The Gem Masters

You awaken slowly, in a dark, empty world. Taking stock of your surroundings, you can hear nothing but those around you moving. You feel solid ground at your back, completely smooth and very cold. In your hand, you feel a small, smooth stone, perfectly shaped to fit your hand. It's warm, and it's presence feels soothing, as if it belongs there- as if it was never anywhere else. In fact, dropping it seems like the epitome of a bad idea. If you move at all, you realize that the ground you lay on is nearly perfectly sized to your body- just large enough for you to lay down or sit up. It only goes down about an inch, seeming to hover there in the void. 

((And we are OPEN!))

Shadiya grimaced, and forced himself not to look down. He hated heights. This was not how his people were meant to live. People were meant to live with their feet upon the ground. Not staring into the void, and thinking thoughts that might send you plummeting to your death. He had looked down once, and vowed not to do it again. Annoyed at the feeling in his hand, he revved up and hurled the gem as far as he can, the almost clear stone whizzing away into the night. Grinning a smug grin, he forgets himself, and glances down. "Oh shit," he mutters, waiting on the inevitability of gravity to send him hurtling towards the ground at speeds beyond his description. Honestly, he was a no one. The son of a cook, he really didn't want to die right here, and made no qualms about voicing it.
"I DON'T WANT TO DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!"

Dorina groaned softly, opening her eyes as she heard someone screaming. She lifted her head, glancing around- and squeaked as she looked down. Way down. She tightened her grip on the small stone in her hand, carefully scooting back as she sat up. “Stop screaming!” she whisper-yelled to the strange man. “Panicking will make us more likely to fall!” Her pointed ears were perked up as she listened, trying to hear someone, anyone, else. She swallowed nervously. “I think we’re alone...” She glanced at the gem in her hand, thinking. “I think... Maybe I can make a bridge between our platforms with this thing, somehow? Do you want me to try?” The two platforms weren’t very far apart- if they were to reach their arms out, they’d be able to touch fingertips to each other, in fact. Not, of course, that she would be stupid enough to try such a thing. She fiddled with the end of her braid, looking at the smooth pink stone in her hand. She knew stuff about it, though she had no clue why or how. But somehow, she felt certain she could link the platforms if she tried.

"No way! I'm NOT trusting some half baked hedge witch with a ROCK when my life is on the line!" Shadiya begins frantically rummaging through the surprising number of pockets on his clothes, disturbed to find most of them empty. "Where in Sviaka's name is my BAMFulet?! Did you take it?" The fury on his face is unmistakable as he glares at the girl. "It makes sense. You seem insane! Trusting a stone?! The healers would take you in for testing immediately!" The hand that had held the gem itched, and Shadiya grumbled to himself. "You want to make a bridge, Kulik'hir, go right ahead. I want no part of any of this." The Haialfan humphed, and for a split second seemed to try to sit before realizing his predicament. "This whole thing is YOUR fault! I wake up here with no memory of how I got here, and all my tools gone, and some Kulik'hir asks me to trust a ROCK. AGH! This is why I wanted to LEAVE home. To avoid all of this stupidity. Magic has WAY too many complications to be trusted!" He was pouting now, ears wiggling in a way that said he was annoyed to any that knew him. The ranting wasn't his fault. He hated being in situations beyond his control, and felt that this definitely counted. Part of him considered just jumping off, and his whole body twitched forward abruptly.

She flinched. "Please! This isn't my fault, I've got no more clue how we got here than you do! Just- please, sir, calm down!" Her pointy ears angled themselves downwards, as she peeked over the edge nervously. She looked back to the man, biting her lip. "We don't really have a lot of options here..." She tapped her fingers on the ground, looking from him to the gem. Sighing, she shut her eyes. 'I don't know what you are, or if this will even work, but- please. We need a bridge, he's freaking out. Please, please let this work.' For a long moment, there was nothing. Complete silence, and she drooped, thinking it failed. But then, a rumbling began- softly at first, but growing progressively louder, as an arched structure began to form between the two platforms- a wooden bridge, with sturdy hand railings made of a smooth black stone. Dorina stared at the structure, then at the stone in her hand, fooling woozy. "Holy shit. It worked?" She stood, legs wobbling a little, and inched forward. She put her hand to the stone railing of the bridge, looking shocked when it didn't just phase right through. "It worked!" She laughed in amazement, taking a step out onto the bridge. It felt, and sounded, like stepping onto solid wood floor- if they didn't know better, it would be easy to think that there was actually ground beneath it.

