Dvalinn's Story

Frendor Falcon-Wind examines Ruby Egg

Sinfrost watched, silent, as the stranger spoke of unity and peace. He found something in the snow, which had eluded Sinfrost until that moment, and swiftly head towards the coast. What was that? Sinfrost spread his great wings and took off from the peak. High above the shadow beyond the clouds had stopped moving.

A great clap of thunder shook the mountains.

Sinfrost stumbled in his flight, but regained coarse. He soared high into the clouds, up, up, up, and finally breached them. What he saw, there above the clouds, was otherworldly. It was as if an entire moon had collapsed and reassembled in such a strange way. Something else Sinfrost noticed was the dead star.

The dead star no longer seemed so dead. Something deep inside Sinfrost felt dread, almost panic. What was all of this, above the clouds?

Thunder and lightning...

The skies were furious with their display of lights and shadows. Down below, the mountains trembled with the clammering of thunder and lightning. The misty rainbow which formed over the waterfall at Kadota Peaks had disappeared, though the river still flowed. Deep within the rockface, inside the Weargtooth Mountains, another presence was felt. The chaos and loud bellowing of the mountains had disturbed Asvith Thrym from his slumber. The enormous frost jotunn had been sleeping for centuries, appearing to those around him as just another snowcapped mountain. But as one of the large rock formations began to move, soon the mountain was turned sideways as Asvith Thrym lifted his head to sit up and open his giant eyes for the first time in eons.

Asvith yawned deeply, the sound carrying for miles over the mountain tops, echoing throughout the many nearby lands of Ellaria where they could be felt from across the sea. His breath was like a cold blizzard, his mouth as wide as a gaping cave, his eyes as large and icey as Gaia's moons. He had a forest of trees for hair, large giant roots dangling from his rocky hands and feet, and a long frozen white beard formed from the centuries of ice and snow. Asvith Thrym was a giant among giants, an enemy of Asgard since the days of old, banished to Gaia at a time that had long since been forgotten. As he sat up slowly, his massive head stood at eye level with the surrounding mountains. Even now, sitting down, the jotunn was mighty and terrifying to behold.

He would slowly rub his eyelids and look around as small boulders, rocks and earth fell from his head and shoulders like dandruff, smashing and crushing the ground below. The massive rock giant was too large to notice the elves and dragons, and other creatures in his vicinity. Confused and still waking up, Asvith was incredibly slow but incredibly mighty, an echo of legendary gods from ancient times. He would briefly swat at a large dragon as it circled around his head and soared above the sky into the clouds, as if shewing away a common gnat or mosquito. But just like a mosquito, the dragon was much faster and likely able to dodge his enormous hand with relative ease as it soared past him and disappeared.

Taking a moment to gather his strength, Asvith looked down at the settlements below. Noticing a rather large redwood tree sticking out of the forest, he reached over and plucked it from the ground by its roots, as if picking a small piece of broccoli from a salad. The tree itself was enormous, over a hundred feet tall and as wide as a house. But the jotunn would bring the leafy substance to his lips and bite down on it with his sharp jagged rocky teeth, snapping branches and crushing the tree in half with one big crunch. He then chewed the sustenance slowly, the sound of grinding rocks and wood carrying over the forest below until he had devoured the whole tree. Afterwards, he would slowly turn over and bring himself up to his hands and knees before pushing himself to his feet. As he stood up, his silhouette could be seen from miles and miles away, his frame now larger than even the highest mountains as he stood with his head in the clouds.

Asvith Thrym had awakened...

Frendor woke up from his slumber in the forest.

Am I still dreaming, he wondered, and why cannot my eyes focus....

Then he realized the danger he was in. He spun a web of invisibility around his cloak. He started to change the substance of the trees, so that a sleeping potion would run through their sap. The change was slow and used all of his concentration, as Asvith Thrym ate portions of the forest.

The forest, made of massive redwood trees, splashing through the Weargtooth Mountains, cried out as it was munched upon. Their voices were dimmer than they had ever been before.

Up standing to just above the clouds, a giant made of mountain itself. Though the rumblings across the sea stirred for long, it was on Ellaria that the first awoke. It was in the north of Ellaria that Eras's grip was most firm. Here, in northern Ellaria, one of the teeth biting the sky stood up. In it's wake, a ravine cutting north into the Ellarian Tartarean Coast. A gap in the skyline, filled with a figure connecting above to below.

The first of the Colossi.

Awoken.

The edges of the clouds began to visibly pinken. Eras grew stronger, absorbing more of Gaia and whatever forces dare venture close. He was hungry, so hungry. The redwood trees, too, felt within themselves another change. Their screams turned to wails turned to grumblings as they began to fall into a slumber. Thunder rumbled across the mountains as Eras laughed at Gaia's misfortune. He didn't seem to realize that the trees didn't weaken so rapidly by his hand alone.

