Lore of Leyuna RPG (FRPG)

[C S]

Dahnae turned to face her teacher. She patted him on the head, as if he'd said something so benign and naive that he were now on the level of a child. "I won't jump out of the window. Mean glowy-weird is blocking the way," she assured him with a kind smile.

[The Kingpin]

The Scholar took a seat as one of the plates of food floated over, settling into his lap. He was taking his time getting comfortable, rolling up the sausage and egg into a piece of flatcake and taking a bite out of it. He sighed after the first mouthful, pleased that he was getting some sustinence. It had been early yesterday that he last ate, and it was clear he was quite hungry.

After a short while, he spoke. "You can stop trying to figure out how to learn of Desrium's past, Syria," he said calmly.




The dragoness's feathered head seemed to puff up in excitement that looked almost comical. "Great!" she chirped cheerfully as she tilted her head, noting the heat radiating off the woman. She leaned her head in, enjoying the warmth in the chilly winter morning. It didn't bother her, per se, but it certainly wasn't as enjoyable as a warm summer's day, which the Viking had granted her, or at least, her head.

[Hopeflower]

Dahnae's attempted assurance, Viho noted, did not imply that she wouldn't have taken a jump at the dragon if she thought the way was clear. Cool gray eyes warmed with the faintest hint of something equal parts incredulous and affectionate. He spread his hands as if to say, Go on, then. As he might have done had he been a proper father to his son, part of him jabbed. Viho contained his wince. Now was not the time.

[C S]

Syria's reaction came moments after taking a bite out of her own flatcake wrap. Naturally as a result, her response, "What do you mean stop trying?" was a nearly incoherent mess of sound. Noting this, she tried again mentally, as she chewed her food somewhat begrudgingly at the blunder.


"Glad to hear it, dragon-friend," Evisa replied in a warm, genuine way, the expression of which was lost underneath her otherwise threatening helmet's visage. "Sorry to say that you and I both are holding up a class--"

"How long have you been out there!?" Dahnae interjected. There was a short gap between her skipping away from Viho to hoisting herself up onto Evisa's shoulders. The viking resisted an urge to flare up and singe the pest on her back.

"You won't jump out of the window but you jump onto me!?" she snapped, to which Dahnae shook her head.

"I have school. No more jumping out of or onto things for me for the rest of the day."

"Except for myself; get off." The edge to Evisa's words made Dahnae's eyes widen, and she dropped down from the viking and slinked away.

"Right then," Evisa said to Ceridwen, almost literally cooling off from her lapse of patience. "I'd think we'd best let these kids make the most of their time, huh? Learning mind-magic must be tough, but I'd guess the better at it they become the more they can fiddle with their own heads to become super-genius types."

[The Kingpin]

"I mean, there's no need. I already know," stated the Scholar simply as he took another bite of his food, seeming completely at ease in this place.

"Oh. I didn't mean to interrupt anything... I was just worried she might be hurt!" twittered the dragoness, the guilt evident on her face. "I'd been sitting by the entrance when I saw her hit the wall... I'm watching over my friend's...er, child, while she studies pyromancy," explained Ceridwen sheepishly.

[Hopeflower]

"That's not quite how it works," Viho said, amused. He kept one eye on Dahnae. She would learn in time what people would and wouldn't tolerate. As her teacher, he was probably supposed to be teaching her that as well, but he'd learned it was far easier to just let her make her own mistakes. She would learn, or she would piss off the wrong person.

Before Evisa could take the opportunity to make her escape, Firel leaned toward Viho and murmured, loud enough to be heard, "How is she doing that?"

[C S]

"You already-- since when?" Syria asked incredulously. All her planning, all her late dinner induced dreaming, for this?

She didn't mind in all honesty. It would have been nice to know sooner, still.



"No harm, no foul," Evisa replied understandingly. "Between you and I, it'd been pretty funny if she did get hurt. Nothing too serious but you know," she added as quietly as she could, but through a means that were a mystery to her, Dahnae still heard and hissed loudly. "Are you sure she's not feral? Or diseased?" Evisa asked no one in particular.

