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Cerin and Birds-of-Trinity journey to visit the Red Court of Dessication.

• Birds thoughtfully examines the gravelly earth several feet below. "The world looks different from up here. Smaller." She ascends a bit. "You can probably see the Manse in that direction; at night it lights up the sky for miles."

<Cerin> "Mmm. It is different when one flies," Cerin notes from the ground below Birds, as he looks in the direction she points.

<Cerin> "Is the whole building one crystal?"

<BirdsOfTrinity> "Unless things have changed. I understand that it was once Earth-aligned, before the Court elders chose it as a home."

<Cerin> "Impressive." Cael scrambles over some rocks easily "Both the orginal carving and the conversion. Why is it that we're visiting here again?"

<BirdsOfTrinity> "We were going to see about constructing some orichalcum collectors, and I seem to remember you mentioning something about a spirit ally?"

<Cerin> "Ah, yes." he nods "I hope the court can help with that, it would be one less thing for Zahara to worry about."

As the two Exalts grow closer, the vast crystalline home of the Red Court becomes visible, the sunlight gleaming off of its elaborately carved surface.

• Cerin looks around him, impressed at the flows of essence as they flow in from the surrounding lands, woven and focused by the crystal "A powerful manse you have, Birds. Beautiful, too." Cerin lifts his helmet off as he approaches the entrance.

As the Exalts approach the entrance, bright purplish-red flames begin to flicker upon two great crystalline pillars that line the door. Over several moments, they grow larger and individual licks of flame begin to peel off and hurl themselves to the Earth with a visible splash. Out from the earth rise up seven tiny maidens of fire, no more than three feet high, each its own shade of orange, red, or purple, and each moving to its own unique rhythm.

<FireMaiden?> "Welcome on your return, Birds-of-Trinity...!" one says, bowing and spinning as she does so.

• Birds does a little return bow. "I am glad to be here."
• Fire Maiden? does a little dance around the other six and then leaps and somersaults through the air before falling to her knees and gesturing expressively towards the entryway.
• Birds enters, bending to lift the maiden to her feet as she passes.
• Cerin smiles at their antics, following after Birds

Entering the manse, the two find themselves entering the great central atrium. Two gigantic crystalline staircases wind up through the center of the massive room in lazy circles, touching upon numerous toroid balconies, circular mezzanines, and spiralling paths that fill the air above. Throughout this elaborate network are groups of fire elementals and gods, eagerly chatting with one another.

Plumes of fire appear frequently throughout the room, and crystalline spheres that hover over many points on the staircases and paths burn silently of their own accord. The room has a pleasant warmth, not quite as great as a sauna.

<Cerin> "It has been some time since I've seen an Elemental Court so busy ... I stopped visiting them after a small ... No matter."

• Birds raises an eyebrow, but lets it pass without comment.
• Cerin ignores the raised eyebrow, following her deeper into the manse, red ribbons flapping idly about him in the rising air.
• Birds wonders where all the elders are. The place is full of younglings.

A group of fire butterflies flitter past Cerin's head, with a tiny dragon in eager pursuit.

• Cerin watches the group, amused.
• Birds draws a charcoal nymph to the side and murmurs a question to him. "Is the Lord in residence tonight? We would like to speak with him."

Her feet move across the floor, smudging it with carbon as she does so. "He should be up at the top platform tonight, I think...!"

After a second, she disintegrates into a shower of ashes and is whisked away down the hall.

• Birds nods. "Then we go up." She climbs up the air, assuming Cerin has heard.
• Cerin looks after birds, then he leaps lightly, landing on one of the long flowing sleaves of birds outfit for the day.

<BirdsOfTrinity> "That's a cute trick."

<Cerin> "Well, I can't walk on the air yet ..."

<BirdsOfTrinity> "You are yet young, grasshopper, and have not come upon the summer of your power."

• Birds giggles.

On the highest mezzanine in the manse, surrounded by a small retinue, is Burns-With-Fervor, the most revered elemental of this Court. His lithe dragon form sits curled around a crystalline fountain from which brilliant golden wine flows; he gestures expressively with his hands at the other elementals around himself, while occasionally leaning his head down to sip of the wine.

• Cerin laughs softly
• Birds kneels a little bit above the floor and bows her head briefly in salute. "You are looking well, Burns-with-Fervor."
• Cerin lightly leaps off Birds sleave before she approaches, following her, bowing his head to the dragon in greeting
• Burns-With-Fervor takes a big gulp of wine and looks up. "Aaaaah, Birds-of-Trinity! So nice to /see/ you... Have a /seat./"
• Birds does so. "This handsome youth is my friend and comrade-in-arms, Cerin."

<Cerin> "Greetings to you, Burns-With-Fervor." Cerin smiles and sweeps a slightly more elaborate greeting bow, carmine ribbons swirling breifly

• Burns-With-Fervor nods to Cerin briefly. "Have some /wine/."

<BirdsOfTrinity> "I was wondering if you'd be interested in a small construction project."

• Cerin takes the glass offered by the lissome elemental beside the fountain, and tries some of the wine. He makes an approving noise.

<Burns-With-Fervor?> "Construction, eh? That sounds... /dull/. You're not a /dull/ person, Birds, are you? Enter/tain/ me."

