sometimes you can't make it

[modforged]

Who: Alexstrasza, Krasus/Korialstrasz, and the Redsworn
What: Successful retreat into the Ruby Sanctum
Where: Ruby Sanctum
When: After a long, grueling battle near the borders of Suramar
Warnings: Please PM the mods if any warnings are needed

[The Ruby Sanctum is a flurry of activity. This becomes clear within two seconds of stepping through the portal. The wounded are guided over to a grassy clearing surrounded by saplings and adolescent trees, bade to lay down and receive healing from other dragonkin. Some of the trees are years old, while a few look to have shot up recently. If you watch, vines engulf one fallen warrior; the body sinks into the ground, and a tiny sapling appears in its place.

Despite the war going on outside, the sanctum is less of a cavern and more like a self-contained dimension. Ample sunlight drifts down through scarlet leaves, which are occasionally home to the crimson scales of a whelpling. There is life everywhere: insects on twigs, birds chirping overhead, flowers at your feet. Dragon eggs lay nestled in the nooks and crannies offered by the tranquil forest. There is a decently-sized spring filled with fresh, pure water, as well as some small rocky outcroppings to sleep in. It's warm and comfortable enough to rest out in the open, too.

The cloaked and ever-mysterious Krasus stands watching the dispersing redsworn, his back against the massive oak in the center of the sanctum.

Occasionally, one may glimpse a beautiful red-haired woman with copper skin winding through the copse.]

[ooc: Mingle log for redsworn!]

Comments

[telaari]

Even before she was pulled into this Azeroth, Vas couldn't recall when she last ate. Sure, it had to have been sometime in the last day or so, probably at the officer's commissary on the upper-tier of the Exodar, but damn it all if she can't remember if she was eating breakfast or lunch. At any rate, it had to have been hours ago.

The smell of cooking meat draws her to the campfire, and in spite of it being grilled bear, she finds it hard to not drool. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a whole cow," she says, swallowing in anticipation.

"Er, no, I mean... horse? That's the phrase, yes? 'Horse'?" she asks after a moment, looking to Zelos for an answer.

[wilder]

If Carolina's armor was strange to Zelos, Vas's blue appearance was definitely weird. He can't help but stare a little, trying to figure out if she's supposed to be blue or maybe he really shouldn't have eaten that meat.

He finally seems to conclude she's supposed to be blue. Since hey, nothing else around is weirdly colored!

"Uh...aha, I couldn't tell ya!" Zelos and proverbs were never his strong suit, considering how often he got them wrong. "But I get what you mean! There should be plenty if you don't mind...plain and charred beat meat!"

[telaari]

She's seen that puzzled look a lot today, but at least this one doesn't ask her why she's blue. It's a bit of a relief, really.

She shrugs, picking up a section of blackened bear ribs. "Can't be any worse than the time I tried to cook mushan on a campfire," she says as she frees a rib with a loud crack.

[wilder]

Maybe he's just waiting for the right time to pop the question! You'll never know.

But there's a word there that doesn't make sense. "Mushan?"

[telaari]

She takes a bite of the meat. It's about as dry and burnt-tasting as she expected, and it could have done with a bit of tenderizing first. But it's food, and far more filling than the fruit growing in the sanctum.

"Yeah, mushan. I think it's some kind of lizard. It's about as big as a rhino or so," Vas says before she takes another bite. "Very tough meat."

[wilder]

Sounds about right. Zelos isn't all that fond of it either, but this is one of those times where he is too hungry to even complain. Since really, it's been quite awhile since he's had a full meal of food in his stomach- and being human again is reminding him of that.

"A lizard the size of a rhino...?" He considers before lowering his voice. "How's that not a dragon?"

[telaari]

Vas lowers the rack of bear ribs, pondering his question. "I've never really thought about that. Dragons, though," she makes a face, like she needs a moment to find the right words. "Dragons are smart. Wicked smart, even. A mushan is maybe as smart as a talbuk at its best.

"I've seen Pandaren use them to pull carts or ploughs. If you tried to get a dragon to do that, they'd probably get offended."

[wilder]

"Maybe in this world," he remarks a little. It's not meant to be condescending, even if it comes off a little as so. "In my world, some breeds of dragons are used for that. And for mounts for knights. There's smarter, more dangerous breeds that aren't tamed by humans but-" he glances around, hoping none of them are in earshot. "This is the first time I've heard a dragon talk."

[telaari]

Vas furrows her brows at first, then she raises one. Dragons letting people ride them? Maybe in a dire situation, but never as a knight's mount. Even gryphons, far from being as intelligent as dragons, can still be choosy about who they carry.

She shakes her head. "This is my first time being this close to them, but I've always heard that they can talk."

[wilder]

"Huh, really? Guess it's just a difference in our worlds."

Along with blue goat people! There are definitely no blue goat people in Tethe'alla last he checked.

"I'll try to remember that though. I rather not get eaten just because I said something they'd find offensive."

[telaari]

"I expect that if they require our help against the Legion, they will not be too quick to anger at us," she says with a shrug, taking another bite of the charred meat.

