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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Dec 4, 2017 21:45:50 GMT -5
"You think you're so special, don't you?" Vutezoth mused as he gazed up at the swordsman dangling just beneath the ceiling, casually dodging the flames shot his way. "I have slain knights and mages whose might and skill make yours as insignificant as the insects you walk amongst. I could stop stalling at any time and make quick work of you... but what sort of glory would that bring me? While this endeavor has been genuinely invigorating... you, sir, are simply not worth my time."
He cast a grin at the water, intrigued by the conspicuous lack of bubbles where his second guest was still submerged. "Your filthy half breed friend on the other hand..."
Whipping around, smacking Ranuen with his wing in the process, Vutezoth leaped into the pool, the water parting in tremendous waves before settling again and covering the dragon completely. For a moment, the room became still and silent...
Then, about ten seconds later, Vutezoth's head emerged from the water, an unconscious Swift clenched firmly in his teeth.
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Post by ColArana on Dec 7, 2017 5:19:31 GMT -5
Ranuen glared. "Not particularly. But everybody starts somewhere." Ranuen's pride did not leave him as vulnerable to taunts like that as one might expect. As Vutezoth spun towards something, Ranuen's eyes darted over as well. Oh no, Swift! Vutezoth's wing struck at Ranuen, but the swordsman didn't take that lying down. He felt the wing slam into him heavily, like getting hit by a car, and coughed in pain, as he was blasted off his perch on the wall. "You don't get to turn your back on me that easily!" He heaved, winded by the attack. Even as Ranuen was struck, his blade flashed up, the swordsman directing and his magic to flow through his limbs and enhancing his strength to his limit. While striking at Ranuen it would be difficult for Vutenoth to prevent his wing being slashed, and although Ranuen doubted he could sever the wing entirely, that didn't stop him from trying with all his strength to do as much damage to the dragon's wing as he could.
But even with his blow it looked like Vutezoth had his eyes on another prize. "You filthy lizard!" Ranuen snarled, as Vutezoth dove in, throwing a fireball as fast as he could at the dragon's underbelly in the split-second it was open. "Damnit!" He exclaimed trying to smash into the wall to create a second foothold.
When Vutezoth emerged with Swift in his teeth, Ranuen saw red. He wasn't pacing himself anymore. When the battle had begun, he'd been drawing on his reserves of magic carefully. Drawing out so that he could have maintained his human height for easily forty minutes or more. Magical energy cascaded out from Ranuen in his rage, burning through that reserve at such a rate he'd probably exhaust his supply in only four minutes instead. But for those four minutes.....
Ranuen's legs kicked off the wall, barreling at Vutezoth. He wasn't even utilizing his fire magic anymore. All of his magical reserves were pushed to maximizing the swordsman's offensive power and speed. He hewed a flurry of powerful cleaving blows at Vutezoth, aiming for the dragon's chest and limbs, the extent of his power coursing through his body at full strength, with no regard to longevity. "Put her down damnit!" He snarled, unwilling to let his failure to keep the beast busy compromise Swift further that it already had.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Dec 7, 2017 21:05:50 GMT -5
...........................
......................................................
.................................................................................
"...?"
Swift was lightheaded, so much so that thinking straight was impossible. Her eyes were having trouble focusing, let alone staying open. The only thing she was really capable of was breathing, which she did slowly and weakly until she finally coughed up a mouthful of water, allowing the air to flow naturally and sweet relief to fill her lungs.
And yet, with the oxygen slowly reactivating her most basic functions, Swift's brain only barely registered the things going on around her. The first thing she truly became aware of was a light burning sensation still lingering in her stomach. Or, more accurately, on her stomach, as if a hot iron had been pressed against her skin and the resulting burn was just starting to cool off. Despite the heat and the tingle it gave off... it didn't really hurt that much. If anything, it provided a soothing warmth that flowed through her body as gently as her own blood. Maybe that was just because her brain was still processing the pain, but somehow, deep down, she doubted that notion...
As her eyes began to focus, Swift realized that she was dangling in midair, her head hanging upside-down while the rest of her body was limply sprawled out on a flat, soft... warm... slimy surface... with several jagged points digging into her flesh... both on top and bottom...
