[closed] fractured light

[Talon]

T A L O N

85 Frost 124 Steel

Winter had come, even to the Plane of Light. The cold glint of frost coating the golden fields of grass around him gave everything a silvered hue. It was comforting for him in many ways. The cold never bothered Avialae but the chill of Frost brought comfort to him for another reason; Rickter. He was both happy to have the man back and at the same time he had been keeping a respectful distance so as to allow Rickter to spend time with Telion and his children. But it was hard to not think of him and desire to be around him when the Lord of Frost's season was quite literally all around him, even on the elemental planes.

Admiration of the icy chill of Frost was and was not the reason he had been drawn to the Plane of Light. He had been called to the plane in order to investigate an anomaly. There on the edge of the realm where Light, Wind and Water touched to become Ice and Crystal, something was different. Where Rickter's frost touched, it balanced, it lulled the landscape into a peaceful slumber that brought crystalline beauty and a glassy, pristine landscape that was a wonder to behold. In the natural cold, Talon could feel Rickter's protective presence guarding over the sleeping greenery that needed to rest during his season's cycle. But there was a different kind of cold that had begun seeping into this part of the Plane of Light. It was empty. It was bitter. It withered the landscape into a lifeless canvas of stale grey that was not the balanced slumber of a natural cycle but a complete absence of it.

Talon was not the sole deific power tied to expressions of light. There were many deities and spirits that manifested it in some way. However, as the deific power who ruled over the principal Idea of Light within the high realms of the Aetherium itself, the Plane of Light was ultimately his realm from which others borrowed.

Thus, it fell to him to investigate this anomaly and determine how to correct it. He already knew that this was not something he could solve purely on his own.

Talon walked forward, leaving the landscape that felt as though it were being safeguarded by Rickter's Frost and into the dead, grey landscape that seemed robbed of life. The chill was immediately different. It was cloying. It was vicious. It was unnatural and it made him actually feel cold. His breath frosted in the air, as it did Talon watched it drift away from him. Unlike normal misty breath it did not fade. It continued to drift through the air, prompting Talon to open up his senses to the flow of aether around him. As soon as he did, he immediately saw an alarming scene in front of him.

Fractured, is what he would call it.

All around him, the flow of aether was broken. The natural veins of aether that flowed across every plane, through everyone and everything were shattered and frayed. Talon's eyes widened in horror. Not even with the Eclipse had he seen this. His gaze was drawn to the center of this aetheric fracturing where hung a jagged hole from which seeped a nebulous mist. It was not like the Dread Mists. He felt nothing of the raw, undiluted chaos that sprung forth from them. This felt different though he could not quite describe it.

Talon closed his eyes, expanding his awareness and dominion over Light. First he sought out the Lord of Frost, his dear wolf, bridging the space between them using the magic of Traversion to create a Window woven together with the projection of himself through the light.

“My Wolf…” There was a smile in his voice and on his face. “I apologize for disturbing you but, I need your help. There is something amiss in the Plane of Light but it touches upon the dominion of Frost as well. If you are able, please, reach for me and I will open a portal for you to join me.”

As soon as Rickter affirmed, Talon would open a portal enabling Rickter to join him on the Plane of Light.

As he manipulated the powers of Traversion however, Talon watched as the fracture before him sizzled to life, growing more wild and jagged. He did not cease his manipulations but he made a note of it. After reaching out to Rickter, Talon reached out to a select few others that might yet need to be made aware of this disruption to the flow of the powers of Light.

[Rickter]

Fractured Light
85th of Frost 124th Year, A.o.S.

Time. There was much to consider when one perceived Time as a concept, as a construct, or even as a perspective. For the Immortal or longevity, it was simply there, a fluid and constant thing that only governed passage and growth. For mortals, however... Time was like a river that brought change to people and things. Like flowing water, there is never a moment's pause; a young heart transforms into a man with lofty ambitions, and the immature emotions between two souls transform into a deep and undying love. Clear water served as a mirror to the mind, body, and soul, reflecting the imagery of growth as the flow of passage continued.

Time was a river, and Father Velar was the shepherd who steered the vessel afloat. For Rickter there had been times when he'd felt merely a passenger, a bystander witnessing the passage itself. For another period, he had felt himself the rock, sunken to the bottom of the river, while all of time continued without him. Regardless of these feelings, he could never ignore the reality of his lesson. Time always carries on. After his awakening at the cusp of Searing and Ash, the wolf had dedicated himself to catching up on lost time with his immediate loved ones. Family and close friends that he felt out of touch with, as well as somewhat relevant and important figures from within Kalzasi.

