As Tyr followed the path he endured the terrible storm that continued to worsen as elevation rose, his climb lasted for what seemed like hours and as he approached the precipice of the mountain his eyes feasted upon a massive stairway made of deep black rock leading to what appeared to be the very summit of the mountain. Approaching the steps and beginning his climb Tyr took notice of the fact that the storm had passed over, or so it seemed. Taking a look back it appeared as if a barrier existed around the base of the steps that kept at bay the terrible storm letting only an occasional snow flake pass it's mystical grip. After ascending the stairs Tyr was greeted by a peculiar sight, a plateau where not even a single drop of precipitation in the air or upon the ground was visible. At the center of the stony flat there sat a kindled bonfire with a blade standing directly erect at the heart of the blaze and an elderly gentleman with his back to Tyr, basking in it's warmth.

________

"I intend for you to meet the figure who helped establish my Kingdom, he has waited long for you and has agreed to return if only he may speak to you." The King answered, his eyes fishing for a response.

OOC: Completely didn't see that earlier post with all the OCCs! My bad

"Men" Aranida called out to Bahaa and the other recruit will deftly climbing up and swinging her leg onto the other side of her horse. "Prepare for arms! We must head back to the others, so follow me closely!" The last thing she said while particularly staring at the child, she did not wish for any ill to befall him while under her care.

She nudged the sides of the horse's body while calling out "Yah!" and the horse began to gallop in the direction towards Avia's farm.

--------------------------------------

Upon the arrival of recruit Barder General Warren walked over to the man. "You have orders from the Commander, recruit?"

Falst quickly snapped to attention and saluted in the presence of the ranking officer.
"Sir, Jenogh soldiers have been spotted heading this way, and they're moving against schedule. Commander's orders are to prepare for battle, sir."

"Very well, recruit" replied General Warren "You may go arm yourself while I go prepare the rest of the Dragon Guard" He then left Falst to alert the rest of the Guard of Aranida's orders, and within minutes activity within the encampment began to pick up as troops prepared themselves for battle.

Taken aback by the strange change in climate, Tyr focused on the sword in the fire and the man sitting before it. Prepared as he was for this trip, he was not expecting something so ludicrous to dross his path. Bewildered, he stepped toward the man and spoke out.

"What's going on?"
------
"Me?" Sera replied in disbelief. "I'm not sure why he would want to speak to the messenger, it's not like I am a direct conduit for my Father."

The old figure sat motionless as he continued to stare deep into the blaze, from his current position the elderly fellow's features were much more visible. His skin was greyed and dark, as if his body had been covered with the ashes of a long since burned out fire as his hair too followed this suit, though it was long and unkempt. His face was covered with a great beard and moustache as well and atop his head there sat a tall, but rusted crown. His clothes seemed as if they were once extravagant but had over time lost their general color and the fabric had become firmer and less flowing. Finally, upon the man's face set a pair of deep, reasoning, burned out, brown eyes.

"'Altar of the First Fire', 'The Heart of Traedis', 'The First Flame of the Mortal World' " his deep voice began as he continued in a low, muttering manner. "These are all names given to this very spot. It was once believed that here Traedis, the great firebird did spawn, and upon his creation he left behind a single trace of his existence." Pausing for a moment the old man's hand reached out towards the fire, allowing his fingers to rest just upon the tips of the blaze. "This fire, it burns forever, it need not be rekindled or fed more fuel... It just, burns. And it was here, at this very spot where man learned to wield fire as a tool of both construction and deconstruction. You come from an age of fire, can you not see all the new bounds and feats this bonfire has brought humanity?" The old man's ramblings seemed to serve little purpose but he insisted on continuing as his hands crept away from the flame. "I believe now though, more than ever, no... I see it, the flame is beginning to waver, perhaps humanity no longer needs fire... Or maybe, the fire will cease to exist because there will be none to temper it's flame soon?" turning his head towards Tyr he examined him for a moment. "What is it that you see?" silence fell upon the area as only the gentle crackling of the bonfire continued on, the distant winds of the storm had ceased and around the immediate flat there was only mist and dark skies.


