Ouzel found himself stepping tentatively on the loose pebbles of the cave floor, every click of his claws would send echoes scattering down and out of the depths. The breath of earth was just as she said it would be, heavy and almost living...

He curled his tail around himself, he felt the dark drawing over him like a silent crowd. Perhaps he should turn back? The tunnels under the lair felt like they were infinite, knotting and writhing. His map scroll was getting harder to discern in the dim light, his lantern only providing a small glow around himself.

"Ouzel...?"

From the blackness a faint voice came, multiplied by echoes. He instinctively froze before urging himself to reply, he often spent days without talking and had to remind himself how to form her name.

"Eph-epp-...Ephryx!" He spoke, the echoes mocking him. He almost dropped the lantern in fright. "Ouzel! Come down, it's not much further!" Ephryx sounded thrilled, as if it wasn't a leap of faith to wander into the blackness.

He took a deep breath and began walk down, the path becoming smoother and sloping as he went. The air became warmer and he could here the twinkle of dripping water. The dug tunnels now became natural caverns, he saw the shiny glint of quartz and limestone where the light of his lantern fell. Soon the tunnel was lit with the soft blue glow of luminescent fungi. The path opened into a chamber and there lit up at the end of it was Ephryx.

She stood over a sprawling patch of fungus, they had amber caps and were growing up her ankles. She beckoned him over and Ouzel had to pick carefully through a garden of fungal specimens. He kept his tail high and examined the ground with each placement of his claws.

They sat for a while in silence as they listened and watched beauty of the fungarium. Some specimens were grown for study and experiments, others for magical components, but largely it was a pantry for the clan. Ouzel was most interested in the rarest specimens, he eyed a Blue Entoloma springing from a piece of mouldering log that had been brought down to her lair.

"Cute, aren't they?" She smiled, flicking the small springy caps, "You know, it would take three tonnes of powdered entoloma to kill an imperial!"

"How did you calculate that?" He said, peering down at the dewy blue fungi.

"I measured the compounds against the neuroactive matter within Imperial anatomy..." Soon Ephryx was explaining her methodologies as Ouzel stared into the gills of the Entoloma, entranced by its hues as well as Ephryx's soothing lecture.

"Ouzel, have I ever told you about my paper on the taxonomy of the Fungalhoof Qiriq's symbiotic colonies? I realised that it might have some pertinence to your collection!" She clasped her claws together in excitement.

"No, please tell me more." He said, laying down to get a better view of his chosen specimen, "And don't stop this time."

Ashwind Spires Lore: Landscapes

Ask me how much schoolwork got done today :’D

Just wrote up and posted some photo collection posts of some key landscapes within the territory (of control or just... influence / background matrix) of my clan, Orozha (or Orodres, if you want to #standardize it). I always find I have to get an idea of Where before I can start really digging into the What. 

Fun fact: my location in a “volcanic wasteland way off in the middle of nowhere on the northern peninsula, but there’s very few volcanoes” has changed basically... not at all since the first iteration of my clan back in 2014. But it’s shifted in the little details over time, and the landscapes collection doesn’t cover all the areas of Orozha.

A few places not included but that definitely exist: a caldera, an old abandoned giant mushroom, some sort of Talonok canton somewhere in the vicinity, and the Blackglass Spire aka the secret, hidden heart of Orozha (and within the bowels of Blackglass: the reason Orozha is located where it is u.u).

I think there’s something with posts with links not showing in tags?? I haven’t Tumblr’d in forever idk these things. So, uh, masterpost link list in the reblog + a world map pin link. Or just go check the last 4 posts on my blog.

She laid downwind at the crest of the hill. The wind rippled her mane and she swished her downy tail back and forth. Body rigid as she scoured the landscape. Her raven pinions fluttered about her ears and she twitched them in annoyance. At the bottom of the valley, a healthy herd of cerdae grazed by the banks of a stream. There was a wobbly foal amongst them, bleating at its weary mother who stumbled as she knelt in the grass. Rynka sighed, she knew just how she felt, she had been following this herd for hours and they hadn't settled into a convenient place to catch them. Now, finally, as hunger gnawed at her insides, she could make her way down the patch of woodland to the east and corner them, forcing them into an uphill chase she would surely win. She stood up and felt a small quiver in her legs. Her heart felt heavy in her chest and her blood felt thin. She needed to eat. Now. She picked her way down an elk trail to a patch of birches and willow, their golden leaves shivering. Autumn made the woods flush with bird song as waxwings and sparrows gorged on the last of the berries. Quail skittered through the brush and a fat toad lolloped across her path. She felt desperate enough to snap at it, but it leapt clear into a puddle and splashed her snout.

Rynka's thoughts turned to sleep for a moment; she could give up her hunt for a few hours and listen to the birds chirp, she could scrounge around for mice or snakes as it got dark. She shook herself out of it -- no, she needed to eat, she could grow too weak to get up. Then who knows, she could become the prey. Her mind was clouded with hunger, anxiety and frustration. Perhaps she was wrong to have left Dragon Home, insisting she could fend for herself. This was only her second Autumn and she had crossed half of Sornieth, avoiding dragons wherever she could. She was a seeker and a hunter, and there was no backing down from that call. "Hello?" This is how a blundering dragon managed to make her jump out of her skin. With a short, sharp scream Rynka fell over herself with shock. In the distance, she heard the scattered beating of hooves as the Cerdae galloped away. The Gaoler had padded out from behind an Alder with a basket of mushrooms in his mouth. Yellow patchy fur and smudgy black tips as if he'd ran through soot. Twigs and leaf litter tangled in his mane, his tail wagging apologetically. "...Sorry about that." Rynka sputtered and leapt up, taking a defensive stance, "Who are you to ruin my hunt?" The dragon cocked his head, "I've never seen a dragon hunt alone... Oh, but I'm Pen. Penemue." He held out a paw to shake, it was her turn to stare at him in confusion. "Uh, I am sorry about your hunt. There's food back at the lair if you want, we're happy to have guests. I guess I owe you after scaring that herd away. I mean, its the least I can do." Rynka bared her teeth at the suggestion before she felt the pit of her stomach grow sore. It had been days since she had eaten, the last few nights she had slept through rain and thunder. The pads of her paws were cracking and blistering. She felt hollow and ragged. "I... accept this proposal." She sighed, "I admit, I could use somewhere to sleep as this storm passes through. I provide myself, I will bring ample food after I recover." "Of course, we wouldn't let anyone sleep out in the cold! Unless they wanted to -- we have a few tundras and obelisks who don't mind being out in the snow, y'know. I don't mind much either, but I prefer having a nice warm fire place. Qian Xue likes to take off to the Ice territory now and then, he says he makes a thing called an igloo to sleep in. Its like a house made of snow, its wild! But then again, everyones a bit strange sometimes, like me, they said there weren't any mushrooms left in the season but I knew about this woodland and..." Pen chattered away as she followed behind him, trailing out of the woodland to the top of the valley. A grand lair of sandstone rose out of the horizon, dragons circled up above and sauntered below. None were thin, all were bright eyed and had kindly voices. She ate stew, lamb that fell off the bone with what she learnt was rosemary and thyme, and plenty of mushrooms. She combed her mane and washed in miraculously warm water. She was given a small chamber, with no wind or rain or frost. There were blankets. She hadn't used a blanket since she was a child. Pen offered to light a fire and roast chestnuts in the embers as he read from a book of epic poems to break the silence. Rynka fell asleep next to her new companion as he wittered the night away.