There had never been any shortage of things to keep him occupied, and at times, he had found himself easily lost within the scope of time yet again. How quickly the days would pass, how long before they'd escape him entirely, and what a mere blink could do if he were to lose touch with things once more. There was no dread from the thought of it, far from it honestly, as Rickter understood and respected Velar's prominent influence over all things. Much of the wolf did, in fact, yearn for there to be more Time throughout the day of course...

But asking Father Time to slow or stop the flow itself would be like stopping the sun, or rather, repeating the Eclipse in a sense where the world itself would freeze over. That sort of power, no matter how genuine the act, could never be used to set everything on pause. Growth was always important, and change was necessary as it invited chaos and development. Feeling this when Frost, His own domain, settled in only exemplified the feelings he beheld on the matter. Whether he wanted to think or affirm it within himself or not, Rickter was steadily changing with each passing season.

The Lord of Frost had much to oversee in the near future, and at that time, He knew he had to prepare for a different growth than any he'd experienced before. Naturally, as he felt the powers that be incite him to live up to his name, the moniker that is the Lord of Frost, Rickter held onto the principles of the very foundation that often kept him grounded. Time spent watching his sons grow ever more with each passing day, seasons spent loving and caring for the mother of their children and for those who only further supported Rickter overall. These precious fleeting moments were everything to the wolf still, and despite the distances that kept him busy from seeing Talon regularly; there always remained the deeply rooted connection that'd profoundly blossomed between them.

So when the Lord of Frost felt the whisper of his soulmate upon the wind, the very breath of the North that carried it through the snow-blanketed gardens of his familial home; it was only natural for Rickter to gaze out of the office window into the open skies above. An aurora borealis danced across the evening skies of the Astralar mountains, shining like a beacon for all of the North to see, but also serving as a second medium between two of the most prevalent deities housed within the Jewel of Karnor. Talon had reached out to him from afar, from a distance the Wolf felt unable to breach personally. But that did not prevent Rickter from reaching back out, as he'd also felt the invitation to join his dearest companion in this distant place.

"My heart, my Sōrumeito." He acknowledged warmly with a deep understanding of his companion's sincerity, a steady rise from his chair as the legs lightly groaned across the wooden floor. Rickter simply closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, feeling himself and the other half resonating within him being guided into what had to be the gentlest tug of Talon's power. Traversion always remained a magic the Wolf respected, even if he'd lost that Rune himself a while back. Regardless of such sentiments though, he never once expected it to carry him as far as it did today. A gentle breeze wafted throughout the room, permeating the office with a chill before the Wolf himself had simply vanished.

And once his eyes were ajar, they opened to reveal the sea of silver and gold all around. The Plane of Light as it had been touched by his own domain, the softest yet purest manifestation of Frost as if it had been a kiss on the breeze. He did not quite understand it just yet but to see such influence, to experience it the way his beloved did, it brought an overpowering calm and clarity deep inside the wolf somehow. And then with a turn so that his back no longer remained toward Talon, the wolf began to see immediately what the pressing concern was in turn. "You never need to apologize for reaching out to me, my Star."

He assured Talon with a warm smile before his icy gaze drifted on the compelling scene before Him, crossing the threshold where serenity suddenly felt bleak and life in turn drained. It was a stark transition he felt and it startled him the moment Rickter crossed over, and deep inside he felt only one thing that best described the atmosphere of the environment before him. Hunger. Not so much as the simple drive or need to feed, rather, an absence so deep and so endless that it starved to be filled. This is nothing like I've ever experienced... Lykos resonated through Him within their shared thoughts, as the Wolf admittedly agreed to such an observation.

The Eclipse was different from what Rickter remembered, and shockingly, paled in comparison to the overwhelming sensation that sparked from this gloomy ordeal. "Well, this certainly is a pressing issue... Care to elaborate on the cause or source of this for me, Sōrumeito?" The wolf calmly inquired as he tampered down on this sense of foreboding danger looming within their vicinity, his icy gaze affixed with silver hues as he started to Semble what he could from the scene.

[Talon]

T A L O N

He smiled as Rickter stepped through the offered portal, joining him on the Plane of Light. He allowed the Rathari man to take in the world around him for a moment before turning to face him. Warmth passed through him as Rickter regarded him, a feeling he returned. Talon extended both a hand and a wing, welcoming Rickter to his side as the wolf crossed the threshold into the stale grey that was around them. Raising his other hand, Talon stirred his powers of Masquerade and his inherent ability to bend the light. While Rickter's sembling would certainly suffice for inspecting on his own, he assisted by making the frayed and broken ley-lines of aether visible. All around them the blackened and burned ley-lines of aether came into focus.