"Oh..."
Too weary to even muster a properly infuriated response, Swift looked down to discover, indeed, the dragon's body extending from where she hung. When she lifted her head, sure enough, there was Vutezoth's head, his jaws firmly clenching her limp, prone form.
Ha... Sucker... If he had just left her in the water, she would've simply drowned and he'd have one less intruder to deal with. Swift, clearly still woozy from the oxygen cutoff, couldn't help but smirk at that thought. This dragon who clearly intended to kill her had just saved her life. Pompous jerkoff...
Then again, he very likely had it within his power to sever her in half with just the slightest tightening of his jaws' grip. Maybe now wasn't the time to gloat about his mistakes. Probably would be better just to exploit them.
"Let..." Swift took a deep, weary breath, mustering as much strength as she could in an effort to pry her arm free. "Let... go of me..."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Dec 7, 2017 21:59:26 GMT -5
Vutezoth just chuckled as Ranuen charged at him in blind fury. Even at full power, the strikes from the man's blade barely even scratched the dragon's dense hide, and the amount of magic he was outputting with each swipe was nothing short of amusing. All Vutezoth had to do was sidestep a few and take the brunt of those that landed, hardly fazed by what felt to him like gentle brushes. All the while, he slowly backed away, carefully stepping on the shallow footholds he had long since memorized as he lured the raging swordsman towards the deep, noxious water.
"Really, now?" he mused. "'Put her down, let go...' As if you honestly expect any pity from me. You trespass where your filth has no place, you attempt to steal from me, you have the gall to claim you have some grand, fantastical destiny that called you here... I said it before, I will say it again. There is nothing for you here. No prize, no treasure, no prophetic message, nothing. And do you know why? Because you are nothing. And that's all that awaits you."
He grinned as he turned his attention on the hanyo gripped in his teeth. "I admit that I am not looking forward to the taste of your foul amalgamation of blood... but honestly, a death by the Black Calamity is the best that you deserve... half breed..."
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Post by ColArana on Dec 8, 2017 4:27:36 GMT -5
Ranuen's rage subsided just a hair as he saw Swift move. Heard her voice. She was alive. That helped him focus. Even if just a small bit. It let him think. He was well past the point of no return on his magic. He had to settle this contest quickly. Perhaps, with more time, he might have been able to draw out the fight, despite Vutezoth's taunts and jabs. Use the narrow passages in the temple to trap and draw him on. Bleeding him to death, blow by blow. Drop by drop. There might have been time enough for that. But no. No, he had to go and lose his head, and now Ranuen was forced into a race against time.
The dragon backed away from his blows, his cuts failing to pierce the dragon's scales. Damn... Those scales are tough. If he can shed the force of my blows, there's no way I'll put him down. So he'd have to find a way to get past them. But there was more. The beast had seen no qualms in taking on his blows before. That meant that Ranuen was being led on. And indeed, Ranuen felt the water level rising. No doubt there were pitfalls below the surface, that he'd easily fall into. Ranuen was a pretty good swimmer, but it was laughable to think that he'd be able to hold off Vutezoth in the waters of its own home. But there was one spot that he knew would definitely support his weight...
"Fantastical destiny...?" Ranuen echoed, in a tone that was almost cynical. Almost mocking even. "Regardless of where I stand... You're no prophet. It is not for you to decide our fates. We didn't come here on the coattails of destiny. Destiny is something you make for yourself! Great or minor!" He declared. And leaped for the only point in the room that he knew would put him in range of Vutezoth, and would absolutely not be a pitfall.
