trans_9 | Of dragons and rivers

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Of dragons and rivers

The last few weeks had been quite...eventful to say the least. Waking up in that vast chamber, with no sign of Linsha or any of the eight brasses had been something of an experience. He had however managed to gather a good deal of information from the gathering afterward. Krynn was gone, destroyed by a force known as the Ohm, even after the gods had returned. It did seem that at least one other from Krynn was awake aboard, a draconian of all things, but nevertheless a draconian of particular interest, Kang, the draconian that had lead his people to found Teyr and to hold that nation together for fourty years past. One who had lead his army to Sanction in the final battle of the War of Souls, a fact that had aided in saving his city.

Shore leave had proven...interesting, though he had managed to pick up a number of minor items, a few extra clothes and minor useful items. Once the Shore leave had passed though, he had set himself to the task of searching the city for signs of his Palace or any other building from Krynn, as well as resolved to spend at least a small bit of time in his true form, being cooped up in human form did get tiresome at times. Thus it was when he had come across the large river, he had decided to do just that. Having ensured that there was no one observing him at the time he had taken his true form and slipped into the river to swim within it.

Shaking his head he gave a snort. Sending a small fountain of water out above the surface of the river he had been swimming along just beneath the surface, having returned to his natural form after the fortunate find that was the river in which he swam, a delight for a dragon like himself, his bronze scales glinting from the artificial sunlight.

Movement above the surface however drew him from his thoughts, blinking as he drew his head slowly from the water to peer to the source of the movement. Blinking at the one who had been by the bank, most likely quite surprised by the sudden appearance of a dragon in the river they had been peacefully sitting by, “My apologies if I startled you, I was not aware there was anyone about,” he rumbled out with what could sound like amusement as he peered down upon the said individual, water still trickling down over his scales.

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For one painful moment as her fishing trip was interrupted by a dragon, Rhiow thought that Haku had awoken again. But this dragon was completely different, nothing like Haku at all. "No apology necessary," Rhiow said. "Although I would prefer if you moved downstream a bit, you're scaring the fish away."

She only caught one fish every few days. She didn't want to hunt the river out - then what would she eat, slop?

There was a curious one, a black cat with the capability of speech, interesting. A deep chuckle rumbled out at her mention of scaring the fish away "Of course, easily done," dipping his head as he complied, easily moving himself a bit down river from her. His roughly thirty-five foot long neck easily arching over to still be within conversing distance while his body remained mostly submerged. "I had noticed a number of fish, far from a great number however,"

"The spirit of this river brought them back when we last took shore leave," Rhiow said. Now that he had moved down the river, Rhiow crept up close to the bank and settled into a hunting crouch, one paw extended and poised for the kill. "They haven't had but a few months to properly breed. I've been trying to limit my hunting, but when the choices are fish and slop, I'll usually choose fish."

She could exercise her wizardry a little to make the slop taste better. The consistency was already close enough to canned cat food that it probably wouldn't take much work. "I don't believe we met. I'm Rhiow. I sit on the Council."

If he thought it was strange that she spoke, he might find that even stranger.

Spirit of the river, he had sensed the lingering traces of such a being, though if he was to take an educated guess, the spirit had left some time ago, or perhaps been placed back in the pods if such a thing could be done for a spirit. Nodding thoughtfully as she spoke, "With time and care they shall make a healthy population," A deep rumble of a chuckle was given at her comment, "Fish sounds far more appetizing than this slop you speak of,"

Indeed he himself had tried it, before deciding to stick to his own methods of sustenance, subtly of course though. "Indeed, well met, Councilor Rhiow, you may call me Crucible," He replied in turn, seeming none too surprised or concerned that Rhiow was on the council. Though he did find it quite interesting that a majority human crew would have such a diverse council as to include a talking cat and a Draconian among their numbers.

He did find her ability for speech quite interesting, perhaps not surprising though, as indeed, Varia, a companion of his wife's was an owl with quite the ability to talk. Not to mention that he himself could take on a feline form and had on many occasions.

