Journey of the Elementals RP (Pm if Interested, Started)

[CounterAttack]

Gabriel looked up at the sound of the whistle. There hadn't been one for when the airship was heading into Magick's End, and the battle with the dragons. He took that to mean that it meant something different. "Possibly... I guess we should get ready to disembark. Thank you for hearing me out, Nydia, and for the offer of help. Should you need something yourself, I will be happy to assist you. One good turn deserves another."

With that, the younger mage got up from the table and sketched a short bow of farewell to Nydia before collecting his empty plate and depositing it in the small pile that already existed. His ever-present shadow following in his wake, Gabe retraced his steps to head back to his cabin. There he donned his robes despite their size, and did his best to straighten out his slightly messy hair... the latter action was not all that effective, however, as Gabriel's hair often messed itself up sometimes. "Argh. I'm trying to make myself presentable here..." he grumbled to the mirror image of himself, who simply stared at him. As usual.

After a couple more attempts Gabriel gave up. The mess would have to suffice; it wasn't going away any time soon. After repacking the few things he had taken out of his bag, he placed the bag in question on his bed and took a moment to look out the window. The sight was incredible; Kerbones was a city built into a freaking mountain. Towers were everywhere, as far as he could see... it was a fantastical place to Gabriel. He thought he would enjoy walking in such a place, taking in the sights and maybe talking to citizens to try to understand what life was like in Kerbones.

 

[SkyeNeko]

Fei didn't notice her brother sneak away. Her shadow was kind of fun to be around. It always listened, and never seemed disinterested or lost when she started talking. "So are you from Oublie too? I am. My mom and dad are merchants. Are your parents merchants? Are they like... shadow versions of my parents? Do you live in a shadow-y version of this world? Can you talk there?" She wondered what Drew, Gabriel, or Seth's shadows did. Did they think the same as her shadow?

A shrill whistle interrupted her thoughts. "Huh? Are we here? Drew? Drew?" She looked around, spotting her older brother coming up from below. "Dreeeew!" She ran full speed into her brother, but she barely moved him. Her shadow ran behind her. "Drew look! Kerbones! Let's go see the city!" When they were smaller, before the Academy, they had sailed around with their parents. She had seen a lot of exotic things, but this was still new for her.

 

[UnusualStranger]

Seth watched as Cale bounded up the stairs, obviously interested in what had caused such a unique sound from the ship to happen. He figured they were indeed here, but was in no hurry to get up the stairs. He made his way up slowly, and was greeted by the sight of a city built into the side of a mountain. The city itself was massive, with a huge palace that they seemed to be heading into to match. Seth looked about, taking in anything and everything.

Now THIS is a sight to see. A city built into a mountain. I wonder how they managed all this? Must have been pretty incredible....and the mists still linger. Is that the thing for this place? Mists?

[hr]

Aaron nodded as all the mages seemed to take in the large city that he called home. He had seen the same view many times in his lifetime, but each time it was enjoyable to be back. As he made his rounds, making sure that everything was still going according to plan, the ship finally made its way into a cove that was located very close to the palace.

As they floated into the lit tunnels, it was apparent that a lot of prep had been done for their return. All sorts of engineers and workers were rushing about, parts and tools and things in hand. All seeming to have a task, be them male or female, mechanical or not.

As the ship finally settled into a set of pads that were apparently made to cushion the landing, down came the landing ramp, and a few soldiers were the first to step off, each seeming to give a sigh of relief as they touched down.

The Prime Minister, in the meantime, walked to the front deck where the mages were, and laughed. It was easy to discover where his mirth came from, as a young girl, possibly no more than ten, was running and jumping towards the airship, waving her arms around. In tow was a well dressed woman, with bright and heavily designed robes, some of which seemed to have glowing ruins inscribed upon them. The Prime Minister waved, and proceeded towards the gate, where it seemed the initial rush of soldiers leaving was done for the moment.

"Go on mages. Get back on solid ground! The Prime Minister will direct you from here." Aaron said, waving to the mages as he proceeded below the deck to make sure all had made it out, shouting "HEY! ANY MAGE WANTING OFF HERE SHOULD GET THEIR SORRY GEARS MOVING!"