_______


"Perhaps he wishes to speak to one of his kin?" The king questioned as he returned to his desk. "One would suppose it's been hundreds of years since he's even seen one."

A small smile escaped as Tyr peered over the fire and at the surrounding landscape. He had a different idea from his view up here. For once, standing on this wide plateau, he could see the world clearly for what it was.

"The storms are strong, but they're held in check by mother nature's laws. No matter how powerful and wild the storm becomes, it can never break the bonds of nature that hold it down and it eventually calms. It's the opposite of us; we can't be held down by nature. If she tries we just build something new that gets us around her. But man, like that flame, has been defiant for too long and now we're fading away as we head down the road to self-destruction. I finally understand what was so wrong with what I was taught and what I believed. All these beliefs and systems were created to make our lives better, but what was once good no longer is what we thought it was. All these artificial things have no place in mother nature's world and now we're going to have to pay the price for trying to break away from the cycle."

Tyr paused to recollect his thoughts after rapidly spewing them, bothered as he retreated back into his shell.

"But, I still don't understand: Why am I here?" He questioned, lurching forward and reached out to the old man with his arm. "Is it because of who I am that I ended here? Would someone else have found something different?"
------------
"An undiluted one of Urbel?" Sera cried out in shock, her piercing yellow eyes widening. "There's no way! It's been much too long since Father cast them out for unchanged strains to remain! They should all have assimilated or died out!"

She hopped from her chair and leaned over the king's desk, staring at him with a deeply perturbed expression. There was no way she could believe this to be true, nothing could have remained of the original, they all became Potak at some point or another.

"Ash by nature, is but ash." the old man started once again allowing his right hand to outstretch once more for the fire. "Ash will not change, it will always be a by-product of fire, and yet something so seemingly useless is capable of oh so much. When a forest burns the burning timber produces ash which in turn returns to the soil creating new life that will one day burn. Nature has created this cycle,a cycle that it has allowed to flow for centuries and centuries." reaching deep into the fire the old man extracted from the heart of the blaze a small ball of controlled pyre. "But humans are a product of nature too, are they not? Why is it then that you believe humans could so easily defy the order that has been planned for them? Perhaps it is not humanity that is to blame but instead misconception and loss of understanding? Perhaps this fire is an ideal, and ideal that once burned bright but has since been.. forgotten.. What would that ideal be? What has humanity lost that has lead it astray from it's very roots?" clinching his hand into a fist, the ball begin to sizzle and produce a grey smoke. "None should expect a fire to burn so bright, as it would consume the world, but perhaps this lost ideal once recovered could perhaps burn just bright enough so that all could see it and draw understanding from it." opening his hand the elder revealed a deep black powder in his palm which he held close to his face for a moment before blowing softly upon it. The powder danced and scattered about in the air before it spread far into the atmosphere clearing away the deep clouds of mist and haze, revealing a wondrous and awe-inspiring view of the Earth for a few moments.

_______

Returning Sera's glance of interest the King folded his arms and relaxed backwards. "Is it hard to believe that one such as yourself could still exist on this earth? Perhaps he even predates your people."

"So you're telling me that it was part of mother nature's plan for humans to attempt to break away from her?" Tyr replied, scratching his chin. He crept forward and sat, legs crossed, beside the old man and watched the power dance across the horizon, the dull flare of sparks rising up behind.

"Even if that was true, it's hard to believe that everything the humans have done was anticipated at some point. When I was younger and had been hunting for a few years I noticed that animals always followed patterns in their actions. A few always were different, but for the most part all the animals were easy to catch because they all acted this same way in certain situations. Humans, on the other hand, are so different from one another that there is no obvious pattern in how they act. If one person does something it doesn't mean another will react in the same way. There can be no way anyone or anything, especially mother nature, can deal with the fact that humans are too different than all other creatures. Man created things and concepts mother nature probably was not aware of and he has to have gone too far."
--------
"No, there's no way he could have lived on the surface before the exiled came here. All truly sentient life on the surface was brought down by Father." Sera paused with a doubtful expression on her face and slowly uttered the rest of her thought.