Shadiya blinked. "I'm no knight. Just ask my father." Shadiya looks depressed, his eyes miles away from the world, or what there is of it. The gem popped back into his hand. "Oh. You returned. I suppose you are useful after all." Shadiya glares again at the girl, still suspicious. "Or, it could be you brought me here to do more tests on me. Go on, tell me what she offered you, in exchange for this place." Shadiya slowly raised his hand, acting on impulse. 'Please. I need light. I don't know if you're special, or this is all some new torture, but please. Some form of light... I need to see more than the Darkness right now.' Shadiya blinks back all of his emotions, his face hardening a little as he concentrates on the task at hand. His normally clear blue eyes change slightly, to grey, and he focuses everything he has on the task at hand. After nights kept in a darkened cell, he is desperate for some form of light to shine through, and help him see the place around him. He had been tortured, on the orders of those of his blood, taken to dark places and sliced open, the only sounds those of the arcane tools, and of his own screams. His body had healed, but his mind was still trapped in the Dark of that room, the desperation of the people to save their own lives at the expense of his. People who ought to have loved him, but only treated him with cruelty. He NEEDED this light.

The gem warmed in his hand, and he could feel it beginning to sap at his strength. A wave of soothing energy washed through him, as soft rumbling began. It didn't reach the same volume as before, but posts began growing from the ground- from each corner of the platforms, to at varying intervals along the walls of the bridge. They looked like old style lamp posts, two lanterns hanging from each, but there was nowhere to add fuel. Instead, a ball of blue light- the same blue as his gem, in fact- hovered inside the lamps, casting a blue glow across the area. With the light, it slowly became easier to see that the ground really was completely smooth, almost like glass. It was glossy in texture, reflecting the light and making it seem almost as if the light was even brighter. With the lamps now illuminating the area, the two could finally see the features that the other possessed much better. Dorina smiled shyly at him, slowly making her way across the bridge to his platform. "That... Is so very cool," she declared vehemently. She sat down on the ground, right where the bridge met the platform, and smiled at him again. "My name is Dorina, by the way. It's nice to meet you." Her long blue braid trailed behind her, and she fiddled with her hair. She seemed to be cheery now, her ears pointing back up as she looked around them in amazement. "Do you have a name, mister not-a-knight?" She ran her fingers over the smooth surface of her gem, smiling brightly. It felt warm in her hand, and comforting- like it belonged there. If she felt sentimental, she might have said that it felt like it was a part of her.

Shadiya took up a ready stance as she approached, slipping into a defensive habit developed from years of being beaten on. Studying her closely, he cocked his head at the sight of her pointed ears, which only made him more suspicious. Her lack of height was curious, and to her, it would seem as though his size was shifting slightly, cycling between larger and smaller in almost unnoticeable ways. Shadiya wasn't comfortable with new people. Unlike his best friend, he struggled to initiate conversation, a result of having been ignored as a child. He chuckled slightly at that. Being ignored was probably the best thing strangers did for him. Bastards were very much looked down upon in the grander part of the city which he lived in. Turning his attention back to the girl, he inwardly groaned somewhat. She seemed chipper. He hated chipper. He mentally filed away her name as she approached fully prepared to use it against her. While she seemed enraptured by the gem, his made his hand itch. "Dorina. I am not familiar with that particular house. I am Arionne, by blood, by soul, and by demeanor." He said his name as if it meant something, both to her and to him. No one in the lands he had seen knew what meaning his name, Shadiya Arionne meant. It was his, though. They had tried to take everything else of his, but they could not take his name. Many times, it had been all he had been left with as he lay bleeding in some gutter, far from his home, far from safety. He pondered her name. The closest he could come up with was Dor'hi'nal, an old name, but one thought to have died out. He immediately shook his head. "We must consider our next step carefully. Perhaps together, we might forge some way home."

Dorina tilted her head as the man chuckled, noting that it didn't seem to be a happy laugh. "Did... I say something funny?" the elven woman asked, confused. "And.. House? Oh! No, no. Dorina is my first name, mister Arionne. Arrione's an interesting name, by the way!" She smiled at him. After his next words, however, she frowned. "Erm... Mister Arrione? There's a slight problem with that." She glanced at the gem in her hands, then back at him. "I don't exactly remember where home is. Or..." Her frown deepened suddenly, as she searched her memory, for something, -anything-. She started to grow alarmed, looking back at Shadiya. "I can't remember -anything- prior to waking up here, actually." The gem in Dorina's hand glowed softly, the light pulsating gently. Her ears lay themselves flat against her head, and she chewed her lip. After a moment, though, she forced a smile. "Oh well. It's probably for the best, right?" The elf didn't sound like even she believed her own words, instead showing false confidence. "I mean... We're probably here for a reason, right? Maybe these crystals have something to do with it." She looked around again, nervous. "...Where -is- here, anyway? Do you have any ideas, Arrione?" As she spoke, the gems in their hands began to warm up subtly, the soft glow of the lamps brightening a little. "It's so... Empty. There aren't even any stars! No stars, no trees... No water- oh shit. That last one's probably a bad thing, isn't it? I mean, don't people need water to live? What if the gems can't make water? Or food? Heck, how is there even any -air-?!" By the end of it, the girl was practically talking at a thousand words a minute, clearly starting to freak out now that she was actually thinking about these things. "This is bad, right? Like, really bad?"

