Veythe let out a loud curse and skidded to her knees next to Vasha and Vesra. She cautiously ran her hand up and down Vesra's arm and sang softly under her breath. The words weren't quite comprehensible, more sounds than anything, and they were a soft sort of mournful type of cry--almost begging in a way. Veythe couldn't really think of a thing to say except, "Don't say goodbye."

(cure wounds 8)

Earlier...

Everyone else fractured away, and Vesra soon found herself alone. She didn't have any desire to stay put and watch her sister, Rezivah, and Kayn poke and prod at the Hedron, so she decided it was time to explore the island. Making her way around the island, the druid soon found a path of scorched earth, leading straight to the chasm that the mana rays had flown from the night before. The chasm was unfathomably deep, a mist obscuring any hopes she may have had at seeing the bottom.

"I might as well make myself a little useful," she murmured to herself, curiosity getting the better of her. Her form melted, replaced by the familiar Lagac lizard. Now outfitted with claws for climbing, she began to make her way down. The scorched trail continued down the cliffside, making a zig zag pattern on the rock. As she climbed downwards, the ground trembled slightly, but she was able to hold on just fine. She kept going downward, into a heavy mist that obscured her vision. Vesra could hear hissing, but it was hard to tell where it came from. Descending further into the chasm, the trail became harder to follow. It seemed to branch off and crisscross itself. Peering down below, the kor could see a thin, orangish streak of faint light, disappearing into the mist.

The orange streak piqued her interest, so Vesra continued to climb downward. It didn't seem to get any closer, which was rather odd. The temperature increased as she continued to journey downwards, as did the sound of hissing. She could now pick out that many of the trails disappeared into large circular holes that were cut, or melted, into the rock. Perhaps they were nest...

As she crossed into the "nest" area, she realized that the orange glow was most certainly a lava flow at the bottom of the chasm. Just as she was about to turn around and climb back up to tell the party what she had found, there was a mighty tremor. Suddenly, two gargantuan wurms burst forth from the cliff side right next to her. The force of their arrival jettisoned the lizard toward the center of the chasm with tons of rocks and debris as she began to fall helplessly towards the massive lava flow below. (OOC: Nat 2 on the climb check, and Nat 1 on the Dex save to try to grab the wall again)

Vesra immediately dropped her wild shape, reverting back to her true form, and cast speak with animals on herself, hoping that perhaps there were still some mana rays around. "Please, help me!" she screamed to whatever beasts could hear her, and to Zendikar herself. The druid continued to fall, no signs of anyone or anything answering her calls. "I beg you, save me!" She screamed again.

But she continued to fall.

"Tell my sister, I love her, and I'm sorry," she cried, accepting her fate as the orange glow got closer and closer. The mist around her was getting so hot she could hear it sizzle and evaporate. She cried out in pain, the heat causing her to lose consciousness. Just as the blackness began to creep into the corners of her vision, Vesra thought she saw a rocky hands ascending all around her, but the pain was too much for her to hold on any longer...

She hoped Vasha would learn to forgive her, one day.

Now...

Vesra gasped awake, every inch of her body burning in agony. Her vision blurred and swam, but eventually focused on her sister. Vasha. Tears and dirt covered her sisters face as the monk held Vesra in her arms. "No," Vesra moaned, the words hurt to say. She thought when she was dead, it wouldn't hurt as much. She thought... "Not you too. Vash... I'm sorry."

The pain was too much to bear any longer, and Vesra slipped back into the comforting blackness of unconsciousness.

Kayn bursts into the camp and stares down at the the Kor twins, "Vessie!" He yells. Seeing her burnt like that, the goblin begins to wail. Massive tears begin rolling down his cheeks as he does, "Why Vessie?? Why did you go out alone?" He drops to his knees and cries out in agonizing pain as if he suffered the same fate she had, "I meant for everyone to go! Not just you!" He wails again, completely forgetting about the gnarlid that sat dumbly staring out into the chasm. Likely, the goblin's notes had all been carried by the wind to fall to the same fate Vesra had. He sits there, sobbing, waiting for the Kor to wake up. His obsession with his research took a back seat to seeing Vesra in such a condition. Now he just wanted to see if she would wake up again...

Ato had awoken feeling much more refreshed than after the previous nights "rest". With Kayn and Resivah using their skills to continue researching the hedron, and his own more physical inspection complete for now, he wasn't sure just what he could do next. It made sense to conduct a more thorough exploration of the island - there could be other things they were missing that would give them some clues, but he suspected it would come down to magic, or somehow using the mana to gain access. Since the events at the pit, Who had felt a deeper connection to that lifeblood force. A stronger connection and new possibilities awakening inside him. If he was to best aid the group, he needed to learn what those abilities might be and how best to use them. Settling into a comfortable spot out of the way, he closed his eyes and tried to feel, to understand what was now inside him, and the deeper pool of mana within. Time slipped away...

