Sometimes, Doran could hardly believe how much his life had changed in but a handful of arcs, especially compared to all the centuries before that. At Treid’s Tomb, he had been desperate. He had found hope though, forgiveness - and love, at least for a short time. He had walked in dreams and worked magic.
He considered his initiation to be a grave lapse of judgement nowadays, a taint upon his soul whose removal he would always be grateful for, but he was not certain if things would have happened the way that they had without his mentor. Llyr had made him see life differently, and even though he was not perfect, at least not
objectively so, he would always treasure the time that they had spent together.
When he had woken up that morning, to a world that still
looked the same, but was inherently different, to two new marks, from Ziell and Cassion, and a Diri made of ice that watched him with curiosity – and an invitation to attend a feast – he had considered alerting him, but then he realized that he had no idea where he was.
Llyr had been gone from his life for a while.
He was not melancholic though, but joyful because this was such a monumental occasion – the world had been saved, and his father had told him that he was proud of him when he had bestowed his mark upon him. He had not thought that his father’s words would affect him like that, not after all those centuries, but he was undoubtedly happy about them.
Life, he decided as he briefly looked around the suite in the Knight’s Rest – he always stayed there when he held one of his guest lectures in Scalvoris or researched – and tried to figure out what he needed to be done until the start of the feast that he had been invited to due to his involvement in the Forging, was finally everything that it should be.
After he had gone downstairs and eaten breakfast – he enjoyed food far more than he used to and seemed to have far more of an appetite – he thought about who he should ask to accompany him. The answer came to him very quickly. He did not have a lover or a spouse that he could bring, but there were others. There were three people who he had worked together with very closely in the Glass Temple. Without either of them, Kura’s and his work would likely not have been possible. They deserved to be there in his opinion, as much as any of the Forged. One of them had even brought someone back from the dead.
With that thought in mind, he sent invitations to Professor Tag Fridson, Jacien and Rose Lefleur, hoping that they would accept, before he continued his preparations – and spent some time meditating and reflecting on the Tale that Cassion waved, the Tale that had saved the Child’s life. Finally, when dusk arrived, he used the Gateway Stone that he had been given in order to travel to wherever the feast would take place. Nobody had told him where they would celebrate. He had to admit, he was quite curious about it.
~~~
Doran had gotten used to teleporting around, or being teleported, to some extent – it had become a somewhat common occurrence recently - but when he stepped through the door, accompanied by his Diri, and looked at the castle that was visible in the distance, his eyes momentarily widened, nevertheless, before he turned to the Cadouri that had spoken. When he recognized him as the same Cadouri that had joined them in the Glass Temple, he smiled at him and remarked, in a deep and polite tone of voice,
“It’s good to see you again as well, Mister Thunderbussel. How have you been since our last meeting?” he then asked.
He did not inquire about Horatio’s wellbeing for the sake of being polite, but because he was genuinely curious how those strange seven-trials had been treating the Cadouri, and what he had been up to since they had parted ways. Horatio had played an important part as well.
When Horatio revealed that they were in Saoire’s Immortal Domain, Telka, he raised an eyebrow fractionally. He had never entered an Immortal’s Domain before, and he let his gaze drift across his surroundings once more as a consequence, so that he would remember them when he left.
“Tell Lady Saoire that I’m grateful, and that I feel honored, please”, he told Horatio when he turned to face him again, aware of how extraordinary this here was.
“I’d appreciate a cup of tea and a snack”, he admitted when the Cadouri wanted to know if he could offer him anything and added,
“Thank you.”
Eventually, he followed him, only in order to find himself surprised once more. There was no carriage waiting for him, and there were no horses either, but an Ice Turtle with four saddles on its back that looked at him with intelligence in its eyes for a moment before it lowered itself. Even though Doran had never flown a turtle before, he did not hesitate at all, but simply climbed onto its back which required surprisingly little in the ways of acrobatics. Once he was seated comfortably and had put a blanket over his knees – his Diri had decided to just rest in the safety of his lap - he turned to his guests in order to exchange a few words with them and catch up with them.
He had to admit, he was curious about what they had done since that fateful trial in the Glass Temple when they had all tried to save the world together.
Eventually, he focused on the magnificent creature whose back he was sitting on again though. There was something about this extraordinary journey – and the events that had preceded it – that made him wonder if he had truly been living before. For a long time, his life had been without any real excitement, and without adventure. There had only been duty, and desperation, and an icy laboratory in the far north where he had done his research. He found it impossible to be content with such an existence anymore.
There was something about Saoire’s Domain that spoke to him.