Not all of the aetheric pathways around them were completely broken but many of them were. Just ahead of them swirled a twisting rift, around the edges of which the frayed ley-lines gathered to form a jagged circle.

“I do not entirely know what it is, beloved.” He watched as the energy around them continued to be funneled into the crack that had appeared. This was not a breakage like that which had appeared over Zaichaer. There was, again, a distinct lack of the chaos that was caused by exposure to the raw open Aetherium that warped everything it touched.

“This is not the Dread Mists. It is not a Veil break that I am familiar with. The touch seems to wither and decay, not twist and warp.” Talon took a step closer. As soon as he did, the fracture in front of them fluctuated, its edges writhing as though the aether that had gathered around it were in excruciating pain. There was a screeching sound like rusted nails being dragged across glass before a jagged claw tore its way through the breach. What spilled out was what could only be described as a bipedal amphibian-like entity covered in porous holes that oozed with an oily black substance with an opalescent sheen. It was hunched over at first but it quickly rose to its feet. Multiple glassy black eyes stared at them. A maw of jagged teeth dripping with sickly ooze opened in a chittering hiss.

In a matter of moments, others were pushing their way through the fracture, joining the first. A total of four of these creatures stood, eyes zeroing in on the both of them. Talon’s expression remained neutral. He closed his eyes, breathing in through his nose then exhaling steadily. Turning his head, he gently pressed a kiss to the side of Rickter's temple before stepping only a few inches away. Through his Semblance, all Talon could see was hunger, thirst and a primal savagery that saturated every part of their beings.

“Return--" He didn't even get to finish speaking before the lead creature let out a noise that made Talon wince. It felt like spikes being driven into his mind, like glass shards ripping at his psyche. As soon as the startling effect slammed into him, he felt Aoren's presence through the Bond. The dragon dragged both Talon and Rickter’s minds away from the attack on their mental faculties, shutting out the clawing invasion.

In that same moment, the other three creatures sprung forward. On spindly limbs that clawed at the earth, propelling themselves forward as though they could drag the earth between themselves and the two Draegir closer.

Talon was momentarily dazed, shaking his head to clear away the last of what had clearly been a psychic attack.

[Rickter]

There was always an underlying confidence that would swelter with the warmth that accompanied Talon, something that the silver Synnekar always had been able to reinforce within Rickter. Needless to say as the difference in atmosphere became clear upon observation, the added touch of aether to highlight the foundation of what the Wolf would Semble became evermore clearer than before. What he observed deeply concerned him upon seeing the disconnected and ruptured channels of where aether once flowed, but somehow, the sight of these fractured passages and broken ley-lines stirred a deeper discord within Lykos. That's... more than a difficult issue. His other half quickly observed as Rickter could sense the rising concern in the tone of Lykos' thoughts.

Can it be mended somehow? The Wolf inquired thoughtfully as he focused on Talon next, disengaging his arcane senses so that he might hear what his companions had to say. The conditions that bred the nature of this place were indeed unprecedented. No rips or tears in the veil, no weakening of the fabric that kept the planes between thin or exposed. It simply was just... there. Pervasively so. "Something tells me this event is by no means a natural circumstance." That much he could immediately gauge but there was still no indication of a cause, only a guess at the source where all the frayed channels malaligned.

It's possible but a bit risky, it'd take a coordinated effort, to say the least. Yet there seemed to be trouble looming just out of the threshold of the crack of this tear in reality. Talon took in a deep breath as he placed a gentle kiss on the side of Rickter's lobe, filling the wolf with a sense of calm even though the pit of his stomach felt ready to turn. The sight of the creatures that came out was ghastly and even putrid, their scents fouler than the vestige of a rotten carcass left in the cold sun. It stood to reason that the King of Dawn himself would try to resolve things diplomatically if possible, addressing these creatures with intimidation and subterfuge in the event they'd see Talon as a likely threat.

As the Lord of the Just, it was reasonable to see how Rickter felt this way, and yet, before the Synnekar could utter a single word something else interfered. Psionic energy de~ Even Lykos' words were cut off from Rickter's own mind for a moment, as his ears experienced a sound sharp enough to threaten to split his own skull open. The wolf immediately winced as he covered the left ear immediately, His shoulders hunched a bit as the lights of his Negation rune danced across his skin. Within moments of experiencing the attack, Rickter felt fire roil through him, cleansing his mind of the influence and his heart of the doubt pitted in his gut.

