“Celestia”, Rum repeats as Slade reveals their current location. “It is not a place of which I am familiar”.
“Friend Greko was not always the best at remembering to pass on messages, no”, he replies with a wistful smile as Jek reveals more details of the Order of the Phoenix’s journey.
”I know you have done your best, you and your band, friend Jek. It is all any of us can do”, he responds, looking around at the members of the Order.
”You mentioned Andromeda’s Answer earlier, friend Jek. Is there a fourth band? I have not heard that name before”.
Jek nods at Rum's statement. "They are new to me as well. Although, someone I didn't know answered a question on the AUYRN, they must be from Andromeda's answer."
Jek jerks his head up quickly and rushes to Rum, grabbing his arm. "You have the only AUYRN here, now! You need to tell the others what we learned! Especially about the reborn childlike empress and Lelith's betrayal! You don't need to worry, they AUYRN communications are protected by the soul of the childlike empress! But you need to warn them before Lelith tries to contact them through other means!"
Rum looks across the room at Oten and Tuto. The two had become almost inseparable over recent times before they had been forced into conflict with each other. He wondered how they would move forward from that.
He turns his attention to Lady Kaede, standing stoically and defiantly offering her swords to the AURYN cause. Whether that was to continue with the Twilight Embers or whether she was reacting to Jek’s words he could not say. He would not blame her for being skeptical of the Embers after what they dragged her into.
He then scans the room and the Order of the Phoenix. Such a different group to that which started out from the Ivory Tower, but still committed to the cause. Maybe that is the way it goes, the people change but the cause is what is important.
”It seems choices have to be made, fellow Embers and Phoenixes. It seems the Order of the Phoenix has a path set before them with regards the Triforce of Courage. Twilight Embers are meant to be searching for the Alicorn which would put us back on the path of Blix, who we know betrayed the Lord of Darkness for his own ends but do not know where that took him. We also both have a lead on the Triforce of Wisdom that we don’t want to go stale”, he says before scratching the back of his neck.
“If our information is sound, the Princess of Hyrule has the Triforce of Wisdom and is fleeing to the south of Hylia. That likely means Kings Landing, although Lady Kaede knows all too well that avenue might be blocked. I assume you are known to the Princess”, he says focussing on Lady Kaede. Was it coincidence that she had joined them at this moment? She would certainly be of great use if they went for the Triforce of Wisdom.
Then his eyes narrow and he puts two fingers to his temple for a brief moment.
”That was…unusual”, he says as he gives his head a little shake.
”It seems I have received my first AURYN message. And a poem no less, from Andromeda’s Answer. If I am gathering the meaning correctly, they are searching for Princess Andromeda who is missing and will keep on the lookout for the Childlike Empress reborn”, he reports back.
“Now, where was I. Ah yes. You mentioned we are on the floating Isle of Celestia”, he says looking at Slade. “Where exactly is that? Knowing that and how we leave, might help determine our path”.
Krille perks up as noise filters in from outside the temple. He listens, head cocking from side to side, rolling as he adjusts for his avian auditory organs. There are voices that are indiscernible at first, but slowly words begin to form, then sentences.
"What is that?" One voice asks.
"Is it some sort of worm?"
"It's a dragon!"
There's shouts and surprised calls. Various people who work inside the Hall of the Celestials, from the Elders themselves to the groundskeepers, rush to get indoors as something is heard overhead like laughter. Deep, booming laughter...
“Now, where was I. Ah yes. You mentioned we are on the floating Isle of Celestia”, he says looking at Slade. “Where exactly is that? Knowing that and how we leave, might help determine our path”.
Krille perks up as noise filters in from outside the temple. He listens, head cocking from side to side, rolling as he adjusts for his avian auditory organs. There are voices that are indiscernible at first, but slowly words begin to form, then sentences.
"What is that?" One voice asks.
"Is it some sort of worm?"
"It's a dragon!"
There's shouts and surprised calls. Various people who work inside the Hall of the Celestials, from the Elders themselves to the groundskeepers, rush to get indoors as something is heard overhead like laughter. Deep, booming laughter...
Jek responds to Rum "You know, I'm not really sure Celestia is. I keep trying to look at a map, but keep getting distracted. As for getting down, Krille mentioned something about Death Hawk's or Roc's. Right Krille?"
