azarael looked out from the mouth of the tiny sheltered crevace she has been hiding in for a day or two now. A once somewhat green place was now a dusty, black wasteland, covered in bone and thorn. The sky too had been slowly changing from its pristine blue to dark ebony, always coated in sickened clouds spitting lightning bolts and thunderclaps. The rain was no longer rain, it was of all things vile, a substance now like acid blood best avoided that choked out life caught under it. Azarael did not even want to begin thinking what would happen if she were to drink it.

She had been staying here for protection from the corrupted elements, and from the enemy forces everywhere. She was starving and thirsty, yet this did not matter as all walks of food and water were too poisonous to consume now. Her wound thankfully had healed with Runos' help, else by now it surely would have been dangerously infected.

The forces of the blight here had struck so quickly that she couldn't pack supplies or most of her possessions. All she had to her name now were the clothes on her back, and a very special crystal passed on as a gift; a crystal foreign to the world: Azulyte. This particular crystal's otherworldly properties prevented it from becoming blighted. It remained ever pure, ever focused, and a symbol of dragons in Istaria. Needless to say that the piece of cerulean azulyte was an oddity to jewelers who had been tasked with attempting to mount it on a pendant. The crystal repelled all forms of metals and tools through numerous failures while keeping its pristine state. One crafter even attempted to etch it with a diamond, and was shocked when the diamond broke. She used this crystal as a focus when she wanted to speak to Runos, or as a tool for relaxation, as it possessed a soothing aura.

Crawling ever so slightly to get a better view out of the mouth of the crevice, she spotted a patrol of three armor-clad skeletons and a flesh construct looking beast walking closer to her hideout, and was forced to make a hasty retreat through a narrow gap into a cavern in the back to hide from sight. The patrols outside had become much more frequent and regular, something she figured was normal, or a sign that something important was in this same area. So far the undead had not bothered to check any of the rocky walls of the area for hiding survivors, which was a blessing.

Faint sounds of footsteps echoed around the cavern room, despite the source being outside. The cavern was capturing and magnifying the sounds to a barely audible level. This was a tool she accidentally discovered while staying here, and put it to good use to ensure the patrol was long gone.

With a relieved sigh, she sunk down inside the cavern.

"Runos... please get me out of here soon..." she thought in her mind.

[Litarath]

ooh! more! yay!! short and sweet posts, yet just enough to leave you wanting more!

[RuneDragoon]

Runos asked casually around, "Glit'sita, I seek a summoner, are there any who do so awake or known to be awake in the world?"

Every time met with unusual stares or glares (I guess many are wary of them, even naka duskael types) and the question "Why?", forcing the dragoness to explain repeatedly: "I need to help someone get out of danger." Of course, only to a few did she mention that this person was in a different world entirely, those she knew a little better than a random stranger.

Through her efforts, she came across two. Although in the end she did not get anywhere, it was a promising prospect to see that they indeed did exist. She met up with Siivyra and an elf. While the elf listened carefully and decided that they had to run to more important matters, Siivyra thoughtfully searched through every book in her personal library, although Siivyra's summoning applications were well... different. Siivyra could not find anything helpful, sadly.

Two down, to find someone still required. Runos, by now, was getting desperate.

Tazoon, as a megalithic city, had good chances to have an equally large library Runos thought. And indeed it did, although difficult to find at first, asking for directions was not under the runed grey dragon's pride. The librarian was even helpful toward the now khutit dragon to point her in a general direction through the archives.

Shelves lined with many sorts of scrolls, artifacts, books and tablets sat arranged in rows for easy browsing. Runos found, after a lengthy search, a few books and scrolls that were very useful. She carefully memorized the contents of each and placed them back upon their respective shelves, returning to her full form outside.

Through a few portal trips she was back in her lair within Lerena, sitting within the moderately sized hall room, knowing that this was going to be something that she would regret doing very soon due to inexperience.

Following her studies in the library, she sat on her hindlegs carefully gesturing with her hands. Gradually, over the course of an hour, the air grew more energetic slowly, until it began to crackle and spark from a single point in front of the dragoness. A form began to materialize, but it was not of a humanoid, but instead some tentacled monstrosity from Drulkar knows what realm, forcing Runos to quickly stop before it had fully manifested. The horrific atrocity faded away and back to whence it came, much to the relief of the dragon who could have possibly unleashed an unintentional apocalypse upon istaria in the form of... whatever that was.