[Hopeflower]

"Shapeshifter in training," Viho replied with a half-shrug. He held up a hand to calm Firel when the younger elf bristled at being ignored, telling him silently, Peace. I can't tell you how Evisa's magic works. It's unfamiliar to me.

[C S]

"Explains a lot." Another hiss from Dahnae, and Evisa did not pay attention to it. "And as your pupil there, the one who has his pants on too tight, if you really want to know, keep an eye out for me after class today. I'll be around doing my rounds, you'll find out then," she said over her shoulder. Blank though her helmet's eyes were, Firel could feel the viking singling him out.

[The Kingpin]

"A couple of weeks," responded the Scholar simply. "I've been meaning to tell you, but you've been so wrapped up in your plans I never quite got the opportunity," he explained as he finished the food on the first plate, moving on to a second.



Ceridwen looked between the half-elemental, the cat-like girl, the man with his 'pants tied too tight' and the red haired elf who had a disliking to her, feeling uncomfortable about all of this. "Maybe I'll just...go?" she suggested quietly, already slowly descending until only her head was visible in the window...

[Hopeflower]

Though the room was still warm thanks to Evisa's abilities, in that moment Firel felt ice slide down his spine. Of the things he expected to feel, cornered was not one of them. He glanced at his teacher for help, but Viho gazed back calmly. It wasn't only Dahnae who could stand to learn from missteps.

"Have fun," said Viho, his mild tone concealing the fact that he was heavily debating going with Firel. If only to see what would happen.

[C S]

"Ouch. That is so ironic, it hurts, Seppy. It does," Syria replied. It really did make her pause in eating her wrap, and it took some manner of discipline to keep herself from putting her palm to her face. Oh, if she'd just asked!

"And be brave," Evisa added, advising even. She looked back to Ceridwen and reverted to her more friendly countenance, "You and me both. Nevertheless, it was nice speaking to you. I don't usually get to talk to dragons," Evisa responded as she reached a hand out to lean against the window's edge. "See you around, um; what is your name?"

[The Kingpin]

"I tried," repeated the Scholar with a shrug as he took a bite out of another wrap. He found it quite amusing to see the Mage wade through the gravity of how her distraction had slowed her on her own.



"Ceridwen of Clan Maelgwyn...Or...Ceridwen Maelgwynni, if you ask the um...Thimeyrans, I think they're called? The desert elves," explained the dragoness uncertainly. She had overheard them mentioned once, perhaps even twice, but she was distracted and hadn't concentrated on what she was hearing. Even her timeless memory would be no use to her here...

[C S]

Syria sighed and finished the rest of her wrap. For as disappointed as she was in herself, her stomach was full and happy, so she was just a little happier in spite of it. "I know," she said out loud finally. "Know that I will always appreciate it. So, on with it now. What is Desrium's story?"


"It was nice talking to you, Ceridwen. I'm Evisa Canton, of Vanguard; also known as the snow people." She chuckled to herself at that one, making a mental note to keep that little joke in mind in the future. "Keep good eye on your friend's kid. I know a few folks back home who'd appreciate a dragon looking out for the village children. And by 'looking out', I mean more than just after an easy meal." It was the most viking thing, in truth, to have to specify as such in casual conversation.

[The Kingpin]

"Well, you know that it was a product of demonic magic, among other things, that led to Desrium being created. What happened however, was not quite what the stories and legends say. Desrium did not purposely kill anyone. The first deaths occurred before he had even become a conscious, sentient being. Liorick and Aderalia, the couple responsible for his creation, died as a result of an accident triggered by the interruption of the other Mages of the Order. Elements of both of them, Liorick's mind and Aderalia's soul, were absorbed into what would later become Desrium. The Order attempted to seal away this proto-Desrium, the energy which you see glowing within his current form, by erecting magical barriers and curses. Those however, ended up forming the shell you see him in today," explained the Scholar as he ate his wrap, finishing it and reaching for a third plate.

"Ithra, a close friend of the deceased couple and a fellow Order Mage, incapacitated her companions when she saw that their actions were worsening things, and told Desrium to run. He escaped, but was blamed for the deaths of Liorick and Aderalia, and the incapacitation of the other mages when he escaped," he continued as he finished rolling the first wrap of the fresh plate.


