Time To Rebuild (Open/Twilight Imperium.)

The Twilight King stood atop a mountain, looking down at the valley below. How long had it been since he could last do this? The monster hordes were no more, dragon kind could live as the apex species once again. However… the portals remained. It was still possible for something to come through, for one to go in… but it had been assured that the likes of the monsters would never return.

Baldirak lightly scratched at his scales as he contemplated where he would go upon leaving his perch. Now that the world was safe again, the EarthWing could focus on rebuilding, raising his offspring, and perhaps even repair the rift between himself and the NightWings’ Archon… Maybe. One thing at a time. Baldirak caught sight of a Tyrannosaurus in the valley, stalking potential prey. His stomach rumbled. One thing at a time; starting with lunch. Leaping into the air, Baldirak dove down into the valley and caught the king of dinosaurs unawares. The king of dinosaurs—and a tyrant at that—was nothing compared to a king of dragons.

After his lunch, Baldirak went to the forest near the southern border of his territory. A group of EarthWings were waiting for him. Today, the EarthWings were going to begin a reconstruction project. The plan was to repair the natural borders and fortify them with magical ones. The FireWings—though their natural territory had not be impacted as much by the monster—were doing the same. The NightWings… well, Baldirak would have to pay a visit to the Archon to find out what, if anything, they were doing. The Twilight King gave a slight dismissive wave of his paw as his subjects bowed. ”No need for that right now. Let’s get started. Group one—you younger ones with undeveloped magic—will dig. Group two—those with strong magic—will create secondary defenses. I will assist both groups while also working on a third defense.”

When everyone indicated that they understood the tasks, Baldirak went further back into the forest to where he would work on his own project, while the two groups went to their designated areas.

Storm looked to the leader of the Earthwings, looking over as some of the younger dragons before begin to move toward the place they were building up the defenses.

"You heard him. Let's get digging." As he dug, the large hybrid would start humming some tune he'd heard human workers occasionally sing when he was captured. While he didn't like that time, some stuff just had a way of sticking. Just like all this.

All those years of monsters, and now it was over. No more. The portals worried him, but they were still gone. It was time to rebuild. Not to fight like he had been for years. It would definitely be an adjustment, but a welcome one. Would probably still be some time to get use to it though.

It had been weeks since this tribe took him in. The night wing was grateful and despite his blindness in the day and fragmented memories he was filled with youthful energy to help and not just be another mouth to feed. He did not want to be a burden. "I want to help!" The night wing said again with determination to the healer that took him along with the group to assist with any healing that could arise.

While his name still alluded him, Night wing sufficed. All the memories of his trade and profession as a healer returned but little else. Visions were a common thing over that time, and he did not bother to hide it. Even the earth wing healer that was his caretaker stopped thinking of the night wings visions as hallucinations due to the head trauma that had healed. It was just a strange magic that proved useful now and then, if not creepy.

"Ok night wing," the old healer said. "I do not need help in taking inventory of our healing supplies. Go take containers of water to the dragons digging. Make sure everyone is drinking and show no signs of heat exhaustion."

The blind night wing blurted out his thanks in a hurry and quickly took containers of water in both foreclaws to head towards the diggers. Even though his eyes were white and clearly blind he twisted and turned as he got inches of bumping into various dragons blurting out apologies while dodging impacts despite his blindness.

Setting the containers down he staired off into the distance while speaking with a happy smile. "I have water here for any dragon that needs it!"

Lilith was a dwarf among these dragons, but that did not stop her from wanting to help. She was quick to dive into work as soon as her brother gave the command. Ever since her reincarnation, her magic was not as strong as it used to be, so she was stuck digging- much to her disappointment. While she did want to service the Twilight Imperium, her heavy pelt made her heat easily. Plus, since she was so small among these giants, her digging wasn't much compared to the other workers. The humming of a large dragon some feet away did do some good in keeping her from frustration, though, but it wasn't long before a shout caught her attention:

"I have water here for any dragon that needs it!"