Not friendly, figures... He concluded briskly with a sharp gaze on the three entities that sprung forward, hobbling their way toward Talon and Rickter with ungraceful yet surprising speed on their appendages. Thank you, Aoren! He conferred for a moment before engaging his arcane muscles once more, channeling aether throughout his aura so that it would expand and envelope with Talon's own aura in turn. Specks of neon teal and green brightened to mimic the Northern Lights all along his left arm in response, and with a gestured flick of his hand, the wolf embraced Talon and himself with a layer of aether throughout that aura.

The air around both of them became saturated with aether, a tinge of magic tickling the fractals just bordering the edge of their position. The first immediate mandate that would be instilled would be a ward of protection, to effectively absorb any more psionic resonance that attempted to assail them yet again. As the three horrific entities drew closer, the wolf flexed a few more of his fingers from the gestured left hand earlier, weaving another arcane ward into the fabric that created another light show around the two. Several feet before Talon an opalescent barrier weaved into form from the base of the ground upward, creating a wall of reinforced aether particles that hardened together to serve as the wall between them and their incoming enemies.

And finally... "Talon," one last flex of his fingers to gesture an open palmed hand toward the wall he generated took place, "send them back to where they came." A touch of Kinetics soon flowed outward from his opened hand to caress the wall before them, generating a light blue film that seeped over the opalescence of the barrier itself on their side. What Rickter had done was apply a touch to the Aegis wall before them, giving it the mandates necessary to push the creatures back with severe rebounds from their pursuit, while the interior of their defenses was laced with an acceleration ward.

Talon only needed to apply whatever force he deemed necessary, and it certainly wouldn't take much to obliterate the beings that threatened them just now.

[Talon]

T A L O N

The amphibian-like creatures slammed against the barrier that Rickter erected. Their claws scrapped against the weave of shield. The sludge that oozed from their porous hides began to pop and sizzle against the fabric of the barrier, eating away at it slowly but steadily. Talon pinched the bridge of his nose as he rose steadily back to his feet. While the screeching onslaught of psychic energy was no longer clawing its way into his mind, he still had a lingering headache that only time would heal.

“Thank you, my wolf.” Across the Core Bond they shared, Talon sent the equivalent of a squeeze to Aoren's hand. He could feel Aoren's urge to swiftly join them but for the moment, Talon dissuaded him from that course of action. For the moment. He looked to the creatures clawing their way at the weave of Rickter's barrier. His eyes followed the sickly ooze that sizzled against the structure of the barrier and how it ate away at the aether holding it together.

“I have a better idea.” With but a flex of his thoughts, his pact blade was in his hand. In the next breath, Talon stirred his powers of Traversion into motion. He blinked to the exterior of the barrier appearing on the opposite side of the creatures. In rapid succession, Talon blinked between each of the creatures, flourishing his sword, beheading each of them quicker than the ghastly monstrosities could react. When each of them fell to the ground, heads bouncing onto the withered soil, it was then that Talon noticed that the black blood still on his pact blade was still popping and sizzling. He brought the blade up to look more closely at the blood that was eating away at the aetheric fabric of his sword. He studied it for a moment before dismissing his pact blade.

The painful hiss of acid funneled its way through his body as soon as he did. It was a gnawing pain that spiraled itself into his veins. Talon calmly rest his hands at the small of his back, his jaw flexing slightly as he waited for it to pass. It did but in the aftermath, he felt a queasiness that made him uneasy. He exhaled, looking down at the corpses of the amphibian-like creatures.

“I have seen many horrors crawl their way up from the depths of the Warrens. I have memories of creatures from ages past.” He narrowed his eyes. “I have never encountered creatures like this.”

He turned away from the corpses to look at the fractured lines of aetheric pathways all around him. Stepping forward, Talon did more than just walk upon the soil of the Plane of Light. He opened himself up to the very weft and weave of it. He let the mask of mortality fall away and embraced the part of himself that was eternally always living within the Aetherium. He extended his hand to the purest form of himself within the Realm of Ideas and was joined with the Idea of Light.

Talon's nimbus manifested, crowned with the symbol of Light. Gently, he reached out to the broken pathways all around him as he knelt down in front of the swirling vortex of frayed aether lines. He touched his hand to the withered soil of the Plane of Light. Through him, the Idea of Light flowed once more into the elemental plane where it was most manifest. All around him, the fractured and frayed aether knitted itself back together. Talon mended the plane that was his to guard over where this wound presented itself. Light was breathed back into the space where it had been sucked away.