"Nice meeting you, Evisa. I'll keep a close eye on her," chirped Ceridwen, realising with increasing discomfort that she was only antagonising herself further the longer she lingered. "I hope to speak to you soon!" she twittered finally before dropping out of sight of the window, descending rapidly to the ground below, which, by now, had been blown clear of snow by the hovering dragoness.

[C S]

"So... that means Desrium wasn't a 'blood omen', then. And not everyone treated him as a monster, even all the way back then?" Syria's eyes were wide as she regarded Septimus, as though she were burning this moment in time into her mind. Eager for more, she pulled her legs from her staff and scooted closer to the Scholar, stopping short of laying her head on his chest. Her staff, in response, floated onto the bench and rested itself at an angle against the back and the seat.


Evisa tapped her foot. "I bet I can make that jump if I went through this window."

Dahnae shot up to her feet. Her classmates nearby knew to make space, unless they were caught in whatever outburst she was about to throw. It was unneeded in this instance, however. "Hypocrite!"

"Give me a break," Evisa snorted as she closed the window and gradually let her heat subside. "You stand to break your neck and your everything else if you fell from this height. Me? I don't know. Maybe a bruise, or a sprain. And that's if I don't land properly."

Dahnae clenched her fists and hiked her shoulders, muttering words that didn't quite form into articulated arguments. "You... smell!" she finally said, with such an intensity that it took all of her vitriol to get them out. She rested her hands on her knees afterwards, panting.

"I smell heavenly," Evisa countered simply, and began to make her departure from the classroom. "Keep up the good work, Viho. Let's see what comes of them all, shall we?"

[Hopeflower]

Viho paused just a second too long before replying. It had been a long time since someone had praised something he'd done and meant it.

"Thank you. One hopes to see them all succeed." Sensing that things were winding back down, he slid off of the desk and back into teacher mode. "From the top, then," he directed his snickering students.

Those who had twisted around in their seats or were still craning their necks for a better look at the dragon turned to face the front of the room again. Backs straightened, minds made an effort to clear.

Viho continued, "The key to a successful shield is to either surround yourself with a wall of memories that will distract anyone who comes looking for information, or to learn to distract yourself so thoroughly that you bury what you're trying to hide. The former method can be used to trap your attacker in your own mind until you let them go. We will get into that later."

[C S]

It was at that time that the others heard the viking's voice again, faintly distant in the stairwell. Another voice replied to her, unintelligible, but very soft spoken. There was also a spike in interest that the senior psychomancer detected from Evisa, along with the images of what she was looking at. A minute or so later, the classroom door opened a second time.

Solaurn stood at around the same height as the doorknob. She noted that a few of the students had their gaze up a bit too high, expecting someone... taller. "Uh... I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said, though she had the distinct feeling that she was, given how everyone was already seated and had a look of focus on their faces. Except for one girl in a really big coat, which seemed unfitting for an inside setting.

Her companion scampered into the room on all fours shortly after before rearing up onto her more bipedal stance, glancing around the room with an unmistakable intelligence. Wonder, excitement. This creature, in her strange clothing, was no ordinary woodland critter.

[The Kingpin]

"Ithra was the only exception," said Septimus grimly. Close and intimate as Syria was, the Scholar couldn't help but settle his free arm over her shoulder, though he did not stop eating. An elf he may have appeared to be, but a dragon's appetite lingered beneath the disguise, and it was far from satisfied.

"He hid in the city's canals for a time, where the water made his unique aura, or lack thereof, difficult to track. Eventually Ithra found him again, a fugitive herself as her colleagues had learned of her treachery. She helped him learn to read, and for a time it seemed they may yet have peace," he continued, sighing with a measure of disappointment. "Unfortunately it was not to last. Ithra was captured and evidently tortured with the intent of drawing Desrium's location from her."

[C S]

"Oh," was the mage's reaction to that bit of information. By the nature of the legends, or slander, the more she considered details unshared, she expected this would not be an easy tale to hear. It was one she wanted to know regardless, but that was her understanding going in. She did not expect that the story of Desrium would go to such depths. Torture of the one sole spark of hope in those dark days...