"Calm down. Before you did it, we had no idea these things could produce anything. As for the air problem, it will be fine. If we haven't passed out yet, it's likely we have at least some source of air. We can make water. If we couldn't, what would be the point? I don't recognize this place, if it IS a place. For all I know, we could be somewhere in the In Between, which might be bad. Now, focus on the necessities for the moment. To start with, we'll need something more than that bridge to stand on, if we hope to make any sizable quantity of water. We may have to take things slow, however. The gems seem to feed off of our energy, and if we pass out, things might be worse. There doesn't seem to be a breeze, our anything remotely like a climate, so things will probably remain at the same temperature. That's good. Means we won't have a need for shelter immediately. I have a feeling the bigger things need to be worked towards, preferably together." Shadiya was snapping things off like a list, seeming to ignore everything bad around them in favor of finding practical solutions to their problems. He observed everything around him with a quick glance, before grunting. "Now, we should first figure out where the best place to put some ground down is. If we go about it haphazardly, we risk overexerting ourselves uselessly. Rationally think, Dorina. It would seem we depend on each other, so I can't have you running around crazed. Let's start slowly, maybe put some ground under the bridge? The whole lack of support for it isn't filling me with confidence." Slowly, Shadiya once more concentrated upon what he wanted, keeping a picture of ground under the bridge, just enough to slightly overlap it, no more than by a few feet or so.

Dorina nodded, taking a deep breath. A soft rumbling began to fill the air again, soft at first, but gradually gaining in volume as the smooth ground of the platforms began growing out under the bridge, slowly but surely. The gem in his hand began to glow brighter as the rumbling increased in intensity, and he would feel his energy being drained once more, siphoned away to supply the gem with the fuel it required in order to fulfill his desires. Dorina carefully moved next to him, managing- just barely- to fit on the tiny platform with him. She bit her lip as she realized this, taking another deep breath. "Right... Panicking won't help anything. Sorry about that. I'll increase the size of the platform a bit? It's a little small, and we really, really don't want to fall, I think. That would be.. Bad. I wonder, would we just fall forever? There doesn't seem to be any ground down there. Maybe we'd eventually loop back around and land on the platform. Do you think that's how it works, Arionne?" The elf didn't wait for her new found acquaintance to answer, instead focusing on her own gem, envisioning the platform growing in size. The rumbling increased in volume as it gained a new source, the platform they stood on growing out in all directions, until it was a solid circle with a five foot radius. The bridge connected at the base of it, and the lights stayed where they had been, not having moved. Her gem glowed brighter for a moment as she worked, not daring to open her eyes until both sets of rumbling ceased. Once it finally stopped, she stared a little. "Whoa, cool!" She started to take a step forward, then fell flat on her ass. "Oof! Woozy." Dorina sat up, amused by her own failure. "These things are so cool, aren't they, Arionne? We're literally building very the ground we walk on!" She grins, her chipper mood returning.

"They feel rather warm to me, temperature wise. Why you moved so close is beyond me...." Shadiya makes an impressive standing jump, landing upon the bridge. Gripping the rail tightly, he considered things for a long while. Perhaps he could make a little larger area of land, then make a well. Or have her make a well, and he'd make the water. He still didn't trust her. Chipper people tended to be the ones most likely to knife you in the back. Shadiya forced himself not to shudder. What color should the water be? He loved the blue-green of Lake Vikara, but maybe that was too common. He glared down at the gem in his hand. It was, perhaps, too corrupting. How much power did it hold? Yes, the energy seemed to come from them, but what happened when they got used to it? Would things be easier? Would the problems of his world come to this one? He felt empowered, like he could do anything. This was not a feeling he felt should be encouraged. People, himself included might abuse this power. They were ordinary people, not gods, yet they were Creating a world. The responsibility suddenly seemed very great. He sighed. He had tried to unburden himself of it during the first moments of waking up, and it had returned unbidden. He was stuck with it, and of the terrible mantle it placed upon him. "What cruel fate is this? Are we to be gods? Can we regulate our cruelty, or will the inevitable people of this new world be forced under the yoke of our tyranny?" He brought his fist down upon the bridge, clearly frustrated. "My father believed he was doing right. Even when it almost led to the destruction of my people, of the lands we loved so. He did all of that, yet he was only a king. Imagine the horrors we will wrought if our minds and our consciences waver for even a moment. How can we regulate ourselves? We have no guide. We are not meant for all of this. How could we be? The Creation of this world was thrust upon us, and we have no choice in the matter. We must strive forwards, lest we fall, or starve, or run out of water. What an amazing and cruel joke Existence has played upon us. We are doomed, for one day, we will fall because we will forget who we are, in the midst of this power. We cannot hope to stand against our egos when they fully realize what we are capable of. You made a bridge from nothing but your own energy. Think on that. When the abuses begin, and they will, we will became the very things we once hated. We will become gods, and what great hubris that is. To think of ourselves that way, where once we believed ourselves to be no better than our fellow creatures. We should find a way home. These gems are nothing but a horrid burden, a curse placed upon us by reasons and Beings beyond our understanding."

