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Hotsprings


Re: Hotsprings

About twenty minutes later, Siphon led Michelle to the hot spring cave entry, and to the back of it. He seemed to need no light, though it wasn't needed as the sun was pouring into the back of the cave.

"Watch your head, and don't try to transform in here unless you want to be bent over double, the ceiling here isn't very high."


After making sure there was no one, he began to fiddle with something on his wrist. She probably would begin to wonder what he thought was here that she'd want to see, as obviously there was nothing here .... and then suddenly a large chunk of the wall at the back of the cave simply vanished.


A new opening stood there, to which he quickly ushered her inside. Once they were both in, the wall of the cave simply reappeared, sealing them inside in total darkness.

"Embrah Nelos Vembrah."


With those three words, the entire mini cave, totally sealed off from everyone else, lit up like a Christmas tree, revealing tons of equipment and technological odds and ends that she may wonder as to what they were for. One thing though that stood out was the giant sleeper pod at one corner. The other was a diagram of a large ring that looked an awful lot like a portal device.

"Welcome to the tiny outpost I found. Nice little place huh?"


((A note to others, the portal device is NOT a stargate, it's something else I'm 'cooking' up that probably will never get used mostly because I'm too bleeping lazy to do the work on it :p))
 
Re: Hotsprings

When Siphon led her into the small cave, Michelle grumbled something incomprehensible, along the lines of 'stupid tiny humans'.

With Siphon fiddling with his watch, Michelle quickly grew impatient, tapping her foot on the floor, and trailing a nail across the wall, scraping a bit off in a small runic pattern, which she barely finished when the wall disappeared. Unimpressed, she followed Siphon inside, squinting, then raising an eyebrow as the room lit up, and all the alien technology was shown to her.

"Well, this is certainly... New to me. How long have you managed to keep all this here? Is there anything... Significant?" She enquired of him, wandering over to bend over the pod, poking interestedly at it.
 
Re: Hotsprings

Siphon shrugged slightly.

"Well, near as I can tell this mini outpost has been here somewhere between fifty five and sixty five million years. Only discovered it a year ago, resealed it until I knew how the technology hiding it worked, then have been coming here ever since. This place is very old Michelle, and eventually I'll introduce you to the former occupant of that pod. She's a student here."

He paused as his eyes shifted over to the ring device drawn out.

"Well, this looks like some form of schematic for an interdimensional portal, though apparently it was never finished and never went much beyond the idea stage. Some of the technology and coding here even I don't fully understand, and there are some things I haven't a clue as to what they do. For the first time in a while, I actually have an intellectual challenge here, and I can't pass it up."


The pod itself seemed to be perfectly contoured to fit a single humanoid occupant, and there were still a few stray blonde hairs in the pod that hadn't been removed. The scent of the owner had long since faded, but there was clear proof it HAD at one time been in use.

Seeing her examining the pod, he spoke again.

"That is an ancient stasis pod. They used them to sleep in for when they would be going very long periods of time without waking. The pods basically all but suspends the body's basic functions, interfacing with the mind to keep it from deteriorating. As near as I could tell, when we woke her up, the woman we found in here had been inside for roughly forty million years. The ancients themselves seemed to have been capable of naturally living around forty or fifty thousand years, far longer than humans ever could. I myself am a descendant of their race, though physically more advanced. Well, even more so now with the vampiric change, but you get the idea. Would it surprise you to learn I've lived over a hundred fifty thousand years without being a vampire?"
 
Re: Hotsprings

While seemingly uninterested in the portal device, Michelle seemed fascinated by the pod, running her hand over the top, looking at the hair inside. "... Interesting... Someone from such a long time ago, a student, here? She is someone I would like to meet, Siphon. Fear not, I will not try and hurt her, although now you'll tell me she's as powerful as yourself. No, it wouldn't surprise me much, no human, even bred with demon blood, could use such power as you display, although I am afraid I cannot boast such longevity. Though theoretically I could survive indefinitely, as long as I had a blood supply to keep me going, I have only spent 19 years in this mortal world, and I have no means of converting how long I have lived in hellfire before I arrived here, but a rough estimate would be somewhere between seventy and one hundred years." She said, not bothering to look up at him, but instead exploring the outside of the pod, looking beneath, behind and around it for anything of interest. Luckily, since she was in human form, she didn't knock anything over, doubtless if she was in demon form her wings, tail and hooves would have destroyed something.
 