[hr]

Seth gave a shrug as they finally arrived into the slightly darker cave, and marveled at the odd lights and torches that seemed all over the place. People running everywhere with....things. He couldn't tell what half of them were, but he figured there was a hell of a lot of importance to them. Noting the Prime Minister laughing, and considering that it might be family, which was kind of odd to think about, Seth proceeded to follow the path of the Prime Minister to get off the ship, and ultimately get back on solid ground...well, he assumed it was anyways.

"Come on, Shadow. We got a world to see, and you better be able to explain yourself when we get a chance to actually settle down." Seth muttered to his shadow, drawing a few looks from the soldiers around him, but they ultimately continued about their business.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

As Gabriel rose from his seat to leave, Nydia rose with him and returned the bow he gave. "Ah, I do appreciate your thoughtfulness. I shall keep your kind offer in mind. It was a pleasure meeting you Gabriel." She said as he left. After placing her dirty dishes in the proper place and checking to make sure Shadow Nydia was still with her, she returned to her own quarters to gather her things before she had to depart.

Once she arrived, Nydia pondered for a moment whether or not the robes she was wearing would be sufficient or if she should change into something nicer. Eventually she decided against it, not knowing what exactly her agenda for the day would be. She took a few more minutes to make sure her hair was how she wanted it and that her glasses were clean and then grabbed her heavy bag and made her way up to the deck. "I wonder what Kerbones is like... I don't believe I've ever even read about it before. This should be fascinating." She said to herself as she climbed up to the deck.

What she saw was more fascinating than she had imagined. Though the Academy she called home was a large and impressive structure, it paled in comparison to this massive city built into a mountain. "And to think they built all this without magic.... Their technology must be quite impressive indeed." Nydia gasped in wonder as she took in the sight of Kerbones. "Well then... Shall we? I suspect that a plethora of exciting new sights and experiences await us." She asked her shadowy companion, who remained silent as ever. Taking that for a yes, Nydia stepped off of the airship and followed after the Prime Minister and the soldiers who had departed before her.

 

[NeoAC]

It all happened so sudden, the lurching forward, the calls from above. It had completely interrupted Raven's breakfast, and for that she was most displeased. "Can't even let me finish my meal in peace. Bastard."

She arose, simply leaving the meagre food on the table as she briefly returned to her room to scoop up her belongings. It will be good to depart from this wretched flying machine anyway. The shadow being still followed her, not once breaking from her stride. Still don't know what the deal is with this thing.

Eventually, Raven arrived at the doors leading off of the airship, rejoining the group of mages who had already departed. The mighty Kerbones that they constantly spoke of seemed to be nothing more than a cave. While inside she chided the government officials for their misguided bravado regarding their homeland, one thought hit Raven's mind at the same time. This is actually much nicer than I expected from these bastards. She silently observed the rest of the party, seeing what exactly their next intended step would be.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

Aden cracked his eyes open, groaning. The side of his head was caked in blood, making him regret not having chosen to have shaved his head. What in the hell had happened? He closed his eyes and tried to focus, the pain in his skull sharpening as he dragged the memories to the surface, kicking and screaming.
Monsters attacking the ship. Dragons, or Drakes. Aden had fought against them, but in the process had taken a strike to the side of the head by a buffeting wing, only a glancing blow, but it had smashed him into the ship and torn his scalp nicely. He grimaced and reached his head up to touch the cut.

A hand slapped his away from the cut. He turned his head and saw...himself? No. A negative image of himself, shadowy and translucent, unmarred by burns and clad in the simple robes of a pyromancer, rather than Aden's more flashy garb.

"What..."

He stared at the spectre for several seconds, his eyes bulging until it all began coming back from there - the spectral mage, the shadow. He'd scarcely even acknowledged them the night before, before he was being carried to a cot to rest.

He closed his eyes and grimaced. As he lay there, he felt a soft, wet cloth touch the cut, wiping away at the blood. His eyes snapped open, locking on the woman wiping his wound, clad in a bloodstained grey smock.