"Ha'hu has since been returned to the pods, so I feel like the river has passed to me in a way," Rhiow said. She watched the fish swimming by, and then her paw darted out, claws extended. With a practiced scooping motion, she tossed a fish onto the bank. "I was fairly instrumental in its creation."

Rhiow probably wouldn't have gotten elected, except that she'd been aboard long enough for her name to be known and respected. With a good reputation it was easy to get elected even on a majority human crew. Rhiow settled down onto her haunches and licked her whiskers, then began to eat her meal.

Crucible dipped his large head the slightest bit at that, "Then I am grateful to you for your part in its creation," After all for a dragon such as he, swimming was as much a part of his nature as walking along the ground or soaring above landscape.

That she had been showed some measure of hope for this crew, that they were able to cooperate in at least that small manner was something many of the nations of Krynn had struggled with for centuries. Curious as he watched the councilor with her fish, "Tell me Councilor, are there others like yourself aboard?"

"Other wizards, other felines, or other feline wizards?" Rhiow asked. Oh, she knew what he meant, she was just taking advantage of the surprise at her capacity for speech, like she always did. She was a Person after all, and being on the ship couldn't take away her uniquely feline sense of humor.

About a quarter of the way through the fish, Rhiow sat back to clean her paws and whiskers, and let her meal digest a little before continuing. Manners were important, after all.

A feline wizard, now that was interesting, far from impossible but not something he'd heard of even in his long years, "Any and all of the above," He replied easily with a hint of amusement. A sense of humor was something he could respect.

Stretching his long form he would carefully make his way from the water, the true length and size of his 140ft long form making itself easily known as he set himself nearby, peering down upon the feline.

"There are a couple more People on the ship, and my colleague Arhu was awake for a short time, so I know there's at least one more wizard of my species in podsleep. It's not much of a stretch to assume the rest of my team was rescued as well, but I don't have any confirmation."

She said it all matter-of-factly, but talking about Arhu in the pods gave her a sharp pang in her chest. She wished he was here. Her tail lashed and then she resumed her meal. He was a fairly large dragon, but Haku had been roughly his size and Rhiow got used to him.

"Indeed, interesting. At least you have that knowledge of others you know," He replied in turn, though it was true that he knew of one in particular, Kang, the Governor of draconian nation of Teyr, the safety of those that mattered most to him lay a yet a mystery.

He noted the lash of her tail, that she was comfortable around such a large dragon did not go unnoticed, though was filed away. "Well then councilor, just what does this council of yours truly oversee,"

(OOC:As to size there, not too important but if I'm recalling from the movie right, Haku was more the equivalent of Celena's current size, if longer, Crucible is much larger than that.)

"We are the civilian body," Rhiow said. "The Captain oversees the military side of our operations, and we take care of everything else. Usually we end up mediating disputes and functioning as a council of justices, although occasionally we've been called on for diplomatic missions and working out new laws. I was only elected recently myself."

Rhiow returned to her meal, the fish rapidly degenerating into a pile of scales and bones. She was hungry, after all.

Crucible considered her words for a moment, it matched all he had been told as Bight. Indeed it sounded not unlike the organisation of many cities and nations, where one individual or group of individuals would govern the civil matters where another would take care of the military aspects. The lightest of nods given in acknowledgment of her information.

He remained silent while she devoured the rest of her meal, giving her the moment to finish it, he was nothing if not patient as his many years had taught him. "From where do you call, Rhiow, for you do not have the sense of Krynn about you," He asked with a look of idle curiosity.

"Originally I'm from a planet called Earth, from the city of Manhattan. There are some buildings here from my home, but otherwise..." her whiskers went back with her ears. Manhattan was gone except for Grand Central.

"If you're from that world, you must know Hh'ann - he keeps a tavern here. I sleep on the bar, sometimes."

Earth, a simple name in the scheme of things he supposed, but a suitable one. Crucible inclined his head as she referred to buildings from her world, "There are pieces from many worlds here, no doubt a number from Krynn as well,"

"The draconian known as Kang? I know of him, yes, I have yet to encounter him," He replied with near indifferent regard, though he watched Rhiow closely "You know him well?"

"He is one of my greatest friends and allies aboard," Rhiow said without hesitation. "We met fairly early in each other's tenure here... we've waded through quite a bit on this ship. And he sits on the Council, as do I."