As he connected himself so deeply to the Plane of Light, Talon beheld other sites across his domain where this wounds had cropped up. He beheld other places where his attention would be needed and realized that this was not an isolated problem. When he withdrew back into himself, Talon felt troubled. That trouble echoed across the Bond he shared with Rickter and Aoren. A casual brush over the surface of Talon's thoughts would be more than enough to witness what troubled him.

He rose to his feet and looked back to Rickter. He then looked at the corpses. The black blood from the bodies of the amphibian-like creatures was already starting to eat away at the revitalized world around it.

“You are a greater ward-mage, than I, sorumeito. Do you think you can contain them? I do not want them destroyed. Not yet. They must be studied. And I think…” Talon sighed.

“I think there are other divines that need to be summoned. This, whatever it may be, goes beyond just the two of us.”

[Rickter]

Rickter watched and remained visibly unchanged when he'd observed the clash of the creatures against his barrier, the Aegis wall he'd erected practically nonreactive save for the fact it prevented the entities from reaching their prey. Then, a rigid tension settled into the wolf's shoulders for a moment, as he anticipated a reaction after the impact. He only pondered why nothing had occurred. Rickter was often rather clear if not meticulous when he implemented such protections into his wards, so that meant there had to be something he overlooked or ignored... or... that these fugly monsters were immune to the reactions.

But still, the fact they didn't trigger them, and worse, started to erode the prideful manifestation of Rickter's strongest arcane work stirred uneasiness within him. Regardless of the fact, Talon had plenty of time to regain his full senses against the creatures before them, and rather than opt to obliterate them with a mere fraction of his power, the divine Synnekar had chosen for a quick and decisively clean kill in a brisk set of movements. After a couple of blinks the rancid-smelling entities were beheaded quickly, the bodies and dismembered parts hitting the ground with a cushioned thunk as the wolf himself grimaced from the grisly ooze seeping out of them.

It was a disheartening sight to behold but something about it felt... off. What essential 'blood' that seeped from their bodies was essentially toxic to the environment, causing the uneasiness within him to rise all the more with a sense of familiarity. This was something he instinctively wanted to avoid touching at all cost, which while there had always been a share of that in his line of work, Rickter only remembered the depth of this feeling from something else entirely. Something he experienced shortly before his ascension down within the Warrens. "Quick clean kills." He commended Talon for the work all the same, and yet, the type of pain Talon experienced after dematerializing his weapon had not been lost on Rickter.

That potent gut-wrenching smell burned his nostrils unlike anything he'd ever smelt before, it was even worse than the sulfuric fumes one might trace within the Everwilds of the Second Deep. Preservation then. Lykos finally chimed in with Rickter's thoughts, as he steadily observed the limp bodies where they lay. We can see the remains are kept that way, all they need is just a light touch of our power. Still bothered by that feeling that refused to yield in him, Rickter quirked his head a little in response to the idea.

Perhaps. A bit of Negation magic with extra wards of Frost implemented into the mandate. As he reasoned with the thought Rickter looked up from the bodies over to Talon, pondering the Draegir's next intentions as the previous Aegis barrier he'd erected unwove and dissipated with a mere thought. The first layered ward he'd instilled over himself and Talon though remained, since they clearly were subject to other possible psionic advances for the time being. Yet Talon seemed able to mend the damages done to the Elemental Plane they were on, as the air gradually grew warmer to Rickter and the lackluster conditions of the environment started to brighten.

It was odd for the wolf to experience the sensation. He'd gotten so used to cold that it was nonexistent to him at this point, even in the midst of his slumber upon regaining his identity. But treading the barren proximity of the fields that the Draegir of Light restored felt abysmally bleak and cold, a sensation Rickter had almost forgotten entirely. While Talon restored the frayed leylines and broken aether channels, Rickter decidedly took to the previous idea of preserving the creatures' remains. Kneeling down just low enough so that his bent knees allowed him to hover near them, the wolf smoothly waved his spare hand back and forth, admittedly beckoning the powers He presided over as the Lord of Frost to respond in tandem.

He could feel it even here, as if the Plane of Ice were just within His very reach. "I definitely need to visit there... soon." It would be the one place that would empower his very domain, given that Frost held governance over ice and the conditions it created a world over. There was so much he needed to do still, but that would come in time, given the fact that Rickter himself would no longer age regularly as a mortal would. The mutterance of these words though was just a general thought aloud, even if Talon knew or suspected the fact Lykos was another part of Rickter from within.

