Isopia

Isopia moved without much purpose through the frozen expanses of the Steppe. Surely it would get much colder with Frostfall, but even so, the air here was decidedly colder than in the more tempered jungle-climate of the Hidden Falls. Still, her duty was to seek balance across Helovia; all of Helovia. And so here she was, dutifully making her routine trek across the lands to ensure that all was well.

Far ahead of her, Hubris flew on glossy, bronze wings. He had almost reached his full height and weight, though already had full command over his magic. With bursts of speed the dragon glided through the chilly air, flapping more than he was used for there were no warm thermals here to help him coast. He didn't mind though - like Isopia, the dragonling liked to push his body and force it to be entirely under his control. He ignored the ache in his wings easily, especially once the butterfly-winged pegasus came into view.

>>Someonehere!<< He mentally trilled to Isopia. The Mountain merely shrugged - both mentally and physically - why should that be of information matter to her?

Hubris trilled a bright hello, flying towards Myrrine and landing in the snow before her. Sparks of static and flares of frost came out of the dragon's nostrils as he grinned happily up at the mare, waving a clawed hand towards her in greeting.

Isopia lumbered slowly towards the pair, though made no effort to increase her pace. She didn't understand why Hubris constantly tried to force her into social situations, and despite the fact that she constantly expressed her lack of desire for such meetings, he continued on just the same.

"He is saying hello." The Mountain offered, her golden gaze looking from the waving dragon, to the pegasus mare.

@Myrrine

Isopia

[Font looks normal to me!]

Hubris trilled an apologetic cry as he splashed snow towards Myrrine. However his smile quickly spread on his bronzey features as he realized that she wasn't cross with him. Still, he forced himself to remember that his wings were capable of inadvertently flicking the white stuff about, and so he folded them tightly against his sides.

It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.. Isopia's skull bobbed slightly in acknowledgement, but not necessarily reciprocation. How could one possibly judge if it was a pleasure to make someone's acquaintance, especially if you'd only just met? Either this mare must say the same to everyone, and so it was meaningless, or perhaps she already knew something about Isopia. That would explain why she had offered her own name, but not asked for one in return. The name The Mountain that Knows had spread far and wide throughout Helovia, and after the few public interactions she had had with her Father, her lineage wasn't as secret as it perhaps once was. 

The demigoddess's broad shoulders shrugged in response to the comment on the weather. Isopia didn't know, but she had an inkling that it would. After the incredibly dry Tallsun and this bitter Orangemoon, she thought Frostfall would be very cold indeed. 

As an actual question was posed her way, Isopia's ears perked forward and her death-marked skull tilted slightly as she considered this. She hadn't been actively searching for stones as cold as ice, and so an answer was not immediately present in her vast mind. Not to hers, but it seemed Hubris already an answer.

The dragonling brightened instantly, waving his clawed hands to bring the attention back to himself. With a wide, toothy grin, the dragon dug down through the snow trying to find a stone. It took him a few minutes, for the land here was fairly barren, and beneath the snow was merely a layer of rock and ice. There weren't many loose stones to be had. Eventually he did find out, and he brought it out of a drift with a trill of triumph. Placing it gently upon the ground, he retreated a step and looked at the stone. Then he opened his jaws, and an icy blast rocketed from beneath his teeth. As it struck the stone, the cold swept down into the heart of the mineral, and then froze the surface solid. 

Hubris looked to Myrrine, and then to Isopia, then back to Myrrine again.

"He wants to know if this is the sort of thing you had in mind."

@Myrrine

Myrrine

It was almost instantaneous in which the way he formed the iced stone, causing her eyes to widen in almost childlike wonder at the display. Shivering at the breeze she smiled softly, watching as the frost began to fade around the stone the bronzed serpent had found. Now he was looking back up at her, curiously and expectantly, before looking to his bonded. Her words were upon her ears and she was suddenly smiling, nodding gently to the creature and taking a step towards him so that she could thank him properly.

"Oh yes, that is quite perfect! I very much appreciate your help there um... I'm afraid I don't know your name little one, but I am extremely grateful!" she hummed gently, offering her muzzle as gratitude, before slowly grasping the piece of stone and nestling it into a knotted part of her cloak. As soon as the article had touched her lips, a shiver ran along spotted spine to suppress the chill suddenly enveloping her. She didn't know how long it would remain cold, but assuming that it had seemingly been frozen from the inside out, it would certainly be long enough for her to also grab her final item for the beloved God.

Looking back to the fellow winged one she smiled politely, taking a closer step to her and speaking once again,"Thank you for translating for me. I may have my experience with those who cannot speak, but even I can have my limits. I do have one last question before I carry on my way, and hopefully it isn't too much trouble for you." If she was to ask for help for one part of her quest; she might as well get pointed in the right direction for the final step. Despite being awfully quiet and even rather disinterested, Myrrine could sense that this woman seemed to know her way around these lands. Even being in Helovia for most of her life; she had been sheltered and had chosen to remain within closer borders of the Edge.