"Unless there were people here before the yellow eyed were exiled..."

Storm clouds once again returned to the mountain peak as a gentle look of displeasure crossed the old man's face for a moment before he exhaled heavily.

"Over many years I have learned of a multitude of tragedies involving men who sought power and understanding... but in the end found only disparity and failure, some learned from their mistakes yet for others it was too late to grasp the knowledge their failed trial should have left them and the outcome of their situation was... afflictive. So, is it wrong of me to believe just as a deer visits a stream to drink upon a stipulated time and date does a human not have ambition that it wishes to satisfy? And just as all deer do not drink from the same stream not all ambitions lead to the same end. Ambition is humanities lure, it's bait, it's a way of undoing what must not be achieved at that period. All things are with fault and these faults are effective at safe guarding balance, if man succeeds in overcoming one tribulation does it not always find another? If all humans were supplied food in an endeavor to end hunger would not the supply of food dwindle? Humans are not villains, though many hold villainous intents, it is simply within your nature to reach for a prize that is always kept just so delicately out of reach when in reality, your prize floats in an immense celestial ocean far over head."

______

"Well, I believe you have something to question him about as well then." The King smirked as he moved towards the exit of his tent, raising the flap for Sera to exit. "We've prepared a tent for you to rest in until his arrival, far from the camp there is a flag that bares an eye, just beneath the hill it is perched upon there is a nest of tents. Find the one that is red and rest until I send for you."

(Ooooh, Tantalus, eh?)

"Ah, well, that makes sense. If Mother nature baits us into doing it by simply allowing us to reach out, then I can see her understanding the potential of humans. If everything is like what you tell me, then she has a strong system of checks and balances for us and I should not necessarily be worried about our actions at all." Tyr paused, a smile appearing on his face.

"Let's talk more. I never was taught anything other than blind faith, so I'd like to learn something based more in... reality. I think I'll be here for a while anyway, might as well spend the time with someone who clearly knows a lot."
---------
Sera bowed her head in respect and exited the tent. Gripping the tomes tightly to her chest, she glanced around the camp. She did not want to rest just yet and decided she'd walk around the camp to see what these people were like and if there were any different like the King suggested.

Falst was taken aback by how quickly the Dragon Guard jumped into action. Before he even made it to the armaments caravan, soldiers were scurrying busily about, carrying out the General's commands with the speed and efficiency of a well-oiled machine. He couldn't help but wonder if they were giving this circumstance more significance than it merited. After all, there could be any number of reasons for the Jenogh troops to be mobilizing.

Regardless, it was better to be prepared for unexpected contingencies. Falst had the good fortune to reach the weapons caravan before most of the other soldiers. Soon it would be overwhelmed with activity. Best to grab what he needed and get out before the cavalry arrived. Inside the caravan were piles of weapons, most of which he didn't know how to use. Pikes, maces and even halberds were present. He would have to try some of those out later, but in the meantime he just grabbed the standard saber and a musket. These would stay sheathed unless he was desperate, though. He was much more adept at unarmed combat.

The recruit evacuated the caravan just as the other soldiers began rushing in to arm themselves. However, much to his amazement, they did so in a manner that was unexpectedly orderly and efficient. He wondered why he had expected anything different of a disciplined military unit. Fully equipped and as ready for battle as he could possibly be, which was not very, Falst made his way back to the edge of the encampment. With all of the quizzical looks he received along the way, he was probably breaking ordinance or something. Rather than trouble himself with caring, though, he instead peered off into the horizon in hopes of seeing the Commander and company on their way.

((*kicks horse, wondering if maybe it's not entirely dead just yet))

ooc:We would need to re-rally everyone and make sure it isn't dead.

It shouldn't be dead, I'll put up a post for kiki's group now that I've deemed it long enough for you to have traveled back

OOC: Ready whenever.