Spirits of the Earth

Well, they made it to Essyrn...  Or rather, they made it to the Niafi River Delta which met the ocean water and gradually led to Essyrn.  The area around Essyrn was oasis, thanks to it being situated by a river that fed the land.  Many miles further along that river was a trade/caravan port on a series of deltas...which was now where they were.

Who were they?  Travis McNaire and Keona of the Yoreiqi, as well as Ira the tiger cub.

What began as a chance meeting on her island of origin, soon became a quest to find a very pale and scarred man with white hair, Keona's father.  The price of failure on this matter was a dire one, since periodically...they were now being hunted by dark creatures, Shadows.  They took the form of deadly snakes of corruption with hydra-like qualities about them.  It left them in a bad position, especially since the last escapade damaged the boat that they'd been sailing with, the one that Travis was now forced to help unload cargo from.

"Oh, gods dammit...  I knew I should've bargained with more than just a dinghy!"

Yes, he did do that.  One only wonders what Travis does when he needs money.  For now, though, he was caught up in this...and wondering why the ship's apparent mouser cat wanted him to deliver a letter to this 'Boomer'.  It was weird, but then...so was that cat.  Eh, no matter.  As long as it wasn't a threat...and he could get away from tripping over it, it would be alright to leave it be.

The fire mistress stood against the railing, looking over into the white desert in awe. Keona had never seen a place so hot and dry, it pleased her. However, she did not think that a flame here could be as big as a bonfire if she used her abilities. Maybe her skin would dry out again, wouldn't that be a relief. Ira pawed at her leg, wanting to be picked up by his companion and succeeding. He purred as the woman held him against her chest, and looked out into the desert with her.

The people here seemed similar to that of those in Yoreiq, simply without the common trait of wings. Her own odd wings twitched, itching to fly out there over the dunes and mountains. Patiently Keona waited for Travis, hoping that he would finish his chore quickly.

Some days, it didn't pay to be a demon...or a human...or anything, really.  If you were a civilized being, then you get roped into things like this.  Travis tended to be a little impatient about work.  He didn't usually do it, not actual grunt work.  In this case, you could see that he was starting to move faster and faster, because of it, getting supply after supply out there before suddenly...his body was cast in obsidian metal and he was using more-powerful wings than he had on his body normally to just fly the things from Point A to Point B until done...then reverted.

It was a good thing the crew had already seen this side of him.

With that done, he picked up his black leather coat - which was not a good thing to wear in a desert, but the heat wouldn't bother him - and got it on before heading over to the brunette beauty that was his companion on this journey.  Technically, he was the companion for her journey, but let's not worry over that right now.

"Alright, we can go.  We can find a caravan to guard or something, though I will say that traveling by the river isn't as harsh as the desert, and it does lead to the city."

Plus, if any shadowy serpents made themselves known, apparently water was as bad for them as fire...

Turning to look at him, absolutely beaming in the desert light, Keona smiled at him, "I'll go wherever leads to the place we need to be." She spoke softly, petting Ira's head. The woman stepped back and headed for the dock, stepping elegantly off the boat and onto a stone path that was partially covered in sand. She stared back at the ocean, as if trying to see if her home was doing alright and all the things and people she left behind.

"Hey do you think I'll ever go back home?" She asked Travis, without turning back to face him. There was a string that was stretched just too far, and soon will snap. She'll lose her longing to go home eventually, because her true origin was hoepfully in Serendipity.

Travis leapt off the boat and sailed down to the dock with his bat-like wings as Keona walked down, preferring to do things in a bit more of a...fun way.  The two of them were in the bright, hot sun.  As a dark and shadow-empowered demon, the power of light was actually Travis' weakness, but he wasn't allergic to mere sunlight.  It was the power of light that got to him, that of magic and other directed energies.  Still, as he stood with Keona now...

"You can if you want.  It's always there, and it's a relaxing place to visit."

It'd be alot more relaxing once Keona didn't have damn shadow-things coming after her too.  Now, the young man looked around, eyeing the various tradesman and stalls for merchantry.

"See anyone who looks like they're in need of protection?"

"Uh, everyone? They're all vulnerable to those... things," Keona meeped softly, tilting her head at the different people. Her appearance would surely drag some attention, but most of it was on the darker figure beside her.

"We should just find a dragon like you said and get over those mountains in the distance." There was a feeling in her gut that burned a warning about the future. Of course it could be pure bogus, but you never know.

The woman set down the tiger and he stuck uncharacteristically close to Keona, wary that people to like to hunt his kind. Of course they'd want to hunt a full grown tiger, but the caution was still present.

"Yeah, but we can't offer to protect 'em from something that's after us.  They'll protect themselves by turning us down."

Those shadow demons were definitely after Keona, not anybody else.  They'd kill any liability that got in their way, but their chief goal appeared to be her, in particular.  Telling anybody about this was a liability to them, if they wanted any help at all, to say nothing of things like room and board, the next meal, information...  It was a problem, and speaking of problems...

"We can't just get a dragon, right off.  Essyrn doesn't have any, other than the Kaadir, and it's got no wings.  Gotta make it to Adela first, unless some random Dragonrider just happens to be in town."

...which was possible, but not likely.  It was about as unlikely as anybody hunting Ira.  Yes, this reason was well-known for hunting, but cubs aren't exactly any sport.

"Maybe once we get to Essyrn, we can send a message out for a ride.  There's a guy there I met that seems well-connected, somehow.  A shopkeeper."

"It would seem strange..." She mumbled to herself, placing her hands on her hips while looking around. Only men worked the heavy things, or so she assumed. She did spot a few womanly figures dressed in men's clothing, and that certainly was something to be intrigued in.

"Do you have links all around?" Keona turned her head to look at Travis, a slightly puzzled look in her eyes. The boiling hot area gave her energy, and she felt so much better to be off that ship and in the presence of the boiling sun. Letting off a sigh of content, she fixed her hair and checked her wings, basically just to see if they were still there.

"No, I don't know that many people.  This guy just seems to get around, though he's especially around Essyrn."

And while he was in no connection to the crew they were just with, he was definitely a man of some success in the business world, particularly the act of procuring and selling items.  At leas, when the going got tough, this guy wouldn't be too harmful.  As Travis could remember, the guy didn't have any sort of problems with people...unless you were some guy called Stanislav.  Now, at this moment, Travis was letting Keona take everything in, but they needed to find a caravan that would take them along to town.  Then, as he noticed some of the trade going on, he spotted some of the Yoreiqi fruit and animal trade going to some people.

"I have some fruit packed from the quartermaster, since you couldn't eat last night, but why don't we just follow the fruit to town?"

"Huh... that's neat." She said softly, getting distracted by all sorts of things. But the feeling of uneasiness caused her to wrap her arms around his, studying the people cautiously. The mention of fruit caused her stomach to rumble, deprived of the meal it could not hold down from last night, but now was regretting throwing it away.

Keona took a moment to listen more than to see, to feel more than to smell. The air was still cool against her skin, not hot enough to match the temperature on her surface. Everyone sounded foreign, but what would you expect? Mostly Common was heard, but she did hear a few mutters of other languages that she could not understand. "Yes, let's do that."

Well, even Travis sounded foreign to an islander such as her, but alot of these people were speaking Common through an Essyrni dialect and accent, say, so naturally that would seem weird.  With Keona in agreement with the plan, the young demon handed her the bag, so she could enjoy some breakfast that won't come back up as he approached the people with the crates of produce.  This was a group of men and women loading things on a Kaadir-pulled wagon, but Travis knew the men would get pissy if they weren't the ones addressed.

"Hi there.  Heading into town?"

"Nowhere else to go from here, stranger.  You and the painted lady want something?"

"We're looking to attach ourselves to a caravan to get into town, defending it from bandits and other things."

Travis made a point to include 'other things', just in case he asked about any demon snakes later.  It seemed fairly reasonable.  The man began to speak with the others, and thought it over.  Then, he turned back again.

"Me and the others, we're thinking it might give the Kaadir a break...if you were any good.  You and the girl don't look like much."

"We're both magic.  We have power that can bring down attackers."

"Pfaw!  Magic...  The only magic we need is a good oracle to guide us safely, not a crazy fireball wizard."

"It's of no use in Essyrn, but outside of town, anything can happen."

He considered that for a moment, giving Travis a careful eye.

"You cause us trouble anywhere near to town and I'll denounce you.  We all will."

"I know the law well enough.  They can't fault us for defending ourselves."

"That's between you and the guards.  I'll have none of it.  Deal?"

"Deal."

They would be ready to go, momentarily.

Keona didn't hesitate to take the bag that was handed to her and dig out a dragonfruit, biting into it quickly and humming to herself. The man was rather rude in her standards, defensive or not, and finally she leaned in to whisper to Travis, "Are all Essyrnians that crabby?"

Of course she looked rather kind and not like a maniac. Besides, she hasn't used her powers since yesterday, was it that obvious she was a pyrocaster?