"Ya took a hell of a hit in that fight." The dried, crusted blood slowly came away under the strokes of the cloth. "The hell happened to ya? I've never seen anyone survive burns like 'at." From behind her, Aden could see the Shadow staring at him.

"I don't need help."

"Well, don't get excited, there ain't much I can do. I saved ye for last because, well, there were a lot a people who took worse hits than ya. We got lucky. Lucky we had ye and yer friends, too. Could'a been a lot worse."

The Shadow slapped his forehead behind her. It seemed to mime talking for a second, then shrugged. Aden narrowed his eyes at it, wishing he could yell at it to just sit still without looking like he was completely mad.

"I don't require assistance." She was helpful, even nice. But she was Human. "Least of all from one of your filthy kind." But the words just had a way of slipping out."

"Is 'at so?" She didn't look shocked or even terribly offended. "Ah, fuck ye." She kept scrubbing at the bloody cut. "The bad news is ye'll probably scar, ya ill tempered old bastard. The good news is that it won't make you much uglier." She dabbed at the cut a bit more. "So tell me, what exactly makes me filthy? Is it the blood and dirt I got on me, that I'm not a rich highborn lass like ye're used ta, that I'm a woman in general, or that I ain't one a yer mages?"

"That you're a Human."

"Ah, and ye think ye ain't because ya and yer people can throw around fire and wind like ye're yer own personal light show ye're not Humans. Suppose 'at's fair enough. So would you prefer I just let the wound fester until we have to use maggots to clean it out?"

He paused for several seconds, pride warring with good sense. "...Clean it out." The Shadow seemed to drum his fingers on his arm, waiting for him to say something else. "Please."

"Ah, manners all a the sudden? Aye, maggots get everyone's attention."
He closed his eyes and let the woman work, for a moment just ignoring everything. "Alright, ye're done."

"Thank you." He -almost- managed to sound genuine. She smirked and moved along. He rolled off the cot to his feet and grabbed his coat, throwing it over his shoulder, the shadow trailing behind him as he walked through the ship. "I assume you can't talk. Must you follow me everywhere I go?" The Shadow shrugged, but didn't leave. "Wonderful. Good to know I'll have an observer for every private moment from here on." He headed towards the upper deck, hearing the calls for the Mages to come. As he ascended from the depths of the ship and got his first look at the mountain city, his jaw dropped open. Humans built -that-!?

His shadow tapped his chin. He closed his mouth and glared at the being, then kept walking, eager to be back on terra firma. He moved into the group of mages.

"We should stick close. We're strangers in a strange land. Try to avoid the urge to go off alone and see the sights, there's no telling what dangers await us here." He glanced at the Shadows of the other Mages. "...this is going to take some getting used to."

 

[UnusualStranger]

Seth glanced and chuckled as he noted a somewhat disheveled and less-than-fantastic looking Aden returned. He had taken slight notice of the Pryomancer during the dragon fight, but had not seen him afterwords, but figured him alive enough. Though, it looked like he had some new marks to talk about.

"Aden, you need to stop picking big fights if you keep taking nasty burns or hits with each one. Won't be much of ya left at this rate." Seth said with a shake of his head. Though, the advice he gave out was sound and simple. No telling what was going to happen now that they were actually here.

Glancing at his own shadow, he had realized some time ago that getting used to having a shadow following him around, which apparently no one else but them could notice, was going to get a bit tricky, especially if they started doing other things. Like being ghosts and actually moving things or something major.

Well, we at least made it in one piece, and in pretty good time, I imagine, since they don't look half as ready as I thought they would...

[hr]

As the Prime Minister went forward, the younger girl was suddenly sprinting towards him and jumping at him, giving him a hug and apparently hyper about him being back.

"Yay! What happened? Was it tough? Did they try some magic? Are these the magicians? Do they fly by themselves too? Can they stop the storms or volcanoes? Maybe make it rain with all the ..." The girl was rattling off questions fast, stopping only when the Prime Minister shushed her.

"Welcome home, my husband. As you can see, things survived without you for a few days. All that worry over nothing. I kept affairs in order, and the Palace is still standing, and the Academy hasn't blown up." The woman said, who seemed to have a slight hum to each word as she said it.