That one place, was Vutezoth himself. Ranuen sprang through the air with a tremendous, and lightning quick leap, legs bolstered by his enhancement magic, aiming to land on the dragon's back, near its neck and between its shoulder blades. Vutezoth had no doubt started to grow accustomed to Ranuen's speed if it hadn't already. This was a bit faster than Ranuen had previously been moving, but the swordsman did not expect it to be too fast for the dragon to react. He knew Vutezoth would strike with a claw swing, a slam of its wings or strike at him with its head. ...Probably not the last one, though in some respects, Ranuen dearly wished he would. He might even try throwing Swift at him. That would be awkward, though Ranuen was prepared. The swordsman had no time for cutting at the extremities now. He'd have to evade Vutezoth's attacks in mid-air, not merely hack away at them. And flames danced along his blade, ready for that possibility. If Vutezoth thought Ranuen couldn't change course to evade in mid-air, he'd find himself mistaken, as Ranuen could use a powerful blast of fire to redirect him in midair, possibly buying him the seconds he'd need to land on Vutezoth's back. If he was to decide this battle, he knew he'd have to go for the main body, not merely the dragon's wings or tail.
Swift had wounded Vutezoth twice now in the battle. There, where she'd landed her blows, there would be a breach in the scales. A breach Ranuen could drive his blade through and inflict some real damage on the dragon. True, his sword was more akin to a needle to the great beast. But driven by magically enhanced muscles, Ranuen could split a building in half. A blow like that targeted through a pre-existing wound... That'd have to do something! "Whether we're nothing or not, Black Calamity, then that'll just add to the sting of your defeat, when we send you right to the pits!" He snarled.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Dec 8, 2017 17:26:33 GMT -5
"Stop..." Swift flopped over, still weakly straining to free something from the dragon's clutches. "Stop... calling me-KYA!!!"
She let out a loud shriek as she felt Vutezoth's teeth sink deeper into her skin, blood trickling from her wounds and dripping onto his writhing, slimy tongue. Despite the death grip preventing her from moving, despite the sharp pain jabbing her in multiple locations, Swift was instantly struck with an intense wave of adrenaline, suddenly finding herself wide awake as her yoki naturally kicked in, spurred by the clear threat to her life. Fully alert, fully enraged, the hanyo roared with fury and thrashed in the dragon's mouth, no longer holding back, focusing all her power on breaking free and destroying this monster.
"LET..."
Her muscles throbbed as they fought against the locked jaws. Her blood boiled as her demonic energy coursed through her.
"...ME..."
The burning feeling in her stomach intensified, fueling her inner fire, her body growing hot inside and tense outside.
"...GO!!!"
And then, right when Vutezoth's jaws snapped shut, Swift's body turned to stone.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Dec 8, 2017 18:16:44 GMT -5
"GGGRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!" Vutezoth roared at the top of his lung when he bit down on Swift at full force, aiming to bite her in half, only for his teeth to clash against solid rock. The stone hanyo slipped out of his open mouth, after which Vutezoth wildly shook his head and flexed his jaw in an effort to ease the pain.
How did...? What...? Why...?!
Distracted by the ache in his mouth, Vutezoth ignored Ranuen up until the swordsman landed on his back. He flinched when he felt the human cling to the base of his neck, his mind instantly jumping to the logical conclusion of what Ranuen was aiming for. The scar. The lingering wound that the infernal hanyo had reopened. The one first inflicted upon him by...!
Unwilling to let the swordsman get any closer to his weak spot, Vutezoth hastily took to the air and charged at a wall, twisting in midair so that when he slammed into the wall, Ranuen was crushed between it and him. Once the human had tumbled off his back, Vutezoth slid down to the floor and scrambled back onto his feet, directing his blazing yellow eyes at the two lying side-by-side beneath him. Any sense of haughtiness or sadistic playfulness was long gone by that point. The only expression on the dragon's repulsive, skull-like face was absolute, unrestrained ire.
"Insolent pests! Wretched fools! I tried to make this easy. Even enjoyable. But now...? Now you're just starting to ANNOY ME!"
Vutezoth reeled back, sucking in a deep gasp of air, then lunged forward and exhaled a blinding, pressurized burst of acid upon the interlopers, quickly filling the room with a dense cloud of noxious fog.
"DIE ALREADY."