"We won't be here for more than a few days, promise! We just need a way to get to Serendipity of course." She chuckled, putting on her kindest face. Hopefully they wouldn't make too many enemies here. There was the possibility of her accidentally finding out a portion of her power was stronger than she thought, but the chance of that was low.

Travis gave her a quick shake of his head and a "Nah" to her question, so the party before them wouldnn't pick up on what she was saying.  Still, all Essyrni had this view of magic, that destructive magic was pointless and that any power over water was a crime against nature.  It was their way.  Several of the group looked at Keona as she spoke up, a bit confused.

"I already said 'deal'.  What more do you want?"

Yeah, this guy was definitely rude, and there would be others like him.  He thought in terms of business, like many people of the country.  They were, all of them, in some kind of silent feud where money was their sword and shield, and everyone was careful not to be disarmed or overpowered suddenly.  Travis whispered to Keona.

"Just let it go.  Their minds are elsewhere, I think."

Currently, their minds were on finishing their load-up and getting their great beast of burden to go.  The Kaadir was sacred in these parts, a backbone of labor and military support.  They revered it, being a large dark-scaled wingless dragon of some decent size.  Just one was needed to pull this large cart, and it did so with fair ease.  Kaadir were animals, not wise old dragons, but the Essyrni liked them for the curiously high level of adaptability and the intellect they did show, despite this.  For instance, this one had leads to guide it, but after making so many runs to the delta area, they only needed a word to get it in motion and it knew where to go.  Equally, it would not leave people behind, so this caravan was on the move at a pleasant pace.

She bit her lip, slightly embarrassed at her own words. But Travis's own made him smile, and the woman silently would follow him. Back on Yoreiq, animals such as those were simply passerbys, arriving in flight or water and leaving for the mainland a few days after. Keona went over any large lizards in her memories that she had encountered. There were serpents, wind snakes, hatchlings, wyverns and dragons that she had seen, but the only large creature that she felt in harmony with were the Phoenix.

"You say this land is quite small correct?" She whispered in response to Travis, picking Ira up. He didn't squirm at all, more rather petrified by the large bacl lizard. He did not like scaley things, and normally he killed lizards and snakes once his eyes were set on them back home. Of course no one knew of his fear, but right now the Tiger simply stared at the presence.

The mighty hunter had met a new opponent today, a great big reptile.  Fortunately, though he was afraid of it, the Kaadir made no indication that it even knew the little tiger was there.  So, as Ira was rooted on the spot when Keona picked him up, he had also been in no danger.  As they went along, Keona asked Travis about Essyrn.  He was no expert at it, but fortunately he knew this bit.

"It's mostly the big city that the Shah rules over.  It kind of owns the whole oasis area, but I don't think you really have their guards out here, maybe people they hire to look around.  It's small, though, because of all the desert.  There's no point in ruling sand and glass if you can't do anything with it."

You could do things with glass, but since the area in which you could find it was so extensive, there was no point trying to hold a monopoly on that,  Anyone could get some glass for their needs, no question.  The only business in that was selling things made from the glass, not the supply itself, so no one bothered to guard it.

"I would like to see the glass... I heard it needs to be really hot..." Of course heat was something she was normally drawn to, and of course she'd wish to see smoldering glass deserts and active volcanoes and anything of the sort. Keona had an excited glint her eyes, gazing into Travis's with a pleaful set or orbs. She clutched Ira to her chest as he returned from fear, and entered reality yet again. He made little movement in her arms as he tried to ignore the fact that there were more of them spread out.

The woman fixed the string on her top, pulling them tighter and tucking her wings closer. If she were to accidentally set something on fire... that would be bad news. "We should get going then, Travy... it's best we try to focus on the task at hand."

"Well, if we get a dragonrider to take us from Essyrn, we'll be flying over it, regardless."

It's a big desert, and it's a big heat.  Consequently, it's a big area of glass and hard to miss.

"If you wanna see it on the ground, we'll have to get 'im to land."

Seeing the look in his eyes, Travis smiled as he said that, indicating that he'd be fine with doing that for her.  The rider might get annoyed, but so what?  It wouldn't ruin his day to look at a glass desert a while, right?  Besides, even a guy like him could appreciate the eerie beauty of it.  Who could refuse those lovely eyes?  They had a power all of their own, like Ira's power of cute.  The moment was eventually broken by Keona reminding them that they were kind of falling behind the caravan, which was on the move.

"Yup, guess so."

That said, they would just have to quicken their pace a little to get back to the people they were watching over.  Once done, Travis struck a little conversation, curious about the work.

"So, lotta different stuff on that beast."

"Mmm-hmmm."

Some people weren't exactly invested into the art of communication.  Travis tried again.

"I mean, it's not all that much of one thing you can make heavy profit on."

"We make profit on all of it.  Somebody always needs this stuff.  We take what we can sell.  That's it."

"Yeah, like for instance, that captain wanted to sell us a dinghy.  What're we gonna use that for?"

Mention of his dinghy annoyed Travis a little, but just a little.

"I dunno.,  You've got this river.  It goes right to the city."

"Maybe if we wanted a little hobby boat for retirement, but that's not the case here."

"Fair enough, but...you can sell everything in there, no question?"

The man he'd been talking to originally shrugged.

"There's always a guy.  Even if we can't get prime rate, there's always a guy who can do something with it.  We're not businessmen.  We're in the business of transporting goods, and this was surplus.  We get anyone to take it, we win.  That's all."

"And there's always a guy."

"There's always a guy."

For some reason, Travis licked his lips before saying this next part.

"Is it Akbar?"

The man flinched and looked at him with both surprise and amusement.

"Oh!  So, you know him?"

"Needed information about Essyrn, first time in.  Headed in and found a funny little man who sells nearly everything.  Couldn't forget that if I tried."

The two of them laughed a bit at that.  Knowing the same funny little man will do that to you.  It wasn't especially important, or like they were somehow magically on the same page, but it created a little familiarity there.

Keona followed suit silently, keeping her eyes on the two for the time being. Ira was still tense in her arms, glaring at the beast ahead as if waiting to sound the alarm once a threatening movement was detected. Of course there was nothing to worry about, but being the protector of Keona, he had his cautiousness. The woman's gaze slowly drifted out into the open desert as stands and small buildings started to thin out. She was worried, or simply paranoid at the fact that the beasts seemed to have been manifesting faster than ever now that the talisman was gone.

They were regaining their strength... and whoever is manifesting these is getting better at it. That is, if someone was manifesting these monstrosities... She had finished the fruit in her hand and burned the core to dust, as to reduce the amount of waste as it disintegrated in the wind. Her gaze then returned forward, but not without catching a glimpse of what she thought was something kicking up the sand from afar. A double-take, and there was nothing there. Of course her paranoia must be tricking her eyes, or the dryness of the area might be getting to her. One of the two.

As the others were conversing, she quietly lostened for the time being, trying to push her thoughts from her head and trying to make sense of this new system.

The funny thing about Kaadir was that they were somewhat intelligent, maybe even as much as Ira was.  They had awareness about them, and were more use to the ways of the desert than anyone here.  So, at the time of Keona seeing that something might've kicked up some sand, the right eye of the Kaadir also caught that movement, turning its head slightly to focus on it.  It paused, briefly, which caught the attention of the caravan.

"Something caught its eye.  What do you see up there?"

They had a man on the cart with a looking glass to keep watch on their surroundings, since the Kaadir barely needed a driver.  He looked where the reptile had looked, but he'd missed it, if it were ever there at all, and shook his head with an emphatic shrug.

"This happen often?"

"The Kaadir knows the difference between wind-whipped sand and something moving it.  If it looks, we watch.  Caught a fair few bandits that way.  A truly blessed beast in our land."

"Yeah...  Good thing we decided to tag along..."

And he almost meant it, too.  A shame it was probably one of those snakes...

"I've read about sand wyrms back on Yoreiq. Could've been one of those, right? Or... do they even live here?" Keona asked, a slight bit of uneasiness making its way out along with her tone as she closed the distance between her and Travis. Ira squirmed in her arms and managed to climb onto her shoulder, worried that the wyrm might bite his tail if he was any lower. The woman's wings twitched, as if feeling the same.

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the paranoia that infused her mind. "Mh... let's just keep going. We have magic... there's no way anything would want to tangle with us... right?" She chuckled nervously, rubbing her arm. Her feathers let of a black dust as her paranoia caused a rise in her temperature. The material was burning away into black ash, only to regenerate rather quickly. This was only an effect of anxiety, and will soon pass once her mind was taken off it. Strangely enough, Ira was immune to her heat, able to stand on his paws while she only grew hotter by the second.

"Indeed, the sands are at time populated with them.  It could have been worm sign, and nothing more."

But the caravan must flow.  So, like the girl said, they should move on.  It does not do well to tarry in a situation like this.  The caravan urged the Kaadir forwards, once more.  The worms did not prefer the harsher ground of the oasis, so if it was them...they would not likely come here unless something really attracted them, something tantalizing.  And even then, they DID have magic.  Why did that not help Keona's anxiety, though?  Even Travis was noticing how her wings were reacting.  He also noticed that...though she must've been putting off alot of heat that...Ira was on her shoulder.

