Ampere had never ventured this far south. She had seen the land in her flights, and she had recognized its decay, which had been enough to satisfy whatever itch of curiosity there was for her. With enough darkness in the world already, she never felt the need to specifically seek it out. Now though, lost in her own thoughts as she wandered down the shore, she slipped towards the blackened point of the world; a stain of decay and demise that had never shaken off the infection from those long nights.

Ampere brushed passed one of the salt stained trees as she walked. Her shield struck it, her magic becoming clumsy with all the use. Salt shuddered from the tombstone of bark, encouraging Ampere's attention. She hummed aloud as she reached down for her new found armor, noticing for the first time the leather strap on it. Gripping it with her teeth Ampere pulled it back to her an- thunk. The metal hit the sand with a soft woosh of air. Ampere was not normally so careless (though if the shield couldn't handle a drop from her, it would be of no use at all), but something else demanded her focus.

She gasped as she watched petals unfurl in a dazzling display of blues and greens, like the ocean being born on a tree. The delicate, vibrant petals seemed so unfitting on the dry and salt-rusted skeleton of life. Just another reminder for her that not everything had to make sense, especially not when daggers blossomed instead of nectar.

Startled by that revelation as the last twist of color pulled away over the metal shine, Ampere stepped back. Magic! her mind shouted, and in response she was on alert. Magic was not inherently good or bad, but was just a tool which responded to its wielder, and in such, could not be trusted until the hand that bore it was known. Even the gods of Helovia were tricky to trust; was this their work? The shield was marked with a sun after all, but this place of ruin didn't seem his domain.

So Ampere waited, ears twitching at the sound of splintering wood and shattering salt, eyes blinking as they gawked at the dagger blossoms, and breath caught in her lungs. She let it out, low and slow, when nothing happened. Ampere glanced on either side of her, then stepped forward. Her hoof slid against the edge of her shield, its cold curve already a familiar and welcome reminder of strength. She took another step, nose extended towards the pointed center of the nearest bud. She sniffed it, but found nothing amiss. She touched it, skin twitching at the sharpness of the point and the chill of the waiting blade. "Hmmm," she mused, pondering, before reching out with teeth and gripping the metal shaft. She plucked the fierce flower. A wind picked up then, brushing her mane to the other side of her neck. "Scint" the breeze whispered, and in response the blade gave off a blue light, as if it were the speaker.

Ampere dropped it in the sands, staring wide eyed at the glint of pewter and blue; the shield reflected it nicely. "What?" she asked softly, and once again stared about, expectant. When nothing came, she could only surmise that she was alone, and that these were either gifts, or she was very fortunate. Ampere had grown rather fond of her two daggers (did they have names!?), and was not against using more and creating a storm of swords.

So slyly she took four more, and each time one was plucked, its name whispered across the beach to her.
"Forza, Melos, Issck, Euske." A bouquet of knives, five sisters of steel. Ampere smiled, tucking each into a secure spot near her wings after taking the time to admire them all in turn. Curious, she took out her other two daggers. She had never thought to give them names, which was strange really, given that she knew her name came from her father's sword - part of what had driven her to this land where he once belonged.

The bone dagger spoke the moment she took it out, its voice coming across louder than the flower blades. "FEUSOHM" it roared in its quiet wind, rough and ancient. It belonged to the creature of fire and flame that she had once fought, something she didn't seem to recognize until now as it's name, the creature's name, resonated inside of her. With new found respect for it, she slid it back into its sheath, pulling out her first dirk.

It's metal shaft glinted in the sun, deadly, but beautiful. She waited with baited breath, but nothing came, not even a wind picked up. Was it...dead? Ampere turned it with her electricity, shifting its light in the sun. Again she waited, but again nothing came. At least, she didn't think so, until she got very close to it and listened, her ear turned towards it. "The watching shift goes ever on?" she queried, unsure if that was what she heard - it certainly didn't seem like a name. The blade changed though, responding to her voice. Gone was the glitter of sunlight, replaced instead with a horse bathed in white and red... red stripes? Ampere turned her head, trying to get one of her eyes closer, but it didn't help makes the image any sharper. Still, was that, Maren? The background seemed too green to be the Throat though. The images were moving too, and as one blurred, another came into view, mostly white but flecked with black. He wasn't as visually remarkable as Maren, but still the longer she watched him, the more Ampere was sure she was seeing Mauja. Mauja and Maren talking, in a forest. Was it real?

Why not?
"Tuor." The word slipped from Ampere's lips confidently as she shook her head, slipping the seeing blade back into its sheath. It had a phrase, not a name, but she felt it deserved one, because it was special.

Loaded with new weaponry, like she'd gone grocery shopping at the local warrior mart, Ampere glanced down at her shield. "Do you need a name?" Ampere grinned as she gripped its leather strap. It might feel left out now, after witnessing the naming ceremony, but she wasn't sure shields ever got names. Maybe her son would like to call it something, if she ever made it back there with all of this.

Deciding she ought to at least start back, still on foot because she didn't think she could fly with all this, Ampere turned to move inland. The Rotunda was there too, far ahead, where she had watched Maren and Mauja. Maybe she'd come across them... though she wasn't able to decipher that foliage as rotunda, luck seemed on her side as of late.

About time.

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Ampere spied on this thread: We fly as high as the flame will rise

<3333333333 this is the best thread ever!