Ar'Kendrithyst

Kal’Duresh was a white-walled mountain oasis in the orange lands of the Crystal Forest, with walls thirty meters tall. The city covered an area twice as large as Spur. One thing Erick liked about the place was that each building and tower and residence on that mountain enjoyed a view of the land beyond, instead of a view of their neighbors.

‘Kal’Duresh’ was also a castle up at the very top of the mountain made of white stone and tiers and twisting trees. It looked more like a work of airy art than a true residence, especially from Erick’s angle down in the gardens right in front of the Castle, while sunset painted it all in golds and reds.

Erick was currently in the stone gazebo, located in a garden with boxy rows of bushes that barely came up to his thigh. He had been here before, so it was a semi-comfortable location. Plum tea steamed up from cups in front of him, while Zago sat to his right, Poi stood just outside the stone gazebo, and Baroness Pirazel Xelxex, the bright magenta incani who basically owned all of Kal’Duresh, sat across from him, sipping her own plum tea. She wore a red wraparound dress, and red-stone jewelry on her uneven horns. If they were enchanted gems, they had leaked out their light long ago.

Thick air flickered here and there in the garden, and over the Castle, and everywhere else.

Introductions and pleasantries had already happened, as well as smaller talk of what Erick was going to do with his magic, exactly. Or rather, what Ophiel was going to do, before five of the [Familiar]s went and did it.

Five Ophiel had each conjured their own [Teleporting Platform], that they each wrapped in a low-grade [Prismatic Ward] to fill the whole of the hovering stone. With their Restful spots prepared, each Ophiel had taken their positions in the center of the platform, and began casting [Domain of the Withering Slime]. White spheres had sprung up around the winged [Familiar]s, smaller than the diameter of the platform.

Erick then sent those five Ophiel across the city, making sure that they got the whole place. After checking through each Ophiel to make sure the entire city was covered, Erick had conjured a sixth to fill in the occasional gap that appeared between Domains; Kal’Duresh was a large city, with an underground aspect to it that ate up a lot of Ophiel’s range, and besides, overlapping Domains was a good idea in a land of tangled stone and water.

Shadowolf notifications had poured in, like barely-there blue box raindrops. Erick mostly didn’t care about those notifications, though, so they stayed out of his sight while he waited for something unexpected to show.

While he waited for the unexpected, the pleasantries wound down, and an Ophiel passed overhead. The [Familiar] rode his platform like he was a miniature version of the planet Saturn, flying through the skies of Kal’Duresh, guiding a galaxy of thick air. That same air strummed with full-powered violin music flavored with guitar accents. It sounded… nice.

Or a certain version of ‘nice’, anyway.

Xelxex also watched the Ophiel fly overhead, barreling forward like he was the head of an illusionary tsunami. She sipped her plum tea. She continued with the pleasantries, “Your [Familiar] certainly does seem to be enjoying himself.” She paused to watch a pseudopod the size of a large apartment building swipe through the gardens around them with little more disturbance to the peace than a soft breeze. Her eyes went a little wide, as she looked to the sky again, but she controlled her reaction to almost nothing. As the thick air and violin-wind passed, she said, “Though that song is somewhat disconcerting.”

Erick said, “I can have him tone down his song. A lot of people don’t seem to like that.”

Xelxex shook her head the faintest, proper amount, saying, “Nonsense. I just mention it because it proves the depth of your commitment to your summons.” She smiled professionally, saying, “One would think you were a Summoner, and not the herald of some new magic that the world has never seen before.”

“I’ve always tried to treat him well.” Erick said, “I understand most people don’t do that.”

Xelxex said, “No. They do not. Usually they are nothing more than expendable troops, sent out to perish to the benefit of their casters.” She added, “I have never studied too deeply the summoner’s arts, but I have heard some say that any mannerisms witnessed are the simple nuances of a million small lessons taught to them as they are raised. But starting off with a good base is just as important.”

Erick smiled. He changed the topic away from Ophiel, saying, “I’ve been meaning to apologize for the rudeness of the imaging I used upon your city. I just did it, but I really should have gone through your proper channels. Sorry about that.”

“It was good to dispose of hunter trash, and we are all in the rough and tumble business of quick decisions and fast actions out here in the Crystal Forest, especially when attackers like the Red Dot mage are involved.” She got a stern look on her face, as she said, “But some magics are not—”

A notification appeared. Erick snapped his gaze toward the blue box.