[Faldrass] The Heart Burns

[Balthazar Black]

12 Ymiden 720

The Heart of Scalvoris. Balthazar felt an innate draw to it like he felt when he doused with Attunement but this pull took no effort to feel. Balthazar had avoided the heart to some degree. He had nothing against returning, he'd just believed he would be more useful to the people of the island if he helped with the relief efforts... but he was tired now. Tired of cleaning. Tired of looking at the dead and destroyed. Tired of feeling horrible- like a failure for letting them die. There were others who could continue the clean-up while Balthazar explored the secrets only he and a few others knew. For the first time since the eruption- Balthazar lied to Isabella to get her to stay at the resort clean-up. He didn't know what being a Fireforged really meant but he knew he didn't want to share the information with the world just yet. Fuego seemed to caution him against revealing the secret at every turn.

Balthazar was nervous about returning, but he felt a call from the elements that he couldn't ignore. His plans to leave Scalvoris and find some aid across the sea for the islands had slowly been coming to fruition. He was learning to walk the Untold slowly and in time he'd be prepared to venture out... but he wanted answers before then. He wanted as many answers as he could find. He- and his curious sparks. So Balthazar reached out in a letter to those who'd been with him and returned to the heart of it all to see what he could find. He didn't expect most of the Council members would join him given the fallout they were likely dealing with, but Balthazar thought it only fair to offer them a chance to explore the secrets with him.

So Balthazar sat outside the entrance to the heart where he and the others had managed to escape the underground. He wouldn't wait forever. When the sun rose to what Balthazar assumed was the middle of the sky he'd go in on his own if no one joined him- which he wouldn't hold against them. He even expected some would be mad at him for trying to delve deeper into the secrets of Faldrass so soon after a tragedy but what else was he to do? Continue shedding tears and blood to clean up? He would... later... he really wanted to do this first.

""

[Darius Baer]

Arc 720, 12th of Ymiden

As Darius approached what had once been his escape route, he tried to ignore the guilt he felt. There were the innumerable dead, of course, though he didn't believe the blame for the loss of those innocents rested at his feet. If anything, he'd done everything he could to prevent such needless loss of life. There were others who were at fault, and he hoped that justice would eventually find them.

But he still felt guilty. There were two crises that demanded his attention - the tragedy that had befallen Faldrass and Scalvoris, and the siege at Storm's Edge - and yet he found himself seeking to explore again?

Truth be told, he wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for the letter. He would have been ferrying survivors, or burying their kin.

And yet, he could not deny that the greatest cause of his guilt was that he wanted to be there. He had concealed his excitement when Balthazar's missive had arrived, but his experiences in Faldrass had not dimmed his desire for adventure.

The shrill cry of a hawk reached Darius' ears and drew his attention back to the present. He looked up to see Katara circling overhead, her outstretched wings leaving thin trails of smoke from her flaming feathers. The diri let out a second cry, and the blond FireForged lowered his gaze until it fell upon Balthazar. A lopsided grin teased at Darius' mouth, for although he had expected to see the man there, it still felt good to see a familiar face.

"Balthazar," he greeted the mage, hoping to provide a little levity in a vain attempt to distract from the dauntingness of the situation. "We must stop meeting like this."

[Balthazar Black]

12 Ymiden 720

"Darius?" Balthazar was somewhat surprised to see the man he considered an old friend at this point. He'd heard some rumors about what the other Fire Forged were up to- it was practically impossible to avoid Balthazar's notice within the islands of Scalvoris if he wanted to know about you (that was, after all, how he got the letters to everyone). Between his various magics and his large network of "friends" who told him "stories" Balthazar had more than enough resources to keep tabs on the people he cared about. Add his status as a Flame Trooper, which granted him access to most places, and he was a very well informed man. But in the time since the volcano's eruption he'd spent most of his time with Isabella trying to heal his mystical maladies. "Maybe we can just get a drink next time?" Balthazar suggested when Darius said they needed to stop meeting the way they had. Hopefully Yeva hadn't told Darius too many stories about the drunk Balthazar Black.

