• Event • FIRE!

[Ent]

21st Saun, Arc 718

Screams echoed out throughout Desnind and while screams could sometimes be heard in the city these were not screams of excitment or joy, these were shrill panicked screams of fear. They cut through the evening quiet and began to rouse the reisdents of the city and as they became more aware or rose from their lazy evening slumbers in the immense heat of Saun they became aware of the smoke. Thick and heavy it creeped through the trees carried on a soft breeze heading East to West.

Still some were slow to react, it had been decades since the last fire broke out close to the city. Many weren't sure how to act especially the young who had been free of such danger all their lives, it was not long however until people began to realise. Many more senior people rushed out of their homes carrying old buckets and pots and pans. The younger people soon followed however something had already begin to fend off the fire.

For those who arrived then at that moment they were just in time to see the large snake like stream of water that thrashed at the flames that threatened to break into the city. Animals billowed out of the smoke and fire, parting either side of the twins that stood at the foot of the powerful jet of water. The sound of them stampeding through the city causing havoc as they knocked people and belongings over in their attempt to escape.

Under other circumstances the twists and turns the two mages made as they danced around one another would have been beautiful and entertaining to watch but in the current situation there was no time to enjoy the view. People rushed forward with their buckets and began to throw them at the fires too, attempting to stop the flames from engulfing the city like the eastern forest it had already greatly ruined.

The screams continued and as so did the dance of the twin defiers doing everything within their power to avoid the destruction of the city. Their mastery over water was indisputable yet the fire was vicious and wild it did not take kindly to their efforts to halt its path.

[Qit'ria]

Common Text
Xanthean Text
Kashehino Text

Qit'ria was cleaning her javelins and checking them for flaws, as the evening began to close. Her, Caza, and Yeye had already had dinner for the night, and Yeye was holding her daughter in his arms, talking to her as he rocked her to sleep. Qit'ria was so grateful to be back with him again. She'd missed her father terribly while abroad. He was her rock here, strong, caring, and accepted her back without a question or qualm. She could never thank him enough for just being him.

Qit'ria finished with her weapons, tying them up in the straps she used, hanging them by the door. She smiled at her father, and stepped out into the evening air. She stretched her arms out wide, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air. Or rather, what should've been fresh air. With her echoed sense of smell from the Bumble Bear, she had a nose that was much stronger than most. And she smelled smoke. Not the smoke accompanied with the scent of cooking food, this was wood and rotten detritus burning. Fire. This close to the city?

Then she heard the first scream in the distance, and immediately knew something was wrong. She stepped into the hut, "Yeye! Fire!" She knew he'd keep Caza safe, but more importantly, he'd begin preparations. Fire meant injuries. He put Caza into her baby basket, and set to work, getting tables ready outside his hut, and preparing medical supplies. But Qit saw none of this, for she had already turned on heel and was heading for the source of the scream.

She ran, her legs bounding like a gazelle. She saw other people running in the opposite direction of her. Good, that was smart. The less that were near it, the better. Qit'ria zipped past the scared people, ignoring their screams, focusing on getting to the fire as soon as she possibly could. She vaulted over a knocked over barrel, and soon, the flames came into view. They were massive, being fought off by two water talkers. She'd met a wind talker in Scalvoris, and she was in awe of what she saw now.

But she shook it off. People and animal alike were panicking, running blindly, crashing into one another. It was pure chaos. They were scared, and while some of them fought, others were being stupid. Qit'ria took in a deep breath, and let loose her loudest, fiercest bear roar, letting it bellow over the area. This was followed by her yelling voice. She knew that people had been scared of her animalistic appearance, others of the more savage nature she gave off. It was time to use that reputation. "If you're running, run to the coast! Leave belongings behind, just take family!"