What was slightly more striking were the small things to the observing mages, which was that the little girl appeared to have wings on her back, as did the woman, though hers were much more obvious being somewhat larger and feathery. Also most striking as the mages had gotten closer that the hair of the woman seemed to be a natural blue. In fact, some of the workers around the yard seemed to have the oddest colored hairs at some points, some being a red, others being a stark white, green, blonde...all sorts of varieties.

"You were right, of course." The Prime Minister said to his wife, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek after he put down the girl. After his quick greeting to his apparent family, the Prime Minister turned to the mages.

"Ah, good to see that you all managed to make it. I imagine first I will give you a quick tour of the Palace before we settle in for a proper meal. Hopefully you didn't have too much of that failure that we had to call breakfast. Usually it is better, but...time was short. Come now, let us show you around."

And with that, the mages all came off the ship and ended up following the Prime Minister, as well as the girl as she skipped along and the wife. As they proceeded out of the large bay for the Airship, a pair of metal doors closed behind them. What they saw beyond the cave was a different scene altogether.

It certainly had a look of a palace, with marble pillars and smoothed stone floors, and plants in pots all around, with spacious halls before them, filled with some amount of people. The people were again varied, with multiple hair colors. But many of these people seemed to have wings, which also seemed to differ. Some having different colored wings from the usual white, and some even having a different style which seemed to be more like the wings of bats or dragons.

However, time to look this all over closely was somewhat brief, as the Prime Minister, and the mages, all continued on the little move, seeing many interesting sights and contraptions which some of the people from time to time stopped to use. Either getting some papers, or maybe a drink of water. However, perhaps the most apparent was that there seemed to be quite a multitude of statues around the Palace. Many of them different interpretations of the Council Gods, sometimes showing them all together as if in council, other times alone. Whatever the case, it was apparent that the architects were either instructed or heavily influenced to have the Council's presence known here.

"So, I must ask, my guests. Where would you like to visit first? We could jump right to the more proper meal, which I imagine already underway. Or we could go look through more of the docks, or maybe the Academy, or even the balcony to look over the other districts." The Prime Minister asked as they continued walking through the halls, from time to time seeing a window showing the outside which showed large open areas sometimes with fountains or arts in a large display.

"My husband, I think you might be overloading them. They have only just arrived, and I imagine them being somewhat tired, especially if you got in a tangle, which I know you did from the looks of some of the men, and the mages here." The wife said, sounding somewhat firmer this time.

The Prime Minister paused, and thus brought the whole group to a halt in front of a window overlooking some open square with a fountain in the middle. He gave a small shrug, and turned to the mages for their answers. Meanwhile, the girl seemed to stand quietly behind the Prime Minister, watching the mages carefully as she did so to see what would happen or what they would say.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

"Minister, I think most of us would prefer to get down to business. All of us have obligations at home to attend to...some of us to their studies, others to those studying." Now was hardly the time to be hostile. Better if they were trusted than locked away. He forced himself to smile, which was probably a mistake. "Although I'm sure my students will be happy not to have to put up with me for a while, and the younger among us would likely enjoy -any- opportunity to avoid their studies. So perhaps a meal and then rest, and then we can attend to business?"

He glanced around at the group, trying to gauge their reactions and trying his best to ignore his Shadow, who seemed to be enjoying himself just standing there with his arms crossed looking either grim or constipated. I think it's mocking me.

 

[CounterAttack]

Gabriel was in no fit state to give the Prime Minister a proper answer. He had been looking about himself for the entirety of the tour: there was so much to take in and wrap his head around. Especially the people, with their strangely-coloured hair and their manner of speech... and of course, the wings affixed to the backs of some of them. Had they been there since birth, or was there some sort of procedure that they went through to obtain them? If they could take to the air, unaided... that was something that Gabriel wanted to experience. Flight, with the freedom to go wherever he pleased, made him think. Gabe resolved that when he had an opportunity, he would ask one of the winged people about it.

