Taifuin dredged onwards through the undergrowth of Laeto Rainforest, using a broadsword he had pilfered from a man who had once been foolish enough to directly oppose him as a makeshift machete.  When a dragon was owed a debt, there was no haggling on collection, as that imbecile seemed to think.  He was on his way to Harena Desert…whispers and fearful tales about a powerful lich taking command of the area had reached his keen ears, and he knew full well that his power, whatever nature it may have been, would aid him in his quest to regain his form and strength once more.

For now though, there was not much else for him to do but keep hacking away at brush that only seemed to grow thicker and thicker, whilst his sword grew duller and duller…he would have to sharpen it sooner or later.  He could have used the katana that sealed him in his unfortunate state to do the same job better, he mused.  But Ryushi was the only human he had ever begrudgingly come to respect…using his weapon for such meaningless drudgery was beneath both him and the blade itself.  Besides, having it sharp and at the ready was of the utmost importance.  Despite how it angered him, he had come to rely on that accursed thing…possibly even more than its former master did in his life.  

To call his feelings towards the weapon he had carried with him since his sealing centuries ago a "love-hate relationship" would be an understatement, to say the least.

While looking at his feet, still musing of a time long lost to him, he swung the now battered and stained sword in front of him…only to notice that it didn't cut through anything.  The dragon looked up, and his yellow eyes widened in slight curiosity.

It was a ruin of some sort.  Obviously it was once a place of incredible beauty…and it still maintained it, if in a somewhat different form, as the plants and detritus of the forest slowly claimed the crumbling, ivory structures.  It was both hauntingly mysterious and aesthetically comforting at the same time…and he felt a longing within himself for a past he had never actually experienced.  Nostalgia, the humans beneath him called it.  How strange, to experience it here in the middle of a long, arduous journey such as this.  

He walked into the center of it, as parts of himself that were never truly active before now stirred, if only slightly.  His sense of wonderment was certainly in full gear, at the very least.  And it was permeated with an intangible energy that seemed to resonate with him all too well.  He sat upon what was once obviously the floor of the grand structure, as for the first time in his long life, he quietly appreciated what surrounded him.

Even in the destruction the creatures below Taifuin's station so loathed, there was beauty.  

The forest was quiet now, gone were the lavish parties, the bonfires and the lights that danced in the sky. Laeto forest was beautiful on its own, a wild sort of beauty that conquered the landscape and all that dared to encroach would be overcome as if it had never been. This was home now, Nymeria had nothing else, and though this land was peppered with the remnants of magic that had befallen the goddess. Someone came to this sacred land, intruding upon her peace and tainting the holiness that was left. Nymeria looked on from the forest, peering from behind a structure at the strange lord before her. What the hell was he?

Pale skin, ebony hair, strange eyes….he felt weird, aura consuming the air around him in an untold turbulent nature. It was strange, and Nymeria could not help but be drawn closer, 
She was dressed in a simple gown, deep blue that played opposite her pale skin and snowy hair that swept along her hips, curling beneath her bottom. “What brings you to this land?” She asked from behind him, watching, wary as she looked around him and to the surrounding area. There was nothing to draw people here, and yet this was the second time in a fortnight that it had happened. Undoubtedly there was more to this attraction than ruined columns and spare magic. 
“I presume something brought you to my lands,” she accused, hands at her hips as she took in the strange beast before her. There was something….something about this one that was more than the one who had come before. Magic, untold bits of magic, and something reptilian in the eyes. She knew there was something, but without a hard press to it…Nymeria blended with the air, appearing on the other side of the man, meeting him face to face, accessing the threat he posed. His power was significant, but…he fell repressed. 

A questioning voice filled with unrequited indignation broke his reverie.  Thankfully this place had put him into a relatively calm mood…otherwise he would have utterly snapped.