At this point, he notices Krille is distracted, and there is noise outside. As the people rush in, the booming laugh reaches them. Jek happens to catch view of shards of white stained glass and looks to where a window had stood before it shattered. While deeper than he is used to, he is familiar with this laughter. An image of a young halfling and a small luck dragon pops into his mind. Jek jumps to his feet and rushes to the door. "She said... but now?.... This is sooner than I expected! Come on!" He gestures to the others as he rushes outside and looks to the sky.
As the others run out, Oten looks at Tuto. In attacking Tuto, mind control or no, he had done something he wished he hadn't and was worried about the consequences. This must be guilt. He looks in the direction everyone is running off to, then back to Tuto. He cautiously extends one hand in invitation, and points the thumb of his other at his back.
"We are in the northwestern corner of the map, north of Hylia, of Spook City." Krille says to answer the question. "We frequently get down from here using Death Hawks and Roc's tame for our military purposes but..."
He stops short as they step outside.
Exiting the Hall of the Celestials brings the Order of the Phoenix and the remnants of Twilight Embers out into the well lit fields surrounding the Hall, past those who had fled to the interior of the building. A great serpentine wyrm, not worm, descends from the sky, its silvery-pink scales and fur glistening magnificently even in the twilight of the gathering clouds overhead. The dragon laughs with the booming voice of a god as the man on his back leans forward to whisper something in his ear. The man is young, adorned in the leathers of the People of the Purple Plains, no doubt made from the Purple Buffalo.
An AURYN Medallion hangs from his neck.
There is a second man watching all of this. He sits on a bench near the building, his gray cloak draped around him, his large, gray hay covering his head. One hand strokes his beard. The other holds a long, ornate pipe, from which he blows fancy smoke constructs, rings and squares and even a little bird that flaps its wings...
Rum looks towards the Wyrm in the sky, his jaw dropping slightly as he watches it's majestic form glittering despite the oncoming gloom.
"Magnificent", he says in draconic as it descends.
It is then that he notices the man in grey puffing on his pipe, and his open maw curls up and into a smile.
"Gandalf!", he calls surprised to see him there. He had only just been thinking of trying to find him and here he is.
Unsure where to look now, he makes his way over to Gandalf, his ears flattening against his head slightly as if he has done something wrong.
"You have already heard?", he says, referring to the passing of Greko the Green. Greko had always said he had belonged to the same order as Gandalf and it had been on his mind that he needed to be told.
"Hello Rumble." The old wizard says with a warm smile. He lowers his pipe, turning his eyes from the descending Luck Dragon and his rider. "Yes, I've heard, I'm afraid. A shame, but Greko died like he lived. As an old, crotchety lizard."
Gandalf raised his pipe and it clicked between his teeth as the warrior riding Falkor climbed down, facing the crowd that was siphoning out of the hall.
"Well, that's not entirely fair. But it was mostly true. Greko's passing is a sad event, but, as with the others of our order, he had a duty, and he met it. Grievously, I admit, but met regardless."
He exhaled smoke through his nose and looked to the Luck Dragon.
"I thought I should be here for all this." Gandalf said to Rum, taking his pipe away from his mouth only long enough to point with it before replacing it between his teeth. "A lot has happened in Hyboria as of late. Why, even in just the last few hours. I know Atreyu has been trying to get here and sound a rallying cry, but he has been unable to move fast enough it seems. In less that two days, the face of the world has been permanently scarred, the face of the enemy has changed, and the face of the defenders has departed into the eternal darkness. He's going to need support in what happens next."
Atreyu climbed down from the back of Falkor and faced the members of the Order of the Phoenix and the Twilight Embers that were emerging from the Hall of the Celestials. It had been a couple of months since they had seen him at the Ivory Tower, well, some of them anyway, and he had aged considerably. He looked tired. Haggard. His eyes were sunken and his face and body were bruised like he had been in a conflict.
"The Order of the Phoenix." He said with a solemn, forced smile. "Twilight Embers. I'm glad to see all of you, though I really wish it were under better circumstances."
Rum takes a seat next to Gandalf and listens as he talks, his expression becoming graver and graver as Gandalf lays out what has happened.