Re: Hotsprings

Siphon actually paused for a moment.

"Truth be told, I'm still not fully sure what the extent of her powers really are. What I can say is she possesses the ability to cause reactions in the mitochondria of other life forms, right down to being able to cause them to burst into flame. Beyond that, I'm not even sure she knows the full extent of her own abilities. Truth be told, I don't think she wants to know either."


Attached to the pod were several instruments that likely had been tasked with monitoring the occupants vital signs during occupation, though all of them were clearly dormant. What was of interest though were the engraved writings upon it, spelled out in the Ancient language, something that Michelle most likely had never seen before.
 
Re: Hotsprings

"She can make people catch fire? Eehee!" Michelle said, giggling at the end in evil glee, "You're just making me want to see her more and more! Why would she not want to know about such power? She could be so powerful! Oh, fuck. What does this say. Siphon? I guess you know, it's your cave after all, yes?" she continued, indicating the writing across the sides.
 
Re: Hotsprings

"Well, unlike you or I she doesn't have full control over her power. If she's startled, she actually can't prevent it from giving someone a nice sunburn, if you catch my meaning. I think it's mostly fear that if she 'unlocks' any new powerful abilities that she won't be able to control them and would harm people or other life forms without meaning to."


A slight chuckle as she mentions about the writings.

"I was actually wondering if you would notice that. It's actually the written part of the Ancient Language. It reads, 'Velbah Neros Avaras, Tehno Limbra Alvacent. Noo Ani Anquuetus, Vilo Entrah Nembrisy. In English .... Welcome to Avaras, Here rests the Alvacent. We are the Ancients, only we can revive her."

A brief pause and then he explained.

"As near as I can tell, this entire area was once home to a larger Ancient outpost that they called Avaras. Alvacent was the term my people used to describe an ancestoral link we had back to the Ancients themselves from millions of years ago, though no one ever knew where the word came from until last year. Only we can revive her turned out to mean only those with the Ancient gene would actually trigger the pod to reactivate and wake it's occupant up. MY arrival a few years ago, and subsequent venture into these hot springs last year was the catalyst. Though somehow, this pod is able to interface with the outside world and actually show her the world around her before she wakes up. I still haven't figured out how it pulls that one off."
 
Re: Hotsprings

Michelle chuckled throatily, "Then she is of little use to anyone, no? What good is a creature that cannot control its own power? Even humans can control what little power they have, to some degree at least. Pathetic. She should try, and learn from mistakes, until she can wield her power as her own, not hide from it!" she said, her face contorting in disgust.

Turning back to the pod, she ran her hand over the pod, scratching the surface with her nails. "Right. Your people are linked to these 'Ancients', and wield great power. Only you could deactivate this... preserver... Where, Siphon, are the rest of your people? Why, Siphon, do they not wield their power to gain dominance!? I cannot comprehend someone not wanting to gain control. Again, it is an instinct even the humans feel. As for how the pod interacts with the outside world, might I hazard a guess as to... A wizard did it? They could have placed scouting sensors around the area, could they not? Have you looked for such?"
 
Re: Hotsprings

Siphon merely shrugged.

"I think her situation is a bit more complex than that Michelle. Bear in mind that until last year, it had been millions of years since she used them. It will likely take some time for her to re-master them after that long of dormancy. As for my people .... what's left of them left two years ago for another galaxy to begin repopulating our species. I've not heard from them in a while now, so I'm not sure what happened to them after they left. As a species, ours was near extinction despite our advancements. We came across an enemy in our home dimension that was ... invincible to magic based attacks or high grade technology. Completely invincible to them, took the majority of the population by surprise, and we were forced to abandon our dimension with no hope of ever reclaiming it. She's since been sealed off permanently, I doubt even an ascended being could, or even would be willing to try it."

He paused for a moment.

"Well, it's certainly possible there were scouting sensors, though if that's the case they'd be hidden much like this cave was. Next to impossible to actually find unless you happen upon the right spot. It's possible the whole planet is covered in them, wouldn't have put it past Janus that's for sure. As for why we don't seek dominance ... let's just say as far as things go Michelle, you and I have very differing views of opinions. I won't say one is definitely right over the other, both in their own ways, in their own situations have merit. We'll have to agree to disagree on that I think. A shame though really."
 
Re: Hotsprings

Michelle stared coldly at the pod for a few seconds, before straightening up, saying "Yet she was in 'stasis', and as such, not aware of those millions of years passing, correct? It shouldn't have made that much difference."