Where were her champions now? Thunder rolled again as Eras laughed.

Sinfrost swept through the clouds as the trees slowed in their wails. The sight from above the clouds shook him to the bone. Something very bad was happening, and he didn't have enough wisdom of the past to realize exactly what. He honed in on Frendor, swooping wide of the risen Colossi and landing not far off from the magical human. Where did he go?

???A ripple of glitter undulated across the entire planet of Gaia. Almost invisible to the naked eye, but nonetheless a sign that Gaia wouldn't go down without a fight. It swirled up around Frendor, to an extent giving away where he hid in invisibility. Sinfrost didn't put two and two together and dismissed it as a trick of the light on the snow.

Another dragon, Zirconia, burst through the clouds from the south. She was white with a dark streak across one side. As she landed near Frendor, opposite of Sinfrost, the dark streak revealed itself to be dried blood. She panted, locking eyes with Sinfrost. He was younger than she, another dragon of frost and winter. He seemed wilder, unfamiliar with any tame ways. This was proven to be true when he stood taller and postured defensively, as if she was testing his dominance.

Well, now she was. Zirkonia drew herself to her full standing height. She was pleased to see that, though softer around the edges, she was taller than Sinfrost. Her scales glittered more, too, though his dark patterns likely helped with it here in the North. It was a bit darker here than all elsewhere- a bad sign. She returned attention to Frendor.

"Champion of Gaia, reveal yourself," Zirkonia commanded of Frendor in what she hoped was an unfrightening way. She postured herself at an angle to where he hid in invisibility, keeping an eye on Sinfrost. Sinfrost's glare had slipped into a look of curiosity. Champions? Why was that familiar?

Frendor had yet to accept the call of Gaia. Gaia herself would be a whisper in the wind and snow, calling to Frendor to assist in defending the realm against

Very, very gently Frendor approached the great dragon Zirkonia and very softly stroked her neck.

"The honor is all mine. I am not worthy." he said. Frendor was slightly smaller than a human and somewhat childlike in appearance, being young in elf-years, although older than most humans. He had never, ever ridden a dragon, and had only heard about dragon-riders from his elders and tutors.

He carefully chose the safest hold on Zirkonia's neck, but realized that he would have to trust her. He could never hold on by own his strength, nor even his own magic. He could sense her power; he would have to learn how to work together with her.

He knew now that riders were only passengers; a dragon would go where it willed and when it wanted. Dragons were more intelligent than most humans and some elves. Certainly Zirkonia was much wiser than he.

"Where shall we go?" he asked the two dragons and then he noticed Dvalinn watching them.

Zirkonia wondered if Frendor was familiar with the lore of this land. The flattery bemused the old dragon, who did tend to think quite highly of herself regardless of external opinion. Under any other circumstance his statement may have been true- there were not many left worthy to mount a Dragon of Gaia. However Frendor had been chosen. Her scales fluttered gently under Frendor's hand when he ran it across her neck. She braced herself with the ground to hold steady as the small elf climbed aboard her mass. It was true that she was too large for barebacked riding to be considered practical- but time was of the essence.

Sinfrost backed away almost unable to believe his eyes. So casually she was letting him climb aboard! Sinfrost wasn't so trusting of other species at all and could have recoiled at the sight- if it wouldn't be to show the deepest disrespect. No matter her choices, unless they went against that of Dragonkind, Sinfrost couldn't speak upon. She was his elder.

Frendor was aboard the great dragon. Zirconia hunched down low to prepare for takeoff, waiting for the right moment and building in her strength. Simultaneously her mind reached out to that of Frendor's, seeking to make a telepathic link to lend him strength and sight. With their minds merged they would move most efficiently through the Realm- their physical forms would follow suit. Flight would be incredible.

Suddenly, the earth stood still. Asvith Thrymm, the mountain giant casting a shadow over the mountain range, the cause of all the low rumblings throughout the mountains, had come to a stop. Light flickered as he made a great motion, punching through the clouds and towards the skies beyond, his great fist descending out of sight. The clouds puffed out as they were breached by Asvith giving those below a glimpse of what was happening above them.

A nebula of light fanned out from a central pinprick, a figure for those with eyes good enough. A massive ship was there and then suddenly was not- a great flash of light bathing Ellaria as the clouds closed up again. Zirkonia kept her eyes shut despite the dances of light outside of her lids. Sinfrost backed up against a snowy ridge.

