Airships Over Aranor 12

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Ann and the dragon get to the restaurant before too long. Of course Arizan has something to say. "What kind of place is this?"
"Food."
"So...they serve food here?"
"Yes." I should probably note that Arizan's ignorance of normal humanoid culture is basically characteristic of isolationist dragons, and not a product of any mental deficiency. When one is born and raised and then lives for about two or three centuries in a seismically active, volcanic section of land where nobody other than dragons could possibly hope to survive for very long, leaving only to hunt food and even then not going very far, it's only natural to be a little confused by the concept of a restaurant. Just another good reason to take things in stride, not that Ann particularly needs one. The eagle woman leads the way to an empty table with two seats, both wit very short backs to better accommodate winged persons.

The dragon picks up a menu on the table, which is actually much harder than it sounds due to this form's hands ending in long, sharp claws. Obviously she can read, but most of the named dishes and descriptions have words or phrases she hasn't even heard of before. "Is this the kind of food I would like, then?"
"They have good meat."
"So you just automatically assume that all dragons like meat?"
"Do you or not?"
"...Yes."

After a few minutes of what is most likely a heated argument in the kitchen, a particularly brave waiter comes to take their order. He's still kind of hesitant about approaching the dragon, but Ann saves him the trouble, ordering both their meals in full before he can even ask what they want to drink. Then there are about five or six minutes of awkward silence, not just between the two but also a general lowering of voices throughout the restaurant. It was there before, but less noticeable when they were talking. Arizan seems to want to converse but clearly has no idea what to say; Ann is not one for starting conversations in general, but wouldn't know what to say even if she wanted to. The vacuum of conversation is so awkward that it's becoming quite awkward for me to even write about it. Let's move on to somebody else, shall we?


"Well, my wounds are not from a dragon, actually. They are from a pirate. But...Ironically enough, we did encounter a dragon before the attack."
Charlotte leans forward. "Oh? Do tell."
"Well, one minute we were on our way here, everything steady as she goes, and the next Whys said there was a red dragon behind us aiming her breath in the Farran's general direction. I am getting ahead of myself, but this is entirely Raoclem's doing."

"S-sir Conall, do you mean Choneiji Raoclem?" A correction is implicit in the Neshobe's voice. Khazu is obviously being the sort that would never leave off any title, especially one prestigious enough to have only belonged to seven or less individuals at once at given point in all of Aranor's recorded history.

"Sorry. He insisted we drop the title on the flight over here, even Xach. It made a habit that is hard to break. Anyway, apparently he gave this dragon another vague prophecy that implied we might be responsible for her death. Whyskars suggested that it was meant to imply we would save her life somehow, but to be perfectly honest I do not think that anything like that happened." Conall explains how Arizan decided to get on the airship and was subsequently sent to the engine room.
"So she rode all the way here? Where is she now? Does she know any ancient dragon stories?"
"Calm down..honestly, you sound like Xach's protégé. As this dragon seems to be in a perpetual state of either rage or looking for reasons to become enraged, I am not exactly sure your meeting her would be good for the health of anyone allergic to being on fire."

"I'm sure I could calm her down."
"With what, one of Aurica's stories? About dragon slaying, perhaps? But to answer your question, she wanted to stay with someone of the crew on some of our shore leave while the ship is repaired, so I asked Ann to go with her."
"Ann? You mean that brick wall you took on a few months back?"
"Yes. I am hoping brick is a little harder to burn. So after the dragon was in our engine room, presumably helping the engine's function, Verra decided to show up."

Conall describes the events of the attack from there, not leaving out the promise of revenge. I won't bore you with repetition here. Once he's through, Charlotte appears to be thinking for a few seconds or so.
"Hm..so, Callor's explosion spell. You think it's a half-Clan spell like that thing that let her see through Whys' illusions, or a pure Red Claw?"
"I have little doubt it is the latter, but it would be extremely dangerous for one of us to imitate it. For one, burning that much magical energy at once would probably knock one unconscious for a good two or three hours, and leave one tired and drained for a few days afterward. Then, of course, there is the fact that it seems to come through one's eyes, which cannot possibly be good for vision. Even accepting all of that, he obviously still did not want to cast it on an airship, and it is not hard to see why."

More thinking. It's never a good sign when Charlotte is this thoughtful. "Well. In that case, you obviously need something to tip the odds in your favor. Maybe if you got an Ekim weapon of your own you wouldn't have so much trouble fighting her."
"Lately I have barely been able to keep the ship running and pay her crew the contract minimum for their wages. How would I even begin to afford something like that?"

