Event - The White Dragon Travel Log

[bravenewmods]

[It's a lengthy journey even by air, that our intrepid heroes find themselves on. The veteran fliers set a quick, but not grueling pace at the suggestion of the Valkyries. Arriving to a battleground when a god had taken the field tired was not wise, they'd said, and who could really blame them? The prospect alone of facing down one of the beasts of legend would be enough to send most men fleeing in the opposite direction, but one who was working with a human? That was all the more reason to make sure that proper care was taken on the trek. And so for a day the party traveled, a caravan of birds, dragons, reptiles and the odd flying robot making steady time across the Rolling Plains before setting down at the north-eastern edge.

The curious would find that not far from where the tents were pitched, the green hills turned jagged, the land going from verdant to a sea of dark glass. Obsidian shards spiked upwards, spires gleaming in the moonlight like razor sharp teeth, setting an ominous tone for the evening's respite. Tents were pitched, fires were lit, and the more warlike companions even began a drum circle and dance. Valkyries and shirtless Calderan volunteers, a small number of visiting mages, and other more mysterious folks all curious to see the god and to help with the relief efforts. The camp, despite the circumstances, was at least a lively one.

And then came the final day.

Over the Obsidian Flats they went, the massive shapes of Boldore and Tyranitar visible even from up in the sky. And...further perhaps even more stunningly, a gigantic lake almost large enough to call an inland sea, sprawled out below. Rivers snaked out of it all around, and the water itself was a pure crystal blue. But perhaps the most awe inspiring sight of the whole journey came once they cleared the Flats and the area around Glacier came into view. An expanse of white, thick snow covering the ground this early in the year. Arctic forests cropped up here and there, snowcapped trees and a frigid looking river marring the perfect canvas beneath. And more Pokemon , of course. Gigantic Avalugg shook the ground below, and a new species plodded along, chewing amiably on the trees, largely unconcerned by the humans overhead, and the occurrences in the distance.

Along the coast a city was in flames, people streaming out of its ruined gates, desperately fleeing along the rivers before whatever it was came back. Smoke curled up along the skyline, burned hamlets and outlying settlements that'd already been destroyed.

It seems like they weren't too late, and it in the moment of respite there was a chance for our heroes to at least get their bearings and prepare for the Dragon God's return...]

[OOC: We will be opening some of these areas for bonding within the next few days for everyone who is taking part in the expedition.]

Comments

Yuuna

[rainsrespite]

Airborne

[Yuuna's no stranger to flight, and usually she's a lot more joyful and just happy to be in the air. But something about this just didn't sit well with her. A dragon god? A human master? Whatever was going on was bad. Really, really bad.

She leans against Susume's back, urging her friend forward at the vanguard, two other flying Pokemon at the ready. A Salamence and Flygon flanked the Dragonite, and she was more than willing to give other people a ride if they needed. That was part of the point, after all.]

Hey, careful not to sit too high in the saddle, you might fall!

At the Camp

[For once, Yuuna's not at revel. Friends might find her oddly jittery, and when she talks it's often accompanied by a nervous giggle. Memories of a conflict a little over a year ago come to mind, troubling ones.

She's sitting near the fire, with Gouken sitting stoically beside her, and Uzushio resting in her lap like a strange froggy child. Her hands are stroking the Politoed, and she's obviously lost in thought, humming an old song to herself.

Still, if she feels eyes on her, she'll look up.]

Hey. You feel ready?

Airborne

[a_gentle_boy]

[There doesn't seem to be much danger of that as Yuuna quickly surpasses one of the flyers - or attempted flyers, anyway. Lucas is securely wrapped like a sausage by all three appendages of the Drifblim that idly and haphazardly floats about in the breeze. He's hanging partly upside down now in what seems to be a terribly uncomfortable position.]

Drifter, if you don't go a bit faster, we're going to get there when it's already burned to the ground.

[Drifter acknowledges this and doesn't seem terribly bothered by the possibility.]

...Hm.

[rainsrespite]

[...well isn't that something. Lucas you just find yourself in trouble all the time, don't you? All bundled up like that, and in a pretty precarious position, any responsible adult just has to wonder if he's doing this by choice of if the Pokemon is just messing with him.

It's probably a bit of both, she decides, and taking pity on the poor kid, she jerks a thumb to Kuina. The Salamence slows and takes a position under Drifter. It's probably more comfortable, and she even has a saddle!]