Yes, water! It had hardly been any time, yet Lilith already felt roasted. She turned away from the dirt she had been working at to approach a NightWing who appeared to be around her age. As she did, she could not mistake that blank stare. . . She tilted her head, knowing exactly what that meant from her own experiences. "Hey, thanks," she told him before pulling a container towards him. Muzzle to water, she began to drink and- oh Shardas, that was amazing. "That's a great help," she breathed between gulps. She knew all too well how much she wanted to help when she was blind, but she always felt like a dead weight. A part of Lilith thought that if maybe she had received encouragement, she would not have felt compelled to allow herself to die like she did. Thus, she was quick to give genuine praise to the blind NightWing.

Meanwhile, Vilkas, who was in his mutated form, provided assistance by hauling away boulders and removing dead trees. Vilkas' mutated form had almost become his true form over the past few years. It had tricked the monsters into thinking he was one of them, and also made fighting some of them easier. But now he could utilize it as a choice rather than out of necessity. Today, though, it was necessary. And if he was being honest, he wanted to show his mother how well he was able to use the power she had given him. Speaking of his mother, Vilkas was keeping an eye on her, making sure she wasn't accidentally squished by everyone else. Rylatha had been reincarnated as a SkyWing. Wanting to reconnect with her old family, she left the Order of Starlights to join the Twilight Imperium--or rather, to rejoin the EarthWings. Vilkas had never seen much of his mother; his uncle Baldirak had taken the place of his parents when he was a Hatchling. But now, the young Guardian had a chance to get to know her again. Vilkas thanked whichever god was responsible for her return, howe ever strange a way that had been accomplished.

"Mom, do you need help with anything?" Vilkas asked after Lilith finished drinking. He glanced at the blind NightWing who was going around with water. He had no idea why his uncle had taken in the NightWing; surely his own Tribe should be taking care of him. But he wasn't about to question his elder, said elder being the king notwithstanding. Besides, after what happened at the NightWings' festival a couple years ago, this was a good opportunity for the EarthWing king to improve relations with his nocturnal allies. Though he hadn't been asked to, Vilkas was keeping an eye on the blind NightWing. Beyond just making sure he didn't end up hurt or in the way, there were a few EarthWings and FireWings who weren't terribly thrilled about playing host to a NightWing, and one with strange powers at that. With Vilkas around--who not only had a fearsome power himself but was also of the royal family--no one would try anything. Of course, no one would try something right now anyway, what with work to do and the king being nearby. But it never hurt to be on the safe side.

Storm continued digging, looking at Lilith and tilting his head some. Yes he was technically mostly a Skywing too, but he clearly inherited his size from his Earthwing genes. Still, he look as Malaki ran over with some water, and stopped to get some, though Lilith had grabbed some first. He waited patiently, then went to get some himself. The large dragon had gotten a couple of gulps before hearing Vilkas and coughing a bit, quite possibly accidently spraying the pour Nightwing.

"Sorry.... Thanks for the water." He then looked at Vilkas, tilting his head a bit, wiping off some of the water from his own jaw. "Ok I've been busy making sure all those crazy monsters are actually not here.... Did I miss something?"

The night wing was smiling and despite that, the smile got bigger after hearing a female dragon's voice thanking him. He was going to say something but instead just listened to the sounds and taking in everything with his senses. The rich smell of freshly turned fertile earth, the sound of a hummed tune among one of the diggers, the delicate subtle sound of feathers brushing against one another.

The sound of water being drunk. Her words brought the night wing out of his concentrated listening. "That's a great help."

"It sounds like you needed it." The night wing said while turning his sun blinded white eyes in the voice's direction, but the eyes looked off in the distance. "I am just glad to be of help."

He heard another voice then.

"Mom, do you need help with anything?"

The night wing was surprised to hear this female had a son but did not show it. She did not sound much older than him. But in the end, he did not dwell o it and just assumed she just started having children early to do her part for the survival of her tribe. He was preparing to leave the female to the business of her son before he heard a cough and felt the coolness of water spray onto his chest. He did not even realize the other dragon was there drinking water.

"It's ok!" The night wing exclaimed. "I am just happy to be of help and besides, I needed cooling of anyway!" He chuckled at the thought. "Perhaps when all the work is done, we all can go find a river or lake to swim in and cool off!" The night wing like swimming and perhaps he could even find and catch some fish to help feed everyone. He was not much of a hunter, but he remembered being a good fisher.