Qit'ria listened with her echo enhanced ears, trying to penetrate the forest past the fire, but it roared too loudly. She needed to know if there were any other people in the fire. She took a deep breath, and knew she was about to do something reckless, but she was no longer the scared little girl that fled Desnind. This would be the one place she and Caza could always return to and call home. She began the transformation into the Aidọgba Eairo. As she pulled the essence out of her totemic earrings, she assimilated away the clothing and totems on her person, so they'd be safely within her. As she continued the transformation, much faster these trials than they used to be, she prevented the batcat soaked ether from spreading further than her shoulders of her arms.

This resulted in her Borrowing the arms from her Sev'ryn form, looking strange on the batcat body. But if she was going looking for other survivors, she'd need to be able to get them out. The transformation was complete, and Qit'ria in her strange body, began sprinting toward the fire, flapping her wings all the while. With a forward leap, she took off, as her wings carried her toward the flames. Flapping hard, she rose quickly, holding her breath as she sped through the flames, knowing if she moved fast enough she'd not be burned, just like passing a hand through a campfire's flame. Once through the initial wall, she began to scan the burning grounds of the forest, looking for motion, looking for life. She couldn't help put out the fire, but she could save a life. That was good enough. She flapped her wings constantly, skirting around the high trunks of the trees, searching for anyone that needed help.

[Ellen'wyn]

Ellen was sprawled across one the branches above her mother's treehouse like a large cat. Her arms were folded under her cheek and one leg hung in the open air as she dozed in and out of consciousness. The heat of the trial was making it impossible for her motivate herself to do anything but nap, and in the shade of the broad leaf tree's leaves it was borderline comfortable. Up as high as she was, there was a light breeze that couldn't be felt on the ground. It ruffled the blanket of feathers folded neatly on her back, and tickled a stray bit of hair against her nose.

She twitched precariously on her perch, stirring at the sound of some of the distant shrieks. Children playing, her groggy mind thought, but the longer they persisted and the more they spread, the harder it was the slip back into sleep. Ellen opened her eyes finally and sat up carefully, straddling the wide branch between her legs. The breeze had shifted, carrying with it the smell of smoke. It wasn't anything like a cooking fire--just wood and ash. Her nose wrinkled and she climbed to her feet, balancing on the tree limb and peering through the leaves overhead. A column of gray filled the sky over the forest to the east, curving slightly to the west.

"What--?"

"Fire! Fire!"

The voices were coming closer. She heard the people running by below, calling to those still in their homes or idling too long. The hair on her neck prickled at her stomach dropped. So close to the city? Ellen launched straight up from her perch, flapping hard and snapping branches as she half-climbed, half-flew through the canopy overhead. She came out the top sputtering and wiping leaves and sticks from her face and hair. When her eyes were clear, she almost stalled when she saw what was coming in the distance. Smoke belched into the sky as wildfire in the distance chewed and burned its way through the trees.

Ellen flew a ways higher, daring to circle in closer to get a better look at the size of it. The closer she went the higher the temperature climbed, and the hot air started to fill her wings and push her higher, throw her back, and unbalance her. She'd seen all she needed to say, so she retreated quickly before the erratic currents could rip from the sky. The half-breed sped back the way she'd come, wings pumping almost as hard as her heart was beating, and dove down down through the thicket of leaves to land hard on her mother's front porch.

She stormed inside, took one look around, and quickly made for the exit again. Leaping over the railing, she took to the air once more and headed for the city center. Her mother must have left while Ellen was sleeping, but she couldn't be sure where to. In this sort of chaos it wasn't a stretch to think she was helping prep somewhere for burn victims. Ellen had to assume her mother was fine for now, and focus on what she could do to help. People were rushing with buckets and skins of water, helping to evacuate others, and she even saw the mages in the distance working with a column of water. Any of time she would have wanted to stop and watch, but the blackness on the horizon made her hurry.

What did she have to carry water in? Her waterskins were too small, and they tucked away in her domain bag as it was.