He opened his eyes, only to have them met with a pallid face with snow-white hair dancing about in the breeze.  Her whole body seemed to have a windy sort of feel to it.  Certainly she moved like the air, for her ability to speak from behind him and appear in front of him without even making a single footstep was extraordinary.  He raised an eyebrow at her…she obviously seemed rather miffed about him being here, but not so much to take any form of action besides staring him down.  Despite the otherworldly quality she possessed, however, a flowing blue dress and facial features belonging to some sort of mythological creature of beauty did not an intimidating picture make.

The dragon trapped in human form continued to sit cross-legged, without even the overture of movement crossing his body under his robe.  There was only one man in his centuries of life that had earned his respect; this strange woman would not pry it from him with a domineering voice and an uncouth attitude.

He raised an eyebrow at her, the slightest beginnings of a grimace tugging at his mouth.  "And who might you be…to own these lands and demand explanation for my presence?  These are ruins, child…there is nothing of value here for anyone to own.  I am merely stopping here in my travels to appreciate it…is not a grand being such as myself allowed, by a pitiful whelp such as yourself no less, to enjoy his surroundings?"

Taifuin chuckled as he continued locking eyes with her.  Truth be told, something had drawn him here besides the force of chance, but he wasn't quite sure what.  He felt some sort of kindred spirit in here that he became more and more aware of, surfacing from his subconscious, as he drew nearer to this ruined place.  Something had called him, he could say.  Was it this…woman?  She certainly seemed out of the ordinary, and the repressed magic sealed within him was struggling to get out even more than usual in her presence.  Perhaps she could provide some answers if he stuck around.  His gaze softened, though he was still clearly sizing her up…would she respond to threats or more…subtle forms of coercion?  

He would bide his time.

Cocky. Prick. An Ass. All these words and more swirled to the forefront of the elementalism’s mind as she met the eyes of the intruder, accusing her and insulting the land that she owned now. It was not much, but it was hers. He was unbothered, sitting on what would have been the foyer of the grand palace. She narrowed her eyes, mind racing through possibilities that would benefit her as she cocked her head. Pallid skin, ebony hair, a robe, affinity for air…what the hell was he? “I would be the owner of these lands, and have been since the palace you now so casually lounge upon stood with more pride than you are capable of understanding.” 


Truth. The ivory court had once been a proud land, substantial and glowing in the night. Not as it was now, not as a seat for vagrant creature to perch upon and alleviate their gasses. Cocking one hip, Nymeria weighed the other, sizing him as he had obviously taken inventory of her prowess as well. “These lands were once the Ivory Court, to the goddess of fire and passion. When she fell, it fell to me to maintain these lands and those that remain. Even now her beasts wander these lands, continuing on in their lives without their mistress.”

child

The word made a wry smile pull at the corners of her mouth, she was no child, not by a long shot. This form was pitiful, that was a given, but she did not appreciate this….thing calling her out on it. She circled, eyes narrowing to slits as her more primal nature surfaced, “Looks are deceiving, who are you to enter lands of which you have no claim?” Gods that she knew all the spells her mistress had or knew how to cast them. She had seen it done so many times, but this form was new and not entirely connected to the weave. Still a burgeoning sorceress, looking no more than seventeen at best despite countless years of existence. 

Somewhere in the distance, a large cat roared, the jungle going still as the larger predators prowled the coming night. She smirked, the sun retreating as the stars gleamed brighter and the sacred lilies illuminated. “Fire lilies, they will burn you if you touch them,” her voice was calm as she indicated to one blooming near his body. It was not full dark, no that would not be for an hour or so when the temperatures dropped and mist settled into the valley. “There are twelve large cats out there, I do hope you are not frightened of them.” True, she was a cat herself, but if he did not see the truth in her blue eyes, she would not point it out. 

“What the hell are you, intruder.” There was power, so much power, and age, but there was something else. Something that the man was hiding that drew up the hackles that hid beneath her carefully created humanoid features, true, it had been spontaneous, but the fates had done this to her for a reason….

Hadn’t they?