There's something about these creatures that just defies logic and expectation. The voice in His mind observed as aether seeped out from the gestures Rickter's hand made, stirring another weave of closely knit particles to flow and coat the beheaded corpses before him. As he attempted this the acidic blood they possessed continually sizzled against the arcane contact, signifying a potent resistance to it within their bloodstream even after death. Even after death, they still absorb the flow of aether.

They just don't absorb... Rickter dutifully noted with a waver of His hand, watching as the makeup of the arcane ward started to weaken and fizzle out. They corrode it entirely. It's completely different from circumstances such as the Void corrupting aether, these things somehow alter it on a different level. Not only did this puzzle Rickter greatly but it stirred that uprising fear even more, now that he realized mere arcane wards weren't going to be enough to resolve this issue. The wolf felt his winged soulmate completely withdraw back into himself, after having reached within so deeply that he'd practically became a conduit to the plane they stood within.

It never ceased to amaze Rickter the depths of Talon's power, and, it wasn't entirely lost that one day He too would discover how to utilize similar power. Yet the impressions shared through the Bond did little to rest the concerns inside the wolf, as it seemed this crack in the Plane had also manage to manifest in other sites throughout the Cosmos. To a degree, even Rickter felt the festering wound somewhere far off, as the dominion of Ice beckoned for Him to reach out and mend it in turn. Slowly, the wolf rose to a full stand with pressing concern in his eyes, and the usual stoicism faltering at the incredibly difficult situation fixed before Him. Them even.

Talon knew this was not just something the two of them would have to fix alone. Hell, even collateral control at this point would be a challenge, but it was something even Rickter knew had to be done. Or attempted at the very least. "Lykos and I have noticed aberrant circumstances based on trying a few preservation spells." He admitted with a grim look on his face, the icy orbs in his skull cast downward at the bodies. "Whatever their blood qualifies as, it's just as bad as Magebane... if not worse. It defies the nature that is Aether, and corrodes it until nothing is left." Though judging from the broken aether passages Talon mended, he had likely already figured that to be the case already.

"Containment is one thing given that requires actively feeding the wards. With the creatures you've slain here, it's possible I can freeze them so that they remain intact for the return trip home." He admitted after hovering His hand over the body of one such creature yet again, this time, a period of concentration taking root as His own Divine Nimbus manifested overhead. The chill of Frost quickly permeated the air in response to this, and as the wolf steadied his hand the Nimbus that crowned him glimmered with its own aurora borealis. Specks of snow and ice would soon glisten in the sunlight, as copious amounts swirled into formations that resembled a miniature snowcloud beneath his palm.

With a mere flex of his fingers the snow and ice scattered, the air before Him dropping degrees rapidly for just an instant, therefore flash-freezing the bodies and their black blood to an extent. The oozing liquid almost solidified completely, but in turn, faint sizzles led to light traces of steam radiating off their corpses. "I'm not sure how much time this will buy us with these, but as for the wounds they come out of..." Rickter started with the lowering of His hand, allowing His powers to ease which led to the fading of His nimbus in turn. "There's too many to pinpoint for me to close or seal them off entirely."

Even if we found a singular point of access that led to all of them, I'm afraid sealing those off wouldn't resolve the issue itself. Lykos also had an excellent point there, no matter how adept the skill, these things could erode aether just by existing. Not only did that mean they threatened the very fabric of reality... it also meant that they were resistant to traditional ideas that normally involved magic. To make matters worse, if they're bleeding into the Elemental Planes still... then our own Plane we're in charge of is still threatened by it as well.

So in other words... Rickter likely needed a bit more of a power-up against this issue, and, even if he did visit the Plane of Ice there was no guarantee He'd be able to mend it alone. "Lykos and I are pondering the scope of the issue. But..." Rickter's solemn stare at the creatures immediately softened to one of unyielding concern when he looked to Talon in return. "I'm afraid my power alone might not be enough to stave off the issue, let alone buy us any more length of time than what we already have." It was an honest assessment based upon what they were looking at, and while Lykos did often remain a second voice of reason for Him, Rickter still often liked to default to what his other packmates had to add to the matter as well.

Regardless of whatever conclusion they would all come to though, there was no doubt that the wolf would do everything in his power. Everything. Because that was what they would need to resolve this issue.