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Post by ColArana on Dec 9, 2017 19:53:41 GMT -5
Ranuen's eyes went wide, seeing Swift be petrified. "Swift!" He exclaimed in shock and horror. He didn't know if she'd MEANT to do that, but holy crap! If that was involuntary and triggered by whatever had happened down below. He did guess that she probably couldn't move like that. Unfortunately, he was also in mid-air when it happened and while he could change his trajectory, it wouldn't be enough. He landed on the dragon's back, just as the beast seemed to realize what he was doing. Ranuen lurched as the dragon went to slam him into the wall. "Urgh.... Fine then! You don't want me to get to your itch? I'll give you ANOTHER ONE!" All or nothing. Ranuen poured the remainder of his magical power into his sword. Barely any left to maintain his normal height. Forty seconds? Maybe only thirty. Not long at all.... He groaned mentally. That wasn't much time to get him and Swift out of here. It'd have to do.
Because even though Ranuen realized what Vutezoth was doing, he wasn't trying to get off the dragon's back. He was moving his sword, in a somewhat comparable re-enactment of Samwise Gamgee and Shelob. He clearly couldn't pierce Vutezoth's scales on his own. Anything less than his full power, what Ranuen was about to attempt would probably have shattered his sword as well. Really, Ranuen was probably one of the only people both mad and tough enough to pull this off. The swordsman's shrunken size had resulted in him getting stepped and stomped on plenty of times. He was pretty resilient to blunt force trauma. But not immune. This was gonna suck. As Vutezoth body-slammed Ranuen into the wall, the swordsman coughed up blood from the immense and heavy impact. With almost all of his magic pushed into offense he'd had almost nothing left for defense. He felt several ribs crack from the impact. But.... But.
All of Vutezoth's weight, mass and power had just been concentrated onto the tip of Ranuen's sword, which he had braced right before impact. Ranuen couldn't stab through Vutezoth's scales. But what about Vutezoth himself? What would happen when the dragon's entire weight and strength was thrown onto the tip Ranuen's reinforced blade?
That said, Ranuen wasn't trying to continue the fight. He just wanted to give Vutezoth something to remember him by. A new scar to add to the collection. But the dragon was successful in dislodging Ranuen as he moved to wrench his blade free with a groan. Time to go... He's gonna be PISSED He thought, springing off the wall into the water, and darting towards where he'd seen Swift fall. 20 seconds. He thought. Was that enough? Definitely not to clear this temple. But maybe enough to get out of immediate danger.
And as expected, Vutezoth was pissed. Ranuen tried to grab Swift's arm, stone or not, and tried to hoist her up onto his back to get a running start. His ribs screamed, and blood was running from his mouth, and from his sides where he'd taken the impact, but he was still able to move. He glanced back as Vutezoth breathed his noxious breath at them. SHIT! Ranuen was already running as fast as he could, but even though he was faster than a peak human, he wasn't at his usual blurring, lightning fast movements, due to his now VERY limited reserves of magic. Just a little further! He thought as he bolted for the way they'd come, hoping to outrun the noxious fog.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Dec 9, 2017 21:21:47 GMT -5
The moment Swift hit the ground, her stone body loudly clanging against the rocky floor, her skin instantly softened back into its natural, fleshy state. Once she had the flexibility to do so, she quickly scrambled into a sitting position, eyes wide, breaths panicked and choppy. She remained completely oblivious to the dragon's predicament taking place right in front of her, her attention solely focused on her hands. "...the hell...?"
The first question on her mind was the obvious one: WHAT JUST HAPPENED?? How in the world did she just turn to stone and back again?! Her instinctive need for self-preservation and natural surges of yoki had led to some intense power boosts before, but never something like this! She couldn't turn to stone! That wasn't a power that wolf yokai had! It wasn't even a voluntary action, but that fact just made this situation even more bizarre and unnerving. How could this have happened?! People don't just turn into rocks out of the blue like that! That wasn't a thing that could happen! WHAT...?!
Swift looked down at the murky pool. The symbol. The light. This temple. ...What had they done to her?
She slowly became aware once again on the burning tingle lingering on her stomach, slowly drawing her hand towards it...
Before she could lift her shirt, however, Swift found herself hauled to her feet by Ranuen, slightly tripping over herself as he raced out of the dragon's lair and into the hallway with her and tow. Only then did she acknowledge the smell, looking over her shoulder to see a cloud of acidic fog filling the cavernous space behind them.