Hey! Lucas! Why don't you ride in style, huh? Maybe give Drifter a break?

[a_gentle_boy]

Oh! Hi, Miss Yuuna.

[He tries to wave but his hands are bound to his side.]

Nnnh...

[This was not one of his finest ideas, though he hadn't imagined this would be the outcome when Drifter had happily nodded when he'd asked if she wouldn't mind taking a balloon trip with him.]

...Are you really sure? I hate to take a ride away from someone else when I can probably manage.

[Probably.]

[rainsrespite]

Kiddo, I think I'd rather have you somewhere I know you're not hanging by literal threads.

[Susume slows so that her trainer isn't yelling over her shoulder anymore. Because that won't do.]

I'm definitely sure. Because the last thing I want to see is a Lucas-pancake because you overbalanced or something. Climb on.

[Kuina yaps happily, looking straight up at the boy. Yes, she has long, sharp teeth but...she's eaten. And you would barely make a snack.]

[a_gentle_boy]

Well...

[It doesn't seem as if he's got much choice about this as Drifter, without actually acknowledging Yuuna or Kuina in any way, gently lowers a few feet to deposit Lucas on the saddle.]

Ah --

[Then she whimsically drifts away again, ascending straight upwards on a column of rising hot air.]

Um. Don't get lost...!

[Drifter ollies out, leaving Lucas looking vaguely bemused.]

...Sorry, Miss Yuuna. She's a little... unreliable.

[rainsrespite]

Don't apologize to me, kiddo!

[She laughs, and Kuina's wings beat faster, giving her the speed needed to catch the Dragonite.]

I'm just glad you're not a pancake, right? That wouldn't do, we need all the healers we can get for those refugees.

[A beat.]

You ready for this?

camp

[actsmagnificent]

Can we?

[ Don't mind the token cynic. Union had to bring her along lest they float away on a cloud of good intentions and optimism, never to return.

Mostly Haruka just feels "cold", but complaining about that wouldn't do any good so she keeps it to herself. She will help herself to a spot at this fire, however, if any space is free. ] What's your plan?

[ She has one of her own. It'd be nice to know Yuuna is doing something else, so that there will be somebody competent helping out elsewhere. ]

[rainsrespite]

You can.

[Cold doesn't really bother Yuuna so much anymore, but the fire is nice. At the question, she looks up from babying the Politoed and shrugs. Token cynic or not, she's not terribly sure what the plan is.]

Personally? My plan is to not die, and get as many people to emulate my plan as I can. I don't want to fight this thing...whatever it is...head on. Do you?

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka props herself up on one knee. Nobody she brought with her is small enough for her to have them in tow - Sky the Beartic is off rolling in the snow where she thinks nobody can see her and, far as she can tell, Uranus the Salamence has gone back up for another flight. ] People tend to go down much faster than Pokémon.

[ That's both an assent to follow Yuuna's plan and a tipoff to her own, if one reads between the lines. ] Especially if their attention's divided.

[rainsrespite]

People do. [Yuuna nods, conceding that fact.] But what kind of person must have bonded with a god?

[There's something slightly terrifying about that thought. That a being of that kind of power saw promise in a human, and they were turning on a human settlement. That...begged the question: was it the god and the human or was it Glacier?]

[actsmagnificent]

We'll have to ask. [ Preferably with her sword at their throat. But she's going to play that by ear depending on what they find. Haruka is capable of learning from her mistakes, and their last mission to a new city - even if it'd ultimately upheld warnings she'd been offering for months - definitely counts. ]

We can't afford to take anything for granted again.

[rainsrespite]

No. No we can't.

[She shared that thought. A worry that Glacier might be at fault. It could easily be as bad as Sanctuary, or worse. A ruse by a Gigan wannabe wasn't out of the question
.]

We've been burned before. Best not to take the chance. But we do need info.

Camp

[untalented]

[Waver looked up at her owlishly from underneath his plaid, furry hat, clearly stumbling back to the present after getting lost in his own reverie. Bundled up as he was in his heavy coat, equally heavy boots, mittens, scarf, he looked the very picture of the inexperienced traveller. The Vulpix, who was riding around with her head buried in his hood, completed the picture-- Waver was glad to have a portable, cuddly furnace.]

I'm not sure...do I look like someone who's ready for a dragon?