And then it hit her. She remembered her time on the island, and seeing how the ocean water disappeared inside. Later that trials she had dumped the salty water out. It seemed the bag could swallow much more than tools and her arms. Renewed by her idea, Ellen pumped her wings hard and made for the coast as quickly as possible. She came in fast, sliding on the sand with wings furled and stumbling to her knees at the edge of the surf while she fumbled with her belt and bag.

As soon as it was loose she awkwardly into the embrace of the water and dunked the open-mouthed bag under the surf. She could the leather shift as water spilled inside, billowing out like a full skin, but moving as if a current ran through it. Impatient, she pulled it up to see if anything had happened. It didn't look like it, but when she tipped the bag upside down a stream of seawater spilled from the mouth. It was working. In the bag went once more, and this time she held it there, waiting.

Finally tired of waiting again, Ellen pulled herself from the water with her bag closed tight and clutched to her chest. She launched to the air once more, making a b-line for the edge of the fire. She climbed past trees that stood still unburnt, over the hurrying heads of people running about in their efforts to help or escape. The temperature rose dramatically higher as she came closer to the roaring wall of fire. It was wildly out of control. She heard trees snapping and groaning as the fire chewed its way through them, belching more smoke into the air. Her eyes streamed from the heat and fumes.

She tried not to breathe too much of the smoke in as she glided down closer to the edge of the flames, fighting the explosive current and the blast of heat to her exposed skin and feathers. Ellen opened her bag and tipped it, emptying a long stream of ocean water along a small portion of the fire. It didn't even seem to make a dent.

[Ricky]

Saun had been a season hot much like it always was what with the two suns, and so far Enrick's time in Desnind had been fairly decent after the birth of Qit's child. From that point on he'd spent time learning more about the Sev'ryn, as well as getting as much time in with Ellen as he could inbetween. But fishing and learning had been the main focus of his time here, and while he certainly didn't mind sticking around for an extended amount of time; somehow the fisherman felt the itch to sail slowly build up in him again. All in good time however, he still had much to learn before setting off. To-trial of course was just like any other, a normal morning spent fishing with the locals here.

They were all the typically friendly sort which he expected, but what Enrick hadn't expect was their encouraging behaviors as well. Back on Scalvoris Enrick's peers were always jaunting him with teases and fibs, so it essentially was something out of his comfort zone when the Sev'ryn didn't do such a thing. Nevertheless he welcomed the change over time, and found the community overall rather accepting of him as well; although that too hardly surprised him. Desnind was just a place where the Sev'ryn were happy to greet others, especially those who were like them in whatever aspect. To someone like Enrick who expected to feel alienated because of his Biqaj half, the fact he found himself thinking Desnind a second home was actually what surprised him the most.

Thus he sat at the head of his ship with a fishing rod set up, the line already thrown out before the big event that had suddenly come. What started out to be another perfectly normal trial for him, suddenly because tested when he realized that something had to be wrong. Back towards the center of town shouts and cries were heard, and when he noticed the urgent running of other Sev'ryn to the city; one easy look over his shoulder revealed what was wrong. Smoke plumed heavily overhead past the trees on Desnind's outskirts, as people looked to rush the shoreline for whatever they could scoop water in. "Son o' a-" Quickly the fisherman hauled back in the line and reeled it as fast as he could, determined to drop the rod behind him as he scooted to shove off the rail; and barefoot onto the deck past his fishing gear.

He looked out past the wheel of his ship to see it all happening before him, people running towards the coast for water so they could work in tandem. "Ellen!" He pointed out as he noticed she'd landed as well and seemed earnest to fill her... pack? Was it her pack she was filling with water? What does it matter! She was obviously going to try and put out the fire, just like many of the other folks of the Sev'ryn community were trying. Suddenly he felt his stomach lurch at the idea of the danger, mostly because he saw Ellen take off without a second thought after filling her back. She was throwing herself headfirst into peril and he? What could he do at a time like this?