“We were betrayed and out matched, Wise One. The enemy manipulated us, took hold of some of our minds. We did our best but I fear what you speak of may have been related to our choices”, he says shaking his head.
He hears Atreyu call his greeting but he is not ready to end his conversation with Gandalf just yet.
“Wise one, I think I have bitten off more than I can chew. I now bear the AURYN”, he says, showing the AURYN to Gandalf. “It is perhaps too much responsibility”. He looks around and whispers, “I wasn’t even meant to be the one representing Dragonclaw. I passed out when communing with the Great Dragon during the trial. The visions overwhelmed me. And yet I was somehow changed in that moment. After that I could wield a small portion of the power of dragons”, he carries on, looking to the ground and not daring to meet the wizards gaze.
“It had to mean something right? It had to be a sign I was chosen. Or so I thought. But I couldn’t protect Greko and Ro. And I didn’t see through Lelith’s lies”, he adds, finally looking up at Gandalf, hoping for some of his famed wisdom.
“What is to be done? What should I do, Wise One?”.
Just as he asks the questions, once again he puts his hand to his temple and his eyes narrow. He holds a hand up to Gandalf asking for patience, whilst he receives the message through the AURYN. It contained much information, some good news and some disconcerting.
For now, he turns his attention back to Gandalf, hoping the pause had given him time to reflect on his question.
"My apologies, Wise One. I am still not used to the messages appearing in my mind"
Jek looks up and watches Atreyu come into more focus. He noticed Rum go up towards the greyer, wrinkleier person on the bench.... Wait, he knows this, they told him about this, what was it, opposite of child... elderly! That's it! This is an old person, so he's an elderly! Gandalf, is that what Rum called him? Where has he heard that name before?
Seeing that he's making cool smoke shapes, Jek will get out his Pipe Of Smoke Monsters. He goes and sits on the bench. As Rum and Gandalf are speaking, Jek will light his pipe and blow out a puff of smoke that takes the shape of a little luck dragon that floats around Gandalf, then Rum's head. After that dissipates, he will produce a smoke Flumph as well, that he has bob around next to him.
As Falkor lands, Jek will stow his pipe and move to see Atreyu. This is when his guilt hits him. He knows what the Bright Lady and the Empress told him, but still. With some shame in his voice, he says "Atreyu... I'm sorry. We didn't think he could follow us. We tried to protect her... But she insisted on saving us. I'm so, so sorry."
Gandalf raised one hand and thoughtfully stroked it down the length of his beard, pulling his pipe away from his mouth. He smiled, a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless before he reached over to pat Rum on the shoulder.
"For even the very wise cannot see all ends." Gandalf said, then pushed himself up from where he sat. "You know, Rumble, sometimes the journey itself is the answer. Don't look too deep in here..."
Gandalf took a finger and touched Rum's forehead...then pulled it down to touch the Tabaxi's chest, right above his heart.
"...look in here, instead."
He smiled, then patted Rum on the shoulder, and motioned him toward Atreyu.
Atreyu could only look sad when Jek offered his apology.
"No one could have stood up to Vader. You did your best. She believed in you. In all of you. In us. We have to make that count for something."
The once-child warrior of the Ivory Tower was working his way through the crowd gathered around him and Falkor, moving toward the steps of the Hall of the Celestials, where the Elders were once again gathering. Krille stood in their center.
"You know why I am here." Atreyu said, taking the AURYN Medallion on his chest and holding it up so that all could see, but directing it specifically at the Elders. "The day prophesized has come. You know what I must do."
The Elders all bowed their heads, the Owlin people all stepping aside, each beckoning Atreyu forward with their hands, showing him a position where he could stand at the top of the stairs. Atreyu stepped forward, stepping up the stairs, then turning at the top to face the two bands, and the others who had begun to filter in to mingle amongst them.
"Friends, as most of you know, Moonchild, the Childlike Empress, lost her life to the hands of Lord Vader." He said, holding the AURYN up so that all could continue to see it. "She was my friend. It is because of her that I am who I am today. She saw in me the hope she needed when I was nothing but Atreyu the warrior of the People of the Purple Buffalo. If not for her and Falkor...I would be nothing.