"I'm glad to see you." Balthazar said after a beat. "How have you been since the incident? I heard you were using your ship to help get survivors off the island. Noble of you." But Balthazar did not say what he'd been doing because he felt no need to compare... and he didn't want to admit to how much time he'd spent resting and exploring dreams. He'd done some good, but he'd spent far more time in dreams than in the real world since Faldrass erupted. "I figured my connection to the elements would help us find something so I invited all of our... group. Do you think we should give the others a little more time or should we head in? They could always come looking for us." Balthazar would prefer to stand outside and catch up a little more but he didn't reveal that to Darius.

[Nir'wei]

"You can feel it, can't you." Gaddwin was quiet. The fire-bird spirit was rarely quiet, except when they were wrong. "The anger." It boiled away beneath the surface of his skin; even his words felt heavy and hot to the bird-spirit, and through their mental link he knew exactly how uncomfortable it made them. This wasn't something recent, this was something that had boiled away at him for years - something magnified with the recent disturbances, with the tingling of need back home in Rharne, and the time for it to stew and smoulder. How long had Lynessa been locked away as a result of his corruption? How many people had he killed, for no other reason than because he could? Faldrun was a stain to be wiped clean, nothing more, and yet Gaddwin still refused to see his part in it.

"He's not a part of our duty." It was a line he kept repeating over and over, as though he were a parrot.

It became too much. "Then what is?!" he snapped back, frustrated, barely soothed by the touch of Cyshe on his cheek while he bore down on the fire-bird with sharp eyes. "I made a promise to Lovalus. An oath that I will never abandon because I believe, with every fibre I have, that it is something worth upholding above all else." It was something that he struggled with constantly, due to the fact he could feel Cyshe's pull back towards the dire danger of Rharne, even while Scalvoris continued to topple. "I will not let the flames consume us." It was a simple thing, but binding. Its description was vague, yet its purpose crystal-clear. "But you... I never even gave an oath. I just agreed to join you during the reforming of the Fire-Forged... who, by the way, I know nothing about."

He could sense Gaddwin thought that they were beginning to slide off-topic again, but he definitely disagreed. "It's not as simple as that." Was the bird being intentionally cryptic because he didn't even know the answer? The more he thought about it, the more likely that seemed. "There are other things to worry about for now." Except he couldn't. This power he was now shackled to, had this whole thing been a mistake? Lovalus had been mysterious and elusive in her responses, but there was still, at her core, something good, he knew it. She fought to protect Rharne, she manifested her powers to do so, and she destroyed that evil with extreme prejudice. All Faldrass had done thus far was kill hundreds, injure more, and left untold thousands homeless and defenceless... and then, done what? Sit in his cave and pat himself on the back for a job well done?

The letter from Balthazar sat in his pocket, and Nir'wei tugged it out to look over the words again. The Heart. Dragons. Fire-Forged. The wolves. The other Induk. As much as he knew the people of Faldrass needed him, there was one thing he needed more - answers.

Disguised under another reconnaissance mission intended to pick up stragglers and refugees, Nir'wei left the Office of Natural Affairs at dawn and flew straight for Faldrass. Traveller picked up a solid wind and he arrived just before midday. The Scalv Sohr Khal was a difficult thing to miss and even more difficult to avoid when he half-spun in the air and near nosedived for the all-too-familiar entrance to the Faldrass Caves - now the only entryway or exit point for the volcano, after the destruction of Smooglenuff Manor - and landed with a thick cloud of kicked-up dust. "Just two?" Well, he definitely didn't expect Kura to be there, but he hid his surprise that Oram or the others weren't there yet to greet them. "Ahh, Darius! Good to see you here at least." After Traveller folded his wings and settled himself on a large rock outcropping, Nir'wei dismounted, Castile in tow and eyeing both men with suspicious yellow eyes. "Easy, girl." The wolf just huffed back.

[Darius Baer]

Darius let out a chuckle at Balthazar's drink comment, but it was one devoid of humour. Small talk had never been his forte, especially when both men knew why they were there, and there was nothing remotely funny about it.

And yet, a small amount of normality was essential for him to retain his humanity. As a child, watching his father take to the seas on what seemed like another exciting adventure, he could never have imagined that one trial he might be craving mundanity.

"Aye," he responded with a nod when the mage spoke of his efforts to evacuate those who had survived and bury those who had not. "You heard right."

