CoyoteLovely

The Magical Planet - Ecetopia - Open

Nakreyya nodded her understanding of what Grug was saying about his arm. She wanted to ask more after how it had happened, but figured that may be a question better saved for the Spaceship, when they were traveling. She did not miss his action of spitting at her reasons for going. She understood the act to mean that he did not feel she was doing this for the right reasons. In her old life she would likely have slapped him for such a show of disrespect, but she couldn't find the anger inside of her to do such a thing. It bothered her, but not that he had done it... it bothered her that there likely would have been a time she would have felt as he had.

She simply raised an eyebrow at him without speaking, before noting that Fionn was collecting dishes. She nodded as she watched him head to where she usually cleaned such things, and she herself went to collect the traps she had set. She was fairly sure neither man would follow her, and that was fine. She worked swiftly on her own.

As she walked, she thought about Grug's action. She had been passionate, once upon a time. She had loved, and fought, and nearly died - but those years had come and gone. She had long outlived her usefulness. Her passions had died, or been murdered. She was left as a surviving shell of herself. Perhaps this was a poor reason to fight, to go with Fionn and Grug to this dangerous place. Perhaps without the passions she'd once had she would die in the attempt - lacking the driving emotions that tended toward keeping people alive.

And yet... she just couldn't bring herself to care. She couldn't bring herself to change her direction now. She was rudderless, caught in the tides that pulled her.

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu

The Magical Planet - Ecetopia - Open

Nakreyya listened to Grug as he spoke his thoughts both on her steed, and on the matter of Fate. She saw Anzu glance over as the word 'tamed' came out, and she knew both she and Anzu were thinking the same thing. The veil of a smirk crossed her features, but she waited for Grug to say his piece before speaking.

"Anzu is not tamed. He cannot be broken or gentled. He made a conscious decision to help me for reasons of his own. I freed him from a prison where he was being kept as an oddity, bound by twisted spells that were inscribed around him. He decided that I earned my freedom with his, and has dutifully been my companion since that day. He is free to leave my side at his discretion, as I am free to do the same of him - but neither of us has.

"The Nightmares we see in our sleep at night are... hard to behold, but that doesn't make them inherently evil. Such is the same for Anzu. He has suffered a great loss in his life that turned him from a creature of pure light to the steed you see before you. I cannot speak as to why he has changed, as he does not communicate in my language, but I know well enough the acts that create a steed like him. He is as I am - once beautiful, once respected and revered. Now a wanderer, feared or hated... certainly misunderstood. Anzu is not evil, he is corrupted - but he is not evil. He is... simply not pure any longer. His blood could no more heal you than mine could. His horn is gone, and all the powers with it. I would have to imagine he's sorrowful for what has transpired to take such things from him, but I have never known him to show malice or hate.

"I believe he chose me because I showed him mercy. It is a selfish arrangement for both of us, to need a companion - especially one that understands how we feel. I would no more recommend his demise than I would remove my other eye and make myself blind. Too much in this universe is mere misunderstanding over true despotic evil," it had been probably the most Nakreyya had ever said at one time, though she felt it was important for both Fionn and Grug to understand, and accept her unlikely companion. Anzu commanded fear at his very presence, but Nakreyya had never been afraid of him - and she hoped to pass that acceptance on to her two new companions.

"As to your answer about fate... There are many reasons to reject this opportunity. We are an odd party of people, and will certainly be in grave danger as we continue. This being a fated encounter, or random happenstance does not change that. That said, I have very little to lose with that danger, so I will stay. I simply have reservations at the notion of some grand plan that intended my presence here. I feel as though that moment passed for me long ago," Nakreyya reached down to the table and lifted her eyepatch as she spoke, shifting it up to tie it over her eye, feeling the draw of the mana from the glass battery she wore as an eye, and into the eyepatch, which whirred to life. "I will begin to pack so that we can alight to the Space Ship shortly."

@Hekazu @Silvan Haven

The Magical Planet - Ecetopia - Open

Nakreyya followed most of what Fionn said. His level of technology was different from her own. The spaceships she has seen previously hardly counted for being mechanical. They were sleek machines with few moving parts. She wondered if Fionn's ship would be similar - full of shiny chrome silvers and the placid voice of a woman of guide you.

"That is quite fascinating, Fionn," Nakreyya said, as Grug remained silent to allow the two to discuss the technology. "I shall try to refrain from asking you every question I have about your ship while we are on it... otherwise I fear we will abandon our mission such that you can teach me." She smiled a somewhat rare smile at her mild joke, the act warmed her one eye, and softened some of the severity in her expression.

"Anzu is... my method of movement between locations. He is a Nightmare, a corrupted Unicorn. He travels the dark dreams of those who sleep in this level of reality. He is capable of walking the darkness of their souls to take me somewhere new. It is an... unusual method of walking, and can be hard on the soul, but it is quite effective," Nakreyya turned her eyes toward her companion, who glanced at her. He seemed to understand she was speaking of him, and threw his fiery mane as though proud of her words.