Her ears shot up in alarm, her wide eyes facing forward to see that Ranuen was clearly low on energy. He was dragging her along as fast as he could, but they were still barely making headway as they rushed towards the stairs, the dragon's breath gaining on them from behind. Seeing this, Swift decided to take initiative. Ranuen had put up a good fight, but it had taken its toll on him, and now that she was fully alert once more, it only felt right to return the favor.
"HANG ON!!!" Swift wrenched her arm free and charged ahead, easily scooping Ranuen up into her arms before rapidly accelerating into a blinding sprint. She reached the stairs in nothing flat, bounding up them three at a time and resuming her top speed upon reaching the surface level. From there, she dashed headlong down the hall, teeth gritted, soles rapidly pattering against the floor, eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness and pinpointing the doorway...
Then, with a mighty leap, Swift shot out of the Stone Temple and into the open, landing gracefully on her feet, instantly turning a hard right and disappearing into the rainforest.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Dec 9, 2017 21:55:54 GMT -5
...........................
Vutezoth's yellow eyes blazed within the cloud of acid he had exhaled. Through the haze, he could see that his victims had absconded, and yet despite the anger brewing within and the deep desire he felt to rip these pests limb from limb, he couldn't muster the energy to pursue them. All he allowed himself to do was unleash a mighty and furious roar, which echoed throughout the temple and into the night with a horrific chill.
Then he lowered his head and scowled at the floor.
"Damn."
His first fight in what felt like so long, and he let them get away. He wouldn't let himself go so far as to say he was out of practice, but whatever had kept him frozen there with little to show for his effort left Vutezoth feeling inconsolably frustrated with himself. Compared to the demons and mages and knights he had defeated before, those two pieces of miscreant filth should have been easy picking. He was better than that. This should have been so much easier...
Somehow... he couldn't shake the feeling that some outside force wanted those two to live.
With a rumbling sigh, he turned to examine his back. The swordsman had managed to chip away a scale or two, but had left him otherwise unscathed. The soft spot on his back that the half breed had ripped open, though... it was still dripping with blood, albeit at a much slower pace. It would heal. Not fully, as he had long since accepted, but it would heal nonetheless.
He could almost hear a deep, roaring cackle in the back of his mind at this pathetic display.
"Even in this new world... you continue to taunt me, Ulharryrth."
Snarling in disappointment, head hung low with shame, Vutezoth lumbered into the toxic pool and lowered himself beneath the murky waters.
The Stone Temple grew silent once more.
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Post by ColArana on Dec 9, 2017 22:15:50 GMT -5
Swift had taken over the retreat. Ranuen was relieved to see her returned to her normal state, as it made the escape much, much easier. Swift ordered him to hang on, and Ranuen went right along with it. As Swift went to grab him up, the swordsman shrank right back down to fit in the palm of Swift's hands, to allow her to move at full speed, unburdened by Ranuen's weight. Easier transport for quicker running. It was a hellish, wild sprint, much faster than he could have managed. Ranuen spared a glance backwards and saw, with relief that they were not being pursued by Vutezoth. He let out a long and heavy sigh at this, just as Swift cleared the temple and vanished into the jungle.
"That was close.... Let's.... Let's hold off before doing that again." Ranuen panted in exertion. His magic was spent. He wasn't going back to human height again for quite some time now. Like it or not, Ranuen was gonna be stuck as a bug for awhile. "Thanks for bailing us out but... are you okay? What did you find down there?" He asked, apprehensively.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Dec 9, 2017 22:49:20 GMT -5
Swift kept on running until she was absolutely certain that the temple was long gone, never looking back, never slowing as she weaved between the trees and leaped over the foliage, mind racing almost as quickly as her feet. Once she was comfortable with the amount of distance she had put between herself and that dragon, Swift finally slowed to a halt in a clearing, then dropped to her knees, then after setting Ranuen down on a rock, she flopped onto her stomach and rolled onto her back. From there, she stared at the pitch black sky through the canopy, taking a good, long while to catch her breath and let her heart rate slow down.