Things have not gone well for us. Lord Vader has taken the Ivory Tower. And now the Lord of Darkness and Ganondorf have done something to Hyrule Castle...though what, I'm not sure. All I know for sure is that it's not good. And then...then this storm. It seems to be worldwide. Whatever it is. I'm...ashamed to say I'm not entirely sure where we stand, as a team. Our armies are crumbling. Our strongholds are broken. Whatever we do next, we have to do it fast, and we have to do it together."
He held the AURYN aloft, raising it high over his head. He spoke aloud, loud enough that everyone around him could hear what he was saying.
"AURYN Bearers, I am Atreyu, Champion of the Childlike Empress!" He said, his voice confident and commanding, a far cry for the uncertainty he'd displayed only a moment ago. "We have faced terrible setbacks in recent days, and unfortunate losses."
Gandalf laid his hand on Rum's shoulder again as he stepped amongst the Twilight Embers. He smiled at Tuto, took his pipe from between his lips and raised it up in greeting, then pulled his poke from beneath his robes to offer the Gnome some smoke.
"Our skies are darkening. Our strongholds have fallen. Our armies have been conquered. But we are not done! We will not be going quietly into the night that these fiends try to bring down upon us! They'll take Hyboria from us when they've snuffed the breath from the last of us, and even then it will only be after a mighty struggle! Prepare yourselves! Soon, I shall summon you to the Hall of the Celestials in Skyloft through the power of the AURYN! If you hear me now, you are the resistance!"
Rum wanders across to stand beside the others and listens to Atreyu's proclamation, half his thoughts on Gandalf's words. Listen to your heart not your head. Well it was his heart he was sure that got him into this, it was impulsiveness that drew him to the Ivory Tower. Maybe that is enough and he had certainly learned a lot on his journey. About himself and the world around him.
He wasn't the same Tabaxi that started out on the journey, but he hadn't lost himself either. He just needed to stick to his beliefs and continue to choose the path his heart deemed right. He had to make sure that hope survived.
As he feels Gandalf's hand on his shoulder, a low rumble-like growl emanates from deep in his throat as he girds himself for what is to come. His paws clench up in fists and he closes his eyes. He clears his mind of all negativity and focusses on the positive. Only then does he step forward and climb the stairs to the half way point.
"I stand with the chosen of AURYN, Champion Atreyu", he says loudly, placing his fist over his heart in respect.
"We will not succumb to the darkness whilst the embers of hope still burn"
Jek watches and listens to Atreyu speak. He hears of their failures. If this was just a day or two ago, he would have let the weight of there failures crush him. However, now he thinks back to the Bright Lady, bathed in light and dressed in green. He knows that he is following the right path, the path of light.
He watches as Rum steps forward. Jek will nod to Rum, and move up to stand next to him. "We stand with the chosen of the AURYN! This is the right path, the path of light. The order of the Phoenix will rise again and again, we will not be defeated!"
Silently standing off to the side of the crowd, Lady Kaede looks rather regal in her resplendent armor, but her face presents a completely different view. Tears are streaming down her cheeks as she listens to Atreyu speak, his words of dread piercing her heart to the core. Those are here family’s ancient lands he’s referring to. She was completely unaware of the looming danger that is destroying the land and it’s wonderful peoples. What can be done? Are more importantly, what is her part to play in this unfolding drama?
As the group appear in shimmering light, Travin, a small shriveled goblin? Absolutely stacked with a mountain of junk on his back turns to observe where he is now, he appears to be covered in blood and soot and he is slowly lowering a dismembered leg into a bag around his waist.
Looking over to Johnathan and shavaris in particular he clears his throat before rasping out, "ahhh um, is this real hmmm? Travin might be having the biggest hallucinations of his life rights now yeh yeh, ahh Dawn Guard?"
Another figure shimmers into view, a centaur like a dull grey shadowy highlander wrapped in a bright plaid, with a set of bagpipes strapped to her torso and horse-like eyes that sparkle with the love of the stars. She smiles as the Hall of Celestials and the luck dragon appear before her, and, after all the new arrivals have finished appearing, she looks at Atreyu, and with a loud clop clop she trots straight towards him and drops---awkwardly---to her equine knees, head bowed and the AURYN medallion worn around her neck held up in both of her hands.
"Oh warrior standing before the fall, Andromeda's Answer heeds your call. The halls of heaven resound a cry: The Lady Bright we hail most high!"