[Talon]

T A L O N

Talon watched as Rickter froze the corpses and blood of the creatures. Steam rose up from the frozen blood. Tapping into his powers of Semblance, he observed the reactions taking place, discerning that this corrosion was born more from the acidic properties of the blood itself as opposed to a reaction to the aether. It was a conundrum that would require more study.

“Time enough to study them. Thank you, my wolf.” The dirt and soil gathered around each of the bodies to create rectangular sarcophagi. With a flick of his thoughts, Talon transmuted the dirt to solid stone in order to contain the bulk of the bodies. With kinetics, he lifted each of the frozen heads along with the frozen blocks of acidic blood and deposited them into each of the sarcophagi beside their respective bodies. Stepping up to one of the open stone sarcophagi, Talon took a closer look at one of the creatures. His wings flexed in agitation, a feeling of uneasiness passing through him. The stone, combined with being frozen would be enough to keep them preserved at long enough to transport them.

“This problem is bigger than the two of us. There are holes like this scattered across the Plane of Light. I suspect there are holes elsewhere as well.” The planar disruptions that he had been able to perceive had been small enough that, had he not been looking for them specifically, they could have easily escaped notice. Reaching out, Talon brushed a hand gently up and down the length of Rickter’s nearest arm.

“Brace yourself, I am going to call forth other gods who are tied to this plane.” His nimbus manifested once more, crowned most prominently with the symbol representing Light. It shone brightly as he extended his divine senses across the plane, reaching out to some of the spirits that dwelled there. He gave them a single command, to go forth and deliver a message to each of the deities that drew power that touched upon the Plane of Light and invite them to his domain within the plane.

“Come.” He extended a hand to Rickter with one hand. With his other he motioned to the open sarcophagi, lifting each of them with kinetics. Tapping into his powers of Traversion, he aligned the spatial pathways to the meeting place where they would greet the other gods. When Rickter was ready, Talon guided them through the portal, bringing the open sarcophagi with them.

They arrived at an open-air platform that was suspended far above the ground. Crystal pillars that shone with the elemental power of the Light shimmered brightly. Assembled in a circle around the platform were various thrones fashioned of glistening crystal and white marble. Talon set the sarcophagi at the center of the platform, aligning them in a row so that they could be easily viewed. He gestured to the various thrones, inviting Rickter to take a seat wherever he wished. Talon remained standing next to the bodies of the twisted creatures.

[Pharaoh]

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The representation of the sun that mounted the firmament in the Plane of Majesty was a brilliant, blinding orb which hung in perfect symmetry above the Palatium Majestatis. Too blinding to be regarded by any but those deemed worthy by the patron of the plane, it blazed as a symbol of Power and a reminder that Majesty demands deference, lest it harm the eyes of the irreverent.

High on a terrace beneath that glorious orb, lounged Aværys Rex Regnum as He observed the goings on in Solunarium through the senses of His descendants. His meditations were interrupted by a shift in the sunlight that bathed Him, and His radiant eyes snapped open to receive a message borne by that same light. An intrusion, after a fashion, which set His jaw to clenching at first.

“How curious…” He mused inwardly. Arcas had never beckoned Him in this manner, and the tenor of the communique bespoke an element of urgency He was not keen to ignore.

Fully releasing His hold on Vrædyn’s senses, He rose from His marble longue and levitated into the air above it, slowly righting Himself until He was vertically oriented.

He pierced the time-space before Him, cutting a rift into the empty air whose opposing side opened in the Plane of Light, near to the beacon of Arcas’ nimbus.

“Lightbringer.” He acknowledged as His golden eyes surveyed the scene before Him. They halted upon Lykos.

“Thou art withal known to Us, vassal, and pleasèd be We to mark thee hither.” Absent the company of His feminine counterpart, one might glean that His We was royal in nature.

“Brief Us briefly on what ye would fain have Us know that We might tend to this matter in haste. We are, for the nonce, thine brother in arms.” Aværys inclined his golden head in a slight nod.

[Kala Leukos]

.

As chance or Vicis' will would have it, the young goddess of stars was in the Pantheon speaking to Avatar when they interrupted her line of questioning to alert her to an invitation for those deities whose domains overlapped with the Light. For all that she was one of Naori's children of chaos, as aware of herself as a dark star as she was of herself as a beacon of light, she considered, and then nodded. They opened a portal for her, and she stepped through.

Though the passage took but an instant, she was becoming aware of herself and her relationship to Time. It felt mutable, though it was not hers to meddle, either as chronomancer or an agent of Velar. It was her lot to live within Time, even as she became more aware that Time did not encapsulate Everything. Her children were so vast, their gravity so powerful, they bent time and bent space. Perhaps someday so too would she. But not today.