Dorina laughed a little as he commented that the gems felt rather warm to him. "Not cool as in cold, you big silly! Cool is another word for awesome. Didn't you know that?" Dorina tilted her head at him, giggling again. He really did seem rather silly at times, though she had yet to have known him long enough to be certain. Dorina watched in rapt fascination as her new found acquaintance leaped onto the bridge from a standing start, rolling over to lay on her stomach and rest her chin upon her hands as she watched him. The pink gem she held pulsated reassuringly in her hand, and to her, it felt almost as though it was saying that everything would be alright. It was a powerful object, and while she know that she ought to be frightened by it, she couldn't really say that she was. Yes, it was power, and a great responsibility- but she felt certain that such a responsibility wouldn't be placed upon them without a reason. The gods, she felt, never chose wrongly. If this was their destiny- well, then this was their destiny. There was no point in worrying over what they couldn't change.
The elven woman frowned as her sensitive ears heard him sigh, pulled at last from her own musings. Her frown grew as he ranted, punching the bridge as ho spoke of the injustices his father had committed, of the ones he himself feared that they would commit. She was silent as he spoke, waiting for him to finish.
Finally, she stood, walking forward and placing a gentle hand upon her shoulder. "You're a cynic, Arionne, and that's not a bad thing. One of us has to be. I'm not a cynic- I think that this is all fascinating. Yes, power -is- a corrupting influence, and you've seen that much- but at the same time, we have our own will power. The gods wouldn't place this duty upon us if we were unworthy, of that I am certain. This is our chance to create a world, a better world than the one we came from. Our consciences will be our guide- and we will regulate each other. I won't let you go mad with power- not that I believe you would- and I know that you will not let me go mad with power, either. But it's not our place to fight the will of the gods. No mortal has that place. So either we claim to have the right to argue with the powers that be- and thus piss them off- or we try to fulfill our duty as best we can." She smiled a little. "The way I see it, though, Arionne, any creature we create will be our child. So surely, we will protect our creations the way any parent would. Right?" Dorina looked at him confidently, a trusting expression on her face. It would be abundantly clear that the elven woman believed every word she was saying, with all of her heart. The gem in his hand pulsed softly as she spoke, as if in agreement with her words.

Shadiya's taciturn expression took on slightly more humorous tones as he listened to his companion speak. He, apparently, knew things she didn't. What kind of a Haialfan was she, not to know the basic principles? They formed the tenets for what passed as religion amongst his people. It was not a true religion, more of an exercise in self-governance. "The will of the gods? Is that what you think this is? The gods are gone. Drawn back behind their veils centuries ago, as a Haialfan, you should know this. When they saw the horrors they had wrought in their last creation, mankind, they fled. They pulled away from the world, and left us to reason and govern ourselves. I was taught from a young age that my will was all that mattered, not a god, or parent as you seem to think of them that abandons their children. You ask me to be a parent, yet most of my examples of parenting are poor ones. To me, this is all some cosmic prank, designed to test us. I for one, will make nothing truly sentient, lest I prove to be as poor a Creator as the ones who left our people. How long do you think we can last? Even if we provide enough food and drink to sustain us, what of our minds? We have nothing to think on. No great works that can be pondered. No form of anything remotely resembling entertainment. When our minds go, and they will, it will not be pretty. At least there will be a variety. Even if we stave that off, what then? We live as benevolent gods to the people? For how long? We can still die. It may take us longer, perhaps, but we will die surely. Perhaps we will even be murdered by jealous Creations, in a mad scramble for power. You try to see the good in this, but there is little. Our only options are poor ones: Starve to death, or be dehydrated, go mad, be murdered by our own creations, or die, with everyone we Create having become too dependent upon us. These are the choices you give someone whilst torturing them, not what you give to supposed free people. Make no mistake, though: We are not free. We cannot choose to go home. As I have said, we cannot even choose to give up our power. We are so limited, it is hilarious! And once again, you feel drawing near to me is the answer. The reason I see clearly is because I know my own weaknesses. I am no leader. I should not be given power. I have too many Dark things inside my mind to rationally be considered for the role thrust upon me. Yet here I am. Stuck upon whatever this material is with an eternal optimist who seems to think we can simply hug our problems away! I'm here because the universe sneezed, or however the universe manages to make a mistake. I don't belong here. I don't. The fact is, my ability to function is so limited that it appalls me to have been chosen. I'm so boring, so NOT special, that my own parents ignored my Existence. Yet here the universe throws me, meant apparently to be the voice of reason. Your head is far too far in the clouds for you to see just how much just how much the universe has shoved down our throats. Think about it: you have to see that neither one of us is the right choice for this. Have to know that we can't do this. We are not meant to play with such power. No one should have it. If I could, I would cast it aside in a second. I'm glad that I, at least, can see reason here. I'm the wrong choice. The universe just hasn't figured it out yet."