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“Celestia”, Rum repeats as Slade reveals their current location. “It is not a place of which I am familiar”.
“Friend Greko was not always the best at remembering to pass on messages, no”, he replies with a wistful smile as Jek reveals more details of the Order of the Phoenix’s journey.
”I know you have done your best, you and your band, friend Jek. It is all any of us can do”, he responds, looking around at the members of the Order.
”You mentioned Andromeda’s Answer earlier, friend Jek. Is there a fourth band? I have not heard that name before”.
Jek nods at Rum's statement. "They are new to me as well. Although, someone I didn't know answered a question on the AUYRN, they must be from Andromeda's answer."
Jek jerks his head up quickly and rushes to Rum, grabbing his arm. "You have the only AUYRN here, now! You need to tell the others what we learned! Especially about the reborn childlike empress and Lelith's betrayal! You don't need to worry, they AUYRN communications are protected by the soul of the childlike empress! But you need to warn them before Lelith tries to contact them through other means!"
“Of course, friend Jek. I am new to this, let me compose my thoughts a moment”, Rum replies and closes his eyes for a few moments.
He then takes hold of the AURYN in one paw and furrows his brow. After a minute or so, his eyes open and he releases the AURYN.
”I think I did it right”, he says with a half smile.
Rum looks across the room at Oten and Tuto. The two had become almost inseparable over recent times before they had been forced into conflict with each other. He wondered how they would move forward from that.
He turns his attention to Lady Kaede, standing stoically and defiantly offering her swords to the AURYN cause. Whether that was to continue with the Twilight Embers or whether she was reacting to Jek’s words he could not say. He would not blame her for being skeptical of the Embers after what they dragged her into.
He then scans the room and the Order of the Phoenix. Such a different group to that which started out from the Ivory Tower, but still committed to the cause. Maybe that is the way it goes, the people change but the cause is what is important.
”It seems choices have to be made, fellow Embers and Phoenixes. It seems the Order of the Phoenix has a path set before them with regards the Triforce of Courage. Twilight Embers are meant to be searching for the Alicorn which would put us back on the path of Blix, who we know betrayed the Lord of Darkness for his own ends but do not know where that took him. We also both have a lead on the Triforce of Wisdom that we don’t want to go stale”, he says before scratching the back of his neck.
“If our information is sound, the Princess of Hyrule has the Triforce of Wisdom and is fleeing to the south of Hylia. That likely means Kings Landing, although Lady Kaede knows all too well that avenue might be blocked. I assume you are known to the Princess”, he says focussing on Lady Kaede. Was it coincidence that she had joined them at this moment? She would certainly be of great use if they went for the Triforce of Wisdom.
Then his eyes narrow and he puts two fingers to his temple for a brief moment.
”That was…unusual”, he says as he gives his head a little shake.
”It seems I have received my first AURYN message. And a poem no less, from Andromeda’s Answer. If I am gathering the meaning correctly, they are searching for Princess Andromeda who is missing and will keep on the lookout for the Childlike Empress reborn”, he reports back.
“Now, where was I. Ah yes. You mentioned we are on the floating Isle of Celestia”, he says looking at Slade. “Where exactly is that? Knowing that and how we leave, might help determine our path”.
Krille perks up as noise filters in from outside the temple. He listens, head cocking from side to side, rolling as he adjusts for his avian auditory organs. There are voices that are indiscernible at first, but slowly words begin to form, then sentences.
"What is that?" One voice asks.
"Is it some sort of worm?"
"It's a dragon!"
There's shouts and surprised calls. Various people who work inside the Hall of the Celestials, from the Elders themselves to the groundskeepers, rush to get indoors as something is heard overhead like laughter. Deep, booming laughter...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Jek responds to Rum "You know, I'm not really sure Celestia is. I keep trying to look at a map, but keep getting distracted. As for getting down, Krille mentioned something about Death Hawk's or Roc's. Right Krille?"
At this point, he notices Krille is distracted, and there is noise outside. As the people rush in, the booming laugh reaches them. Jek happens to catch view of shards of white stained glass and looks to where a window had stood before it shattered. While deeper than he is used to, he is familiar with this laughter. An image of a young halfling and a small luck dragon pops into his mind. Jek jumps to his feet and rushes to the door. "She said... but now?.... This is sooner than I expected! Come on!" He gestures to the others as he rushes outside and looks to the sky.