Shouting. Confusion and chaos. His eyes snapped open, and he brought his senses back to the world around him, wondering what had happened. He heard Vasha shouting, back at the hedron. Was it open? Ato jumped to his feet and ran in that direction, but Vasha appeared, running blindly past him, nearly bowling him over as she did. He spun around and joined the stream of everyone following after the distraught monk. What in the hells was going on? The answer was soon clear enough. Why hadn't Vesra asked him to go along with her? Would it have mattered? He watched, helpless, as others with any ability to heal, did what they could, clustered around the horrible, burned form of the young druid. Finally, having done all they could, Vasha gathers up her sisters limp body and makes her way back to camp. Ato trails behind, heart aching for the pair.

Just over an hour after she had been carried back to camp, Vesra’s body stirred. Almost every inch of her skin was covered in discolored patches, although thankfully the white mana her friends had poured into her had been able to heal all but the worst of it. Her hair and clothes were completely gone, but at least the horrible tattoo on her forehead had also been burned away.

Her eyes opened slowly, revealing a beautiful blue sky ringed with green tree tops. The pain was gone, that was good. It had been replaced by a dull, ever present ache, but at least she no longer felt like she was on fire. Vesra hadn’t expected the afterlife to look exactly like her campsite. 

“Please,” she rasped, feeling as if there was still smoke in her lungs. The druid opened her eyes once more and turned her head, immediately focusing on her crying sister and Kayn. “No, no, not you too. You can’t be dead too.”

"Vessie is alive!" Kayn yelled with joy. He hopped up as if to hug her but stopped. He knew burns could still hurt when touched. Instead he dances around the camp in joy. His gnarlid, whom he'd brought back to camp moments earlier, joined the goblin in his dance. As soon as they were done, Kayn started pelting her with questions, "What happened? How did you get burnt? Did Zendikar save you? What were you thinking? Was it the hedron that hurt you?" His eyes widened with each question. How could this have happened to her? 

"That would be most appreciated, Kayn. Hopefully they'll snare something lovely for me."

Vasha was there now, giving her attempt at the hedron. She touched as Rezivah had done so, and she noted Vasha went through a similar round of horrible feelings Rezivah had when she put her hands to the hedron. After some time however, Vasha's body fell limp to the ground. Her present party rushed to her side without thought in a moment's notice. Rezivah stared dumbfounded. What happened? Was it because I put my mana in it? Was this because of me?

After some time, the Kor came to, but instead of showing some relief or gratitude, instead of explaining what had happened, she took off in the direction of the campsite. Many had followed her. Rezivah kept the mind to stay with the hedron for now, just as Kayn did. If she rested for a small while, her mana reserves would return, and she would be able to pour more into the hedron. But, is that what she wanted to do?

A howl is bellowed from a distance. Kayn says some things that Rezivah couldn't quite hear. Suddenly, the goblin drops his research materials and bolts in its direction. Rezivah, without thinking, follows him. Something must have gone terribly wrong.

Reaching the campsite, the results of a great tragedy could be seen. Vesra's motionless body was cradled by her sister. Vasha obscured some of Rezivah's line of sight, but she could still see some signs of severe burns across her legs and arms. She got closer. Vasha was distraught, her face slicked with wet dirt and her tears. Vesra was unconscious. What.. happened?

Rezivah was standing over the edge of the cliff, staring out into the expansive view. She couldn't really bring herself to look at everyone. She wasn't a part of them. Though she didn't ever wish this kind of misfortune of people, the wholeness of empathy that true companions share wasn't there. She didn't know them. That, and this, wasn't her fault. She squinted her eyes and continued staring at nothing.

Who knows how long it'd been before Vesra spoke, but eventually she did. Rezivah turned around. Vasha was at her side once more, crying into her sister's hand. Rezivah wanted to know what had happened. Why Vesra felt it necessary to go out alone. From what had transpired, it could be sensed that the Kor had almost died, and for what? She would leave behind another hole in this forlorn group, as well as a grieving, hopeless sister. It.. It's best I leave them be for now. Once again, Rezivah stares out into the breadth of Zendikar.

Vesra flinched as the salt water of her sister’s tears stung her fresh skin. For the first time, she looked at her own arm and noticed the scars and angry, pink patches of flesh. There was too much pain for her to be dead, she realized. The druid was unsure as to how, but she had somehow survived the fall. 

“How,” she breathed, closing her eyes again. The suns were so bright, why did everything have to burn? “I shouldn’t be here, I shouldn’t be alive...” She opened her eyes again and turned to look at her sister. “Father was right. I fell. I fell and I fell and I...” Tears began to stream down her face, but she had to be strong. She couldn’t let anyone else fall. “At the bottom of that chasm is a river of lava. I would not recommend anyone else go and investigate it.”