Not wanting to get in the way the night wing continued his rounds offering water.

Lilith had to hold in her laughter as she saw Storm Vey practically choke on his water and end up spraying it all over the poor NightWing. Admittedly, it was funny, but she couldn't help feeling bad for the blind one. Luckily, he seemed to take it in stride, and she couldn't help admiring his good attitude. As Rylatha, her blindness had made her surly and sour, especially after being blessed with sight only for it to be taken away after a few years. "A swim does sound nice," she remarked, her long tail swishing in the dirt behind her. To Storm Vey, she fixed the dragon with a pair of electric blue eyes to explain, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that, sorry. I basically died and reincarnated. I'm Rylatha. Y'know, Goddess of the Hunt and Beasts. . . or I was. Good times. . ." Ah, those were the days. Taking any poor creature that ran under her feet and changing them into an abomination to pit against any who dared to stand against the EarthWings. The Tribe was untouchable with her help, then. It was untouchable even today, though in different ways.

"You're so sweet, Vilky," Lilith crooned to her son. She smiled up, waaaaaaaaaaaaaay up now that the two had a near 90-foot height difference. She trotted over to him happily, giving him an affectionate nuzzle and lick. "You don't need to worry about me. You're doing great," she purred encouragingly.

A FireWing Citizen--one of many Twilight Citizens that had volunteered to help with the rebuilding of the Imperium--was flying between two areas. She was helping to move debris. Currently, she was carrying half a dead tree. As she passed over the area where Vilkas, Lilith, Storm, and the Blind NightWing were in, she saw Storm coughing and spitting the water he'd just consumed. "Don't drink so fast," she called down, "there's plenty of water to go around!"

If dragons could blush, Vilkas would have. "Mom..." he complained of her nickname for him. However, he secretly liked it; such interactions had been so rare when he was a Hatchling. He knelt and leaned down so Lilith could reach, returning her nuzzle. "Ok, but I'll be nearby in case you do." He was happy to have her praise, even though he was only doing some ordinary work.

Baldirak was sitting in a small clearing--small for an EarthWing. His eyes were closed; his tail was curled around his paws; his wings were slightly outstretched. The many vibrations of all the dragons working on this project were seeping into his paws: Vilkas. Lilith. Hapax. Hamnet. Flak. Sunspot. The wingbeats of others sounded from a distance. A light wind carried the scent of burning wood and freshly turned earth. Beneath it was a yet unarrived spring rain. But eventually, the Twilight King tuned it all out in favor of his own breathing and the breath of Pyrria. It wasn't a breath as known by the creatures who called her home. She created magical energy and life, gifted it as she saw fit and took it back when it was no longer needed. Baldirak could feel it in his claws when he buried them in the earth. It was a feeling so very different to a dragon's own energy. To describe it, however, was to try to explain the difference between a dragon's heart and a dragon's heart. Only one granted him life, but to lose either meant certain death. Fortunately, the Twilight King did not need to describe it right now. He needed only to understand it himself.

When connected to Pyrria in the most direct and primal way for a magical creature, Baldirak's normally pale blue eyes took on a deeper hue. Though they were closed now, they took on this deeper color. His breathing was deep but even, a low rumble emitting on each exhale. In this state of calm and concentration, the Twilight King was normally using his demigod power. This time, however, he was utilizing a different power, one that went beyond mere magic. Yes, he dared to call it mere despite its divine origin. Though Shardas was magic and life given form, Pyrria's energy was unique--molded and evolved over thousands of years. She was a construct of Shardas, yes, but she had become an entity all her own, thus her magic was no longer his. Shardas was magic incarnate, father of Dragonkind. But Pyrria was life itself, the mother of nature--the only thing mightier than the dragon, the only thing that could outlast a dragon. Attuned now to her "breathing" and tapping into his natural element, Baldirak let himself become Pyrria's child, just another tree in the forest. A multicolored ring formed around the inner edge of the irides. Slowly, the roots of the trees surrounding him--eight--moved and made their way to him. They sprouted from the ground and took hold of the massive EarthWing. They coiled around his paws and moved up his legs, branching out across his entire body until he resembled stone overtaken by vines. His capture complete, the Twilight King suddenly felt himself compelled to speak. However, his speech came in the form of chant, and the words were ancient. Unseen, the still-rooted veins of the trees reached out to their neighbors, entwining themselves. And so it went, cluster by cluster, until every tree in the forest that made up the southern border of the EarthWings' natural territory was connected. It was then that the circle of trees directly tied into Baldirak's energy began to grow. Like the Earth Dragon, they were fully matured but had yet to reach their full height... until now. Through the ritual being performed they now towered over the rest of the trees in the immediate area. In time, it would be discovered that they were now the tallest in the entire forest. In addition to their new height, the eight trees also gained a vibrance lacking in the rest. Their branches would be fully filled with healthy green leaves one would not expect to see until the summer.