The palace was... incredible. Gabe tried not to trip over his robes as he kept up with the others. In particular he paid attention to the statues of the Council Gods, interested in their significance. There were a lot of statues, rather than the Council being in one specific part of the palace... perhaps that was the intention. They could be reminders of the beings who watched over Darkengrad and all its residents.

For now, Gabriel kept quiet, though he could not keep his eyes from wandering about the place. At one point he glanced towards the girl. She looked quite young, probably about half his age. She had a small pair of wings herself; he imagined that she got them from her mother.

It was then that Gabriel's mind wandered a little bit. He remembered that the Prime Minister's wife had not used the man's name at all... that made him pause for thought. Was that common in a city like this, or just something this particular family did? Maybe asking about that, too, would have some answers. Gabe did want to learn more about the people of Kerbones, and where better to begin than at the top of the ladder, where he had contact with the leader of the city and its people?

Though if he were to try to investigate, he would prefer to walk the streets without openly giving himself away as a mage. Specifically, without his robes. There could be people who shared the opinions of his family: people who didn't like those who displayed magical power. That meant he needed somewhere to store his pack and his robes: hopefully there was accommodation set aside for the mages.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

As Cale watched the wondrous city unravel before him he felt the earth below him simply with a brush of his hand against a pillar or touching the bare ground whenever possible. To most, dirt is dirt but to an Earthshaper it is much more than that. Different earth from different places differ greatly and the dirt from Kerbones is extremely different from what Cale was used to. Since they were literally in the mountain he thought the earth to be fresh, delicate even. But this earth was sharpened, tempered by something. It must have taken them decades to do this without the help of any magic or maybe there was magic involved. Either way, Cale was excited.

He looked to the Prime Minister and his wife, followed by presumably his kid but they weren't the only things grand as earlier they had passed by sights unseen by him before. Only pictures or carvings could dare to replicate the "flying" people or the machine folk walking in the streets. The Palace was equally, if not more, beautiful than the city surrounding it.

Cale wished to speak but the fireshaper Aden spoke first so he drew back a bit, not wanting to interrupt. To the contrary, Cale didn't want to stop and rest because there was still a whole city before them and who knows how much time they have there but then it occurred to Cale that the others might wish for this as well. As much as he wanted to explore there was still the others and he didn't know if they could keep up. So he stood back looking, similar to Aden, and tried to look for a popular notion among them.

 

[blaze96]

Alexander couldn't help but wonder at the grand city before him. Even if it hadn't been for people with wings and machinery walking around, the sheer size and seeming ornateness of the city was enough to make him feel out of place. He couldn't help but respond somewhat sheepishly due to his discomfort with his background.

"I'd like to see the Academy myself. A chance to learn about my new surroundings is something I'd enjoy."

'Especially since there is so much I would need to learn about this land to even begin to seem somewhat normal. If hair color is so very, machine limbs are common, and if most people have wings I'm sure basic customs would vary differently. Hopefully I don't offend anybody or embarrass myself before I get a chance to learn how to act.' Were the unspoken thoughts accompanying that statement. With everything around him it was hard to hide his desire to get back to a setting that was at least somewhat familiar he hoped as well.

 

[SkyeNeko]

As soon as she saw the girl with the wings Fei followed her closely. The fact that she kept one hand in her brother's meant that she couldn't run right up and start touching and petting the wings. Why can't I have wings? The hair colors made her eyes sparkle too. Blue, pink, green... "Look, Drew, do you think they can fly with those?" she whispered. She only had eyes for the Prime Minister's daughter now, all other treasures of Kerbones were worthless in her sight. I wonder if she can do magic too... She's pretty. Her wings are pretty. I wonder if they're soft. Can she feel them? I like her dress. I wonder if she has a lot of playmates since her dad's important. She tugged on her brother's sleeve harder.

As soon as the Prime Minister even hinted at asking what they wanted to do, she waved frantically at the girl. "Hi!! What's your name?"

 

[Mr. Omega]

Drew shrugged off Fei's question, taking his time looking around. The new people he was seeing had caught his attention, then he heard Aden and Alexander speak up. "I think I might check out the Academy as well. I imagine it's much different than the one back home." he smirked. He noticed Fei waving, and chuckled to himself. "Maybe she can make a new friend..."

