eastbound | un: a civil serpent

( Emilia di Carlo's hair has seen better days.

It looks suspiciously nest-like, and one of her sleeves singed and torn. The further she and Wrath walk back into the village, the more she feels it: the mark of hollowed things. The withered trees and the dying river beds. ... To say they have missed out on recent developments is an understatement.

But they do not come without news of their own. )

We were able to go very deep into the volcano and discovered something in the process.

( For this rare moment, Wrath appears to be somewhat disheveled as well. His hair is out of place. There's light scratch marks upon his cheek. His suit is singed. His sleeve on the right sight has been entirely burned away, revealing a muscular arm. In his pocket, he carries with him a piece of what they found though he has little interest in mentioning that out loud just yet. He wants to understand what it is first, and so he glances at Emilia with a grim nod and then supplies further: )

At the center of the volcano, an apparent naturally made mirror is being used as a cork to hold back a mounting level of lava, a potent flow of magic, and an unimaginable number of spirits. The pressure appears to be mounting.

( ooc: vi and i had a hiatus in april, and this help explains the absence of emilia and wrath during that time. EDITED the following day when i realized i missed a detail about the volcano. it was naturally made from a large pool of dark water. )

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Even when this volcano explodes, it will be dangerous to get close to the mess of magic and spirits and lava. ( Something he assumes he does not need to say, but- ) It may be one of our only options. I would prefer being able to take a more preventative approach, but we may have run out of time for that. The mirror itself seemed to be naturally created - dark water crystallized some time ago.

Ah... the same, would you say, as the various presentations we've run into out of the ground?

As it stands, I can only offer to try at the time where such is possible. More than that, I don't know.

It appears to be similar though crystallized into a mirror.

It is a valuable offer. I worry the Beastmaster or Huntress are already preparing to collect when the eruption occurs. ( and there will be little they can do to stop or divert it especially since they are both likely to withstand the volcano as Wrath can ) The spirits themselves feel fractured, eroded. These sacrifices were not fed to the volcano - rather they willingly welcomed the magic of the volcano inside of their bodies to relieve some of the pressure within, prevent an eruption.

The magic eventually kills its host, however, as it is too much for a body to be contained, and the spirit and magic return to the volcano, creating pressure all over again.

Then in every likelihood they'd be willing to be sent on, knowing it relieves the very pressure they sought to contain. It's... laudable, but unhappy, that this cycle has continued as it is.

( and he... considers. )

You can still sense that pressure, or the mirror? Enough to give us any warning when the moment's about to crest?

Assuming you could communicate this to them as I mentioned they are fractured in a sense, one with the volcano's magic. It is worth attempting, and it is far better than doing nothing.

( but he wants to caution that )

I could only sense it while within unfortunately, but I could transvenio within regularly to keep track.

The... means of my sway with spirits doesn't require their cognisance, fortunately or otherwise. Their link to the magic of the volcano is less predictable, though not... perhaps something unfamiliar to me in strength. Different, however, in origin.

( he takes a moment, rubbing one temple with his fingers. )

To what cost for yourself?

Then you may succeed assuming you can get close enough to the flow without being in too much danger.

( there's a pause at the question, perhaps surprised it is a question he thinks to ask. )

Little. This world limits the distance and the number of times in one singular day, but nothing more. ( he used to be able to travel as freely and as often as he wished from the mortal realm to Hell and back without issue. the limitation is frustrating, but he should still be able to do this with ease. )

Close enough to be heard is all I'd need, from the sounds of it. These aren't spirits trying to hold back or stay in place.

( his hand falls away now, studying wrath through the pendant's connection. )

Convenient! Ah, my respect for the powerful. ( a wry twist of his lips: passing jealousy, too, in the way of the convenience of power to rely on, and his long parting from any such certainty. ) How fare you after this last month? As we've future, immediate directions to proceed in.

( namely, seeing how close they can get wei wuxian to this all, and what influence he can or can't exert. )

( wrath raises an eyebrow at the expression on wei wuxian's face. after all, wrath would recognize his brother, envy, anywhere - regardless of how brief. he cannot say he blames him, of course. princes of hell, the king of hell are gifted with power which would certainly aid anyone in a number of ways. )

I am fine.

However, I can only transvenio with Emilia. ( otherwise he dramatically teleports via shadows and brimstone alone ) If you are asking if I can get you closer to the flow or the core, I cannot.

Five could, but neither of you have any particular immunity to the heat. Correct?

Always worth asking! You never know with the people here.

( by the people here, he mostly means the ragtag members of their traveling group. )

No, no, though I don't really want to be any closer than I need to be.

( five, now he doesn't think five has anything that can deal with heat, except for the social kind. )

If those spirits are leaking past in any part, that... that might be enough for me.

It is a ragtag group with many various levels of powers and abilities. It's important to ask, but little actually affects me. This world has... changed that to an annoying extent, but I will generally be more fine than most.

( wrath feels as if the group is like the house he left behind in hell which means he feels somewhat responsible for all of them. annoyingly enough. )

We can hope.

I will do what I am able to do as well to relieve the pressure of the spirits within the volcano as well. Others have offered their own abilities. Hopefully, we will be able to prevent disaster.

un: a civil serpent | video

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