"Maybe you don't have to buy one." She pauses for dramatic effect and leans forward a bit. "Five or six hours ago I was talking to this guy, called himself Bernard, said he was a dignitary of some western country and native to these lands. He said there were legends from thousands of years ago, about a king who fought off every dragon that entered his kingdom. Supposedly he had a shapeshifting weapon, but wouldn't let his idiot son inherit it, instead having it sealed in his tomb at burial. The dragons came back in and took revenge on his family, but they couldn't find his tomb. Some humans supposedly found it later on, but couldn't get it open. Some kind of weird inscriptions on the front that read like gibberish. Bernard said he got a look at those runes, written down in a book once, and said it looked a lot like transliterated Neshoban." She produces a small scrap of paper from a pocket somewhere and hands it to Khazu. "If you don't mind?"
"Oh! W-well, as I told the madam before..it says something like 'only by presence of two of the blessed slayers of dragons may I open and bleed the formless one'. That is..a little rough, however, I am not an expert in the language."
"Bernard had to run, some kind of official business, he said, but said to treat this guy to some food in his stead. Anyway, doesn't it sound great?"

Conall is thoughful for a moment. "It sounds...like a remarkably well-put-together scam. Did he happen to mention which western country he was from?"
"Maybe? I wasn't really paying attention until he mentioned treasure."
"Did he say exactly where the tomb was?"
"Yeah, he gave me the directions that were in the book with the rest of the text. It's south of here, maybe a few days' walk."
He looks at the Neshobe. "Were you with him before they met?"
"Yes, sir..briefly. He looked noble so I thought he might be willing and able to help me find a friend of mine who I had, err, rather shamefully left behind a few months ago. I had heard she was going this way and wanted to make amends for my prior uncouth behavior. He said he hadn't seen her, but also that he was sure I'd find her eventually...then he accosted Miss Charlotte out of the blue. I am fairly sure he never did specify exactly which country he was from, but he certainly bore himself regally."

 
"Well, he did an excellent job, I see. Exactly what you said you wanted?" What Whys is commenting on is, again, hidden from most eyes. By Fylenis magic. The young woman he is speaking to is part Fylenis, mostly elf; this was not the case the last time the two of them spoke.
"Indeed. And he was very kind, treated me as a guest for a little while."
Leona Aptenei has long expressed an interest in the abilities, the furtive secretiveness, and particularly the history of the Fylenis. This very interest was the reason she and Whys got to know each other in the first place, he being a younger, more liberal and open-minded Fylenis, and she an elfin actress who had already experienced quite a bit in life. A few years ago she decided to seek a change to make things a little more fresh and interesting, and by the looks of her ears and tail, she found it.

There are two beings on Aranor who are believed to be quite ancient, and who possess a power nobody else does, at least not so fully. They are both elves, technically, but instead of being able to manipulate the usual elements such as fire and water, they possess the "element" of transformation. Elfin magic in general is divided into "positive" and "negative" aspects, the former of which is directed outward (such as in attacks) while the latter is directed inwards (defense or healing, for example); this unconventional element behaves similarly. One of the two beings is The Transformer, a reclusive old elf who hides from the world and is exceptionally hard to find. He has the ability to change the shapes of others rather precisely, down to fine details, but not himself; the other one, known generally (and even referred to by name) as the Doppleganger, has the power to radically change its whole form at once, usually taking on the appearance of other people. The Doppleganger is able to completely imitate the magic of whoever he or she is currently mimicking; the drawback is that frequently changing one's form seems to leave one's memory in a state of extreme disrepair, and he or she has little real sense of identity separate from an imitated personality based on the present form. She or he has usually been on the side of good, when his or her mark on Aranor's history has even been known at all. The only beings the Doppleganger cannot imitate, and the Transformer can neither alter nor alter another to, are dragons.

I say that to say that the latter is who Leona, with Khazu's help, sought and eventually found. Khazu was spooked by old stories of him changing people completely against their will in some sort of experimentation to determine the extent and nature of his powers, but as Leona found out he had long since completed that endeavor and merely wished to be left alone. Still, in exchange for promising not to say where he was found, and in recognition of her rather extensive efforts to find him, he did as she asked. They were both very polite and all was as a proper visit.

One might accuse an actress using the illusory powers of the Fylenis of a sort of "cheating", using magical powers instead of genuine talent for a performance. Leona, however, is immune to such criticism; she has worked with numerous traveling troupes throughout the years, picked up all kinds of tricks and a great deal of practice and experience. She is perfectly capable, without the help of newfound Fylenis magic, to create extensive and convincing illusions with elfin light and sound magic; and perfectly capable of taking on just about any role and playing it as convincingly as one of her stature can.

I should probably point out that actors (and performance artists in general) on Aranor who are not lucky enough to be sponsored by a wealthy person generally make a nomadic living, and as such need to be fairly good at defending themselves against monsters. The ability to make a flashy battle of quite real swords and sorcery without actually harming one another is also useful to an actor's craft. Leona prefers to wield close-in weapons that depend on largely on speed, such as claws or knives, in real combat, but is a very capable swordswoman.

"You should know that having our powers makes you subject to Fylenis law."
"Oh, I know. But I can't do anything terribly dangerous anyway. Declawed, you might say?"
"I knew that from a look, but I have to say it anyway. More importantly, I should probably show you where and how to look for territory marks so you won't step on anyone's toes..especially the King's."

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From: http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?42524-Airships-Over-Aranor-Prose