Her appearance was not that of a young Avialae. Already, in the Pantheon, she was veiled, physically and otherwise.

In the realm of Light, she shone.

In the realm of Light, She shone.

Her garments glittered like distant starlight; Her face blazed like the sun, a star in its own right. If Ysadrin yet lived, their realms would overlap; as yet, She had not claimed all that was Ysadrin's, though. This was not as it was in the Plane of Wood, where She had to attune herself to the element. Here, recognizing Her, the element attuned to the goddess. Another piece of Her larger self snapped into place as though She were a lodestone, a polestar, drawing that which was like unto Herself.

A part of Her wanted to consume this place, but She stayed herself. This was not for Her, and this was a part of growing into Herself.

She knew those here present, and they all knew Her, though not all of them could equate young Kala Leukos with Unity and Star. Soon, perhaps, but not today.

You call. I answer.

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[Rickter]

It was easiest for Rickter to determine his own limitations with obstacles in general, when compared to actively considering a resolute solution to address an issue at hand. To hear Talon regard this as being well beyond just the both of them, well, that brought some small ease in his mind initially... but not much. This would only further grow into a matter that would be evermore problematic to resolve, hence, the urgency that Rickter felt in both Talon's voice and within the invitation he extended to those who would answer.

Stepping alongside his Bondmate, the Wolf felt the spectrum of Light feeding into Him through the crowning Nimbus over his head. It wasn't that it empowered Him necessarily, but if anything, the serenity and warmth brought a sense of invigoration to His mood. Hope walked next to Him at this point and that meant possibility, even by mere chance, could turn into actuality once the tables finally turned. Not the best reality to face, but at least we know others will join. He figured to Himself with a patient gaze on Talon, though, that didn't guarantee there would be solutions right away either.

"That is fine, my heart, do what must be done." He assured the Draegir of Light before the brightness of the world around them intensified, ushering Talon's very will into the fabric of reality before the two were slowly bound for the railway portal created after the invitation. The change of scenery would draw Rickter's patient gaze from his soulmate to the new setting before them, his march somewhat slowed as he observed the arrangement of chairs situated within the circle.

The beauty of this place felt so surreal to Rickter as He walked with Talon, and yet, somehow, just the mere sight of this place stirred a foreign familiarity within Him. What did We experience just now?

Hm? I'm not entirely sure. But... As Talon bade Rickter to take a seat for Himself, the Wolf peered toward the closest chair before pondering the option. By that point, the first of their fellow deific powers arrived, revealing Aværys Rex Regnum as He arrived from the dominion of sand he ruled over. There's one I've yet to have the pleasure of meeting. Yet somehow, thanks to the connection Lykos had developed with Solunarium, Rickter could feel the underlying influence of Aværys' presence even now.

Perhaps before, the Wolf hadn't quite associated His being a divine being anything worth noting before, or simply put His own ignorance bled plainly into His lack of perception when they first met in Pantheon together. Following Aværys, though, was the arrival of the Starlit Princess in Her own glory, the presence both familiar and foreign in a manner that would likely tease any with decent memory. While Rickter could not place a name to Her face it felt as if He should've been able to, regardless, He greeted the new arrivals with a respectful bow of His head, as was custom of those from the North.

Aværys spoke in the dialect of tongue that felt ancient to Rickter, one that would've usually required Him a moment of mental articulation, but thankfully, the presence of Lykos within their shared mind alleviated that somehow. Best we greet them accordingly at the very least, Talon likely has the best idea on how to thrust the proposition of our dilemma unto Them. The Wolf considered as He moved toward the chair that would be next to where Talon would sit, a minor tug on the furs of His leggings made to allow for an easy transition to the gilded seat behind Him.

Upon resting His shoulders against the arch of the chair, flurries illuminated by the aurora of His nimbus accumulated to form a crown of ice on His head. "Thank you, both, for graciously coming together on sudden notice." He looked to Aværys firstly with that acknowledgement but also with a mixed composure, still not quite sure where to aim His thoughts regarding the magnificence radiating before Him. Lykos undoubtedly had other matters He would've sought to bring up, but such trivial matters paled in comparison to the present issue at large.

Thus, with a much kinder gaze on the Starlight Princess across from Him, the Wolf offered the pair a warmly receptive smile before the severity of what was to come waned such comfort. After all, He didn't like anything about what was learned from the encounter with these creatures, and Rickter doubted the other two present would be as enthused either.