Don't Drink The Water [Invite Only]

[Hadrian]

Truth. Hadrian liked that. Though not a knight himself, he had grown up in Syliras, where Tyveth was a popular god. The woman, who had never identified herself, nor asked their names, received a courtly bow for her trouble. "Thank you, Mistress." But as interested as he was in the vision water, apparently super-charged by the djed storms, he was more concerned now by Tiki's reaction to his use of reimancy. It had seemed more appropriate somehow to use magic to collect the magical, blessed water. The Kelvic, himself a creature of magic, seemed spooked by its use. "Tiki," he said calmly, "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm sorry." He found a nearby boulder, flat, low, and large, and took a seat. There was plenty of room for Tiki if he chose to overcome his atavistic reaction to the magic. It was strange, though, that he was gung ho about the idea of drinking magical water, but the magical manipulation of water frightened him. Sitting there, he waited for the Kelvic to join him, dividing his attention between the waterskin and the panther. But finally he upended the skin, drinking down a great deal of it, but leaving plenty for Tiki should he change his mind. So now he was waiting for Tiki, and the blessing of Avalis, wondering whether his links to Eyris and Nysel would react for the vision water.

[Tiki]

Tiki overcame his fears soon enough. The res control was much less drastic from other magic in the world. It wasn’t a swirling ball of air res like in Avanthal, or the shields, at all. He wondered if that’s what magic actually looked like, the flowing and colorful…stuff. Yes, Tiki had been thirsty, and though the spooking had not totally turned him away from the waters, he was more cautious after the Konti had warned them. His recognition of the water was good in small doses, so it might be best to wait for something else to come along: a pond or stream. Then there was Hadrian, a seemingly fearless man in the kelvic’s eyes. He dared the waters. Hadrian, as Tiki saw him, had an air of mystery about him yet. Perhaps the water had already taken effect or he was merely a bit more detached than usual. The kelvic found commonality from that look in his eyes. In truth, it was calm and calming to others. Tiki felt calm, and approached Hadrian on the rock, lying alongside him. He had thought little of Hadrian’s apology, actually wondering what it was for in the brief moment. The events passed over him like the wind. Thirst returned. Tiki leaned up with his long feline body and licked Hadrian’s face a good measure, going for his lips and what droplets of water he hoped to find. Had he forgotten the Konti’s warning, or overlooked it? It didn’t matter to him in the end. Hadrian gave in of course. Too lazy to shift from his cat form – heavily suggested by his rolling over to Hadrian’s lap and grasping up at the water skin with his paws – he looked up and reached for the water skin. Careful now, he didn’t want to sink his claws into the container and rip it. With Hadrian supporting the skin enough, Tiki licked the water as it came out, his own paws keeping a grasp of the pouch as well. It took a few tries, a few spills and tosses, but a steady steam made its way to Tiki in the end. Drop, drop, onto his tongue, sometimes onto his nose to be licked clean of. Tiki snarled ans sneezed when a bit went up a nostril, only to resume his begging for Hadrian to feed him as if a baby wanting a bottle of milk. The water satisfied, cool and smooth, but his gradual intake would result in different oncoming of visions from Hadrian’s. Hopefully he would keep sane enough if the wizard was beginning to lose himself.

[Cachet]

Visions were always strange things, settling in gently at first. The dividing lines between present past and future were sometimes very fickle…uneven. And this resulted in what the two men would now experience. IF they wanted to or not they would find themselves right where they needed to be. Exactly where they were to be if they knew it or not. But Avalis was precise in everything she did, and yet at the same time hid behind a veil from many; such was her gift of the vision water as well.

As they drifted away things would take shape around them in this state, the world as it was now darkened…faded into the deep abyss and was replaced by a construct who knew not time. Past…present…future…none of this mattered through the vision water. None. What mattered here instead was pure truth.

Beware the truth, for it is what will come forward. The warning rang one last time before the water sucked them in, enveloping them entirely in this place. What made it so dangerous was discerning between reality and vision…all felt so real now that time was no longer an issue at all.

Rolling waves, much like Mura sounded in the background. Seagulls…and a brisk wind accompanied it though. A chilling bone shivering cold like no other…They were somewhere alright. And there in a harbor set the makings of a large vessel. The sound of men working on this new vessel filled the air. Passing by them two men carried a few large pieces of lumber giving the pair a thoughtful nod as they passed by toward the project.

This would be very familiar to the two men…Zeltiva. But as to when that was anyone’s guess entirely. Things had changed. The city had recovered from its woes now. Everything seemed better and rebuilt from the storm. ZBut there were still definate signs that it had indeed occurred.

[Hadrian]

When Tiki had drunk his fill, Hadrian set the waterskin aside and waited to feel something, his eyes occasionally cutting to Tiki's feline face for clues that he might be experiencing something first. When things began to change, he frowned and eased himself down on the rock, until it seemed the two of them were but taking a nap. And then they were in some version of Zeltiva. He glanced at Tiki, glad that this was a shared Vision, at least. Then there seemed little to do but follow the workers toward this new vessel in the shipyards and hope that Tiki followed. After all, the Vision had placed them here and now and that was the most obvious thing to investigate. The Vision seemed to follow a similar logic as did Nysel's dreaming, but Hadrian's experience was still limited there. "Excuse me," he said, hurrying up and then catching pace with one of the men hauling lumber. "Whose ship is this?"

[Tiki]

Tiki's vision tunneled into space as if the white isle's trees bent around the vision and totally out of view as if a portal to Zeltiva. The beach as strangely familiar to him, more than a glimpse into time could reveal. He had seen such sands before with Kendall, once in a dream. Now though, they seemed so real. Tiki stepped forward, the ground below him seeming less dense. The wide-eyed kelvic, taking all around him in, found Hadrian at once and tried discern whether he was real or a vision. The beach-scape behind Hadrian did not go unnoticed. Scattered wood and reconstruction on the ship-yard wasn't out of order. Maybe the shallow beaches gave it away. The storm had struck here, but where was here? The cat stayed in his alarmed state and dared not to reveal his more vulnerable side. He was Hadrian's companion on this vision, as he felt it. Whether the Hadrian was a stuff of magic or not he had to follow and obey. This wasn't the woods he knew. The city might not be so kind. Tiki haphazardly moved forward and began to sniff the men who walked by, their laboring sweat accenting the salty air. With each step the vision consumed him further. He took but a few steps forward, stopping with Hadrian's voice. He was in Zeltiva now; no peripheral sense of Mura existed now. Even the sensitivity of a big cat couldn't escape. Especially even? Magic was a tricky thing.