"Say, Keona...  Is the desert heat going to bother Ira?  I never thought to ask."

"It shouldn't.  There's loads of animals out here."

Yeah, this part of Essyrn actually had alot of life to it.

"Hm?" Keona's attention snapped up once again, "Oh, no, I think in a way he was enchanted... because he can also bare the heat of the volcano back home... I mean, I could never ask, so I don't know." She looked at her little companion, patting him on the head. You could've sworn he rolled his eyes, as if he were hiding something but didn't make it obvious.

"Besides... even creatures can have magic of there own." She smiled, shrugging. Boy did she know that was true... the shadows had proven it. They were indeed a mystical force themselves, who knows what else they could do. However, lately is seemed that they were appearing more often as she continued to worry, maybe that feeling calls them to the area? It was best to try and get her mind off of it for now, and try to enjoy the new environment she had entered.

Enchanted tiger?  Well, that was novel.  Granted, Travis had heard of magical creatures before, but that was of the case of the phoenix, the dragon, and so on.  He hadn't heard of ordinary animals being magical, so this was new to him.  Of course, Ira always seemed to have personality, so maybe there was something to that.  The thing of it was...he wondered something.  How long had Keona had Ira, exactly?  She had said that everyone of Yoreiqi had their own special animal.  Most had birds, but not Keona.  This bond with an animal...  There may have been more to it than he initially realized.

So, for now, everything continued normal.  They moved themselves along, gradually towards the actual city of Essyrn, every now and again seeing animals.  A fox, a jackal, elephants at the river's edge, gazelle, lions...  Lions.  The Kaadir stopped as it, and everyone in the caravan, saw a herd of gazelle and what they were pretty sure were a few lionesses in the tall grass.  They'd come across a scene right out of the nature books itself: The herd and the hunt.  Going around would probably be the best move, though waiting for the kill would mean not having to make as wide a berth or having to figure out where the gazelle would stampede to.

Before anyone had the chance to decide, the Kaadir let out a loud snarl, audible to all the animals on the approach.  The gazelle, seeing a large and dangerous reptile, decided to go be somewhere else now.  The lionesses looked up from their now-disrupted hunt, growling back at it.  The Kaadir was a heavy scaley beast, and it knew no feline predator could handle it.  It stomped the ground, growling its own challenge.

"Oh hell!  He wants to charge!  Unhook the cart, quick!"

They could charge like rhinos, and were effective thus back in the days when Essyrn used them in war.  The instinct to stomp an enemy flat - assuming it didn't ram it head-on - was very strong.

Hissing at the sudden movement of the Kaadir, Ira leapt off Keona's wing and ran for the hills. The woman screeched his name before stumbling after him, running faster than she would have back on Yoreiq. THe tiger hid behind a rock scared out of his mind before Keo' came in and snatched him back in her arms. "Quit it Ira! You're not big enough to handle yourself out in the wild yet!" She growled, trying to pull him out of the rocks. The lionesses were distracted by the lizard, and she hoped that would be enough for them not to notice a stray chunk of reasonable prey break off from the shaken group.

The tiger yipped and whined at the fact that he was to be dragged back into the percinity of the wretched beast, fearing that it might turn on them and take a bite out of either him or Keona. The woman growled, not quite managing to get a grip on the little creature as he managed to slip from her arms to bound only further away from the previous point. "Ira! You're being ridiculous!" She yelled louder than she should have at that point, getting quite frustrated at this point between mazes of black stone. If either of them were to fall into the river, that would be a bad time for everyone.

The situation with the Kaadir and the Lionesses was sort of separate from the problem of Ira and Keona.  Travis had been worried that the big reptile was going to actually cause a real problem with the cart and its harness, but they managed to get it unhooked so the big reptile could bring its tusk-laden head to bear and charge.  The lionesses, clearly outmatched, scattered in the face of a large and armor-scaled opponent.  They, like Ira, had good reason to be afraid.

Speaking of which, it took a moment to realize that Keona had not been able to grab the little tiger and keep him out of trouble.  With this fact in mind, he looked over and saw that they were kinda' making their way around bits of rock as they were nearing the river...which was NOT a good thing.  Nevermind the the damn water.  Keona and Ira might not reach it first.  There was a crocodile out there, and they could really move when they saw a meal close enough to the water.

Travis took a running leap and flew overhead, faster than the other two were on the ground, and blocked Ira's path.  More to the point, he grabbed Ira as soon as he landed, and the little tiger could squirm to his heart's content if he liked.  Travis was keeping him from moving any further.  If he did not, the two of them could wander too close to the water, and then the croc would have a clearl lunge.  These rocks were the only reason it wasn't making a move already, because they were a real pain.  The young demon leaned down and spoke to the tiger.

"The Kaadir is protecting you, Ira.  They know friend from foe."

Shufflinf between the stones and scraping herself in multiple places, Keona looked back at the Kaadir, who charged for the larger cats and quite clearly scared them off. There was relief in her heart before she caught the shadow of Travis overhead. Keona dashed for his landing point, nearly crashing into him before looking down at Ira, who was visibly shaken.

"Ira... it's isn't like the lizard back on Yoreiq, you know that thing isn't going to find us here... remember? It's dead." She purred reassuringly, gently plucking the tiger from The demon's arms. "Thanks for catching him, Travy." She smiled and backed off in the direction off the cart, opening her wings and gliding over to avoid further injury of the rocks. Ira squirmed, but Keona held that famous Yoreiq-strong grip over him, making sure he didn't get away with time. It was going to be difficult to travel with him when he was older...

"Don't mention it."

They headed back to the caravan, where the Kaadir was essentially strutting and preening its accomplishment.  The caravanners appeared to be largely mirthful over this behavior.  Perhaps it was something like Ira to them, a thinking pet.  Travis decided to clear up this mystery.

"How smart is he, anyway?"

"Well, they are all rather bright creatures, easily the strongest and smartest of predators.  Something of a double-edged sword in the domesticating process, but it generally works out in the end.  We develop a natural bond to them.  Kaadir that are owned by men understand the simple-but-effective relationship: We take care of them, and they do things for us, even protect us.  They breathe fire too."

"Well, it IS a dragon."

"Certainly knows when fire is welcome and when it's not.  Never had a case of it accidentally burning something down.  I only wish people were more reliable."

"People are complicated."

"I suppose."

They were moving on, by now.  Essyrn proper was looming larger ahead, all the time.

By the sound of distrust for people, the words certainly did strike at her a little, but she pretended not to notice. Keona silently let herself drop behind Travis once they started forward to stop and look back, a feeling of uneasiness finally managing to make itself present over all the wonder and excitement of visiting a place that is new.

'I only wish people were more reliable.' It made her close her eyes for a moment, thinking of her father and how he was never there for her. Yeah. Me too mister. Looking in the direction they were walking, she dashed up and acted like nothing had happened, and studied the men, the Kaadir and even Travis. Was she right to have suspicion over every person she knew and met? Probably not, but love is blinding, and Keona let recollections of lessons with the shamans flood her mind. It's okay to have the feeling, but don't let it bias your attachments. Whatever that meant.

For now however, she would seem absent from the world by the way she looked at the ground, deep in thought. Me too...

Things appeared to pass on the outside of the city without incident.  This was because smarter heads out there among the sands - concealed from sight - had prevaled.  The exchange - too far out to be heard by the caravan - went thus...

"You see?  That creature is the real deal.  He's smart, like you, and he breathes fire.  You know what THAT means, don't you?"

"Hrrkle."

"That's right.  Burning webs.  We can't have that happening, now can we?  Otherwise, people will escape before they ge robbed."

"Rurgrrr..."

"We'll just have to take on the next caravan.  As I understand it, they don't all have these."

Who these two were...was unknown at this time, but one was definitely not human and the other was clearly some sort of thief.  Since they were somewhat at a disadvantage to a bunch of people and their pet dragon, we'll just move on here...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

...to the city of Essyrn! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut-wmZ4Z9oI)  Tall perimeter walls made of granite surrounded it on all sides, with massive gates open wide, as if to say 'We welcome all here...and your money'.  Let's be honest, Essyrn was a place of commerce, fortunes won and fortunes lost.  Beyond these walls were a series of buildings made of stone, dried mud blocks, and wood.  Veils of many colors adorned and shaded shops and such-like.  People were all over the place, either buying or selling or just trying to get somewhere else in the city.  Essyrn was a big place, a sprawl if ever you saw one.  Past all of the places of business and the residence, all the different buildings of legitimate and...sometimes illegitimate expertise...there was another large wall, which surrounded the palace of the Shah of Essyrn.  As of right now, this was officially the biggest place Keona would have ever seen.