"So... you are human, but not from Azeroth. Are you from that 'Earth' planet?"

[wilder]

"I dunno. I got a knack for pissing people off." Seriously, it was practically a special ability some days.

"Tethe'alla." He corrected. He thought about mentioning he's been to Earth but..eh, he was too tired to explain all that again.

[telaari]

"Tethe'alla," she repeats, lowering the bear ribs again. With a name like that, it could have been a Draenei world, but...

"I've never heard of it." But how curious that the human dragonsworn she's met so far are not native to Azeroth. Most curious, indeed.

[wilder]

Nope. It's just a world with crazy Norse and Greek names. And a random Japanese ninja village because why not.

"Not many have." It wasn't a huge world like Earth. The only people he's heard knowing about is people he personally already knew. "But it's got dragons and magic - so it's got some similarities to this place."

[telaari]

Well, that's a bit of a relief. With the way that Maridian talked about the other Dragonsworn, she expects them to be less accustomed to Azeroth and her ways.

"I am sorry to be so forward - you know how to use magic?" she asks him, setting the meat down completely. This one might be easier to prepare against the Legion. She could at least stand to look a little professional.

[wilder]

He gauges her reaction. Sure, he knew nothing about...whatever she was supposed to be. But he could still pick up on what seems to be relief on her. Which is a good sign, it'd suck if it turned out she was part of a people who fed magic users to monsters in the coliseum.

You know, like his people sometimes did.

"Yeah I d-" He stopped mid-sentence and corrected himself. "Well, I used to know how. Right now the only magic I can seem to get working is fire magic, ant it doesn't even feel like my magic."

[telaari]

Fire magic. She involuntarily tucks her tail between her legs - her poor tail, the subject of too many of her brother's childhood "prank" spells, most of which involved fire magic. At least she has firsthand knowledge of what it can do, even in a seven-year-old's hands.

"I think... maybe it has something to do with the ley lines? I am sorry, I am not skilled in the ways of the Arcane," she retracts, holding up a hand. "But if you still have control over your Fire spells, perhaps the rest will come in time."

[wilder]

"It's fine. Magic's a confusing topic even for the experts." There was a lot he didn't understand about Tethe'allan magic, frankly. But, that was probably partly because he didn't have a lot of peers in Meltokio who could also use magic- Cruxis and the Renegades were never that forthcoming with information either.

"Thanks, but I'm gonna try not to worry about it." Sure, it was a nuisance being weak, but did he really want his own powers back all that much? "Even if I don't get 'em back, I still got my sword. So...I'll make do!"

[telaari]

An arcane swordsman! Vas makes a sound that, in Draenei culture, might convey that she is impressed; outside of Draenei culture, however, it just sounds like she's clucking her tongue at him. This is exactly the sort of person that she's looking for, someone competent enough to be brought up to speed quickly.

"How long have you studied swordsmanship?"

[wilder]

He looks a bit perplexed at the tongue clucking. Was it something he said? Was the sword just not good enough? He knew it was kind of a stretch considering those demons out there, but it wasn't like he had much else. And if one thing Zelos was terrible at, it was being the damsel and counting on others to protect him.

"How long? Uh, since I was a kid, really...ten or so years." Sometime after he started realizing assassins might be a regular occurrence in the his life. Like it was said, he wasn't good at counting on others to protect him.

[telaari]

She folds one arm over another, touching a hand to one of her tendrils in thought. Ten years - that's very little to one like her, but this human cannot be more than twenty or thirty years old, if that. Quite impressive, for a mortal. She makes the sound again as she rolls a tendril tip between her fingers.

"And - I assume you are also not familiar with the Legion, yes?"

[wilder]

THIRTY?

THIRTY YEARS OLD?

Vas would not believe how much offense the redhead would take if he knew she was thinking that could be his age! How rude spacegoat, how rude.

Fortunately he has no idea that's her estimate on his age. He's too busy trying not to stare at the fact she has tendrils. He hadn't noticed them until she starting to play with them, but now- wow that's weird.

Oh right, the question.

"Nope. Can't say I've heard of them before."

[telaari]

And, unfortunately for Zelos, Vas has very little sense of time and how it affects the mortal races. Thirty years, that's close enough to twenty, isn't it?

Sh stops rolling her tendril between her fingers at his answer. This is exactly the sort of person she mentioned to the elf, the kind of person who has skill but no knowledge of the threat they all face. The kind of person who they could use to assist others. "The Burning Legion is the collective force of the demons invading Azeroth. They are the reason we have been summoned here."

[wilder]

Not close at all! Nevermind the fact he's immortal when he's not completely devoid of his powers- thirty is old and therefore he won't have it!!

"Demons?" He frowns. His own interactions with demons were limited. Most demons in his world had been sealed long before he was born. That was Emil- Ratatosk's job. "Just where are they invading from?"

[telaari]

"From the size of the forces on the ground... probably one of their stronghold worlds. Maybe even Argus, if there's anything still left on Argus," she says, playing with a tendril again. "They can travel between worlds by the Twisting Nether, but it usually requires some kind of big magic source or portal for them to manifest in numbers like this."