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu

The Magical Planet - Ecetopia - Open

Nakreyya considered the words of her two companions in silence for a moment. She ate her food, the words of both tumbling around in her mind. Her expression was passive, difficult to read as she grappled with two difficult sentiments.

"I have two matters of concern.

"Primarily; Fionn, I have been on a Star Ship before, briefly. My version of Mechanika has proven a hinderance to that sort of advanced technology. You are, yourself, arcane - how is this ship powered? How do you bridge the disparities of that level of technology with math?

"Secondarily; Grug, are you certain that what you see is indication of fate? Is it possible that it is only a series of likely events that is now concentrated on the three of us as being the most likely to take this journey?

"I only ask because I find the concept of fate to be a little unbelievable. That we are predestined to a point in our lives, that all choices - and all evil we suffer lead to one particular point. If this is the case, how does one determine the last point on that scale? When are you past the tides of this fickle fate?"

She looked between the men as she spoke, her one good eye tracking their expressions as she ate, her lilting accent calm and elegant.

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu

The Magical Planet - Ecetopia - Open

Nakreyya set up her small camp with practiced efficiency. The tent doors facing away from the wind, the small table set up so she could do some work if she wished, the traps all laid out in the surrounding area to catch food for their journey. She helped build a fire, and then spent some time tending to Anzu. Considering all they had discussed - of destines and fates - she was more than a bit happy to get back to the normalcy of survival, the sheer mundanity of it.

They were the three that had remained. Grug, Nak, and Fionn... as she removed the saddle from Anzu's back, she pondered they three. She wondered if they weren't making a mistake. They were all combatants, though others had exhibited far more fight than the three of them. She, herself, fought only as a last resort - she had always preferred the mysteries, and the puzzles to solve over the feeling of sinking a blade into another.

Though she was not opposed to the latter, by any stretch of the imagination.

Grug was of an advanced age. She thought she might be older, still - but he had lived enough to show wisdom behind his eyes. However, there was no speed in his muscles anymore. That said, she knew enough of Orcs to know not to underestimate him. She had fought her share in her day - old or not, he would likely surprise them if there was an issue.

Fionn... he was still interesting to her. He knew of mechanika, which she appreciated. She had believed she would never find another to speak with of such matters. Of all of the places she had seen, they had been very divided. Either mechanical to a degree that her magic was a hindrance, or so full of magic that there was no Mechanika. Machines were her first love - all she had left that excited her. To find another to talk with about them... that was... heartwarming. But he also had magic in his heart. He reminded her of her people - he would have been at home in Iescus, down to the fact that his eyes almost looked like those of her people.

She wondered if he reminded her of all she had left behind, of all that she missed.

Anzu nudged Nak's shoulder bringing her back to the present. She looked into his eyes, and ran her hand over his broad nose, and up into his fire hair, "It is alright, my friend, I was simply lost in thought. It is unusual for us to have companions with which to travel, my mind is on those matters."

She glanced back to the camp one last time, pet Anzu again, and set about with the items she had taken from the ruins, looking to see what she could glean of their inner workings.

**************************************************************************

Nakreyya was awake early, gathering the traps (and any food caught within) and reinvigorating the fire for breakfast to cook. She settled a creature that looked like something of wild foul over the fire, having collected its eggs as well for cooking. She had food ready for the group in short order, complete with vegetables she had found.

She greeted both Fionn and Grug as they emerged, inclining her head in her way, and raising a hand to her heart. She would always greet them with the same morning phrase. Even if they did not know the words, the meaning was always clear enough - a good morning. "'Quel amrun."

"Today is the day we begin the real journey, is it not?" Grug asked, looking somewhat displeased to have the morning sun in his eyes.

"An odd question, Grug. If you are asking if you have overslept - you have not. If you are not, then I wonder at your meaning. Are not all journeys 'real' ones? Do you have some deeper inquiry to our quest?" Nakreyya asked, glancing over at him with her one eye. She had grown more comfortable around the two, and was not wearing her eyepatch this morning. Her glass eye glowed with stored magical energy, casting a dull reflective light over the scarring around her eye and over her cheek.

She gave both Fionn and Grug a plate of breakfast and settled into a chair next to her table, close enough to continue with the conversation. She crossed her legs at the ankles, sitting as though she were in an elegant gown, instead of leather armor. She carefully cut her food apart, eating it with practiced grace and manners.

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu

..::Ascension::.. .2 (High-Casual)

Tagging to follow

The Magical Planet - Ecetopia - Open

Nakreyya fell silent to let her companions speak on the issues she knew little about. She was not sure where this new camp was located, nor the difficulties of travel to get there. She tended to Anzu instead, listening to them speak of liches and destinies, and futures...

Nakreyya's expression was reserved and quiet. Her mind tumbling over the idea that she may have been Destined to be here. That this may be where she belonged. She had not felt a true sense of landing since her flight had begun from her homeland. She had believed strongly that her life was over and she was doing nothing but surviving until her time of death. But the idea that this Soothsayer had seen her future with them filled her with a sense of relief, and also dread.