Frendor held on to Zirkonia, allowing his awareness to extend and align with hers, while also keeping his mind open to Sinfrost. Was it just to be the three of them? Four, counting the world spirit. Dvalinn seemed indifferent; or perhaps even aligned with the enemy. But, what was that sky-ship that he saw. Suddenly he saw he ship as Zirkonia has seen it; he felt the love of flight, the innate curiosity, but also a sounding of caution. Frendor remembered the voice of the wind. So, that was six, at least, against the super giant.

We need to create a distraction, he found himself thinking, some way to make the giant lose the battle with the mysterious ship.

He found himself wondering if he could create an illusion, large enough to fool Asvith Thrymm. In his mind he formed the image of another giant, centered around the location of Zirkonia, and mirroring her movements. When she turned her neck, then Terakon Luvinair would turn the same way, only at a safe distance. For good measure, Frendor started to conjure another image to be controlled by Sinfrost.

Terakon Luvinair's head appeared through the clouds, staring directly at Asvith Thrymm. The dragons had somehow become invisible, except to each other. Another giant appeared, Khale Fewtal, also as large and looming as Asvith Thrymm.

Khale Fewtal turned to stare menacingly at Asvith Thrymm. Now the illusion depended on these giant image puppets to move fast enough that Asvith Thyrmm could not hit them. If he touched them then he would notice the lack of resistance, and yet ...

Wind, may I ask you to blow and buffet Asvith Thyrmm, whenever he touches one of the images.

Dragons may I ask you to mimic the voice and roar of a giant?

Terakon Luvinair stares at Asvith Thyrmm

Khale Fewtale shakes his fist at Asvith Thyrmm

Frendor decided to add another tactic. He projected and magnified the force of his arms so that the super-giant would feel the illusion of imaginary blows and punches, as the dragons circled around. He was hoping drive away Asvith or at least to distract him.

He lost sight of the super-giant. Where did he go?

"Let's follow him!" cried out Frendor.

Aewisp of the wind, being from a plane of astral and away, was unable to hear Frendor as he called upon her for help. However there was another who heard his call and was compelled to answer. The wind blew faintly around Frendor, tickling his hair about in response.The wind was not strong, but the wind would attempt to assist. The wind had unfortunately been drained of it's autonomy largely by Eras, as Gaia slipped into a slumber having had taxed herself assisting the Champions dotted across her mass.

Zirkonia was pleased that Frendor seemed to take so kindly to Gaia, and was thankful for his arrival. Gaia had chosen her champions wisely. She opened her eyes and gently tilted her head back to marvel at the upwards illusion. It appeared to her ghostly. Sinfrost too was impressed, but didn't quite know what to make of all of this. He couldn't deny the safety awarded by the illusion, though.

Brace yourself, she thought to Frendor, and inhaled deeply. Zirkonia leveled herself somehow even closer to the ground and opened her great maw, unleashing a roar which echoed through the mountains. It rolled over the snow covered peaks and up to the clouds: she aimed it at Asvith Thrymm and knew that if he had ears he would hear it. Most in the mountains likely would. Her great neck extended upward, her body reverberating as the great roar escaped. Even so she was careful of the position of her shoulders - part of the reason she positioned herself so was to ensure the safety of the Champion on mount.

Sinfrost, who hadn't been paying attention, gave a little start as the great roar began. He looked to Zirkonia and was admittedly struck with a bit of fear himself. Again, he had never seen a dragon so great as Zirkonia. He watched with growing awe as her roar continued for longer than most. When her great jaw finally snapped shut there was a little smirk playing on her scaly lips. Her eyes twinkled for a moment at Sinfrost as if daring him to try to match her roar.

There was a rumble as higher on the mountain a great mass of snow and ice broke free, creating an avalanche. The avalanche cascaded down the mountain. Sinfrost watched as it rumbled down in the not-so-far distance, then as it started to fall even closer. Snow showered the two dragons and Frendor as a clump broke on a rock higher up, but thankfully that seemed to be the most of what would hit them.

Sinfrost shook the snow off of himself and let out his own giant roar. Nowhere near as impressive as Zirkonia's - not earthshaking to say the least- but it was loud, and it was powerful, and as he closed his mouth he looked towards Asvith, who had taken a giant step and seemed to be heading off.

Are you ready to fly, Champion? Zirkonia asked Frendor, crouching down again to prepare for take-off

The great white serpent had dove into the snow and disappeared into the mountains, chuckling about it's game with the mortal. With a shimmer Hoargraskr was again unseen.

Khale Fewtale stays close to Sinfrost protecting him from the Collossi.

Dvalinn just exists.

Frendor Falcon-Wind looks around

A great earthquake rumbles deep within the Weargtooth mountains. One peak in particular looked bloated, like a volcano waiting to erupt.

Frendor Falcon-Wind looks around