<BirdsOfTrinity> "My guess is that this project will provide you with ample numbers of treasure hunters to play with. But perhaps Cerin's business will hold better interest for you?"

• Burns-With-Fervor 's eyes lighten a little bit, as he draws a pretty fire maiden in with one arm. "Treasure hunters. Intriguing." He turns to Cerin. "Let me hear your proposal."
• Cerin takes a small sip off his wine "I seek a companion, one skilled in arts of both covertcy and scribing. I was hopeful that there might be a being in your Court who would be interested in travelling with me, who possesed such skills."

<Burns-With-Fervor?> "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm," he says, drawing out his syllable irritatingly. "We have such in this court. Birds can certainly tell you that our delegates are of nothing but the /finest/ quality."

• Birds nods shortly, and takes a hefty flagon of wine from one of the attendants. She is starting to need it.
• Cerin takes a sip of his wine "That is most gratifying to hear, though I expected nothing less from a court of this size."

<Burns-With-Fervor?> "We do not have," he says, pausing to take an overdramatically deep breath, "as /close/ a relationship with you as with your /lovely/ companion" -- he reaches out to scratch Birds' chin, a little patronizingly -- "here, you know."

• Burns-With-Fervor ducks his head down. "What will /we/ receive from this, ah, arrangement?"
• Birds steeples her fingers. "Why, the pleasure of service and a collection of adventures to tell and retell around the story fires, of course. It is such a paradise here! what else could you possibly need?"

<Burns-With-Fervor?> "Ah, /hmmmmmmmmmmmmm./" He blinks. "They must be the very /greatest/ adventures. It is so /tiring/ here these days. So /very/ tiring."

• Birds gives Cerin a significant look. Do we tell him about the Hundredfold? I don't know how much he already knows.

<Cerin> "But of course." He smiles, shaking his hair slightly so it shimmers in the torch light "I would not wish to have less." He looks thoughtfully at Birds, considering the look. He sends agreement through the unity, tinged with caution.

<BirdsOfTrinity> "You may have heard tell of some ...interesting events toward the Centre. Creatures out of myths best forgotten waging war on the Realm, etc."

<Burns-With-Fervor?> "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm."

<Burns-With-Fervor?> "Creatures of ancient stories."

<Burns-With-Fervor?> "That /does/ sound interesting."

<BirdsOfTrinity> "I suppose so. We are here to kill them."

<Burns-With-Fervor?> "Mmmm, but why? Out of duty? Fear? /Revenge/?"

<Cerin> "They seem regretably unwilling to listen to reason, on the whole."

<BirdsOfTrinity> "And this does not interact well with their apparently desire to expand their territory, and my general fondness for places that I call home or fief."

<BirdsOfTrinity> "It is altogether a disastrous conjunction of personality traits."

<Burns-With-Fervor?> "Hmmmm. A war of survival. That would be acceptable, I think..." He snaps his fingers at a nearby elemental, who scurries off quickly. "While we wait for him to return, tell me of this construction project."

<BirdsOfTrinity> "We have need of orichalque, and perhaps a plan to obtain it."

<BirdsOfTrinity> "In your depths of study, I am certain that you have come upon the method for creating this metal, with the fiery blood of earth and the light of sun focussed in eldritch patterns."

• Burns-With-Fervor nods overdramatically.

<BirdsOfTrinity> "I think it possible to modify Fire House so that it creates orichalque as a natural interaction between its structure and daylight."

<Burns-With-Fervor?> "Hmmmmmmm, that is a most interesting prospect. It would give our guards something /interesting/ to do...."

<BirdsOfTrinity> "I will discuss the necessary modifications with Unalloyed Valor, if he remains the architect of this place...?"

<Burns-With-Fervor?> "Yes, yes, I am certain he must be here.... somewhere.... I'm sure you can locate him...." With that, the dragon turns away from Birds and resumes carousing with renewed fervor.

• Birds refills her flagon, takes a large swig, and sets off looking for the architect, murmuring an encouracing word to cerin: "He is the only being in Creation that can irritate me. I swear it."
• Cerin sends back amused agreement over the Unity, interesting himself in the study of the essence flows around this bit of the manse as he waits for the elemental to return.

<Burns-With-Fervor?> Some minutes pass, and finally the servant returns, another in tow: a creature that looks like a winged snake, with bluish fire flickering across its back. "This is Aliza the Cold-Burning."

<Cerin> "Greetings to you, Aliza the Cold Burning." Cerin says, as he studies the creature and the flows around it

<Aliza?> "Greetings... Cerin?"

<Cerin> "I am Cerin the Wolf, Hunter of the Empty Forest ... if you wish for my full title." he smiles "But Cerin is quite sufficient."

• Aliza nods.

<Cerin> "Have you travelled much in the world, Aliza?" Cerin asks with mild curiousity as he studies the way the essence ripples around her. Intriguing.

<Aliza?> "I have seen some of the world, but it is quite large."

• Cerin nods, and stops his studies of the essence "Perhaps we should go somewhere quieter, so we can talk." he gestures to the rather loudly gregarious Dragon. "I wonder how Birds is getting on." he muses to himself.
• Aliza nods violently, and flits through the air to follow Cerin.

---

Tags: (:tags Red Court of Dessication, Aliza, Burns-With-Fervor :)

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