On the bright side, your first summon spell is working... just not as planned, the dragoness thought to herself. She laid down on all fours to rest, completely exhausted after the hour of focus and gesturing to build the energy level required to bring forth something from so far. With a sigh, she stood up to answer a distant feeling by standing in the water pool of the room, soaking up the water and sending it away to slate the thirst of Azarael.

After resuming rest for a bit more, Runos felt like she could try once again. Another hour passed, but the result was just as bad as the first.

Runos attempted to stop, but stopped too late and the demon materialized in her lair chamber. It looked like a flame of pure shadow, with additional flames orbiting it. It looked at the grey dragon, growing a mouth with jagged teeth before changing shape into a shadow dragon, possibly preparing itself for a new body. In shock, Runos threw herself at it, full force, in a manner befitting most rabid and determined beasts. Several ravages, gold rages, silver strikes, and breaths of fire later it found itself not in istaria anymore, thankfully for Runos it had not taken over her body in the fray.

That was bad... she thought to herself. Runos was now too tired and dispirited to try again until later...

The state of the naka duskael Azarael was beginning to tax the dragoness. For every day spent without food or water, a piece of Runos' life was leeched away to keep Azarael moving. And every day, the diminishing energy of life fading from Runos' body made her more desperate...

[Litarath]

>_>

so THAT'S why the council forbids dragons from using summoning magics... ^_~

he-he, this looks interesting... just imagine... another Malestryx... lovely... -_-;

[Kaerisk]

Cool so far. Maekrux also mentioned that it wouldn't be impossible - you could seek him out again if you want some summoning help. He's actually at a temporary calm moment in his life, which he wasn't at the time. Sigh. >.>;

[RuneDragoon]

Cool so far. Maekrux also mentioned that it wouldn't be impossible - you could seek him out again if you want some summoning help. He's actually at a temporary calm moment in his life, which he wasn't at the time. Sigh. >.>;

I will when I get the time to, which hopefully will be tomorrow.

[RuneDragoon]

Runos awoke again to a messenger.

"Siivyra summons you to her lair. May I see your map?" it asked.

Runos handed over her map rather groggily, still half asleep, on which the messenger marked a location in Lunak, outside Dralk.

"It is located in the spot I have marked." the messenger said with a bow before leaving.

Runos stood up, stretched, and made her way to the marked lair. Within the first chamber she met Siivyra, who raised her head from a book to greet her.

"Glit'sita, you have called for me?" Runos asked.

"Ah yes, greetings, I've been looking for you. Make yourself comfortable in my home." Siivyra said.

Runos proceeded to stretch out her body, still slightly groggy, before resting upon the ground. She decided to update Siivyra on the events since last they had spoken.

"Things have been in decline... there is no food in the distant land so I have been siphoning energy to keep my other alive and well. It has become more taxing as the days go on..." Runos noted.

Siivyra nodded before speaking. "Alright, before I really get into the matter at hand... I have a question: Have you spoken any further with the elf, Kaelisorei, beyond the first conversation in the dragon communal?"

"I have not seen this elf around as of late, I suspect he sleeps when I wake." Runos replied.

Siivyra nodded, looking less tense. "Good... I have heard... things about him. It is likely that he would have hurt more than he would have helped."

This was news to Runos. She nodded thoughtfully while speaking "Something I had not known before, and am glad to have not come to pass with this new information. My friend is very special... I have to try to get them out of trouble as I am bound to them. If they perish, I cease to exist."

"I'm doubly glad I got the warning to you in time then... Anyway, I believe I may have a way." Siivyra said, taking a deep breath, and causing Runos to look up with a happy grin to the good news.

"It is a focused summoning, normally intended for more... dangerous... creatures, but I think I can bend it to your case. It would however, require a way to hone in on your friend. A possession of their would be ideal... Have you one?" Siivyra continued.

"Yes... something I found in my claw the first time I returned to istaria. Although I have not a clue how I returned, as I believe those memories had been plucked from my mind, I feel it belonged to her." Runos noted, while ruffling through her scalepack for the precious item. From the pack, she produced a quartz crystal on a chain, but it was a very rare and special crystal. An occlusion within the crystal held and locked away perhaps the only pure water to be found in the whole of that poisoned land. She handed over the precious item to Siivyra.