After this sudden change in the eight trees, Baldirak's eyes opened as he abruptly ceased his chant. The roots ensnaring him came ablaze, searing into his scales with the intensity of a FireWing's breath, branding him with their pattern. He let out a roar in response. This time, the workings of earth magic became visible--and much more obvious--for all to see. The trunk of every tree in the forest became branded with a symbol: the Twilight King's personal crest. The brands emitted a faint but detectable magical energy. With the branding of the forest done, the eight trees finally released their hold. Like snow under a warm sun, the roots melted off Baldirak and returned to their place in the ground. As they retreated, however, they took something with them. Baldirak's right foreleg--the same that had been impaired during the human invasion of Gnosis--was petrified. The use of magic is give-and-take... and price for creating such a large natural barrier is steep. But it was a price the Twilight King would gladly pay to keep his subjects and family--existing and yet to be born--safe.

As his eyes returned to normal and he finally pulled his claws free from the earth, Baldirak laid down. He closed his eyes as he drifted into a direly needed sleep. His magical pool had been nearly completely depleted; it would take quite a while to recover.

Storm glared up a bit at the firewing. "I know you flaming...." He'd cough a couple more times before recomposing himself, and looked at Lilith as she explained what had happened. He had to admit, he didn't quite understand. He wasn't a spiritual kind of dragon. He was good at beating stuff up, fighting, and grunt work like this digging.

"Well... not really my expertise, but I guess that's good." He would then get a bit of a snicker at Vilkas nickname. Vilky. Oh he had to remember that! it was just too good. He was to crack a joke before.... What the heck.

The large dragon quickly spread his wings and took off. Those trees definitely weren't normal. What the heck was going on? He quickly landed, looking at everything. "Hey! What the heck was.... Dang, boss.... Wha...? What the heck just happened? Hey is there a healer nearby? wouldn't even mind the walking eternal flame."

One of the perks of being blind in the day, if you could call it that, was the increased sensitivity of his other senses compensating for its loss. The sounds fed information to the night wing of the world around him. The grunting of diggers, the jovial banter and the sense of purpose. It was fascinating to listen to this tribe. Though in truth he felt a bit guilty as if he was eaves dropping. And in truth he probably did hear things were intended for more private audience.

'Goddess of the hunt and beasts,' The night wing thought. Sounds like an interesting story behind that. He had a feeling that was not information intended for his ears. While curious he decided to make a mental note to not ask about it later. His tribe had a reputation for spying and being sneaky. The last thing he wanted was to promote that image.

"And that's it for the water," he said while turning the earthenware container upside down and listening the faint sound of a water droplet hitting the ground. It was time to go to the freshwater spring at the forest line. Flicking out his forked black tongue and smelling the scent of clean water the night wing made his way to the spring bubbling up from the earth's depths. His thoughts wandered until a cascade of voices called out, "Healer!" Each said by a dragon passing on the message to any in ear shot.

As warriors had their battle cry so the healers had there's. Throwing down the earth ware container with a shatter and spilt water the night wing ran back in the direction of the elder earth wing healer. Falling a few times in the process. Flashes of memories of his past came to mind, but he beat them back. The monsters were gone but the memories of the horror they ravaged and reaved upon his patients' bodies still remained.

"We are needed master!" The night wing could provide assistance but It would be this elder healer who could actually see that would do the heavy work. There was one thing the night wing came to learn from his time with this tribe. Earth wings has some of the best healers in all the world.