Enrick looked around and checked to see what he could find, unsure that his waterskin would work well enough; and that he could carry a fully loaded barrel of water in time. He had the blanket in his cabin however, if that were drenched he could use it to smother some of the flame. It was a bit of a stretch but maybe he could help out a little. Both shirtless and shoeless Enrick moved to storm into his cabin for the blanket, the fabric ravelled around his arm as he spun around to make for the outside once more. He ran as fast as his feet could carry him down the docks and to the beach, where the salt water remained for him to dunk the sheet in a few times. This took a few tries as the tide washing in and out challenged his balance, therefore when Enrick finished both he and the blanket were completely drenched.

With the dripping fabric held over his shoulders at that point, Enrick moved in haste towards the direction of the smoke; hoping to quell whatever flames drew closer to Desnind.

[Ent]

21st Saun, Arc 718

As Qit'ria took flight into the fiery depths of the forest she would feel the violent torrents of air tugging at her wings, luckily for her the batcats wings were powerful and well designed if she took care she would be able to navigate the burning trees with relative difficulty. Of course other challenges were harder to avoid as branches would frequently drop from the giant trees and plummet down in a roaring inferno. Still all could be avoided if she was careful as she searched for the survivors.

It would take the woman a moment to understand what she was hearing at first it would be the movement that eventually gave it away, the screams of children coming from the flames ahead. A man stood there holding two small girls under his cloak to protect them from the flames, his skin was getting charred and there was a determination in his eyes. Whether he even realised the creature before them was a mix of animal and human did not matter as he began to plead in Xanthean.

"Please you have to save my girls, take them please!" He was yelling over the roaring blaze, beads of sweat running over his cracked skin, stinging him as he pushed the two young girls towards the bat-cat-woman. "Please, take them." Tears dripped from his eyes and evaporated in the heat moments later as he awaited the woman's response. She could not carry them all and she would have to make the choice.



Meanwhile Ellen'wyn had come up with an interesting idea when it came to fighting the fire, her bag being a powerful tool with the amount of water it could truly hold. Her only mistake was with its application. The small stream she could spill onto the enormous blaze was not enough, however, if she were to offer the bag to those who could wield the already vast amount of water it contained it could be a valuable asset.

Of course Ellen wouldn't know this and it would have remained that way had she not suddenly been plucked from the sky by an unseen force. Her bag seemed to drag her towards the edge of the blaze, something pulling it with tremendous force. No doubt this would be terrifying but with her wings the woman would be safe.

If Ellen'wyn kept hold of the domain bag she would be pulled all the way back down to the side of the Defiers, they had called upon the water nearby the ether having found that contained with the domain bag and brought it to them. The elements answering the call of their ally, the twins looking to her as if they were waiting for her to act. Which of course they were, she had the valuable resource contained. "Open it." The two women yelled in unison as they struggled to fight the fire with the small amount of water they already had which was evaporating with every strike.



Enrick was somewhat late to the party as he saw Ellen'wyn and then likely also the plumes of smoke billowing above the forest. He was right that his water skin would not be of much use and in the fact that taking a barrel would take too long. Unfortunately for the fisherman it seemed he would be unable to do much at least for the moment as he soaked himself and the blanket with the hope of putting out a fire.

It was as he turned around to face the forest and head in from the water that Enrick's role in this situation would become clear as he bumped into a man. Tall and with red hair a soft glowing sun tattoo seemed to embezzle the man's bear soot covered chest. He shoved Enrick down into the shallow water with a growl. "Out of my way." The man seemed to be heading for the docks.

Whoever he was it was clear he was not Sev'ryn and nor did he seem to have good intention in his eyes as he continued on past Enrick, leaving his back exposed to the fisherman. From the soot that covered his body he should have had burns it was clear he had been within a large blaze. He shoved another man aside a few steps away, a frail elderly Sev'ryn who had been trying his best to carry a full bucket over the soft sand.