That... wasn't anything like what she was expecting. And it certainly wasn't something she wanted to do again anytime soon.
With one more deep breath, Swift turned her head to look at Ranuen. He had inquired about what she had found in the temple, and while there were still so many things she didn't understand, she at least felt inclined to tell him what she knew.
"I..." She placed a hand on her burning stomach, her voice shaky and disoriented. "I found... a carving. It was... glowing... like that spirit that led us there in the first place. I... I touched it, and it's like... the light went into me. I-I just remember this feeling like... my arm was on fire... shooting flames down into..."
Curiosity started to get to her, reminding her of that lingering tingle in her belly, the twinge in her skin that was only now starting to ebb. Weakly, warily, Swift sat back up and grabbed her shirt, hesitating for a moment before slowly lifting it just enough to expose her midriff.
The air escaped her lungs in a hushed squeak of shock and confusion, mouth agape, ears perked, eyes staring at the black, tattoo-like markings that had been burned into her stomach. A southward-pointing compass inside a triangle inside a circle, surrounded by a mountain, a gear, and a leaf... just like the carving in the temple.
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Post by ColArana on Dec 10, 2017 23:15:36 GMT -5
As Swift set Ranuen down on the stone, he watched the hanyou with concern. She seemed a little frayed by the experience. Whether that was whatever she had encountered in the ruins, or the encounter with the dragon (or both), he wasn't sure. He was still pumped on adrenaline from the near-death experience, despite what the agony in his ribs told him. Speaking of.... Ranuen lifted his own shirt, to feel underneath, applying pressure to his ribs, as Swift talked. Yup! Definitely broken! Ow. Son of a bitch. But despite this, he was primarily focused on Swift's tale of what she found underwater.
"A glowing carving?" He asked, and when Swift mentioned touching it, he added. "Was it calling to you or something? Or just... curiousity that made you touch it?" He asked, but petered off as Swift went to check her midsection.
"What.... are th...those....?" Ranuen asked. Something told him from Swift's reaction, those markings were not supposed to be there. "Did the carving..." He began and looked back in the direction of the temple. "....Damnit... It's not exactly like we can just run back to check with that pissed off beastie in there either..." He said. "Have you ever seen markings like that? Anywhere in your travels? A starting point?" He asked. "They don't hurt do they?"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Dec 11, 2017 17:28:20 GMT -5
"Um..." Swift's ears slowly, nervously folded back as she gingerly traced a finger along the markings, her voice hesitant and somewhat distant as she responded, "It... kinda... burns a little... I-It's starting to go away, though."
She leaned over slightly to get a closer look, studying the three outer symbols in particular. She hadn't thought much about them when she first encountered them in the temple, but now Swift was almost certain she knew what they were. It was just taking her a moment to come to grips with it. "I... I think I have seen these before. They... look like... simplistic emblems of the elements of earth, metal and nature."
She lowered her shirt and stared into the distance. "I'm not sure why I did it. All I remember is seeing that silver light shining through the carvings... and... feeling... comforted by it. It was like... the light wanted... to be a part of me... and I wanted to be a part of it."
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Post by ColArana on Dec 11, 2017 23:47:59 GMT -5
Ranuen's brow furrowed as he glared at the markings on Swift's belly while she explained. "I'm... I'm sorry. I mean I guess it's fading now, but... it still hurts?" He inquired, as she continued. Her explanation though. "But.... what does that mean? Is it like... a map of some--" He paused a moment. "...I don't suppose the one relating to Earth looks any different than the other two does it?" Thinking back to Swift's brief stint as a garden ornament, he wondered if there was a relation between the markings and that ability. Even Swift had been surprised by it afterall.
But as Swift went on, Ranuen shook his head. "Glad you got out when you did then. Even if it was right into a dragon's jaws. I'm sorry I... couldn't hold him back longer." He commented in frustration. "But anything like that that wants you to assimilate with it like that... That sounds like old, ancient magic stuff, and that stuff is rarely good to get involved with." He muttered. "So if nothing else, I'm glad you came out okay, even if it was with a new, involuntary tattoo."
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