He noticed Gabriel and Cale's expressions as they looked around "Gotta admit, this is pretty impressive..."

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

Watching the Prime Minister with his wife and daughter, Nydia couldn't help but smile. It reminded her a bit of her own childhood, although her memories of those days were becoming hazy. In particular it was hard to remember what her own mother was like, though Nydia treasured the memories she did have left. In a way, seeing a family like this was bittersweet for her, though she did her best to quickly suppress those feelings and keep the bright smile on her face. This process was helped by the next detail about the family that caught her attention.

The mother and the daughter both had wings. And as they walked along, Nydia noted that many of the other citizens did as well. How curious... The Prime Minister has no wings, yet his wife and daughter and many others here do. I wonder how that came to be? Is it a body modification, much like the machinery they implant in themselves? Or is it a naturally occurring trait? I must find a way politely inquire later... Nydia thought to herself as she observed the people, making sure not to let her gaze linger on anyone for too long lest she be considered rude.

In addition to the people, Nydia was quite fascinated by what they had built as well. There were many statues of the Council Gods about so it was interesting to see that despite all their differences, they still believed in the same Gods. It reminded Nydia of Gabriel's dream. Perhaps someone here would be able to decipher it's meaning where she could not. A different perspective could reveal much after all.

Nydia's musings were interrupted when they stopped and the Prime Minister asked where they all wanted to go next. Her first desire was to see this Academy he had spoken of. It would be quite an enlightening experience to explore the knowledge that had been gathered in this land, though she was content to go along with whatever the group consensus would be. A few of the others spoke up in favor of the Academy though, so Nydia decided it would be acceptable to add her voice to theirs. "I confess I find myself interested in the Academy as well. Though if the rest of you object to it, I shall not force the issue." She said, making sure not to inadvertantly force her wishes on the others.

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

Phebe had taken her time gathering the belongings she had brought with her. She had heard them screaming at the mages that might still be on the ship to hurry up a while ago, which would include her. She grabbed her bow and ran upstairs, where she could see quite a few people. They didn't strike her as much different at first, since she tried her best to find the other mages and didn't pay them any attention. Thanks to her length, it wasn't that hard to spot the mages and soon she was walking among them, as they left the airship behind a pair of metal doors.

She suddenly noticed the wings and the hair of the people they passed by. She couldn't help but stare at them. She had never seen anything like that before. Were they born like that? She had seen the machine men and those had also been something out of the ordinary, but they seemed to fit with the airship.

Can I also get wings? Were they born with it?

Phebe started walking behind the prime minister's wife, observing both her wings and hair. It did look like real feathers. She knew the little girl had wings as well, but tried to ignore it. Children were a bit more sensitive and she didn't want to scare the girl.

The group came to a halt and Phebe almost bumped into the woman in front of her.

"Sure... I'm fine with that." She said, when she heard the other mages answering whatever the prime minister had just said. She turned to stare out the window, wondering what it would be like to fly through the sky without an airship.

Could these people actually fly? Maybe their wings were just for show...

 

[NeoAC]

As Raven entered with the group, moving into the heart of the city, it was tough to believe the sights her eyes were insinuating were in front of her. The colors, all the colors of the rainbow, so vibrant in front of her face. In the landscape and in the people. It was a sensory overload, and that was just the beginning.

They have fucking wings? How is that possible? I thought that was just in myths? For Gods and angels and all that? That's ridiculous In passing, Raven saw one of the people with a bat-like design on their back hanging over themselves. Although that would be pretty cool. Imagine showing up flying with those bad boys. That would be so sweet.

Raven ignored the family matters as the Prime Minister went on about the options the group had, but only one interested Raven at this point. "Well, I'd like some nourishment since there was little to be had aboard that machine, but I assume I'm going to be overruled by most of the others here, so whatever. Don't care."

 

[UnusualStranger]

While at first the Prime Minister nodded at Aden as he brought out his concerns, it slowly turned to an odd grin as the rest of the group brought up how they wanted to see the Academy more than they wanted to go off and get a proper breakfast/lunch at this point. With an odd shrug, he turned to his wife and whispered something, for her to nod and give a small bow to the mages.