Dorina listened as the man spoke, her ears slowly lowering. Her gaze hardened toward the end, however, as a growl escaped her, unbidden. Finally, it was her turn to speak. "Are you done yet? Good, then shut. Up." She sounded angry, standing as tall as she could. "Since I woke up here, I have tried hard to be patient. I understood that you were scared when you woke up- so rather than indulge my -own- desire to panic, I offered a solution- and you called me insane. That was fine, I was willing to put up with that- you were, after all, scared. You said this was -my- fault- that too, I was willing to put up with. Even after I proved that I was right, by creating that bridge, you -still- glared at me and treated me with distrust. That- I will admin that hurt. Still, I put up with it. But now, I have had -enough-." She growled that last word, eyes flashing. "I am -not- a Haialfan. I don't even know what a Haialfan IS, though if you are any example, I can assume that they are rude, stubborn pessimists. I am an -elf-. And even if I -were- a Haialfan, rather than an elf, I already told you that I do not remember anything before waking. Yes, I damn well -am- trying to see the good in this fucking situation- because if I do not, I will most likely panic and go insane. So fucking -pardon me- if I seem like an optimist, because I -am- one. Better to be optimistic than to go -insane-. I -know- that the universe has shoved a lot down our fucking throats- but guess what? Oh well! We have to fucking -deal- with it, Arionne. How the -hell- do you think we can get home when we don't even fucking know where we -are-, hm? And no, I do NOT think we can 'simply hug our problems away'. I was -trying- to offer you a measure of comfort because you seemed upset and that is what decent people -do- when others are upset, but no! You have your head shoved -so far up- your fucking -ass- that it comes out the other -fucking- side!" Dorina glared at him, breathing heavily by the end of her little rant. Her cheeks were flushed with anger, her hands were clasped so tight around her gem that her knuckles were completely white, and her purple eyes blazed with fury. "I am not. A fucking. IDIOT," she spat out, still furious. "Nor am I a -child-. I -know- the future looks bleak for us. I -know- we cannot go home. So what the -hell- do you think you are going to accomplish by standing around -whining- about it all day, huh? If you want to kill yourself, then fine! Be my fucking guest! Otherwise, why don't you do something -useful-, like helping me -solve- some of these fucking problems. We -can- do something about the issue of food and water, and I am -certain- that we can do something to fucking prevent ourselves from going -insane-. And who says we even -can- create creatures with a mind, hm? Hell, even if we could, why the -hell- would we? And who knows! Maybe we -can't- die! Maybe we really fucking -are- immortal. But we sure as -fuck- aren't going to learn -anything- by standing around a -whining- about it, Arionne!" She stood there a moment, glaring up at the Haialfan and breathing heavily, before she turned away. With long, confident and deliberate strides, she crossed to the far end of the round platform, turning her back to him. The elf sat down on the edge, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath, holding it for a count of seven before letting it out slowly as she endeavored to calm her raging temper. Her free hand grasped the edge of the platform, her grip tightening until the knuckles of that hand were just as white as the knuckles of her other hand.