As the word dragon hits Rum's ears they perk up, rotating towards the voices.
Jek doesn't have to tell him twice and he would, in fact, have rushed ahead if only he knew where he was going.
He makes his way out right on Jek's heels and looks to the sky.
As the others run out, Oten looks at Tuto. In attacking Tuto, mind control or no, he had done something he wished he hadn't and was worried about the consequences. This must be guilt. He looks in the direction everyone is running off to, then back to Tuto. He cautiously extends one hand in invitation, and points the thumb of his other at his back.
"We are in the northwestern corner of the map, north of Hylia, of Spook City." Krille says to answer the question. "We frequently get down from here using Death Hawks and Roc's tame for our military purposes but..."
He stops short as they step outside.
Exiting the Hall of the Celestials brings the Order of the Phoenix and the remnants of Twilight Embers out into the well lit fields surrounding the Hall, past those who had fled to the interior of the building. A great serpentine wyrm, not worm, descends from the sky, its silvery-pink scales and fur glistening magnificently even in the twilight of the gathering clouds overhead. The dragon laughs with the booming voice of a god as the man on his back leans forward to whisper something in his ear. The man is young, adorned in the leathers of the People of the Purple Plains, no doubt made from the Purple Buffalo.
An AURYN Medallion hangs from his neck.
There is a second man watching all of this. He sits on a bench near the building, his gray cloak draped around him, his large, gray hay covering his head. One hand strokes his beard. The other holds a long, ornate pipe, from which he blows fancy smoke constructs, rings and squares and even a little bird that flaps its wings...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Rum looks towards the Wyrm in the sky, his jaw dropping slightly as he watches it's majestic form glittering despite the oncoming gloom.
"Magnificent", he says in draconic as it descends.
It is then that he notices the man in grey puffing on his pipe, and his open maw curls up and into a smile.
"Gandalf!", he calls surprised to see him there. He had only just been thinking of trying to find him and here he is.
Unsure where to look now, he makes his way over to Gandalf, his ears flattening against his head slightly as if he has done something wrong.
"You have already heard?", he says, referring to the passing of Greko the Green. Greko had always said he had belonged to the same order as Gandalf and it had been on his mind that he needed to be told.
"Hello Rumble." The old wizard says with a warm smile. He lowers his pipe, turning his eyes from the descending Luck Dragon and his rider. "Yes, I've heard, I'm afraid. A shame, but Greko died like he lived. As an old, crotchety lizard."
Gandalf raised his pipe and it clicked between his teeth as the warrior riding Falkor climbed down, facing the crowd that was siphoning out of the hall.
"Well, that's not entirely fair. But it was mostly true. Greko's passing is a sad event, but, as with the others of our order, he had a duty, and he met it. Grievously, I admit, but met regardless."
He exhaled smoke through his nose and looked to the Luck Dragon.
"I thought I should be here for all this." Gandalf said to Rum, taking his pipe away from his mouth only long enough to point with it before replacing it between his teeth. "A lot has happened in Hyboria as of late. Why, even in just the last few hours. I know Atreyu has been trying to get here and sound a rallying cry, but he has been unable to move fast enough it seems. In less that two days, the face of the world has been permanently scarred, the face of the enemy has changed, and the face of the defenders has departed into the eternal darkness. He's going to need support in what happens next."
Atreyu climbed down from the back of Falkor and faced the members of the Order of the Phoenix and the Twilight Embers that were emerging from the Hall of the Celestials. It had been a couple of months since they had seen him at the Ivory Tower, well, some of them anyway, and he had aged considerably. He looked tired. Haggard. His eyes were sunken and his face and body were bruised like he had been in a conflict.
"The Order of the Phoenix." He said with a solemn, forced smile. "Twilight Embers. I'm glad to see all of you, though I really wish it were under better circumstances."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Rum takes a seat next to Gandalf and listens as he talks, his expression becoming graver and graver as Gandalf lays out what has happened.
“We were betrayed and out matched, Wise One. The enemy manipulated us, took hold of some of our minds. We did our best but I fear what you speak of may have been related to our choices”, he says shaking his head.