[The travelling he had been doing in recent weeks was starting to toughen him up, but his startled responce when he met the beautiful pokemon with ornate fins had been laughable at best, and hopelessly pathetic at worst. He was just lucky that the strange creature was just as intrigued and amused by the rough and tumble travelling party as he was in meeting this unique creature.]

...Are you ready? This isn't the first time you've faced something like this...

[rainsrespite]

[Yuuna looked over, redirecting her eyes from the strange new Pokemon back down to the little toad in her lap. Rubbing Uzu's belly, she drew out a gurgle from the Pokemon, and laughed uncomfortably. Was she ready? Was he ready?

Hell...it wasn't the dragon that worried her. It was the second half of what their reports said. Dragon god. She still had nightmares about the last god. It was why her Hariyama was still at home. He'd grumped about it, but Hiroshi had been no less eager for a second scar.]

Dragons aren't so scary. You've been around Kuina and Susume enough to know that.

[A sigh, followed by a shuddering intake of breath.]

But you know? I'm not so sure this time. The last time I...[She breaks off, staring at the fire for a long moment, shivering.]...the last time I fought with a god? I got lucky. I'm tougher now, different, but seriously? A dragon god? With a human trainer?

[untalented]

[Waver nodded gravely at her words.]

Union's dealt with Gods before-- and the people who have come will make things work out again, I'm sure. The fact that it has some kind of 'trainer' is worrisome.

[He frowned, a look of distaste crossing his face. What sort of human would be so arrogant and conceited that they would try to capture a God? What sort of technology did they have that allowed them to succeed? Pokeballs were powerful technology, but they had their limits. A pokemon with a strong enough will wouldn't stay in one, especially if it was captured from the wild.

Something strange was afoot-- and he didn't like it.]

[rainsrespite]

Yes.

[A simple statement, one that she intends to delay further questions for a moment while she collects her thoughts. That was troubling, and it couldn't have been a pokeball. That wouldn't hold a god.

Which meant.]

It means...well, it means that the god and the trainer probably have a bond of some sort. Like ours maybe? But what kind of person could command that kind of respect? what kind of person...would turn that loose on people.

[Or alternatively, the cynic in her has to ask: What kind of people deserved it?]

[untalented]

[His frown only deepened as he mulled over the line of inquiry.]

That person....that person may just be a bigger threat than any God, Yuuna.

[And how were they supposed to negotiate with that? People were stubborn and single-minded. Once they gained any kind of power, they tended not to want to listen to anyone else.]

[rainsrespite]

[Yuuna nods, still rubbing Uzu's belly, fingers lazily tracing the spiral pattern there and getting more gurgling laughter. The frog was an adult, but there were times...well...that he knew to just play the kid again, for her sake.]

Yes. Yes that's what I'm afraid of. What kind of madman is working in league with a nightmare?

What the hell are we walking into.

Airborne

[conquerorofwaves]

[He laughs as Furfur barks in his arms - having hitched a ride on one of the Citadel's birds as the Glacier would be a poor environment for Badr]

I'm perfectly fine! Even if I fall, I'll be fine. But look at the world below us!

[rainsrespite]

Look at it indeed! It's beautiful, isn't it?

[Yuuna laughs, quite pleased with that.]

But don't you fall! I doubt my heart could take it.

[conquerorofwaves]

[He grins toothily at the warning]

Beautiful... and it looks so small doesn't it, but there's more just over that horizon.

[The young man points a finger]

And before I create my city, I am going to see every place that there is!

[rainsrespite]

Hah, that's a lofty goal.

[Especially from you, squirt!]

Well...you know nobody from our part of the world's seen this place in five hundred years. Heck, we didn't even know it existed until yesterday morning!

[conquerorofwaves]

Dream big, that's what they say.

[the Growlithe woofs as Focalor perches on the young man's shoulder, taking a break from flying]

And just imagine what they would be like, or any place else we don't know about yet...

[Then he straightens up in his saddle, tail whipping behind him]

And we need to make sure they can still live as they always had.

[rainsrespite]

[Yuuna nods, rolling her head back and looking up at the clouds while Susume flies on. It's weird, really. Barely a year since they'd run into their first civilization, the first settlement that wasn't home. That probably wouldn't mean much to Sinbad, the traveler from outside Union, but each one was a big thing for a Unionite. A mark.]

Well, hell. That's not going to happen, Sin. You know that. [Yuuna finally lets out a laugh.]

They've run into the rest of the world, and whether they like it or not? That's going to change things.