At the start of the rant, Shadiya's height shot up to nearly eleven feet. This, he presumed, was his limit. "Humans call Haialfans elves," he muttered, looking down at the ground under the bridge. He was subdued. She was right. He had been whining, and that was wrong. But being suspicious of her was not. Not when every day, he'd been kicked in the ribs by his own race. Treated with scorn, poisoned, attacked, MAIMED in some cases. All by 'elves.' The people who claimed to be his own treated him with nothing but contempt. The livestock of the city were treated with more generosity. Yet he remained. So yes, he was angry, and yes, her pointed ears reminded him of every day he'd looked in the mirror, noting that the ears he saw there were nowhere near as pointed as his fellows. He sighed heavily. He didn't understand people. Didn't really want to. To him, they were distractions, or antagonists. To be truthful, he admitted grimly to himself, he only had one friend. The people whose family he had grown up in had distanced themselves from him after realizing early on his status as a pariah. He didn't see the bright side because there was no bright side to look upon. A better man might see that there was no one here who wanted to hurt him, but he couldn't see that. He glanced at his companion, and sighed again. "You are right. I'm sorry." Turning his attention back to the ground under the bridge, he focused. He thought of a place he had seen once as a child. A grassy hill with a well set into the side. The well's waters had tasted clear and sweet, oddly a little like apples. The wind smelled of nature, soft and subtle and beautiful. Shadiya remembered the grove of trees near there, and the sweet apples they bore. It was a surprisingly happy memory, the first time he managed to leave the great walled city of the Haialfans. His foster mother had taken him and her children to sit beneath those trees, and they had all enjoyed a picnic together. A good day. One of the few. Now he was lost. He had an idea how to get home, but his companion seemed to dismiss the idea. It wasn't his fault he didn't want power or authority or even immortality. The shadows made him happier. People who looked at him with disgust in their eyes couldn't see him there. He couldn't be attacked, or cursed, or spit upon there. He felt too exposed here, and it put him into a state of complete unease. Still. He felt something must be done, or he and his companion would die. The idea of his own death mattered little to him, but she was full of life. He was scarred, and broken. She seemed pure and boundless. Perhaps he could condemn himself to death easily here, but not her. She had a life ahead, and, whether she remembered them or not, was the type of person to have a great number of loved ones in her life. So, for the first time in a long time, Shadiya forgot his own troubles, and put his whiny selfishness into the void. He strode over to where she stood, placing his hand gently upon his shoulder. Growling, he threw up his other hand, the one holding his gem, and concentrated so hard his teeth hurt from his clenched jaw. It was all on him, or so he told himself. His eyes slammed tightly shut, and his chest hurt from the lack of air as he concentrated everything he had into recreating at the very least the well from his memories. She needed it, and he refused to let someone else die for his own foolish stupidity. He dug his bare feet into the ground as much as he could, and let loose his pent up breath in a howl. He willed the hill, and the well to come forth, and the apple trees, if theycould come. He begged, and pleaded, and roared in his mind. It was all encompassing to him. She could have shoved a knife into one of his hearts, and his focus would not be broken. "Please," was all he said, gasping. "Please."

Dorina hadn't been paying very much attention at all to her surroundings as she tried to calm herself, barely even hearing Shadiya say that he was sorry. As such, the young elven woman gasped in surprise as she felt his strong hand touch her shoulder, nearly falling from where she sat. She turned her head quickly, looking up at him in surprise and astonishment. Her surprise quickly turned to worry as she realized that he wasn't moving, or even breathing, as he concentrated on some task that she couldn't even imagine. Dorina got to her feet quickly, wrapping an arm under his shoulders to support him as he let out his breath in a howl, the ground shaking slightly as his gem tried in vain to fulfill his desperate wish. "Please," she heard him gasp, "Please." That was enough for her, as she threw her own hand up, shutting her eyes tight and focusing. She may have been mad at him- but whatever he was doing was clearly important to him, and it didn't seem to be working. And more importantly, to her, it sounded like he was actually in -pain- from trying to make it work. She tightened her hand around the stone. 'Please. Please, help him. Please let this work.' She focused on sending him her energy, hoping that it would work, and grabbed his hand on an instinct sent by the gem, not even realizing that she was doing so. This seemed to be the link that her gem needed to send him her energy, however, as with a feeling almost like a jump in their stomachs, her energy rushed across their linked hands, flooding into him.
The gems in each of their hands flared with light, almost blindingly so, as the two forced their energy through them. Two pillars of light shot up- one blue and one pink, one from each gem. The beams of light twirled and intertwined, looking almost like one of those poles typically found outside of medieval barber shops, striped in blue and pink instead of red and white. as they shot ever higher, past where their eyes could seep A rumbling began once again- fainter than before. It grew in volume steadily, until it was deafening, impossible to hear over. Slowly, as the pair focused, the smooth stone below and in front them spread out, like a blot of ink. It angled upwards steadily, forming a large hill, and as they watched, a well began to form, made of the same smooth stone, perfectly round, with a rope and bucket going down into it. Slowly but surely, grass began to spread outwards across the hill, long and soft, a brilliant, emerald green. They began as mere seeds, but over the course of the next several minutes, shot up, until they would reach Dorina's knees if she stood within the field. Saplings sprang up upon the hill, soon growing into tall, strong trees, at least two stories tall, bearing brilliant red apples within them. The branches were thick and strong, the sort that children love to climb up. The branches, conveniently, reached down low enough that someone of Dorina's height could just barely reach them and pull themselves up to climb the tree.
Finally, it was done. The ground stilled, the rumbling dying away. The pillars of light coming from the gems became no longer intertwined, separating until there are two distinct pillars. Slowly, the pillars thinned and dimmed, until they disappeared completely, leaving nothing but the constant glow of the gems themselves. Even with Dorina lending Shadiya her strength, the gems would have taken a lot of of both of them- almost enough to leave them unconscious, just barely standing.
Dorina released his hand slowly, not even noticing that she did so, wobbling as she looked around at what she and Shadiya had made. "Wow... It's beautiful, Arionne... No wonder it took so much energy..." She didn't try to approach it, not trusting her legs. In their hands, the gems would feel not just warm, but hot- like something fresh off a firepit. Oddly enough, however, the gems wouldn't burn their hands. "Have you been here before?" She sounded almost wistful, kneeling to touch the grass. "It's so soft... I wish I had memories of places like this.. It must be wonderful..."