"This is wonderful news... This should do perfectly." Siivyra noted as she inspected it.

Runos remembered something too, on the topic of crystals. "Ah, I know I left something for her too. It was a piece of cerulean azulyte."

Siivyra looked from the piece of quartz to Runos. "That is potentially very useful if you have one of its sister crystals; one from the same node."

Runos became thoughful before noting "I think it was stuck into my lair's stoneworking chamber, but I could go chip away a tiny piece."

"I would suggest you do that, anything that can help focus the spell is a good thing." Siivyra said.

Runos nodded. "I will return swiftly, I require to head to the Lerena area." She said as she left the lair and journeyed toward her own. Standing within the stoneworking chamber, she carefully tapped and chipped, surprised at how resilient the substance was once stuck into the lair. Eventually a small piece broke away, and she returned it into Siivyra's hands.

Siivyra looked over the piece of azulyte before returning her gaze to Runos. "Well... the rest of the work is my own. I do require some information first though." she noted as she pulled out a blue book, and flipped to a page marked with a blight binding. "I need as many of these as you can tell me: the name of the target, preferably the full name, their height and weight, and other things pertaining to build, species of course, the realm name as you know it, and if any wards or runes may interfere with summoning this person." Siivyra continued, handing Runos a stone tablet to write with.

Runos spoke while writing upon the stone: "The name of this person is unique to that world, going by the name of Azarael. They are of average height and weight for a female human of this realm, A notably honorable person in a sea of dishonor and darkness."

Siivyra smiled and asked "Would you know the height and weight numerically, or perhaps as comparable to a creature here?"

"Ah yes." Runos noted thoughtfully scratching her head. "I believe five feet and six inches was her height, and about two hundred and ten pounds." she paused before continuing. "I sadly was not able to discern the true name of the realm as it was called too many things; Gaia and Terra are the common names. Runes... I am unsure, but a potential enemy may be through being bound to me, my own runic hide curse. Never could figure it out fully, but it was a crazy wizard's experiment in immortality with results similar to the gifted... just more inconvenient in ways."

"Would it have an impact on pulling your friend to this realm, do you think?" Siivyra asked.

Runos thought for a moment. "I do not believe it would hold a great impact unless something unforseen went wrong, like she was lost in the rift or something." All Runos feared was that through a mishap that stressed the bond too much, her rune hide would break and cause an explosion that would decimate Dralk from that far away. She kept this information to herself though, to avoid panicking Siivyra.

"As long as the runes themselves do not interfere, the spell itself should not go awry." Siivyra reassured the grey dragoness. "Have you finished writing?"

Runos nodded and returned the tablet. "I think to be safe, during the summoning I will funnel away the power of the runes and a little life, to place a barrier around my lady."

Or rather, a lot of it... enough to make me fade between realms but not fully... so that in the event of explosion, Siivyra's home and Dralk would not be decimated, and my lady would be safe. Not taking chances... Runos thought to herself.

Siivyra looked at the tablet momentarily before tucking it and the book away, listening to Runos speak. "Good idea... I will need a day or two to prepare the spell. Summonings of this nature are generally more complex than a prime bolt." she smiled a bit with her admittedly lame joke.

Runos looked around and casually admitted a mistake of the night before. "I can assume so... I tried to summon myself but ended up calling a demon and was glad it didn't stay summoned for long." she noted with a shiver.

Siivyra looked wide-eyed at Runos. "You are quite lucky, I don't suggest trying to do it without guidance of some sort."

Runos scratched her head noting "Yes, I do not plan to try again."

Siivyra nodded. "Anyway... unless you had anything else to ask, I have all of the information I need and will let you know when the spell is prepared."

"If you require any extra components, I will be happy to fetch them for you." Runos noted. "And I thank you... I shall be indebted for some time."

Siivyra nodded. "I do what I can..."

Runos stood up and bowed respectfully before departing, Siivyra repeating behind her:

"I should have everything I need, but I will let you know in time."

[RuneDragoon]

((OOC: Most of Siivyra's emotes are intact as they're really nice and descriptive, so most things related to siivyra are the copy paste emotes, some slightly modified for the story grammar.))