It was not a perfect place, but it was picturesque, in its own way.  The marketplaces ahead were extensive, with taverns and inns seeded throughout.  There were seedy outlets and there were running children, playing out in the sun.  Curiously, there was no delay in people getting out of the Kaadir's way as it pulled things along.  This caravan was among one of the more successful, their creature something of a status symbol, the way people seemed to love it.  Of course, now...because people were looking their way...you have a load of Essyrni eyeing the two winged people here, wondering what they were about.  Slaves would be marked or collared, so they weren't that.  Given the fact that the head caravaner paid Travis for his time, though, it would seem they'd figure they were just some unusual foreigners.

Ira seemed distracted, looking off in a random direction as they arrived, sensing a sort of danger. However, the woman who held a firm grasp on him didn't detect his wariness and instead was taken away by the city that approached. The edges of the city waved in the heat, causing mirages and sun spots to fool with her vision. The area had an oriental (https://youtu.be/HRpn8oSSEPw) feel to it as you would enter. Perhaps it was just the area that made it feel that way, or perhaps it was the people.

Keona visibly shrank as the desert disappeared behind them, and soon were surrounded by miles of roads and buildings and people and lizards. Though it may not seem like it, she felt welcomed by the insulated heat of the city, the way the sun hit the stone and warmed the sand. It was her idea of heaven.

"It's so... beautiful here... I don't think I can think of anything else that could be more so..." She murmured to Travis, not taking her wondrous eyes off  every new thing that came into sight. Ira however, was startled by how many Kaadir were here, and froze. He could have sworn that his hard had stopped until he checked for a sign of life within. All good. There was no way he was going to die by fear.

By the time Keona's awe had worn off enough for her to speak, Travis has parted company with the caravan after receiving payment.  He went back to her as she was speaking and smiled.  Yes, this city was really something.  The sheer everything of it could be pretty overwhelming, at times.  You kinda' had to take it in with your head lowered just a bit so you focus more on your surroundings.  Plenty of random kids roaming around, anyway.  Don't wanna bump into them, for reasons of their safety and your possessions, if any are easily removable.

"How would ya like to start, then?  Shall we look around and see if anyone has seen a scarred foreigner, make a few inquiries?  Or should be just ask the city guard?  I'm sure they'd remember someone like him if they ever saw him."

Keona's father would kind of stick out around here, and that's even after including the effects of tourism.  He was a fairly-unusual man, in the same sense that Keona stuck out for being a lighter-toned Yoreiqi.  If anybody had seen him in this town, they would probably remember him.

"I guess? I mean, if he really was Serendipitian then there's a good chance he'd be a rare visitor here..." She stated, shrugging. Keona stopped as a child ran around her feet then dashed off with their friend, playing tag in a busy environment.

She started looking for any authoritative figure on the street, basically someone who looked strong and tense, at the ready for danger. Since the entire village back home was the authority, she didn't know exactly what a guard would look like.

A hot desert wind tore through the buildings, kicking dust and grains up into the people's eyes, but from the looks of it it looked normal to the others. Keona snorted as some went up her nose and into her eyes, and she flinched before bringing a wing up to shield herself.

There were alot of people here at the market district.  And while Travis had the sudden case of hot grit in his mouth that he needed to turn aside and spit out, Keona would find that the throngs of people around here seemed like a continuous shifting mass.  It was after some wandering that they would indeed see a patrol guard of Essyrn, walking the area.  You see, there was every possibility that people might take something off of a vendor real quick-like, the most-ancient form of shoplifting.  They had to watch for that, because the law was rather strict around here...

Now, the guard in question was technically dressed as other people were - in that his clothing was loose-fitting and could breathe in the hot sun, so that he would not overheat - but his attire was more...official-looking, like a real uniform.  He was a proper Essyrni, of course, with tanned skin and dark hair and all that.  He had a smattering of stubble and brown eyes, looking stern-but-bored at this time.  The most importand part about this man was that he was well-armed.  His belt held a large-and-thick scimitar and a smaller kukri.  He also had a length of rope with a hook on the end and three throwing daggers.  By the looks of it, he spent his downtime practicing with them and may have been so bored because he could not do that in a crowd.

"Well, that's a guard, alright.  Shall we bother him or wait for someone even more surly-looking?"

This, Travis spoke in a jest, but there were possibilities of this being true, as well.

Shrinking back to attempt to hide herself behind Travis's wing, Keona studied the well-looking man. He looked to be perfect for a guard, something that didn't exactly catch her off guard. To a woman, he'd be extremely attractive, something that made her feel very guilty. "The more people we ask the better," Keo sounded slightly eager, but then again it could just be the excitement of being in a new place.

Ira was doing it again. Paying attention to something that would be hard to notice for the others. He had a bad feeling, but it wasn't exactly like the one where a shadow would appear out of no where, no he was prepared for those. Keona was oblivious as she stepped out to stand prim beside Travis upon approaching the guard, however, she would let Travis speak to him, since he was better with words.

And so, he did.  Since Keona was alright with it, this man would be the next contestent on The Price Is Right their first inquiry on the matter.  As he approached the man, he gave them both a look, and then went 'Hmph' and muttered something.  At a guess, it was a grumble about foreigners.  Never-you-mind.  Travis was undaunted in this affair.  Hell, he was smiling, which was either good OR bad.  You decide.

"Hey there!  You look like a man who knows his way around the country.  Can I ask you for some info?"

"Sure, you can ask.  I can't promise an answer."

"Something wrong, fella?"

"No no, just too busy being bored out of my mind, watching for out for probably thieves.  I always pull tourist duty..."

"Wouldn't that be alot of you guys, though?  This place thrives on tourists."

"It thrives on traders and businessmen, not you.  Now, what do you want?"

Maintaining a positive attitude around this guy was going to be hard.  Travis asked about a pale and light-haired scarred man and the guard told him that if he had any longer than a few days ago, he's forgotten already.

"There's too many of you people, walking in and out of our city like you own the place.  Asking me, a guard of the city, while I'm on duty...  Go find a patrol house and leave me alone!"

Okay, clearly this guy was the surlier one...

She tilted her head at the tone the man took with them, and she frowned. Typical, always ill tempered men.

"Hmph." Keona snorted softly, turning to Travis, "Maybe it's best to find someone who looks cheerful." She spoke softly so that the guard didn't hear her.

Ira seemed to look normal again as the smell of food reached his nose before anyone else's. He pushed his way out of Keona's arms, bounding for the smell with his tail held high. Boy was he hungry, he didn't even have breakfast!

The woman was confused for a moment before groaning and following him, being careful not to knock over any children, carts or stands with her wings. In this environment it was probably better to fly over the buildings.

A cheerful guard might be a tall order.  They didn't exactly hire and train nice guys to do that sort of job.  Well, Travis could manage, but then he had the darkness within him beforehand, and the resolve to enjoy the life he had, afterward.  Now...once Ira had once more escaped from the grasp of Keona, again we have a chase.  Naturally, the little tiger was going after the nearest source of cooked meat, the smell as enticing as could be.

Keona did not topple over children or mess up any carts, but there were a few people that her hurry had caused her to bump into.  It got them rather irritated, doubly so as Travis himself followed through, a bit more nimble than the girl preceding him.  The problem here: Keona would arrive to find a man panicking that his meats were under attack by a small tiger.  And as for the people that the girl had bumped into...well...some of them found that their money pouches were missing.  Guess who it was they immediately suspected.

Soon enough, Keona spotted the young tiger and bolted for him, grabbing him and trying to pull him from the pounds of meat. Ira was persisten, and managed to tear off a small piece and disconnect from the rest. The momentum sent Keona back on her rear, the sand scraping at her skin, "Ira! You know better than to run off like that!" She hissed, lightly whacking him on the head before standing up and quickly apologizing to the man. He didn't seem fully upset, more or less frustrated at the fact that a good chunk was spoiled, then ended up giving it to the tiger.

Turning around after paying attention to the animal, only to bump into the chest of a guard. Suspicion was clear in their eyes, but Kona's were simply confused.

"You better keep that fleabag of yours under control." One said, glaring down at the furball who happily munched away at the chunk of meat. It would be adorable, unless you were trained to be a stone cold macho man. The woman said nothing, unsure of what to say at all.

"Dumb beast, eating my freshly-prepared meat!"

"Guard!  That woman took my money!"

"And mine!"

"Mine too!"

It never rains, but pours.  Of course, it didn't rain in Essyrn at all, but still...this wasn't good.  What'd happened...was that an enterprising thief had seen an opportunity and taken it, light-fingering their money directly after she collided with them.  He was long gone, already.  Keona was seen as the culprit...for the moment.

"Uhh...I hate to break it to you people, but she doesn't exactly look like she could ever conceal your money pouches."

The guard grimaced at this, then said...

"A fair point.  Perhaps we should search you for their money."

"I guarantee that I don't have it either.  We're not a daring pair of thieves.  We're a pair of travelers looking for a pale scarred man."

"In Essyrn?  Hah!  I think you just passed the money onto somebody else, after you took it from her."

"How about...somebody else did it, in the first place?  She was just chasing her pet and I was chasing her."

"Possibly, but I'm not eliminating you as suspects just yet.  You just watch yourselves in our country, and remember you are all subjects under the Shah's rule here, even as foreigners."