Shadowy groaned a little. He knew his limits, and he was nearly at them. Twice before had he been to this state. Neither time was any fun. He hacked on his breath, taking things as slowly as he possibly could. "That... was.... stupid." He felt weakened. He wondered if this was what magic felt like. He had been to the Academia, but that meant little. It had been his father's way, his excuse to keep his bastard out of the way. He grimaced, and really hoped his extraordinary regenerative powers would kick in before he passed out. This was getting ugly. He could not maintain it. Either he adapted, or he would die. He grinned. It was worth it. He just hoped his apology was understood. He had been a fool. His whining could have been the death of someone who had put up with him. He may long for death, but no one would die FOR him. His death would be his alone. No one would die for him, he would die for THEM. He sighed again, before chuckling he was doing that a lot lately. She would be safer now. It had almost killed him, but it was worth it. His life was worthless. He knew that. No one else may accept that. He was a nothing in the world. Perhaps that was why he did not feel up to the responsibility these gems seemed to demand of him. He was tired. He felt his death swiftly approaching. It would not be from this, or this world, but it would come. He was glad of it. It meant his burden was almost over. He was a freak. An aberration his own people exploited like some mindless resource plucked from e ground. He was alone. The girl must be protected, and that was his priority, but after he had seen her safe, he would leave. His brain shifted along much faster than his body was capable of in this weakened state, but it would do. His mind was his, no matter what others might say, and so he had three escapes planned. His people had said he had been born of the humans, but he knew it was not true. He was physically stronger than both the Haialfans and the humans, nd was almost as fast as any of his own race. He did not know why he had no ability for magic, but he knew that he thought in a new way. He believed in compassion, his people, for the most part, did not. Nothing was the same to him as it was to any race he knew. He SAW things as they were, rather than how his people wanted him too. He was closer to the world than his people. He loved the natural places better than others. This feat of his, stupid as it was, came from this. He knew the natural places, had them fixed in his mind. "Yes, this is from my memory. I was taken here, as a child. A good day. Most were not, but this was." Shadiya fixed a wondrous smile upon her. A normal person would wonder why he never used it. It felt as if the person it was bestowed upon was the centre of the universe. "Now... you can... survive." He began to shake with both exhaustion and the special healing abilities of his blood line. He gave out a shaky cough as he focused on her. "I was... dumb. This was... for... you." It was hard to breathe. He didn't know why. His energy levels were fluctuating like mad, a result of both his inherent abilities and his over exertion. He coughed again. His abilities had not been this overworked since the tortures to discover the source of it all. All he remembered from those days was a phrase: "Kil dara soorta menirias." Turning to her, he gazed deep into her eyes. "Does the phrase Kil dara soorta menirias mean anything to you? I know what it SHOULD mean, but not what it actually meant to them. My brain was fried. I might not even have heard it right. My translation makes no sense. I need to know if it means something to you." Shadowy stared at her desperately, as if the whole thing mattered the world to him. His eyes were hungry, searching for the truth in all of the rubble. He hoped she would not inquire what that phrase translated to. It was... strange. It made little sense, even to a mind as twisted and strange as his was. It was a phrase mentioned only once in the Ancient Tales. A phrase about a group long dead. A group not seen since the anger of the gods, before leaving, fell upon them. It could not have any true bearing upon him.... could it?

Ashe wakes, but does not open her eyes. She lays there, trying to figure out exactly WHAT she did last night. She heard people talking, in unfamiliar accents. A girl talking about beauty? Apparently they were in a memory? A male voice talking about a sad past? She tried, but she was completely unable to place their accents. They were certainly not from her own land. Hmm.
After listening for a few moments, she opened her eyes. Seeing blackness, she wondered if she had died, and her history books had lied. Did the Fallen not go to hell, regardless of their actions? She shook her head, standing up. She looked around, and saw a pair of people over to her left. "Hallo? Are you foes? Friends?" She said, her voice with ever so slight a British sounding accent. Though they would likely not recognize it as such.
She felt something in her hand, slightly warm. Looking down, she saw it was a gem, black as her eyes. "And what might you be?" she muttered under her breath.