He hears Atreyu call his greeting but he is not ready to end his conversation with Gandalf just yet.
“Wise one, I think I have bitten off more than I can chew. I now bear the AURYN”, he says, showing the AURYN to Gandalf. “It is perhaps too much responsibility”. He looks around and whispers, “I wasn’t even meant to be the one representing Dragonclaw. I passed out when communing with the Great Dragon during the trial. The visions overwhelmed me. And yet I was somehow changed in that moment. After that I could wield a small portion of the power of dragons”, he carries on, looking to the ground and not daring to meet the wizards gaze.
“It had to mean something right? It had to be a sign I was chosen. Or so I thought. But I couldn’t protect Greko and Ro. And I didn’t see through Lelith’s lies”, he adds, finally looking up at Gandalf, hoping for some of his famed wisdom.
“What is to be done? What should I do, Wise One?”.
Just as he asks the questions, once again he puts his hand to his temple and his eyes narrow. He holds a hand up to Gandalf asking for patience, whilst he receives the message through the AURYN. It contained much information, some good news and some disconcerting.
For now, he turns his attention back to Gandalf, hoping the pause had given him time to reflect on his question.
"My apologies, Wise One. I am still not used to the messages appearing in my mind"
Jek looks up and watches Atreyu come into more focus. He noticed Rum go up towards the greyer, wrinkleier person on the bench.... Wait, he knows this, they told him about this, what was it, opposite of child... elderly! That's it! This is an old person, so he's an elderly! Gandalf, is that what Rum called him? Where has he heard that name before?
Seeing that he's making cool smoke shapes, Jek will get out his Pipe Of Smoke Monsters. He goes and sits on the bench. As Rum and Gandalf are speaking, Jek will light his pipe and blow out a puff of smoke that takes the shape of a little luck dragon that floats around Gandalf, then Rum's head. After that dissipates, he will produce a smoke Flumph as well, that he has bob around next to him.
As Falkor lands, Jek will stow his pipe and move to see Atreyu. This is when his guilt hits him. He knows what the Bright Lady and the Empress told him, but still. With some shame in his voice, he says "Atreyu... I'm sorry. We didn't think he could follow us. We tried to protect her... But she insisted on saving us. I'm so, so sorry."
Gandalf raised one hand and thoughtfully stroked it down the length of his beard, pulling his pipe away from his mouth. He smiled, a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless before he reached over to pat Rum on the shoulder.
"For even the very wise cannot see all ends." Gandalf said, then pushed himself up from where he sat. "You know, Rumble, sometimes the journey itself is the answer. Don't look too deep in here..."
Gandalf took a finger and touched Rum's forehead...then pulled it down to touch the Tabaxi's chest, right above his heart.
"...look in here, instead."
He smiled, then patted Rum on the shoulder, and motioned him toward Atreyu.
Atreyu could only look sad when Jek offered his apology.
"No one could have stood up to Vader. You did your best. She believed in you. In all of you. In us. We have to make that count for something."
The once-child warrior of the Ivory Tower was working his way through the crowd gathered around him and Falkor, moving toward the steps of the Hall of the Celestials, where the Elders were once again gathering. Krille stood in their center.
"You know why I am here." Atreyu said, taking the AURYN Medallion on his chest and holding it up so that all could see, but directing it specifically at the Elders. "The day prophesized has come. You know what I must do."
The Elders all bowed their heads, the Owlin people all stepping aside, each beckoning Atreyu forward with their hands, showing him a position where he could stand at the top of the stairs. Atreyu stepped forward, stepping up the stairs, then turning at the top to face the two bands, and the others who had begun to filter in to mingle amongst them.
"Friends, as most of you know, Moonchild, the Childlike Empress, lost her life to the hands of Lord Vader." He said, holding the AURYN up so that all could continue to see it. "She was my friend. It is because of her that I am who I am today. She saw in me the hope she needed when I was nothing but Atreyu the warrior of the People of the Purple Buffalo. If not for her and Falkor...I would be nothing.
Things have not gone well for us. Lord Vader has taken the Ivory Tower. And now the Lord of Darkness and Ganondorf have done something to Hyrule Castle...though what, I'm not sure. All I know for sure is that it's not good. And then...then this storm. It seems to be worldwide. Whatever it is. I'm...ashamed to say I'm not entirely sure where we stand, as a team. Our armies are crumbling. Our strongholds are broken. Whatever we do next, we have to do it fast, and we have to do it together."