Rhiow remembered Kang describing some of the attitudes other Krynnish races had toward his people. She didn't see much sense in it, and if this dragon was predisposed to think badly of him, Rhiow would challenge that notion every time.

Crucible listened silently for that moment, watching her with silent regard for a moment after she spoke. He almost sensed the challenge behind her words, indeed he invited it, "He has your trust I can see that, tell me of Kang then, what is he truly like?" He asked after a moment of consideration, he held great interest in the draconian, how he and Rhiow had become allies and indeed close friends was of particular interest.

Rhiow considered for a moment, her tail curling neatly around her feet. She began to wash her ears. She could tell when someone was fishing for information. Luckily Kang didn't lend himself to bad impressions. "He's very practical," she said finally. "Perceptive regarding people - ehhif and other species as well. He's not to be crossed."

That was the reader's digest version. Rhiow was a New Yorker, they liked to get a measure of someone before they told all about their friends.

Crucible watched her with the patience of many ages as he awaited her reply, when she did reply he dipped his large head the slightest bit, "I would expect no less from one who has held the Draconians together for over fourty years,"

A wise habit indeed, though very few had the true measure of the dragon before her.

"He's been instrumental in holding the crew together as well," Rhiow said. "Part of it is ehhif and their dear love of intoxication, but a great deal of it is his practicality. If you need something done expediently without wasting time debating, Hh'ann will get it done."

That was safe enough. Rhiow refused to share much more than that - the fact that he missed his family or went through a rough time in Fairplay was none of Crucible's business.

A deep rumble echoed from his form, what could very well be a chuckle or a growl equally, it was hard to tell with dragons, "Ah yes, the love of ale and alcohol that many humanoid races hold dear," Practical indeed? That was not such a bad thing, "An admirable trait to have when one has a shortage of time,"

Crucible was somewhat satisfied with that information, indeed he had already learned much from Kang as Bight, his expression turning passive, "I shall warn you now though, he will not welcome the news of my presence, of that I am certain,"

"His species was created from your species, if I remember correctly," Rhiow said. "He's not exactly the biggest fan of dragons, that's true."

How would Kang react to the knowledge there was a dragon from his world on board? Maybe it was time for Rhiow to tell him.

Crucible dipped his head slowly at that, "Indeed, the draconians were created from the stolen eggs of the metallic dragons, the Bozak draconians, Kang included came from the eggs of my kind," he replied in turn with more than a bitter hint to his tone, more at the ones who stole the eggs and did so to the ones he came forth from them. If it weren't for those vile machination's Kang himself would have been a dragon not unlike Crucible himself.

Oh... oh. Well, that made for some awkwardness, and the bitterness in Crucible's tone didn't go unnoticed. Rhiow supposed that if her kits had been stolen and warped into something strange and different, she would be upset as well.

"That... effectively makes your kin his kind's parents," she said. "He's aware, I'm sure." She paused. "Were... any of your children stolen?"

"All draconians are well aware of the fact," the large dragon replied after a moment with a muted rumble. A fact that both sides knew all too well, the dragons and draconians had a...complicated relationship, one that for the most part left both sides hating the other.

He pondered her question, mind drifting to the past even as he thought over it before he replied in a low grumble, "Yes, a number of my eggs were among those stolen,"

"Hh'ann once told me that his race is not very populous, yet," she said. "A couple hundred at most." Given those odds... well, she wasn't sure Kang would be happy at all about this new arrival on board the ship. "Does he know you're here?"

"Far from the most populous, greater than a few hundred however, and growing from what I have heard," He replied after a moment, indeed even with those odds there was not a far fetched possibility that he doubted either of them wanted to think on greatly, "If he does not now, I am sure he soon shall,"

"It's not something that I would keep from him," Rhiow said. She paused, then admitted, "There's not much I would keep from him unless there wasn't another choice."

"Indeed, he shall know shortly I am sure, whether by your word or others," Indeed he intended as much, he would gauge Kang's and others reactions to his presence. He fully intended to reveal his true identity when a proper moment revealed itself, a moment hopefully sooner rather than later. His initial choice to keep his identity hidden had been to gather information and get a feel for the crew without the awe or fear or even hate some had towards his kind.