"I hope you will excuse me, but there are things that must be done. Take care, my good mages." With that, the winged woman knelt down to pick up the small winged daughter, who had heard Fei and started a frantic wave upon being picked up.

"HIYA! I'M JADE! NICE TO MEET YOU!" The girl shouted towards Fei, as the woman hushed her as they walked down the hallways and turned down another. Looking back as his daughter and wife left, the Prime Minister again turned his attention to the mages.

"Well, it seems that the cooks will have time to prepare a better meal while we look over some of the Academy. But not to worry, Aden of the Pyromancers, we will be learning some of the business which I require your skills for while down there. Come, we shall use my personal elevator for our trip. Much faster." The Prime Minister said, and began leading the mages down a few more hallways, till they got to what appeared to be a military checkpoint, where they were greeted by some odd guards who were dressed with more mechanical parts, and some apparently having weapons built into them permanently.

"Sir, while I understand...." A soldier began before the Prime Minister cut him off.

"It will be fine Lieutenant. Come, to the Academy." And with that, the mages, Prime Minister, and several guards stepped into the elevator and proceeded downwards. The sudden jolt where they seemed to plummet downwards was unsettling in the least, but it got them to the destination fast.

As the doors opened, the mages were greeted with amazing sights. Bolts of lightning were dancing about at one of the stations with an inventor, while another seemed to be practicing with powders and other chemicals, while another yet seemed to be working with odd crystals which seemed to be bouncing lights of all colors in different directions, sometimes starting fires at some points which caused the odd man to laugh. It seemed down here, the people were much messier, and just as varied as before.

Even more work seemed to go on in the expansive building, with sometimes small booms going off, or shouts being heard, mechanical parts extending, and even the sound of an explosion every now and then. At one point, a small device seemed to escape its spot and flutter about, spinning as it hovered in the air before returning to where it should. The most interesting point of all this happening was probably where a pair of boots fired underneath a fellow, lifting him in the air for a few moments before dropping him to the ground, with a couple of curses following as he picked himself up.

"Anything in particular you wish to see?" The Prime Minister said with a small grin at the man who walked back to where he was working.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

Nydia smiled, pleased to hear that they'd be visiting the academy. It would be fascinating to see what sorts of things they were studying here in Kerbones and to perhaps study them herself. What she saw when she got there though, was not what she was expecting at all. She had imagined more of a library type of place, with books and people writing in them or reading them.

What she saw was perhaps even more fascinating than what she had imagined. The Academy seemed be dedicated to advancing their already impressive technological prowess, with all sorts of people experimenting with odd devices. Many of them, Nydia couldn't even begin to imagine how they might work or why they do what they do.

One man seemed to be working on shoes that would allow the wearer to fly. That the people of Kerbones had developed flying ships was wondrous enough, but granting an individual the power to fly without magic was amazing. What interested Nydia more was the crystals bouncing light around and occasionally starting fires. It was nothing she couldn't do herself of course, but she was interested in knowing how they had replicated the powers of Lightdweller and what they intended to do with such a device.

After a bit, the Prime Minister asked if there was anything they wanted to see and Nydia decided to bring it up. "Actually, I'm particularly interested in those crystals that are emitting different colors of light." She spoke up. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to know how they work and what their intended use is."

 

[NeoAC]

As they walked through the Academy's halls, taking in the sights dancing around the group, one thing went through Raven's mind. What the hell? This is more disgustingly decorated and colorful then our Academy. And they're doing the same kind of shit we do already. They don't need us. What the hell are the bringing us here for then? To be slaves? Sacrificial lambs? What's the point of this shit? The thoughts still plagued her mind as they walked on.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

"They're trying to make a point." He murmured under his breath, quietly enough that he doubted the Minister could hear but some the other Mages might be able to. "Trying to prove that they've developed beyond us. That they are mightier, that they are superior." He began slowly breathing. In and out. In and out. The power of fire gathered in his belly, a terrible heat ready to be unleashed upon the enemy.

To what end?

"I think they're trying to replicate us. But they need live test subjects for the final stage of their experiments."