"I'm aware of that."

About here was where the merchant shouted about his meat again, which of course Ira had gobbled up.  The guard thumbed at the merchant's stall.

"Pay the man."

Travis did so, and then got some extra beef so their wily little tiger didn't go off and do this again.

Keona glared at the ill-tempered people here subtly from behind her pet, growing sour by the second before stepping over to the winged man.

"I've pretty much just had enough of these people already... they're too grouchy." She whispered softly, concealing the fact that her mouth was moving by holding Ira up a little. Probably it was the hundreds of years being stuck in the sun that got to them? Unlikely, she loved the sun! It was bright and warm, just like her, or so most would think at least. Maybe they had sand between their toes, or in places they didn't even know they had! I know I sure do... Keona groaned softly in response to her own thought, still looking around for any prying eyes.

The only 'riches' Keona would have had on her was gold laced clothing, and probably little Ira. But that was it. No one would try to steal clothing from someone, would they? The thought made her bring her wings in closer, shrinking herself from the cruel reality of life.

Maybe it would have been best to stay on Yoreiq?

To be honest, Travis wasn't liking the reception much either.

"Agreed, we shouldn't stay too long if this is how we're being treated.  Many of the people here are money-obsessed, though."

That, and the 'no women equality' thing.  That could be very irritating.  Well, there was one person that Travis knew of who cared more about being a decent shopkeeper than anything else in the world, which meant treating customers fairly, all the time.  The young demon poked a guy in the shoulder and said one word to him, by way of question, and got pointed in a direction.

"C'mon.  Better treatment is this way."

He led her to a quaint little shop that was just slightly off the main market area, close but out of the way, in its own respect, to give a little breathing room and allow a person to actually see it for what it was.  The sign out front was in Essyrni, but everyone - even foreigners would know what it said, for as you walk in, there would be a funny sort of man with a furry hat clapping his hands together and saying...

"Welcome!  Welcome to Akbar Emporium, where the item you seek is closer than you think!"

The walls, the shelves, and the counter all had different stuff on it, varying trinkets and goods.  And there was indication of more in back.  This Essyrni man was the Akbar, in question.  He might know things, or he might know someone who knows things.  Either way, this was a far cry of a better reception than outside.

Keeping her eyes to herself, Keona simply watched Ira chow down on his piece of raw beef. It almost made her hungry. Almost. She didn't know where Travis was taking her until they came to a less densely populated area of the city.

The excitement had long been lost to her upon arriving in this unfair city, and it certainly did not return now. The sudden man that popped up caused both her and the animal to squeak in surprise, only to relax upon realizing that he wasn't a threat. Keona looked at Travis with a bit of 'really?' glinting in her eyes.

"Er... hello." She said softly, managing a wave at the squirming tiger. She glanced around at the odd trinkets and souvenirs, finding both fascination and strange uncomfortableness.

And she would get a 'Yeah, really' look in return.  Akbar was bizarre, but-

"Many greetings, Yoreigi warrior."

He gave her an emphatic bow.  Akbar...got around.  He knew things.  He was...different among Essyrni, total respect for everyone...so long as you didn't mind being considered a potential customer and boon to his business at all times.  Also, he was not in the business of slave-trade.  Really, his lack of surprise for Keona's appearance was a surprise to Travis.

"Uhh, Akbar..."

"Yes?"

"We met before...couple years ago-"

"Yes, Akbar does not forget a face.  But...ah...not so good on names.  Many customers.  You are...?"

"Travis."

"Ahh...  What can Akbar be doing for you at this time?  Sauves for your wounds?  Water for provisions?  Spell components?  Aromatic Grass?"

Yes...about that.  While Travis was trying to tell him that what he was after, for the moment, was information...a curious aroma would gently waft into the nostrils of the little tiger.  An enticing , you could say.  Or, to put it another way, Akbar had a bunch of catnip hanging up on the wall.  Meanwhile, Travis had managed to get a word in, edge-wise.

"Information?  Certainly!  What do you wish to know?"

"Well, we're looking for someone."

He gave him a description of the man and Akbar thought about it.

"Would you wait while Akbar looks at records, in back?"

While the two were talking, Ira had finished his slab of meat before something new caught his attention entirely. His squirming told Keona to let him go, and she obliged. The tiger padded around, trying to catch the trail of the scent before bounding off. Keona was tired of chasing him, and since she didn't hear him breaking anything he assumed he was being careful.

When Akbar would go look in the records, he would find a name that would stand out from the rest. It was Serenian, clearly.

Eius Xavar.

While they waited, Ira would the source, and carefully made his way around as to not knock anything over. He jumped up and clawed at a good portion before it fell silently to the wood and cobble, making him very giddy before nibbling on it.

Eius Xavar was a man that only elders typically knew, but if he was in the books, that means he had just returned from over seven years of visiting another realm. that would be the Serenian way of putting it. But why would he be here of all places? Keona waited patiently for the man to return, fingering at some small trinkets and looking generally interested in some things.

Well, the truth of the matter was that Akbar wasn't expecting to find the name in the records he kept in Essyrn, but somewhere more abroad, like actually in Serendipity, where he had another shop.  That was the thing about Akbar that made people remember him.  They could swear that they'd seen him before...because they probably had.  Of course, most people were unaware of it, but the funny little man was everywhere.  In a number of shops, at least.  Special power of his.  Nevermind.

He had the record, surprisingly, though he could not be sure that it was spelt right.  You see, he didn't ask people to record their names.  He recorded unusual people or names on his own, and it was just lucky chance that he got the guy's actual name.  He was apparently important to Serendipity for...some reason, but he did not know why.  A shopkeeper does not ask these things if they don't come up in conversation.  Akbar returned to the front now, not yet aware of the thing that Ira was doing.

"Eius Xavar."

"Eius Xavar?"

He nodded twice.

"Eius Xavar."

"Okay...who is he?"

"Akbar does not know.  Am thinking it is a Serenian name, and that he was importat, somehow, but the reason was never said."

"What'd he buy?"

"Water.  Not for him.  Akbar is thinking if there was another thing."

"You do that."

He turned to Keona now.

"Well, we have a name...and a direction.  He's Sererian."

Keona had taken on a rare face of concentration. She was thinking, why would he be here just for water? Why was he here in the first place?

But the fact that the name was Serenian confirmed it was him no doubt. "That proves it then, regardless of what we do we have to find a way over those mountains. At this point I'm willing to fly myself... Where's Ira gone...?" She whispered the last bit to herself, turning around to walk off and look for him.

The tiger was rolling around playfully, finishing the last bit of nip before stretching across his back and purring in content. Soon enough he was found by Keona who looked confused as hell as to why he was acting like this. She picked him up, Ira feeling like he was melting in her arms. "What did you eat now...?"

It might have been just water.  Akbar couldn't exactly recall.  He had to disappear into the back of his shop again for a moment, anyway, as the two of them conferred about their situation.  Yes, it was clear what they had to do now.  Damn, if only they'd been able to stay on the boat...  Then again, it wasn't exactly all that pleasant, there.  Keona made mention of flying there herself before trailing off about the tiger.  Travis responded to that while she looked around.

"Let's not resort to that 'till it's our last resort.  It does mean crossing the desert, the glass desert, Adela, and some mountains."

Aaand that was when they found Ira lying there....massively content wih a funny-smelling plant.  Akbar soon returned from the back and saw the situation for what it was.

"Oh!  Your cat has melted!  Is it the heat?"

Okay, maybe not.  Travis held up the remains of the sadly-abused plant that Ira had bee chewing on.

"I think you'll find that this is the culprit.  What is it?"

"Ah, yes...  That is the Aromatic Grass which I was referring to before.  Animals seem to like it, especially when it is of the feline persuasion."

"How long, exactly, is he gonna be like this?"

Akbar just shrugged.  He didn't know.

"Looks like he only managed to eat a small amount. Hopefully it doesn't last long." Keona said as she flung the feline over her shoulder. He hung there, still purring in centent at the warmth the woman provided.

"So what now?" She asked Travis, glancing at Akbar for a second. The demon knew his way around, and knew quite a few, even if it only was this odd man. "And Travis, dear, I've island hopped before, I know for sure I'll be able to make it to the mountains at least. I hope." She added. So long as I don't drop dead before then....

Why the little tiger craved felt comfortable with warmth now of all times, we may never know.  Wasn't important, though.  He would recover...eventually...and they would be going on their way.  Of course, Travis was given a reminder that Keona was a practiced island-hopper - which was true, cause he'd been there - and that long distances shouldn't be a problem.  Possibly not, though the altitude of mountains and islands usually differed unless it was a huge island with a tall mountain.  Then again, when you consider that Keona's job was likely to climb a fricking volcano and commune with it, she probably had a point.

"Well, we go north...ish.  If you want to fly, we can stop to see the glass desert like you wanted to.  I guess, depending on how long it takes or how tired you are, we can rest in Adela and see about getting a Dragonrider to drop us off in Seren territory.  The only question is...when do you want to start?"