He grimaced slightly at the word 'noble'. In Darius' eyes, he had only done what anyone else on his position would have. If anything, he wished he could do more, but those besieged at Storm's Edge needed the supplies he had gathered, and so he could not dedicate the amount of time to his hometown that it deserved.

He silently swore, not for the first time, that he would return.

Darius' answer to Balthazar's next question, about whether they should wait for the others, was about to be interrupted, was swallowed up in a cloud of dust as a shadow grew over the pair. The seafarer looked up and into a dark shape, and he began to retreat when he recognised the giant wingspan of a Scalvoris Sohr Khal. His attempt to flee only resulted in him falling onto his backside, however, as his boots lost their footing amidst the loose scree.

So when he heard his name and a vaguely familiar voice, a wave of relief washed over him.

"That's quite an entrance, Nir'wei," he offered sheepishly from his position on the ground, returning the newcomer's greeting.

Darius scrambled to find his feet, then brushed himself down, small clouds of dust scattering from his clothing. He still gave Traveller a wide berth, but after looking around and seeing no other arrivals, he nodded towards the entrance.

"It might just be us," he admitted with a surprised shrug. "Shall we?"

[Balthazar Black]

12 Ymiden 720

Balthazar smirked slightly when Darius grimaced at the word 'noble.' He and Yeva had the same reaction to compliments. Did they both really feel so unworthy of a little praise? Then again Balthazar was not much better. He didn't think he did any good as a reactionary force in the world. He just cleaned up the messes no one else could. Still, he thought it was amusing to see. Yet before they could say much more or go into the cave, Balthazar felt the call of the wind like a whisper in his ear. Something was coming towards them. He looked up to the skies above them, shading his eyes from the sun with his hand for only a trill before the flying beast descended towards them.

The initial impulse of a man like Balthazar it to throw a ball of fire at anything big, flying, or most importantly swooping down at him. When it kicked up a cloud of dust, Balthazar waved his hands slightly and a breeze blew the dust around Darius and the mage. Fortunately Balthazar had the presence of mind to back a little into the cave where the beast would be forced into a funnel if it wanted to fight. Even more fortunately, the Sohr Khal was being ridden by another one of the Fire Forged. Nir'wei. Or Vaid'ner. Whatever he wanted to be called. Names did not matter as much as the frequency behind them when you were an Attuner... though it was helpful to know what to call someone. It was hard to describe them by their frequency. The man liked making entrances and Balthazar could respect that.

"A smaller number will be easier to keep together. I'm glad you could make it." Balthazar said, trying to spin the small turnout into an advantage while Nir'wei greeted Darius. Balthazar looked at the wolf for a moment before looking towards the entrance to the cave. It seemed they were in agreement about one thing, it was time to move. "I think we should begin by trying to find the chamber we freed Faldrass in." Balthazar suggested as he gestured for them to follow him into the cave as he began moving. "We can look around some more and branch outwards from there. If we're lucky, maybe we find Faldrass again and ask a few more questions." He didn't think they'd be lucky... but there was still plenty to see and do.

The path into the cave had felt hot once. It probably still felt hot for most people... but not for the Fire Forged. They were not bothered by simple things like that... though they would be fools to leap into lava. Balthazar walked slowly, looking around at the walls he could hardly remember. His trip out of the cave had not been as lucid as everyone else's. His pace slowed more and more as he moved further in until he stopped. He could always remember the path he'd taken but he didn't entirely remember this, even with the map he had. Having a map and knowing how to read it were two different things. He turned to Nir'wei and Darius. "Does anyone know how to get there?"

[Nir'wei]

Nir'wei glanced back over his shoulder to the towering Sohr Khal; Traveller already reared onto his hind-legs to perch on the rounded surface of a well-placed rock, where he could stare down at them with his sinuous neck craned in curiosity. "You think so?" The Sohr Khal knew when it was being spoken about and trilled a warbling note. "Honestly he's just the easiest way to get around." Faster than an Enormowl, much faster than a boat. "And more fun," he added, earning another trill. If anyone else could fly about all the time, so high in the sky that they could brush the clouds... well, he was certain they'd do it too, and cherish every moment of it like he did.