At long last it was done, the complex research and scribing and all things associated to a focused summon ritual. The two dragons met in the first chamber of the lair, exchanging greetings.

"Right. I have the .. materials set up in a different chamber. If you would follow me?" Siivyra said, turning through a doorway. Runos, speaking to herself, said "Iea should have probably prepared self in own lair..." walking behind Siivyra.

A level or two and several hallways and corridors later, the pair arrived within the summoning room. In the center of the chamber, just in front of the spot Siivyra was standing, a circle has been drawn into the floor. Within the circle lies a triangle, drawn similarly, and within that another triangle, upside-down within the first. The larger triangle's sides are made up of a name: 'Azarael', written in thin silver lettering. The innermost triangle is similar, but its sides read 'Terra.' In the very center half-buried into the floor, is the quartz crystal. Portions of bright essence have been laid along the edge of the circle very evenly. The weight of it is about 220 lbs. The circle itself has a diameter of about five foot six.

Siivyra drew the azulyte crystal from her scalepack, the one Runos had given to her. Inspecting the circle to ensure of no errors, she looked toward Runos. "You may want to stand back a bit, closer to the wall perhaps."

Runos nodded and walked toward the wall while speaking: "Do not be alarmed at what I do and the unusual sight it will bring, although if this goes wrong we will have more work on our hands." She carefully lowered her eroding body to the ground.

"Are we ready?" Siivyra asked.

"Moment." Runos spoke calmly, pulling rune etched stones from her pack. Smashing them all, a barrier rose, and the stone body slumped down to the ground, leaving a dead statue, but a notable invisible presence standing over the statue. "Iea is ready, and the body is warded from Demons and Mindflayers." spoke an invisible voice.

Siivyra couldn't help but raise an eyeridge at the unusual sight. "... Oh..." she said before returning to the task at hand, turning to the circle.

At least now if I explode everyone won't die too. And its easier to get around and work with myself like this anyways... I just hope the ritual here does not put stresses too great upon my shell. Speaking of shell...

Runos looked over her old body. In the process of leaving, it had settled in a way that a crack had split up through one arm and through the shoulder to the spine. It was not serious, but at the same time Runos noted this could be a problem. She looked back over to Siivyra, who was beginning.

Siivyra, with a push from her frontlegs, sat balanced standing on her hindlegs as if spellcasting, her forepaws held over each other as she holds the azulyte crystal. She closes her eyes and begins chanting in a strange language with a lot of x's and hissing-sounding words. The azulyte begins to glow its natural cerulean as it starts to hover vertically in the air. With a flowing movement of claws, the crystal is directed to float above the quartz in the floor. As soon as it is in position, a beam of blue light shoots between the two crystals before spreading to the silver lettering and the outline of the circle. All the while, Siivyra chants as her claws glide and dance through the air. Eventually, a pillar of the blue light beams towards the ceiling of the chamber.

The ritual was almost complete...

But then it felt painful, horrible, as the energy shield was beaten on by something strong before being licked at by the hungry rift for an instant. Runos could only grit her teeth and roar in agony, every rune that prevented her soul from dying starting to visibly glow upon the invisible soul.

~

This had been going downhill progressively, the little human stuck in the cave, unable to show her face for long as the undead outside gathered. But she could hear the echoes in the cave, they were discussing something of importance, and so just a little peek would reveal information previously unknown.

An army of the dead gathered, one rather important looking, a few carrying a sphere-object that swirled green from within. Looking at it alone made her empty stomach turn, so she made an effort to not gaze at it directly. As it appeared the leader of the mass began to speak, she sunk back into the cave for its magnified sound echoes.

"We now have enough to truly cut into the heart of Istaria, so many reinforcements from slowly poisoning the world in a way that the foolish people would not notice... And we won. If only this tactic would have been played on Istaria, perhaps we would have won there too. But the gifted, the grand thorn in our eye, have been troublesome. Let us open the portal, and forever crush them, a neverending sea of blight." the cavern echoed.

"Great... They're off to kill a new place..." Azarael sighed.

She suddenly was surrounded in a fireball, but it didn't burn her at all...

"What is this?" she said, touching it.