[Note to Malaki: Lilith has left the site, so you don't need to wait for her post. I'll reply to this this week, using my alt Vilkas, just to avoid double posting.]

Vilkas detected a surge of magic while he worked, causing him to pause for a moment. He knew his uncle had planned on creating some sort of magical barrier around the territory and capital. But he hadn't realized it was going to be on the scale that was building. Suddenly, his uncle's roar shook the earth and drew everyone's attention from their work. Vilkas was the first in his area to take off toward the call. "If you're not a Healer or Guardian, stay here and just keep working!" he instructed as he flew. There was no need for everyone to go, especially when no one was entirely sure what was going on. Vilkas arrived about the same time as the older Guardian, Storm. He saw the tree root-patterned burns covering the Twilight King. "Uncle! Are you okay? What happened?"

A few other dragons arrived shortly after, including Jorg, the eldest of the EarthWing Healers, and the Blind NightWing. The Twilight King groaned lowly as nearly all of the Healers and Guardians assisting today arrived and clamored. With a somewhat irritated hiss, Baldirak opened his eyes and raised his head. "Children of Earth and Fire, Child of Night, cease your shouting and stampeding. I am not dying. If I were, our Queen would already be setting this world ablaze." He lowered his head back down onto his paw. He gave a weary chuckle as he closed his eyes once more. "I fear she may do so anyway, at least wherever I happen to be standing at the time, when she sees this." For a minute or two, Baldirak fell silent, and Vilkas wondered if perhaps they should get started on having the Healers look him over. But then, the Twilight King began to speak again, "I will tell you now what I have done, so that if Kenina should learn of this while I sleep, there will be others to explain for me. I have created a first and final line of defense for the Twilight Spire. It is a magical barrier, and as you see, I have marked it with my crest. You will also notice its energy is not concealed--this is that any attacks against us may be reconsidered." Baldirak paused, finding his will to stay conscious fading more. "I will explain this all further when I awake. Storm, I leave it to you to and my nephew to continue overseeing our efforts. And Healers, don't expend yourselves trying to mend my leg. This was the price for the barrier; it will not be undone." With that, the Twilight King fell asleep.

(can I post or wait for Storm Vey)

((You can post))

Malaki could feel and smell all the chaotic energy around him upon arriving at the site with Jorg. It was a blend of worry and anxiety, and the air was thick with it. Malaki could not help but be corrupted by it and practically danced on his claws as the emotions became his own. "How bad is it master! How bad!?"

"Elder!" The old healer snapped as they looked over the king. "I am not your master, and you are not my slave. How many times do I have to tell you." Malaki flinched at the sharp words as if the elder had bitten him but remembered there was something about the word that rubbed the healer the wrong way.

Information was quickly shared among the healers, and they chattered like noisy birds around the king. Jorg was quick to ask the night wing. "You said you were working on a regeneration potion during the conflict with the monsters. Do you think it could work now."

The nigh wing tilted his head left and right in though before flaring his wings out and shaking his head with widened white eyes. "I dare not, I used it once on a dragon that lost a part of their tail fighting monsters, it grew back but it almost killed my patient. I dare not use it, the king is weak, he would not survive, and I don't even know if it would work. I can't see it but from what is described these injuries are beyond me."

Tempers were flaring now and a young guardian that overheard could not hold their tongue. "Do your job night wing! Are you a healer or not? Our tribe took you in and saved your life and this is how you repay us!? Do something!"

The night wing stood his ground and snapped his teeth at nothing but air to express his irritation with a loud CLACK. "My tribe is called many foul names and I will not be the night wing responsible for adding King slayer to that list. I will not risk his life on such an experimental treatment."

Before any harsh words or blows could be exchanged the Kings words calmed everyone down. "Magic barrier but... but..." The night wing stammered with all the information to take in his thought ran wild. Feeling nervous he edged close to the elder healer hoping whatever barrier this was, it was not something that would do him harm. He was not of the tribe and the night wing doubted magic could, or even cared about the difference.

He understood the king's reasons, but the night wing could not help but think that the price was too much to pay.

((I'm going to come up with a topic for just Baldi and Malaki since everyone else involved in this RP is gone. I'll probably convert this into a documentation for Twilight Imperium history/defenses.))