The Griever had ruined all that Nakreyya held dear, and he had been the last of her major enemies. He had committed atrocities to get to her, removed her from friends and family... people she could no longer count on, or return to. He had been the driving force in separating her from the life she had once lead. And a part of her missed the adventure of fighting him. Missed it, and hated it... Hated it because of who she had once been. What she had once had. Rich, and powerful - beautiful, and loved.

She had none of those things now. Fionn and Grug were companions - but more new to her world. They were not Ekhart... no one would be again. She could fight. Perhaps, hopefully, she could find a place to belong again, with the added benefit of not losing those dear to her - as she was short on such people. Anzu would survive either way, he was not of this plane. He was not of the living, in so many words - and for that she was grateful. And Fionn and Grug made their own decisions as to how they were to proceed. She was not 'dragging' them into a fight that was not theirs.

She glanced back to the other two, the human and the orc, and awaited the decision. If camp were to be set, she would assist, if they were to travel, she would ride.

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu

The Magical Planet - Ecetopia - Open

Nakreyya took a moment to look over the head. Her eyepatch told her that no other power existed within it. A last warning, a last attempt at fear. However, she had not had a chance to examine the mechanika of this world, understanding it could only be a boon in the future.

She took a moment to pull the head apart, being somewhat less gentle with it in the interest of time. She reached in and removed a few of the parts that she assumed governed memory and protocol, as well as what she believed was the battery of the machine. Fionn could help her work through her assumptions later. The actual gears and pistons - while interesting - were too large to carry.

With a bit of regret, she decided not to delve further into the head, but to count her plunder as enough, and experiment later with what she had collected. She turned toward the entrance and started off at a sprint after the men.

*******

They'd had a sizable head start on her, and the fighting had worn her down a bit, so she'd had to go slower than she intended to catch up. Were she a younger woman, she might have made it to them before they hit the door. As it was, she found them outside. Grug motioned to her as she approached.

She approached, and listened to what he had to say, and his questions.

"This is not my first time in battle with someone who employs mechanika creatures, though these are very different from the Griever of my past," Nakreyya's good eye focused on something neither man could see. A past, a history, and all that existed within it. "Though my reasons were greater then, in my optimism, I thought that I could make a difference. Still, I had thought the great fights behind me. I have little to lose, and nothing to hide from. I will fight."

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu

The Magical Planet - Ecetopia - Open

Nakreyya reached her hand up and tapped a few places on her eyepatch. She spoke in a low voice, and a moment later Anzu's fiery footfalls would carry through the halls, as he travelled swiftly through the realms beneath the physical, coming to his mistress.

She walked Anzu over to Grug and spoke to her steed, "Kneel down my friend, you must aid our Soothsayer to safety."

Anzu shot her a bit of a glower - clearly not pleased at the idea of being a pack mule. She stroked her fingers through his fire hair, and he relented.

"Be cautious, Grug, his fire will not burn you, but he is a Nightmare, his presence can be disconcerting if you are not used to riding such a steed. He is quite intelligent however, speak your requests, and I do not recommend spurring him," Nakreyya said before turning her eyes to Fionn.

"Fionn, I wish to check this golem... I will catch up swiftly, Anzu is capable of telling you that I am in danger. If he is calm, I am well," Nakreyya said to him. "I shan't dally long. But I am concerned for the fact it moved after we disassembled it."

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu

The Magical Planet - Ecetopia - Open

Nakreyya's boots clicked lightly against the floor, an intentional bit of sound to let her companions know where she was located. The undead had not been as tough as those from where she was born. They were naught but the play things of foul magic, pulled from their restless sleep by the shadows that lingered. She had been informed, by those who were more knowledgeable in such things, that the magic had been dealt with appropriately. Her eyepatch still informed her of pockets of energy, but they were swiftly wafting away, like so much smoke in a light breeze.

Her injuries were minor, and of no consequence to her. Her beauty had been taken some many years ago, new scars would be nothing to her. She circled the area, her ears and eye alert to potential threats as the others gathered their plunder, and their gear to travel. She needed little of what was here. She had claimed some coin, and a sword of this world, but nothing more.

The orc began to speak. Nakreyya's gaze turned back toward him, one thin eyebrow arching as he fell to his knees. She had never known an orc to be a soothsayer. She found the concept interesting. He was an intellectual, and not prone to the rage and anger she was so acclimated to on her home world. She had spoken to him several times during the journey, and she found him to be a person she appreciated. Panic laced his voice, loud enough for her sensitive ears to hear. She turned away from her vigil, and walked toward him. She paused near the orc to hear what he had to say.

He collapsed forward, and Nakreyya knelt next to him, raising a hand to run her long, slender fingers under his cane, lifting it to be offered to him when he was ready. She placed her other hand on his shoulder, "Still now, friend. Rest until you are prepared to walk. I can summon Anzu if you fear you will not make it back to your cart."

She glanced to Fionn, "I am suitably interested in the vision our friend has seen, however - it is my considered opinion that this is a foul place to speak of such matters. Should we abscond to more favorable ground to discuss our next steps?"

@Silvan Haven @Hekazu