She also saw something in the corner of her eye: A black fireball followed by other fires. Azarael had learned only recently that these demons had been searching the caverns of the area to make sure nobody was missed. It crawled out of a shadowy corner, and opened its gaping maw, attempting to devour the human. When it found it couldn't because of the shield surrounding its prey, the demon went into a frenzy, growing tentacles. It began to lash at the shield hard with the new appendages, Azarael cowering in fear, unsure of what to do... but of course, on the other side, the summoning connected in the nick of time.

She felt a feeling, warm and inviting, as if someone reached out a hand to her, and as she reached out in her mind to accept the invitation, she found herself whisked away to a new place, leaving a shadowy hunter behind.

~

As a humanoid form began to fade into the circle, runos was beginning to flicker between worlds. Her energy and life were far too low, she was hanging on by a nail. Runos as a spirit, slumped to the floor.

As the being formed, the material offset, the bright essence, disappears. The more solid the human becomes, the more the blue light fades and the slower Siivyra's chanting and gestures become.

Runos could feel it, the stress was too great. The body she had been using was doomed, the fracture was gaining strength. She had not counted on something worse than an explosion, as if Azaraen isn't close enough, it would be Siivyra who her soul would readily bind to against Runos' will, occupying a part of the body.

Lifting her head from the ground toward the human, Runos beckoned: "Friend, when you are here.... I'm in the corner... Run to me... So it doesn't happen to Siivyra... You know how it works..."

Siivyra's brows furrowed with effort the longer it dragged on, and when Azarael was finally fully transferrred to the Realm of the Prime, she stopped her motions, opened her eyes, and fell heavily to her forepaws, lacking the strength to maintain bipedal any longer. She hung her head in great fatigue.

At last, Azarael had fully arrived. Runos spoke again as the protective energy bubble popped (Although the grey dragoness would have liked to reabsorb the precious energy): "... I am glad... you are safe..." spoke the runedrake, as the crack in the statue ran amok, fracturing the rest of the stone into dust. With a deep breath, a last portion of energy flowed away into the human, giving her strength for the sprint. She stood up, ran to the corner, and skidding to a stop, kneeled down on the dust pile. The unusual invisible presence faded from the room, as Azarael stood up.

Their job completed, the silver letterings etched into the floor seem to crumple in on themselves and disappear. With a dramatic swipe of a forepaw, Siivyra obscures the circle, severing totally the link with the realm of Terra. She stands, hunched and panting for a moment, before murmuring something that sounds like "Akasstha ka, ki ryth.." A moment later, she seems to have a bit more energy.

"Well.. that disaster was averted. Although now we need to make you a new body there..." the biped spoke.

It would be the last few things she would say for some time, as she needed to hibernate and rest a while within Azaraen's shell before they could be separated for a third time in Runos' life. At least this time Azarael possibly would not botch the ritual through distractions in her life, and the runedrake could have real skin again.

"Thank you Siivyra, I am glad we got to her in time or we would have a... problem. I don't know how it works to split ourselves, but Azarael remembers." the human's lips moved, expressing words that were not her own. The dragon soul within the human then opted to coil up and rest for a long time to regain its strength...

Azarael and Siivyra had a little bit of conversation about things in the world, what she had seen before arriving (and was reccomended to take it to tazoon), and what to do about the destroyed statue. Somewhere inbetween, Azarael felt like it was important that her actual name be protected, and did a minor change to be called Azaraen, and also somewhere in the talking, she couldn't help but hug Siivyra's leg saying thank you.

After all, nobody likes being stuck in a blight wasteland, dying slowly.

Waving farewell, she poked through the memories of Runos to head to Tazoon, the firey nature of char almost unbearable for her.

~

"I want to see the council peoples!" she demanded. It took a while, but eventually she stood before them.

"I have bad news, the dead guys are getting a big reinforcement now. And by big, I mean whole new world big." Azaraen said, frantically trying to warn them of the things to come. But what would happen was something she was used to...

"Nonsense. We have the Aegis under control and with the gift, they cannot get reinforcements..." one said.

"No... You have to believe me... I just came from somewhere else... and they really got a lot of deads that aren't dead anymore coming over here." Azaraen spoke, trying to convince at least one person of what she knew.

They all laughed at the "crazy lady", thanking her for the daily entertainment and sent her away. Standing outside, she shook her head. "Terra all over again... they deny and ignore it for too long, and then boom... too late." she said, as she used the sleeping dragon's memories to navigate to new trismus to begin learning to fight.