"And what will you be wanting to buy?"

"And what will you be wanting to- Huh?"

Akbar shrugged.

"Is still a business to be run here."

"Anytime. I guess. The faster we get away from this place the better. I wanna see some combat dragons up close. Besides. I'm sick of the attitude that hovers in the air here." It genuinely pissed her off, how ill-tempered the people here were. It was one of the first negative feelings she had felt in a long time.

"Well... we can't buy water, unless you need any." She looked at Travis, twirling Ira's tail in her fingers patiently.

"Nah, I don't need water."

Even if he were to be thirsty, his body would run without it, giving him the pain of thirst.  He was alright, for now, of course.  so, that just left the matter of their departure...and paying Akbar for the information.  They DID have some coin, after all, and Akbar definitely delivered a service.  So, one transaction later...

"I guess the best thing to do is to either head for the edge of the city to spread our wings or do it while somewhere high up."

Planety of candidate buildings for thatt, though perhaps stepping outside of city limits was the easiest.  He left that one to Keona, though...he wondered if Ira was aware of all this, at all.

"I'm clearly not cut out for city life. I'd like to leave Essyrn, please." Keona said, nodding slightly gently running a warm hand over the fur of the melting creature as he seemed to have fallen asleep.

Stupid little tiger, but who could blame him? Usually his cuteness made up for his stupidity, but he had proven multiple times that he was rather intelligent.

"Thank you, Akbar, we appreciate your help greatly." THe woman smiled, wings twitching at the thought of flying once again. Glass was something she definitely wanted to see, since it was a rare element back on the island. Only small trinkets and oil lamps were ever really pieces of proof that it existed, but they didn't really know how to make it. Unless it was Keona, who always managed to accidentally melt sand on the beaches with her feet.

"Alright, then.  Let's go."

Akbar gave Keona a bow of thanks as Travis opened the door to leave.  As soon as he did, though, he tripped over something and fell face-first into the ground with a heavy impact.

"I swear, if I hear a cat meow at me..."

It WAS A little like that cat from before, but he'd actually been impacted higher because he'd simply failed to navigate a shorter person walking in.  Namely, it was a four-foot goblin in dark clothes and a mask who muttered an apology as he walked into the shop to talk business with Akbar.  Travis got up and shook his head.

"If he'd been crouching a little more, I'd've been hurting pretty bad there, for a moment."

Yes, that would've been painful to watch AND experience.

Keona wasn't paying full attention before Travis made a noise and the nest thing she knew he was on the ground. She stifled a laugh and bent down to help him up, "You okay anyways?"

The breeze was calling them, and the blue sky was welcoming them, directing them out into the beyond. Once Travis would stand, she'd help in brushing off his clothing before looking around warily.

Whatever bad sense that Ira had had now moved onto her, since the little tiger no longer had the responsibility or even ability to sense it as of now. The feeling simply made her grip onto her companion tighter, and raise her wings to create a short shielding just so the only precious thing would be difficult to grab.

They got up and Travis nodded, saying he was fine.  It'd just been an unexpected impact.  From now on, he was gonna watch it when he exited doors.  Still, as a breeze picked up, Keona reacted as though there were something about it that wasn't right, because she was shielding him, for the moment.  He looked around to see if anything was actually going on, but all there was right now he saw only the general flow of people on the streets and heard only the sounds of the marketplace.  He turned to Keona and smiled at her.

"Come on, let's get out of the city and take off."

Even if something were about to happen, it wasn't like they owed anybody here anything, right?  Travis would head back for the city gates, back the way they came.

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Meawhile, inside the shop, the goblin smirked, the pouch of...admittedly not too many coins...resting in his pocket.  Some people were easier than others.

"Yes, let's." Following the demon, the exoctic woman made sure Ira was secure on her shoulders. Her instinct would have been to immediately take flight and abandon this place for good.

"The thought of stretching my wings again sounds amazing." She pressed emphasis on the word, as if something else caught her attention. Her wings fluttered elegantly for a moment, black feathers glistening in the sun as the edges began to burn, leaving tiny smoke trails.

Her gold eyes still held a weary glint, even if she seemed to pull off being excited pretty well, she kept her senses sharp for thieves and enemies. Mainly shadows.

Watching her spread her wings out was an elegant sight to behold.  Even if you thought of her as a foreigner in the land, you couldn't help but feel a bit of awe for someone like that.  Then, of course, you'd wonder what was with the tiger, though that is unimportant.  Travis certainly felt in the moment, seeing her mood improve.  Well, since nothing was coming out to attack them now and they had already been unknowingly robbed, Travis spread his wings and took off in a northerly direction, circling up high to wait for Keona to catch up before forging ahead.  It was hot and sunny up here, but the two of them were uniquely-suited to handle it.

Stretching them out to their fullest length, Keona pumped her wings to lift her into the air. THe mass was great for silent flight, speed however was another story. Fastening the tiger, she took a glance to see if she had left anything behind, relieved that she hadn't. A form of content washed over her knowing that they were presumably safe up here and out of reach.

Beginning forward after the man, she watched their silhouettes below pass over sand and paths, occasionally stone. They were headed to Adela. Adela, the land of dragon riders. Dragons looked different every where you went, and these ones sounded quite unique.

"It's so much calmer up here..." She stated, doing a quick roll in the air, leaving a twist in the smoke trail she left behind.

Many years before the act was made a regular occurrance, Keona had invented the aerial stunt show.  Her flight gave rise to the tradition of the perfectly-controlled flight, outlined by the use of smoke trails.  Sadly, this incredible invention would be lost for centuries, as nobody would realize that she had done so naturally by the curious burning effect of her feathers.  Travis, for one, found this an awesome sight, plus the fact that she had done this while having somehow strapped Ira to her back, inadvertantly placing Garfield suction dolls clinging to car windows in the human race-memory.  All this was neither here nor there, as they came to fly over the sands of the desert proper.  It was just interesting and funny.

"Nothing for miles, except for one helluva view."

Two, if you count the landscape.  Heh.

"I find the barreness of this land quite tranquil. Not even many animals disturb the sand." Keona looked to her left to see a pod of sand-snakes leaping out of the sand, falling back into the loose particles to continue their disappearing tunnels. "Spoke too soon." She shrugged. Their ebony and standstone tails ended the short show, and soon she had forgotten about them once they never returned.

Gliding on the heat currents, Keona let the windwhistle through her charcoal feathers, diminishing the smoke she left behind. The shadows they casted revealed two different species entirely. Demon and Angel. Or rather that's what some would think. Others may see beasts, or mystic beings. Demigods, lords... Keona just liked the thought of two travellers, simply looking to have a happy life.

He was about to agree with the unspoiled beauty of the desert thing when...  Wait, there are sand snakes?  Cool!  Okay, Travis was watching that for a moment.  They were just sort of wary of those passing over head...  Hang on, that's a bad idea.  If there was a predator, they'd be leaping right into...oh.  Eh heh...  Unless, of course, the snakes were so dangerous that they brought down airborne predators by leaping at them in a dive and killing them...  That could be a thing.

The outlines they were making in the sand was not lost on Travis, but uhhh...the flap of his coat honestly made him look a little weird down there.  He'd noticed that before in his life, but it was in flying with a companion that he thought it a bit weird.  There wasn't another outline in the sky, which told him that maybe there weren't so many birds in the first place.  Uhhh...and then he looked down and saw a large section of sand shift.  He thought he saw the trunk of whatever it was there, for a second.  It was big.

"Let's uhh...not land until we hit glass, okay?  Just in case."

"Gotcha." She nodded, also looking quite weary-illed. The day was already beginning to end as the sun neared its three quarter mark, sinking down down down to the mountains at a pace she could not keep up with.

Her skin had dried once again, the last droplet of oil evaporating. The water had taken a toll on her, and she could feel less-powerful than before the boat ride. Perhaps it was a sign that she should never do that again. Making sure Ira was snugly tucked against her, it seemed as though he was beginning to fall out of the trance he was in from the catnip. His weight was starting to irk her a little, knowing that her wings were going to need a good massage after this trip. That is, if she doesn't die before their destination.

Yes, even Travis could note the fact that the tiger was beginning to stir, as he looked less like a throw-rug and more like an animal at rest again.  The sun was beginning to set, though, and with it would go the ambient heat and a great deal of Keona's strength.  Not that she was expected to need much for the act of gliding, say, but wind buffets you and air currents were naturally a thing.  Only so much could be tolerated before fatigue got to you.

Fortunately, even as the sun peeked lower, they could definitely see it coming: The Seraj Isa, or Glass Desert.  It was a strange place, overall.  A holy place to the Essyrni, because they had no idea how it came to be.  Travis laid bets on 'extreme heat', but that was sort of given.  This place had all sorts of weird formations and shapes in the glass, some thick and some thin.  They could land now, as long as they hit a smooth part to it.  It was still warm from the day's heat, for now.