Ouch. Vessie fell into lava. Zendikar did save her. She would never have been found or seen if not for the earth bringing her back up to her friends. "Rest, Vessie," the goblin says to her. He clicks his tongue a few times in an attempt to soothe her. It often worked on wild animals that were injured and aggressive. Perhaps it helped to soothe Kor as well. "I can go back to the elves. Maybe appeal them for help. I don't know if they will help, but I can try," he offers. He knew the elves were masters of herbalism. If anyone knew of ways too soothe the pain of so many burns, they would. Had it been Kayn that fell, he'd be rubbing dirt all over himself right now. 

“It’s alright, Kayn, I don’t want you to have to give up that egg of yours,” Vesra smiled weakly. “Besides, it doesn’t hurt anymore. You don’t need to worry about me, I’ll be ok.”

Vesra let her hand fall from her sister’s cheek, closing her eyes for a brief moment. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured. She opened her eyes and looked back at her sister, her poor sister. By the suns, she couldn’t imagine how terrified Vasha must have felt. “Kayn, would you mind giving me and my sister a moment alone?”

As things calm down in camp, Kayn returns to the hedron. His gnarlid still sits next to Vesra. He wasn't going to be taking her out of his sight for awhile. His notes were scattered, but he quickly went to work gathering them up. The most important notes and the ones he was currently working on were grounded with a stone, so they were left intact. Pulling one paper up, he sees a rune flash on the northernmost tip of the circular door. He's seen that rune before... 

Suddenly his research fever is back on. He quickly falls into the flow of taking notes, glancing at the hedron's runes, looking to a book, and taking notes again. 

The gnarlid sighs as it watches Vesra and the rest of the camp. He could tell she was still in some sort of discomfort. A dive into lava would do that to you. 

A few hours had passed with Rezivah's amber eyes staring blankly over the horizon. When Kayn left, Rezivah suspected it would be to return to his work. Her mana was back. She wasn't sure if funneling more into the hedron was the right thing to do, but Kayn's comments after the fact seemed to be the only open progress anyone has made thus far. With that in mind, she returned to the hedron as well.

Sure enough, the goblin was at his work. Jotting incessantly on his papers, putting his hands on the face of the hedron, muttering. His gnarlid wasn't around however. Rezivah walked up to and beside him, her neck stretched up looking over the etched stonework. "So Kayn, what do you think?"

"Perfect timing!" Kayn says. "I need you to infuse your mana..." He touches a rune at the top-most portion of the hedron, "Here. It needs healing mana on that location, I think." Kayn takes a few steps back, cradling his notes. He then gives a reassuring not to Rezivah. He was sure of it. That rune was the rune for plains and order. If the hedron were opened with mana, this would be one location that needs to be infused with mana. If this has any reaction at all, it means the goblin is on the right track. 

Rezivah listened to the goblin and stared at the area he pointed. It resembled nothing to Rezivah. Just strange carvings in a stone. An incomprehensible language used by the ancients. Whether this goblin was exceedingly clever or exceedingly deranged, Rezivah was uncertain. "Uhh.. I don't know any healing magic to be precise. My white mana isn't that powerful yet.. I do have a slight affinity for it." Rezivah reaches for the strange etching on the hedron. "If you think it will help." Rezivah was touching the stone now. That same revolting feeling resonated in her body. She winced. Channeling her white mana, she poured it into the depicted rune, unsure of what was about to happen.

As Rezivah places her hand on the hedron, her body seems to writhe with discomfort as she shudders once again. Focusing through the feeling, she begins to pour what little white mana she has onto the rune. As the mana pulses from her palm into the rune, it begins to glow a soft white, lingering until she removes her hand once again, afterwhich the glow slowly fades...

This time was different. The rune glowed as Rezivah pulled her hand away, but.. it wasn't very bright. Rezivah took a couple steps back, looking over the hedron, thinking to herself. This 'rune' for white mana is located in the upper part of this hedron. The ancients were well learned and purposeful. Nothing about these hedrons, though we don't understand them, is coincidence. The images of various texts she's read in her study of mana depicted the relationship of all the colors littered her mind. It was a wheel, always a wheel. No good, no evil, no strong, no weak. White.. was always at the top.

"White's at the top!" Rezivah exclaimed. "Kayn! I think their are more runes on this thing. Runes specific to the colors of mana. Just as you found the white above, so too should there be blue, black, red, and green." As Rezivah spoke, her hand pointed in the general vicinity of these proposed runes as if the hedron was a depiction of the wheel of mana. "Also, it needs more. I don't have enough white mana. I believe that's why it glowed only slightly. With some rest, maybe I have enough black mana."

Seeing the obvious visual effect occur, Kayn grins. When Rezivah starts getting excited about the discovery, his heart starts beating at a fast pace as if it were contagious. He sets his notes back down and begins flipping through them rapidly. "I saw a rune for swamp and self-concern in another tome. I left that tome back in Affa though!" He starts scrambling to find any reference to the rune in his notes. "This might take awhile," he says. "But I know it's in here somewhere! Go... rest! We'll try black." He buries his head in his notes, flipping through them rapidly.