He turned back towards the cave while Traveller sniffed after them, eventually settling back onto his haunches to watch them leave with a very human-like pose, almost like sitting on his own curled tail. The heat settled on his skin for only as long as it took him to become aware of it. A slow exhale felt like it was pulling the heat all the way from his core and expelling it at once, but really it was just his own regulated temperature beginning to cycle up as they walked deeper into the mouth of the cavern. "... I mean, it won't take me long to figure it out. The bigger question is, how are you guys going to see through it?" Even Nir'weis wolf-enhanced senses struggled to see so deep into the caves, and in his excitement he'd presumed everyone else would bring supplies, if they really needed any at all. Wasn't Faldrass supposed to welcome them back into his Heart, or something?

"Is he always this dense?" a voice abruptly asked from his left shoulder.

A disapproving sigh answered it from his right. "Give him a moment. Sometimes he's just a bit slow on the uptake."

"Okay, okay! I'm right here, y'know." Both Cyshe and Gaddwin looked to him expectantly. "Or... we could just ask our volcano diri to lead the way... I guess." The strain in his voice was so audible, it threatened to even make him cringe, but the answering cheers and mocking applause by the fire and water spirits perched on either shoulder was no less rapturous for the performance. "Yeah, yeah, just shut up and get to it. And since you've deigned to greet us with your presence, how about showing a little decorum and introducing yourself."

Gaddwin, the preening phoenix with balls of red flames hovering in the backdrop of his glowing orange feathers, stretched his wings out wide with a dramatic flutter, then bowed. "Gaddwin, the Firebird of Faldrass." Oh for the love of-- the bird was so utterly full of himself that Nir'wei had to wonder if Delroth's influence spread even to creatures that just looked like birds.

Cyshe, meanwhile, just gave a simple wave with a stubby paw, and said nothing else. "That's... wait, you don't... crap, they don't know, do they?" Nir'wei glanced between the water spirit and the other Wardens with a slightly frantic look, but Cyshe just shrugged her shoulders and blew bubbles. "This is Cyshe... uhh, from the Wardens of Lake Lovalus. Okay, I'll explain later. Right now, we need a way forwards, Gaddwin, lead the way, and the rest of you, go on ahead, we'll catch up." Balthazar and Darius would be forgiven for thinking Nir'wei was still talking to them, but a moment later Greyhide, Cold, Myrth, Squeak and Vabina materialised in a shimmer of colour, and charged ahead like a stampede through the tunnels, each animal splitting off whenever they found a fork in the tunnel systems and doubling back whenever they met a dead end.

"... That should do it, right?" Nir'wei asked.

[Darius Baer]

If Balthazar and Nir'wei had been of a mind to intimidate Darius, it wouldn't have required much effort on their part. The former was a powerful mage who could teleport other people - an impressive ability that the bearded blond had seen with his own eyes - and the latter was the Councillor of Natural Affairs, and appeared to have no shortage of powerful companions.

Compared to them, who was Darius Baer? Just a regular, uninspiring human; a local lad who hoped to become a skilled seafarer and who enjoyed a little carpentry on the side.

And yet, as he caught another glimpse of Katara as she circled overhead, he realised that despite all their differences, the three of them were peers. They were all FireForged, and that meant - for better or worse - they were equals.

It was with that belated realisation that Darius felt himself standing a little more upright, convinced that he had earned his place at the cave entrance to Faldrass.

The sailor nodded at Balthazar's suggestion that a smaller group made for fewer logistical challenges, and he thought back to how effective he had been with Yeva and Oram in the moments before the eruption, concluding that perhaps there was some merit to the claim.

Nir'wei's side provided a little more 'noise', but Darius greeted Gaddwin and Cyshe by name. As he did, he heard a noise that was slowly becoming more familiar - the flapping of flaming wings as Katara landed upon his shoulder with her large talons. The hawk diri let out a shrill cry, and though she spoke no words, those who could see her telepathically knew her name.

Balthazar's question of how to find their way was answered by the councillor, and Darius had to admit that the man's thinking seemed solid.