"What kind of enemy could destroy a species such as yours, assuming each one is as powerful as yourself? Did you try low-end technology? I'm sure a good sword or axe could cleave them asunder. Janus? Is that the name of the woman who was here? I cannot see why you wouldn't wish for control, so yes, as you say, we must agree to disagree. Maybe I'll make you see it some day! Ha!" she finished, giving a short laugh at the end.
 
Re: Hotsprings

"Theoretically no she shouldn't be aware, however we're still not fully sure that the Ancient pods work exactly the same as our own did. Not all of my species possess this power, I only recently acquired it myself. I'm not mortal anymore, the rest of my people are. We did eventually utilize low end technology which proved effective at times, however ... the goddamn things refused to stay dead. I always felt there was at least two Lich Lords reviving the fallen, but we only ever did just find the one. Never did find the second Lich. After the initial surge, we could win skirmishes, but how do you defeat an enemy that won't stay dead, and neither needs to eat, drink sleep or even breathes? Eventually, it became a matter of, there was no end to the war. So, conceding the point, we sealed them there and let them have it. Bastards tried to follow us here, that's how we got the first Lich. After that their hordes seemed ... disorganized mostly, and fell quickly. When the portal finally sealed, those that were slain again finally stayed that way, so my assumption of the Lich reviving them was accurate. Unfortunately, a galaxy is a very big place, and who knows how many more of them there were."
 
Re: Hotsprings

"Liches. They're so irritating. Always with the zombie and ghoul raising. I've killed one, he tried to attack my fathers land. Once his minions were diced it took him too long to shape them into a form capable of attacking. Without his body guards he was still powerful, but spells are not enough to stop my sword." Michelle said, showing her sharp canines in a grin at the memory. "So how did you manage to get so much power, Siphon? Power to cease being a mortal?" she inquired, poking him in the chest with a sharp nail.
 
Re: Hotsprings

Siphon hesitated here, but not for not wanting to tell her, but rather he wasn't sure, and it showed.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I've been ascended a couple of times and come back, but that wouldn't change me like this. No, it had something to do with the attack Charles tried on me. He flooded my body with some form of magic attack, I assume it was intended to kill me, yet ... it didn't really. Instead, it changed me into what I am now. I can only guess that because I'm not from this plane of existence, his attacks work differently upon me. Probably why your shadow spells barely even slowed me down too, they may not be able to affect me either because of what I am now, or the difference in dimensional make-up. Anyway, his attack changed me, and very quickly too. The only theory I have is that it changed me into what I am now simply because ... Well I suppose because this was one of the things most recently on my memory. Perhaps if I hadn't been thinking of anything like this recently it would have killed me, I really don't know. But to answer shortly, nothing. Nothing at all except get attacked while trying to do what I do, protect others."
 
Re: Hotsprings

Michelle seemed confused here.

"So... He pumped magic into you, magic meant to destroy you, and instead you became many times stronger? I won't pretend to understand that. Another thing I cannot understand, as we've mentioned, is your desire to protect those incapable of defending themselves. Is it, or is it not, the survival of the fittest? Besides that, is there anything else here? We could move on, perhaps I could show you my sword? It is more or less, besides my own body, the last physical object left from my home. Do you have weapons here besides those I saw last night?"
 
Re: Hotsprings

Siphon shrugged.

"I can't understand it either, beats the hell out of me. It's a little complex Michelle, not everyone or everything is hell bent on domination or power. You'd be surprised though how quickly the masses of these people will rally to stop someone who goes too far. I'll have to show you some of the history books of their world wars."


There was a pause as he considered something, then finally nodded.

"No, I doubt there's much left here that would interest you, at least that I fully understand anyway. I am curious about this sword though. As for the weaponry ... well I WAS able to summon weapons before, but it seems this change .... wait a second, I wonder."

Once more he transformed, gently moving one claw against the wall of the cave and tapping it. After a moment, he returned to normal, his eyes a bit widened in surprise.

"Well ... it seems that the sword summon is now my claws. Solid reinforced Nevaria claws, no wonder they did so much damage in our fight. There is no stronger known substance to make things from, and Nevaria is even capable of withstanding an ionized plasma burst. Hell, it'd take a sustained beam of ... roughly ten minutes to start damaging it. Is why we made our ships and weapons out of it, damn stuff is nearly indestructible. Now I do want to see this sword, I want to see what it's made of."
 