He realized that he was not simply sitting on a turtle. His turtle was moving across another turtle. Saoire’s castle was located on the back of the biggest turtle he had ever seen, in his entire life, and the landscape that they passed by seemed like something out of a fairy tale. There were flowers and trees and bushes, in all the colors imaginable and from all parts of Idalos. They smelled sweet and were beautiful to behold. They reminded him of his dreamscape where things that were located far away in the waking world existed next to each other. For a moment, he wished he could just stop and study them.
“Aurora”, he spoke when he looked at his steed again, admiring its slow, steady and smooth movements.
“I don’t know if you already have a name, but if you don’t, Aurora would suit you in my opinion. What do you think? Would you like that?” he wanted to know, because he wouldn’t give anybody a name that they didn’t approve of. Names had a meaning that went far beyond clearly identifying a being or an object. They had significance, and power, and they were, at least frequently, an aspect of someone’s identity.
“I live in Viden, in the far north, where the world is made of snow and ice, just like you are. Sometimes, you can observe an unusual phenomenon in the sky. Sometimes, shimmering green bands suddenly appear at night, lighting up the darkness. They are called the Northern Lights, the Aurora Borealis, and there are countless myths and legends that surround them”, he told the turtle in a calm tone of voice before he began to share a few of those legends, with the turtle as well as his guests that sat with him on its back. He talked about people who saw them as a good omen, about people who thought that a child conceived under them was blessed, and about Xiur, the Immortal of the Stars that shimmered alongside the Northern Lights.
Once upon a time, he might have wondered if there was any point in talking to a turtle, and sharing a story with it, especially since it did not seem to answer, but nowadays, it made perfect sense to him. When they finally arrived, he even thanked his steed and stroke it for a moment, carefully, before he moved towards the door, briefly looking up at the sky that was filled with numerous shimmering stars and thinking of Xiur, Saoire, Cassion, Daia, Ziell and all the other Immortals that had stood by their side on that fateful trial.
~~~
Doran did not wonder how Horatio could be welcoming him now when he had been in an entirely different place before – recent events had taught him to always expect the unexpected. He simply inclined his head in a greeting before he told him, smiling slightly,
“Thank you, Mister Thunderbussel. I’d very much like to spend the night here”, he admitted before he was shown to his room. He had no interest in cosmetics, but he allowed himself the luxury of a bath and a relaxing massage and politely asked someone to take care of his hair and beard, so that his appearance would not leave anything to be desired.
The outfit that Saoire had gifted to him – he silently thanked her before he put it on - was an elegant bespoke suit made of fine wool, dyed a dark kind of blue, the color of the sky at dusk. It was decorated with delicate embroidery of silver and gold, with a black shirt underneath. With the suit came a cloak in the same style that he draped across his shoulders, and fine boots made of soft black leather that were comfortable to wear.
Once he had freshened up and gotten dressed, he walked onto the balcony as there was still some time before the feast began. There, he stood and enjoyed the view for a few moments before he turned his head towards the sky that was filled with stars that he had never seen before, wondering if they were in fact other worlds that were filled with people just like them. A part of him wished that he could just stay here again, longer than a single night, at least, and study the sky above, and Saoire’s domain that filled him with such an unusual sense of peace and comfort, and wonder.
“Xiur”, he spoke the name of one of his patron Immortals as he observed the shimmering lights above him, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Do you know what these stars are called, or did Lady Saoire give them their names as they light up the sky in her Immortal Domain?”
~~~
When the time finally came, Doran made his way down the stairs, calmly – in spite of his extraordinary surroundings he saw no reason to be nervous as this was a happy occasion, Bao would return, among other things – but with curiosity. He let his gaze drift across the other guests that were in the ballroom for a few moments, inclining his head in a greeting, and took in the exquisite surroundings, before he was shown to his table.
A smile briefly appeared on his face as he noticed all those delightful and personal little touches, and he inclined his head in a gesture of gratitude, to Saoire as well as her Cadouri.
Finally, he took a seat – he sat with his back straight – greeted his guests and briefly conversed with them before he turned his head towards the massive double doors, waiting for the feast to begin, while his little Iceforged Diri settled down beside him and simply looked on.
Objectives
All must-do objectives met.
Can do:
1. Tell a story: Doran told the turtle about the aurora borealis.
2. Hold a “conversation” with your turtle.
3. Describe something you see on your way to the castle: Doran saw plants from all across Idalos.
awaited all the Fire Forged. For the Ice Forged, there were Ice Turtles
These turtles were huge and four people could easily sit atop one. They would find that there was a saddle for the correct number of people, providing a comfortable seat - and blankets to put over knees, even though the evening was balmy. The creature moved slowly here, but should they look there was intelligence in their eyes. 
with glittering crystal in which the riders would find saddles and comforts. Finally, the Song Turtles
. The creature bowed, it seemed, and lowered itself to make getting on its back easy. 