Katara nuzzled against Darius' cheek, and chittered quietly, before leaping off his shoulder and letting her wingspan catch the air. She let out a departing cry as she followed the wolves into the caves, but she didn't go far. Darius heard her shrill cry urging him to follow, and with nothing more than a polite nod towards both Balthazar and Nir'wei, the human complied.

[Balthazar Black]

12 Ymiden 720

Balthazar was fortunate to have worked with Nir'wei enough that he had some sense of when Nir was not talking to them. Ever since being bonded to Fuego, Balthazar had understood those momentary lapses more personally so he did not think much of Nir'wei was saying until a small pack of spectral wolves charged ahead of them into the cave they were going to explore. Balthazar chuckled softly at Nir'wei's question. He supposed an exploring pack of spectral wolves would be quite enough to explore the heart. He gave Nir'wei a silent nod in agreement and moved along in the path the wolves and Darius's bird had raced down. Unlike the other diri, Fuego did not leave Balthazar's shoulder. The burning rock with eyes stood firmly on the mage's shoulder, watching everything around him. The further into the cave they moved, the more familiar things began to become for Balthazar. The path they were entering through was directly connect to the chamber they'd been in when Faldrass was freed and so it was that chamber which they arrived at first.

The wolves would have arrived ahead of them and been able to explore some of the offshoots of the cave, but no matter how far they seemed to run before hitting a dead end, all of them found the same thing. The cave was empty. Faldrass was not there, nor was anything else that they could see. They stood together in the chamber where they had freed the spirit, but they were alone. Balthazar didn't know what he was expecting but he certainly had not been expecting to spirit to be away. They had "freed" Faldrass but where would the spirit go if not the heart of the island? It confused and intrigued the curious mage who began to get a strange feeling about the chamber. The feeling did not come from any sort of instinct, it came from arcs of training with his magic. It came from arcs of speaking with the elements, learning their voice, and learning how they normally interacted with you.

The problem was that Balthazar could not just tell the other two that the elements felt strange here. That gave them nothing to interpret or work with because they were not Defiers and they were not Attuners. 'Strange' would mean as much to them as it meant to anyone on the street. They'd want to know what everyone wanted to know- strange how? So Balthazar set about figuring out what was so strange before he said anything. Once the trio met with the animals in the main chamber, Balthazar seemed to begin wandering. He found himself moving to the walls and slowly running his hands along the earth as if asking it a gentle question.

"I know it's just a cave, but doesn't it seem a little more... disorderly?" Balthazar asked as he turned away from the wall he was looking at to readdress Nir'wei and Darius. There was a level of destruction around the cave that had not been there when the Fire Forged left it and that told Balthazar what it told any detective- someone had been in there after them. However he didn't know what could have come to the island in the wake of the eruption so the most obvious answer slipped past him at first. "I'm reaching out to the elements, anyone find anything else?"

[Darius Baer]

The cacophony of Nir'wei's stampeding menagerie slowly faded into the distance as the men stood outside the cave and peered in. Quite how they were supposed to navigate the underground labyrinth seemed like something of a mystery to Darius - perhaps the creatures would return and lead the way - but before he had time to contemplate their options, Balthazar was already stepping inside.

Following the mage, Darius soon discovered that compared to their last foray into a network of caves, this expedition was starting out as somewhat anticlimactic.

There were no rocks falling from the sky; no gaping hole in the ground pulling them deeper; no trembling of the cave walls as the island heaved and roared in anger. Beyond the faint smell of sulfur, the cave appeared at first glance to be quite calm.

Darius squinted into the darkness, straining to see, but every direction he looked seemed to reveal nothing more than walls of rock. He lifted his gaze when Balthazar spoke, and only then realised that while he could see the mage, Nir'wei was as elusive as any of the potential passages.

At Balthazar's questions, Darius allowed a gentle chuckle to tease past his lips.

"It's the most peaceful cave I've been in for some time," he grinned, though he supposed his companion couldn't see that. "I feel so much serenity."

The jest was intended to be lighthearted, and he tried to gauge whether he could see any mirth in Balthazar's glowing blue eyes.

But the moment passed, and when Darius spoke again, his voice sounded a lot more sombre by comparison.

"I can't sense anything unusual at this point," he replied. "What is it?"

A few trills passed, and then he offered up another question.

"Any idea where Nir'wei went?"