With eyes sparkling like jewels and heart pounding like a herd of cattle, Keona did not hesitate to dive down at a quickening speed, only to spread her wings before collision to land on her feet. Almost immediately the warm glass welcomed her and she sat down, taking the tiger from around her neck and letting her wings sprawl out. Talk about a fallen angel am I right? Anyways. The tiger yawned, still quite groggy and began to groom himself, clearly slightly irritated by the unnaturally smooth feel of the glass beneath his paws.

"The Glass Desert..." The glass of course was not clean, more musky, more like black ice (or so she would assume what black ice would look like). But the twisted shapes gave for some odd distortions in light, as well as colours, lots and lots of colours, "It's much more beautiful than I could ever imagine... Name something that's more pleasant to the eye, I dare you." She turned to Travis, then back to the scenery before her.

Oh yes, this place was a very strange sight.  When light of any sort hit it, there were certainly some unusual effects, curious sights to behold.  It was awe-inspiring and it was creepy, at times.  It depends on who you are and what you're doing, one supposes.  Travis landed and took a look around here.  Parts were jagged more in the distance, but everything here was smooth and flowing, practically liquid captured in still life.  As Keona took a rest upon the glass of this place and Travis stood nearby, she spoke her admiration for it and then just dared him to find something more pleasant.

Well, give a man a challenge...

"A dark-haired woman with elegant black wings set amongst that splendor?"

He smirked at her, eyes alive with amusement at calling her on it.

The wind whistled through the odd shapes before them, blowing sand at their backs. It took a moment to process what Travis had said, ans she smiled back at him, "I guess your point of view is much nicer than mine, huh?" Then looked back down at Ira who was pawing at an orb that reflected off her clothing. She giggled softly, petting the little animal's head as she repositioned herself to move the orb.

An ocean of glass, where you can see to the bottom while walking one top. Truly an amazing sight to see, that is, if your body didn't begin burning it. The bits of bare skin that lie on the material would proceed to leave tar black scorch marks as her heart rate began to die down, and she quickly stood again, gathering her wings.

"Oh yeah, I get all the nice views."

So did she, technically.  She had that exotic appearance that would most definitely have her viewed by many.  You can't underestimate the power of that black-winged tattooed angel playing with her little pet tiger.  Yes, Ira's facination with the light was funny, in of itself, but he was put alongside such a contender as Keona...  Well, you get the idea.  She stood up now, because apparently her power may've been scorching the glass.

"I'm afraid the glass won't exactly be comfortable if we rest here.  Well, maybe if we find a spot that's nice and curved like a luxury seat."

Completely unaware of his gaze for the moment, she brushed herself off and inspected her feathers. No more were they burning and crumbling, for now they seemed like normal feathers you'd find on a simple bird.

Ira down below was confused as he sat down, looking for the little dot of light until he finally looked disappointed that it was gone. He padded over and rubbed himself against her leg. With a smile, Keona picked him up and hugged him, issing the top of his head.

"Wouldn't resting here, out in the open be dangerous enough?" She asked Travis. The only way they'd be safe is if they could find a dome of glass they could sit in. Bah, what a funny thought. But her weariness was getting the best of her at the moment.

He looked around, trying to pick out any movement and...not finding any yet.  He'd always heard about this place, but practical knowledge about it was somewhat limited, sadly.

"Well, I don't know.  Nobody knows if there's anything alive out here.  For all we know, it could be entirely empty, or there could be something around and we wouldn't even know it."

Neither one of them was talking about the obvious possibility that they might be due for a shadow creature, as well.  They didn't have to.  At any rate, a dome could be easily smashed by one of those beasts, right?  There were...some gullies around, though.

"Heh.  If we were out of sight, at least, would that help?"

"Then how about atop that pillar over there? There's room... maybe, for the two of us." It was obvious from her it would be a tight fit. But at least it was out of harms way from land dwellers... hopefully. She tilted her head, ignoring the fact that Ira nipped at her chin and pawed her neck, looking around every so often to check on their surroundings.

"I mean... it's not like we're staying there the night... or are we?" Keona looked back at Travis, eyes unreadable but clear curiousity in her tone. If it was too small a space, they would either find another place or make do..

Hmm?  The pillar?  Yes, that pillar was quite the formation, wasn't it?  It looked like...if a smallish mesa had been created by a splash.  It was just as characteristically strange as the rest of this place...and possibly suited to the task.  That might work.  Travis scratched his chin, then turned to Keona.

"That could work out, yeah.  Though...how long really depends on you.  Once this place cools down, you might want to sleep.  Let's check it out, at the very least."

He had a point there.  This place might stay heated a while, but once the area got chilly, Keona probably wouldn't want to be very active.  At any rate, he spread his wings to fly up there.  It...could work, yes.  At least, it was out of arm's reach of most things.  He hadn't seen ANY birds, so no worries there, either.

It took a moment for the woman to follow, following him up onto the crystal-like material. It was slightly bigger than she had anticipated, and by the looks of it this height would probably make for a killer view of the sunset once it arrived.

It was sturdy, clean, and peaceful up here, but the breeze would be a problem later on, "It's fine for now. As long as I feel safer up here." She said softly, standing on the edge and staring out into the desert. "So what now?" Her voice drifted along with the breeze, almost carrying it away.

So, at the very least, it would serve their purposes.  Landing, they would have a commanding view, 360 degrees of glassy splendor to take in.  They could probably see for miles here, perhaps the only edge to it all that was visible would be the way they came, leading to the desert.  All the rest was glass, and in so many states.  Still, while they felt safe up here, the question was what to do now.  Travis put a hand on her shoulder as he was next to her, looking at her and then the expanse down below.

"I think we have our break and take it all in.  I mean, look at this place, those shapes and slopes...  How did it all happen?  I mean, I guess it'a about heat, but what did it?"

Weird formations, all over the place, with some breaks and breaches, here and there.  Travis also noticed a kind of weird crater that seemed to concentrate alot of light and heat focus.  There were warning signs all around it.  It must've been dangerous somehow, but he couldn't read it from this distance.  Maybe something to look at later...but not too closely.

"Volcanos?" Keona suggested, "Could've been an open one... that or a firestorm of a sort, many years ago." She pondered on that for a moment, if she could summon fire hot enough to melt the glass then she may be able to cause the same effect.

FOr now she stayed silent, sitting down with her legs dangling over the edge. Ira clasped to her thighs, not wanting to fall off. He tried desperately not to look down until Keona scooted back. He slithered off and curled up behind her, right in the middle the disc that kept them at this height.

IT would have to be some kind of major event to be on such a grand scale.  That much, they could agree on, without question.  And since Keona was pretty much a fire and volcano expert, there wasn't much doubt that her guess was better than his own.  After she sat herself down, Travis took a seat nearby and...had sort of a playfully fun idea.  He uhh..conjured up some shadowsteel in the form of an orb about the size of a fist.  Then...he let it roll on down, and it would go careening off in some random direction, dependent upon where it landed!

"Of course, any Essyrni watching me do this will be incurably pissed, but...eh.  Let 'em."

"What are you doing?" She asked, turning her torso to attempt to face his direction. That ball would probably shatter something, but then again no one was around to see it.

It rolled and bounced, going quite a bit aways from the two as the momentum would not diminish. Keona watched it go, farther and farther until it stopped abruptly, bouncing off a structure of glass that was thick enough to not completely shatter. She stayed silent after this, tilting her head a little.

Years before even the idea of pinball were ever to be conceived, Travis had done this.  He waited for it to stop rolling around before actually answering Keona's question.

"I just wanted to see what would happen, really.  Here I am, able to conjure things out of mid-air.  People roll things down hills all the time.  I figured that now was a prime opportunity."

So, in short, it was all in good fun.  Seriously, though, don't tell anyone from Essyrn that he did that.    I mean, he didn't actually break much of anything.  It just rolled and thudded along the thick glass and only damaged any sensitive parts.  No real harm done.  Travis smiled at her.

"You've had times where you thought you had to do something because you might not have the chance later, right?"

Listening to his words, she looked down for a moment, opening her palms to reveal a flicker of enchanting flame, "I could never really do much back on the islands. Not unless I was at the volcano." She recalled the time she had fallen into the bubbling mountain, feeling nothing but the comforting warmth of the Earth. To get out all she had to do was use her fire.

"And the chances have passed, unfortunately..." She mumbled the last bit, recalling to their time on the ship, " Either way, first time for everything, right?" The woman smiled, playfully nudging the man beside her before looking off into the sky.

The blue mass began to shift into warm oranges, making her feathers quiver for a moment. The third quarter of the sky had been left, and the sun had just touched the tallest mountain's peak. "No return." She whispered softly.

Keona had spent alot of time around that volcano, right?  Did she never drops stones off the edge, just for the heck of it?  It's not like anyone would really have bothered her, considering her responsibilities, right?  He simply nodded and said "Yeah..." when she mentioned first times.  Thing is, he heard her muttering and whispering, quite easily.  Because...right now, they were literally miles from anything that really made a sound.  There was wind, there was each other, and there was Ira...and that's it!  So, after she started gazing into the sky, he leaned in close.