Re: Hotsprings

Michelle crossed her arms, looking wary of whatever Siphon was saying.

"I have little interest in the history of them. I am already aware of their insatiable appetite for the destruction of their own race. It is one of the few things I like about them. The last bit you said was all nonsense to me. Ionised plasma bursts? Indestructible materials? My sword is blood-forged steel, similar to the simple iron-based metal the humans used, but far stronger, and much more capable of retaining an edge. Come, let's get out of here, and I'll show you."
 
Re: Hotsprings

Siphon shrugged, giving in.

"As you wish. I doubt we're ever going to see completely eye to eye so I guess let's just make the best of it."


Once more he activated the device on his arm, and after a moment, the wall vanished.

Leading her outside the same way he led her in, he pressed the button again and the wall magically appeared again, closing up the room they'd been in again.

"Alright, lead the way."


((I'll let you make the thread change.))
 
Re: Hotsprings

Once they were outside, Michelle spent a few moments staring around the area, squinting, then turned to Siphon. "Just wait here. It'll be stealthier for me to just fly back and get it, rather than walking around with a sword in hand, during lesson times. Look away, would you?" she said, grimacing.

She then stood there, doing nothing until Siphon had turned his back. Before she doubled over again, and Siphon could hear her groaning as she transformed. "Wait here. I'll be back shortly." she said, before taking off, the downdraft blasting Siphon as she soared away over the trees.

About 10 minutes later, she reappeared, and set down next to Siphon, holding the sword. The pommel and crossguard were both made of a metal similar to gold, but with various colours added, it seemed to shimmer slightly as the light ran across it. The handle was simple, covered in some type of leather that didn't appear to belong to any Earthly animal, and the crossguard extended in a wavey pattern up the simple scabbard, which seemed to be made of the same leather as the handle. Without any delay or flourishes, the demon pulled the blade from its trappings. It was long, about as long as a claymore, but Mîrchell didn't seem to have any problem lifting it as if it was a dagger. The blade was serrated viciously once it had extended past the ornate metalwork coming from the crossguard, and near the end spread outwards in a bard-like protrusion. On the flat, demonic runes were etched along the surface, each resonating with a slightly different power.

Turning the blade over, revealing more runes, Mîrchell sighed, and flipped the sword over in her hand, catching the blade perfectly, and proffered the handle to Siphon. "Before you ask, no, I don't know what the runes mean. I was never properly educated by either of my parents. I can write their language, but that's just instinct, I can't read it."
 
Re: Hotsprings

Siphon nodded, averting his gaze for her, and then turned only after she had left.

When she returned and offered the handle to him, he bowed his head slightly before accepting. Most likely given his nature towards her, this was some leftover custom of his people as a gesture of respect and gratitude.

He tested the weight of the sword, stepping back a moment to move it single handedly, almost twirling it like it was a mere orb, yet without disrespecting her or the weapon.

"Very nice, the grip is solid and the craftmanship is of very high quality. As for the runes ...."


He paused, looking them over, squinting at several.

"I'm not sure, several of them look like they could be a derivative or a root for ancient Sumerian, though without having a direct side to side comparison I can't say for sure. Still ... I have seen these types of runes before, I just can't place where though. I'm sure it will come to me eventually."
 
Re: Hotsprings

Mîrchell sucked a trickle of blood off of her finger, watching him swing it with ease before responding. "Siphon, I care little for formalities, so you needn't bother. Of course it's of high quality. I stole it from my fathers personal armoury before I was banished. I'm not quite sure why he had it, since it's little more than a toothpick to him. The grip is Felhunter leather. Very durable, and easy to hold. A Felhunter is one of the species I sent at you earlier. He just returned home, and I can summon him again at any time, he didn't actually die. I fear I must shoot you down there though. Unless you've visited Helfire itself, you wouldn't know these runes. They are, as far as I know, unique to my father's realm. Give me the blade a moment..." she said, trailing off as she reached for the blade, wrapping her hand around the end, and pulling up, slicing open her palm on the blade. She left it there for a few seconds, allowing the blood to trickle down the blade, before returning it to Siphon.

"The blade requires to taste blood before it can be resheathed, this wound is nothing, but I'll leave you here while I find a small animal to fix it." she explained, turning to venture into the forest, returning only a few minutes later, wiping blood from her mouth with her now fixed hand.
 
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