Rhiow shrugged her tail, one ear flicking. "You're a little hard to miss," Rhiow said. "And Kang hears most of what goes on here one way or another, at some point. It comes from running that place."

And the intelligence network, but that was one thing she would remain close-mouthed about. There was no point in having a secret intelligence-gathering force if it wasn't secret.

Crucible rumbled in what could be a chuckle, "Indeed, one of my size does not go unnoticed for long," He commented in return, "Of that I have little doubt, taverns are good source of such news I have heard," Not that he could fit into one at his current size. Not that he hadn't already been to Kang's tavern as Bight. He did ponder the meaning of her words though, whether it came solely from running the Tavern or from other sources as well.

"I thought I saw a dragon over here!" Aibghalien said, more out loud than he intended, as he floated slightly above the river bank. "My apologies for disturbing you in return."

Even floating as Aibghalien was, Crucible's long neck rose far above him, peering down upon the clearly floating elf. "You're sight does you well," He remarked with a deep rumble that could be interpreted as a chuckle, "No need, I was merely enjoying the water,"

Well now. He's much larger than Celena.... why would the ship adjust her size, but not his? Interesting. "We have very few dragons on the ship, so I hope you understand it's only natural that I couldn't help but look this way when I noticed one."

Well he did have a particular advantage over Celena in the fact that he could take on other forms easily. Crucible watched him with interest, very few dragons on the ship still implied there were others. "That is understandable," he replied easily as he gazed down upon the floating wizard, "You may call me Crucible,"

"It's a pleasure to meet you." The wizard executed one of those razor-sharp bows he did so well. "Aibghalien."

Crucible gave the very slightest of inclinations of his head in return for that bow, "A pleasure, Aibghalien," he replied in turn, "What do you know of other dragons aboard?" he asked with some interest.

"I -- work fairly closely with one named Celena," he said. "I would gather just from looking at the two of you that you're not from the same world or even the same species, though. There's more differences than similarities."

That drew the slightest of tilts from the large dragon's head, noting the pause before Aibghalien had spoken, closely? Perhaps a bit more than he was saying. Interesting. "Indeed? Of what manner of dragon is she then I wonder,"

"Oh, as to a specific 'manner' I couldn't say. She is not nearly so large as you, and has very distinctive markings which related to her innate power." Frankly, Aibghalien had only just begun to suspect that there might be many different sorts of dragons out there. His studies in the Tower of High Sorcery had hinted or outright stated the fact, but with only one living example to draw conclusions from he could not decisively say that those reports were not exaggerations or mischaracterizations.

Crucible dipped his head as he processed that, the first with amusement the second with a rather bit of interest. A dragon with markings related to her power, that was not something he had heard of even in his long years. "Curious, I would assume that she is not of Krynn then,"

Krynn... wasn't that the world the Tower of High Sorcery had come from? Interesting. "No. That much I'm sure of."

The very same, "Interesting, in any regard, have you a particular place in the scheme of the workings of this place Aibghalien?"

"I'm a member of the Magic Department." He chose his next words with diplomatic care; no need to let any of his irritation seep through. "I am probably the most active member of it at present."

Magic department? "Indeed, and what does this 'Magic Department' do all told?" Crucible peered down upon the wizard, "What manner of tasks do you perform then, that would make you more active than others?"

"The Magic Department itself is responsible for magical answers to problems and situations that arise," Aibghalien said. "As for myself, I generally make a point of answering any questions, making myself available, and conducting business such as making sure things like the Tower of High Sorcery is safe."

Crucible thought on that a moment, an understandable goal for such an organization, "Indeed, I shall keep that in mind. What do you plan to achieve with the Tower of High Sorcery? Such tower's are rarely safe to trifle with,"

"Safe enough if you've got enough dispels and protections memorized," he said with a smile. "Anything that advances my knowledge of magic is beneficial. Even the smallest scrap of information could prove vital in findings spells or creating items to aid us in our efforts on the ship."

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Of dragons and rivers

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