"You know, there isn't really a rule that says 'never'.  Not really, if you get around enough."

She tilted her head when his words reached her ears, "Well... knowing you, that is a very valid statement." Keona's eyes met his as she smiled, then they turned back to their original spot. The woman leaned back on her hands, letting out a sigh of relaxation.

Keona kept silent, taking in the atmosphere. It was comforting, especially when she was with her friends. Friends, still a word she wasn't used to. Then again, she wasn't even used to the word companion when it came to Ira. But then again, any word would. Closing her eyes, she finally laid back with her arms behind her head.

"Do you think we'll ever go our separate ways one day?" She spoke softly, nothing trying to take her voice away this time, even with a miniscule breeze. Something in her tone said that she feared being alone again.

Well, he certainly hoped it was.  The question was...why didn't Keona believe that applied to her?  It seemed like she was worried that something - we don't know what - was going to happen that would make any aspect of her life leading up to that point invalid.  But...why?  Something she knew, or just some instinct worrying her?  At the moment, she appeared to be relaxing, though Travis had the feeling that that was only the exterior.  Inside, he still felt there was something bothering her.  Go figure that she'd voice it, or at least something OF it, soon after taking a lie-down.

She wondered if, one day, they would take different paths, if they would leave each other.  The question was harder than it sounded.  The truth was that neither of them could know the future.  They sought out her father in relation to these shadow things, hopefully to do something about them, and definitely because Keona wanted to see him.  What would happen in reality, though...they had no idea.  Travis gave this some thought as he lay back, himself, staring up at the sky.

"I think...the only real answer is 'not unless we want to'.  That's pretty much a 'No', right there.  I certainly don't want to, and I'm pretty sure you're thinking the same, so don't worry about it."

The sky slowly turned darker at the edges, fading into oranges, then dark, dark indigos. Stars would begin to fade in in time, and the desert began to grow cold. She shivered lightly before moving a hand to his forearm and turning onto her side to look at him, close enough to feel her breath.

"Travis, do you ever even think of the future?" Of course the way she said it was completely calm, no sign of curiosity or confusion. It was a genuine question, no hint of sarcasm.

She never thought about the future. She figured that she would die one die, but didn't care. Keona saw no future once the flame of her powers reached her mind.

The sky was growing dimmer, and as it did, it was affected by the reflections that came off of the glass below it.  Travis was watching this before he felt Keona take hold of his arm as she looked at him.  She had a question on her mind, and she was asking him in all seriousness about it.  He didn't need any pause for that one, though.  Travis turned so that he was lying in a similar fashion to Keona now, so that he was facing her.

"Sometimes, yeah.  I think about the future because of what happened in the past.  I think about what I might've been like if I'd never become a demon, and then I wonder if I can still do those things, even though I am one.  It's like...some people will care what I am, and some will not.  The more that don't, the more I can do with myself."

He paused to let that sink in, then decided to broach the subject that he assumed this was leading up to.

"Tell me what's bothering you, Keona.  You look like you've been thinking about your future and not liking what you see."

He was being serious, but had on a small smile to show that he would help her out.

"I'm a worrier, Travis, you no doubt know that by now. I worry so much that I'll die because of it in the future. If I don't manage to get killed by anything, the worry will put me out of my misery. I'm worried that I'll live to see everyone I ever cared about die in front of me. Or worse, die and I won't know about it, then I'll be chasing an endless dream of seeing them again." Pausing to take a breath, Keona looked down, through the glass and onto the ground. The darkness swept over the land quite easily, setting an entirely different mood. Shifting a little, her feathers alighted at the corners, creating a soft, candle-like glow, creating a bit of warmth.

"I worry... that I won't make it to find happiness. And that happiness I know now comes from the both of you..."

Yes, he did know.  He didn't always know what it was that was on her mind, but the fact that she had concerns was very much apparent.  The night began to spread as she emptied those concerns out before him, showing all of her cards on the matter.  While she did feel happy around him and Ira, Keona felt that her own happiness - that certain feeling of ease with the world in what she was doing at the time - was something she might never achieve.  Travis looked serious as he spoke next.

"Listen to me, Keona.  There is an answer to these shaow things, and there is a resolution to be had in finding your father.  These are the great mysteries of your life.  Once they are dealt with, you could do anything.  You'll have nothing to threaten you, to make you question yourself, because you'll know.  With that freedom to move on, you can find happiness."

Then, he smiled at her.

"'Course, we'll be there for that.  I'd like to see him true happiness.  I think it'd be just as astounding looking at this place."

She would tear up at this point if the heat of her body was lower. Keona hugged him, stuffing her face in his collar for a good while. Her hugs were strong, and hot depending on what emotion had gone through her head. Ira perked up a little, and slithered over to her side, melting over her waist to attempt to help.

The day had gone by now, and night settled in for a few more hours. Keona felt the cold and shivered, beginning to pull away from Travis.

Sometimes, there are no words.  You see or hear or feel something...and there are no words.  There are plenty of situations in which this can happen to you, and some where...you're actually the one on the receiving end.  Keona reached out and hugged him tightly.  Apparently, there were no words.  Travis didn't want her to worry about the future or her happiness.  If there was anything to be concerned about, it was the now.  The present, which held the attack of snake demons when they least expect it, was far more pressing than 'What will I do when it's over?'.  After a while, Keona started to pull away...

"Might wanna stay close for tonight.  Gettin' kinda' cold up here."

That's true...  Well, there wouldn't be any problem with that, right?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hours pass, and I think we can all agree that the coming dawn in your face while on top of a glass mesa is going to wake anybody up.  It's also going to be that the glass will lens-focus a number of the rays throughout the day to cause a few molten changes in the Seraj Isa.

She did as told, and eventually slept peacefully in the man's arms just for the night, having an odd lightless dream for once in a while.

As for morning, that was when the sun beckoned her to wake up once it reached her face. The woman opened her eyes and looked around for a moment, not wanting to leave the comfort that was the demon beside her, but knew that it would end regardless. She looked down and nearly freaked out before she remembered how she had arrived here, but there was something different. A different sound. The sound of heavy popping and shards moving.

Deserts were often cold at night.  Even with as much heat-retention as this place had, you couldn't get around everything and Travis knew that.  So, one pleasant sleep later, morning came to the sounds of...there were sounds?  He hadn't expected that, but the morning sun was indeed condensing on this place, especially where it seemed to amplify the light like some kind of invisible heat rays.  The effect was...surprising.  Well then...it's actually a good thing they weren't down there...  Travis held up the pack containing their provisions.  They hadn't exactly dipped heavily into it, so it was still plentiful enough.

"Some breakfast before we take off?"

"Morning," She said softly, smiling at him. Keona patted the little tiger on the head and he opened his eyes with a yawn. Ira stretched and shook out his matted fur, cuddling up against the woman.

"I'd love some," The woman took a bit of food for herself, an apple and a pear, and ate them both. She took out a slab of meat for the tiger, and he nibbled on the piece with delight.

"Game plan for today?" Shaking her wings a little, Keona would look up at Travis, glancing at their surroundings.

He got out some food for himself as she asked him.

"The game plan?  Well, once we're out of here, we have plains, a mountain, and some forest to get over before reaching Ketra.  The plains have nomads, the mountains have dragons, and the forest has all manner of beasts, if I hear it right."

Yyyyup, it was no picnic, any of these places, but they were pretty much considered to be Adela proper.  The main issue that Travis figured they'd have is with the Thunderbacks and the dragons therein.  They might get territorial on them.  Some dragons were instinct-driven creatures, while others were more intelligent than human beings.  It would be hard to pick out which was which, and even harder to figure out whether that helps them out or not.  For dragons are a morality unto themselves.  They do not always think as we do, and that's a problem.

"Is there something to worry about?" Keona asked, tilting her head a little. The wind began to hit them with sand again, not as hard as it would have been on the surface, but it most definitely would be felt.

The woman took on final look around, admiring the crystal structures that weren't buffeted by the wind. "I just kind of want to get out of here... Despite loving the heat, I don't feel welcome." She sighed, looking down at the ground far below.

Finishing his slab, Ira licked his muzzle and whiskers of the left over juices before rubbing up against the woman, purring quite audibly. She placed a hand on his head to gently pat him.

Travis nodded at her question.

"I'm just worried about the dragons.  They may not appreciate our presece in the mountains."

With Keona's affirmation that she wanted to leave here, he said "Let's go, then.", and spread his wings.  They had a significant height advantage for catching an breeze and would easily be able to fly along.  From here, it would likely be Onward To Adela!

[OOC: I think we're done in this region.  Will you be starting the next one?]

[OOC: Yes, I'll get right on that.]

Keona nodded in confirmation, picking the little feline beside her to hug him to her chest. He purred as he settled in the warmth she offered as she stood, hesitating before rolling the joints of her wings to prepare for the flight.

"Well, here goes nothing." She sighed softly, before opening her wings and pushing herself forward, a short fall to gain some momentum. They were leaving this hostile desert for something else, with new dangers and people.