Dorina stared at him a moment, then forced herself to move to his side, nearly falling. "Idiot..." she softly murmured, resting beside him. "Shoulda told me before going and doing that.." She reaches out, touching his arm. "I've never heard that phrase before.. But rest now. You need it.." She, herself, was sorely in need of rest, but she would stay awake, and on guard, for him.
A soft rumbling began nearby, and the elven woman lifted her head, watching. A soft glow began, out in the blackness, and she stared, amazed. Within the glow, -something- began to form- a tiny pebble. Stone grew out from it, slowly but surely, until a platform much like the ones she and Shadiya had awoken on had formed. The glow intensified, forming the shape of a woman, until finally, it went away- leaving the fallen angel in it's place.
It was maybe five minutes later that she heard the woman speak, asking if they were friend or foe. Dorina didn't answer at first, instead crawling to the edge nearest the woman, kneeling there. She thought back to how she felt when she had awoken, the confusion and fear. "Friend," she finally answered, softly. "Be careful moving, the platform isn't very big. You can use the gem to make a bridge across, though. It'll take some energy, though." She fell quiet, trying to catch her breath. The effort to get to where she was had sapped at what little energy she had remaining, leaving her breathless and exhausted.

Shadiya grimly shook his head. "I will be fine. My body is... unusual in that regard." Staggering up, the world began to swim in front of his eyes. Shaking the fatigue and the dizziness away with his usual solid and determined attitude, he limped softly and slowly to the well, dipping one hand into it and taking a small sip. For all he knew, it could be poison, but at this point, he figures that it can't be much worse than his current energy levels. It had taken more out of him than he had hoped it would. He felt the first stirrings of his metabolism when the girl appeared. Exhausted though he was, Shadiya moved slowly behind cover. A keen observer would notice that he moved lightly on the balls of his feet, and he grimly thanked his friend for teaching him how to fight. Growing up in the Great City had taught him to treat everyone as a potential enemy, and so he refused to answer the question. This person smelled odd to him, not like any person he'd ever encountered. In fact, it messed with his senses so badly that he had to really fight back the urge to sneeze at the bizarre and fairly unpleasant smell of this newcomer. Shadiya contented himself to wait and see what she did, with a thought to always keep something between them until she had shown her true colors.

She listened closely to the woman, noting the man walk to the well. He seemed injured. "It is magic, then? Old magic?" Old magic was banned, of course. Powerful, but dangerous. The creation of material from nothing was highly regulated. Not that she really cared. Everyone assumes the Fallen already do such things, evidence or not.
She glanced down at the gem again, now knowing it to be Jet. "What can you do, little gem?" She considered using it to get across, but decided not, until she knew what kind of magic it was.
Concentrating, she extended her shadowy wings and began to hover, with a good deal of effort. She may be physically mature, but as it was illegal to actually fly without a license that couldn't be acquired for another three years, she had little practice. She flapped her wings once, hard, and managed to land in the little grove.
She landed hard, gasping a little as her wings faded back into her body.

Dorina was quiet a moment, letting the woman cross. She had caught that comment, however. "These gems can do quite a bit... me and him woke up on platforms just like yours. We made the rest of this... That's why we're so exhausted." She didn't try to stand yet, thinking a moment. "I think... So far, the three of us have come from very different worlds, it seems. At least, you two do... I don't remember where I come from." She yawns, taking a deep breath. "For now.. Can you make us some shelter...? He and I need some rest, I think..." Her pointy ears drooped a little. "Nothing big, just... Shelter."

'Hmm. So they don't recognize me as a Fallen. That could be good.' She thought to herself, looking down at the gem. "I'm no Magister... I've never worked magic larger than the water purification spell. Not to mention Old magic..." Also not to mention that when Fallen use magic, they're that much more likely to be arrested, crime or not. "I can try, however."
She raised the gem as a magic user of her home world would, above her heard and shut her eyes. She concentrated on the brick alley that she used to rest in. She added, in her mind, a roof of sheet metal, also cleaning it up a decent amount. If these gems called from memory, then her memory exercises taught to her by her mother would be more helpful here than against mind readers.

A soft rumbling began, and the alleyway began to form, growing out of the ground. Only the walls, floor, and sheet metal formed- not the street that it connected to. Oddly, however, the sheet metal seemed to be fused to the top of the walls, unable to be separated. It was surprisingly easy to make- something so simple didn't take very much energy.
Dorina looked at it in fascination. "Oh, cool!" she declared earnestly. "The gems can make bigger things than that, you know. Much bigger. Actually, I'm not sure what our limits are with these..." She looked speculative a moment, before yawning. "Arione! Come on!" She looked back to the woman as she got up. "I'm Dorina, by the way..."