He held the AURYN aloft, raising it high over his head. He spoke aloud, loud enough that everyone around him could hear what he was saying.
"AURYN Bearers, I am Atreyu, Champion of the Childlike Empress!" He said, his voice confident and commanding, a far cry for the uncertainty he'd displayed only a moment ago. "We have faced terrible setbacks in recent days, and unfortunate losses."
Gandalf laid his hand on Rum's shoulder again as he stepped amongst the Twilight Embers. He smiled at Tuto, took his pipe from between his lips and raised it up in greeting, then pulled his poke from beneath his robes to offer the Gnome some smoke.
"Our skies are darkening. Our strongholds have fallen. Our armies have been conquered. But we are not done! We will not be going quietly into the night that these fiends try to bring down upon us! They'll take Hyboria from us when they've snuffed the breath from the last of us, and even then it will only be after a mighty struggle! Prepare yourselves! Soon, I shall summon you to the Hall of the Celestials in Skyloft through the power of the AURYN! If you hear me now, you are the resistance!"
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Rum wanders across to stand beside the others and listens to Atreyu's proclamation, half his thoughts on Gandalf's words. Listen to your heart not your head. Well it was his heart he was sure that got him into this, it was impulsiveness that drew him to the Ivory Tower. Maybe that is enough and he had certainly learned a lot on his journey. About himself and the world around him.
He wasn't the same Tabaxi that started out on the journey, but he hadn't lost himself either. He just needed to stick to his beliefs and continue to choose the path his heart deemed right. He had to make sure that hope survived.
As he feels Gandalf's hand on his shoulder, a low rumble-like growl emanates from deep in his throat as he girds himself for what is to come. His paws clench up in fists and he closes his eyes. He clears his mind of all negativity and focusses on the positive. Only then does he step forward and climb the stairs to the half way point.
"I stand with the chosen of AURYN, Champion Atreyu", he says loudly, placing his fist over his heart in respect.
"We will not succumb to the darkness whilst the embers of hope still burn"
Jek watches and listens to Atreyu speak. He hears of their failures. If this was just a day or two ago, he would have let the weight of there failures crush him. However, now he thinks back to the Bright Lady, bathed in light and dressed in green. He knows that he is following the right path, the path of light.
He watches as Rum steps forward. Jek will nod to Rum, and move up to stand next to him. "We stand with the chosen of the AURYN! This is the right path, the path of light. The order of the Phoenix will rise again and again, we will not be defeated!"
Silently standing off to the side of the crowd, Lady Kaede looks rather regal in her resplendent armor, but her face presents a completely different view. Tears are streaming down her cheeks as she listens to Atreyu speak, his words of dread piercing her heart to the core. Those are here family’s ancient lands he’s referring to. She was completely unaware of the looming danger that is destroying the land and it’s wonderful peoples. What can be done? Are more importantly, what is her part to play in this unfolding drama?
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
(( Dageron never came to the hall. He's (finally) back in the library. ))
As the group appear in shimmering light, Travin, a small shriveled goblin? Absolutely stacked with a mountain of junk on his back turns to observe where he is now, he appears to be covered in blood and soot and he is slowly lowering a dismembered leg into a bag around his waist.
Looking over to Johnathan and shavaris in particular he clears his throat before rasping out, "ahhh um, is this real hmmm? Travin might be having the biggest hallucinations of his life rights now yeh yeh, ahh Dawn Guard?"
Another figure shimmers into view, a centaur like a dull grey shadowy highlander wrapped in a bright plaid, with a set of bagpipes strapped to her torso and horse-like eyes that sparkle with the love of the stars. She smiles as the Hall of Celestials and the luck dragon appear before her, and, after all the new arrivals have finished appearing, she looks at Atreyu, and with a loud clop clop she trots straight towards him and drops---awkwardly---to her equine knees, head bowed and the AURYN medallion worn around her neck held up in both of her hands.
"Oh warrior standing before the fall,
Andromeda's Answer heeds your call.
The halls of heaven resound a cry:
The Lady Bright we hail most high!"