This limited her bearings of this vast land, and although it wasn't helpful to her when it came to adventuring, it wasn't something she found shame in. She liked to think of herself as a homebody more than anything. It had been in her childhood days that she had had more desire to explore, and even then it wasn't much. She supposed that was how life honestly went. After she thought was ample enough silence for the earthen tribrid to object her request, she finally broke the silence with her calm tone,"Do you happen to know where 'Helovia's Heart' is? I am in search of a piece of charcoal... Our beloved Earth God has requested it of me." She didn't really know if that last part was necessary, yet it was something she felt she needed to announce anyway. Perhaps it was the minor swell of pride that one of the ascended had asked for her assistance, and it had made her feel like she was something special. Though it reality part of her knew this probably wasn't the case; they always were asking others to help them, but she wanted to take advantage of this privilege and run with it.

OOC: Thank you for your patience of my awful writing lol

the butterfly is proof that great darkness
can create great beauty

Isopia

"He is called Hubris." Isopia offered as the bronzey dragon reached his clawed hands forward to gently pat Myrrine's nose as she offered it to him. A wide toothy grin spread on his features. He was of course, quite happy to help, despite Isopia's normally cold and distant personality.

The demi-goddess watched as the mare tucked the stone away, wondering what she could possibly need it for. Despite her curiosity, Isopia remained silent. The mare seemed to be quite forthcoming with information and if she'd wanted to share, the Mountain was sure she would have done so by now. However as she mentioned needing help with something else, Isopia's ears perked forward with interest. What was it? Another stone? Perhaps one that was hot this time? If so, it would be Isopia's magic, rather than Hubris' which would -

-ah, no. Just directions.

Isopia settled onto her haunches slightly, and then cast a golden stare over her shoulder. It amused her to hear her Father referred to as beloved, for he was far from that to her, but she supposed that there were many who revered and adored him. It also told the girl that all of this was likely for a quest. It was very like her Father to send those who requested things of him out on scavenger hunts - a cold stone, and now a piece of charcoal? Whatever could this mare want? Again, curiosity was tempered by her reserved personality.

"Helovia's Heart is very far south from here. It is the land that borders the internal side, from the Dragon's Throat. If you reach their coasts, you have gone too far. If you fly, it will likely only take a day or so."

Iso's quad-horned skull turned back to the butterfly-winged mare, to try and deduce if these directions made sense to her, or if more clarification was needed.

---

@Myrrine blah. sorry.

Myrrine

"Hubris," she breathed pleasantly, eyes alight with bemusement as his claws tickled her nose with his tender pats. She giggled and nudged him back tenderly, adoring the affection she was receiving from him. It was like therapy in a way, the smile on his toothy features giving her warmth and making her feel alive again. His gesture was entirely innocent, but it meant so much more to her than he even knew. The last time she had had contact with another was a very long time ago, and she hadn't realized just how much she actually craved it until now. She would have to remember little Hubris going forward.

Upon listening to the woman's directions she lifted her skull delicately, ears pricked in her direction as eyes of hazel never wavered from her own gold. She tried her best to understand what she meant, the directions were rather simple, but the challenge on Myrrine's end was finding out just what the "Heart" even looked like. Was it a plain like the Heavenly Fields, or perhaps a deep forest like that surrounded the Ancient Rotunda. She wasn't well versed enough in the ways of Helovian Geography to really pinpoint the exact location. She remember the Dragons Throat almost immediately, and did her best to ignore the hurt that swelled within her chest. Many memories of Cerin were there, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to relive them at this moment in time.

It had been a few minutes since she had acknowledged anything the brown beauty had said, making a look of expectancy form on her skull-like features. She was obviously seeing if she had understood her. Perhaps it had been written all over her complexion that she indeed didn't. Clearing her throat she shook her head, sheepishly smiling and letting out a soft snort before shyly looking to the ground and scuffing a hoof," Um, yes. The general vicinity sounds familiar; but to be honest with you Miss er, Miss; I haven't the slightest idea what this "Helovia's Heart" even looks like. All I was told was that I must find an ever-burning charcoal and to keep it hot enough to bring back to the God of Earth. And even keeping it the correct temperature is going to be quite a challenge."

She laughed deprecatingly, not really sure why she was volunteering so much information to the stoic being who most likely didn't care what she was doing. Flicking an ear back towards Hubris, she was suddenly curious as to what he was doing. She couldn't help but feel a little more drawn to him than she had been to any other companion. Perhaps it was because he had actually acknowledged her back. The feeling of validation one got from one of those little creatures was surprisingly satisfying, and a smile was brought back to her dark muzzle as she looked back to the taller figure,"I had gone to the Veins looking for answers, and to see if I could finally find myself a friend. I didn't know what exactly I was expecting or what I was going to be receiving should I get help from any of the Gods; but... if I could have something like you and Hubris have together. Well, that'd be something truly great." She gave a gentle shrug, looking away in almost embarrassment before turning to look towards the south.

"I apologize for spilling all of my troubles on you, and I greatly appreciate your help! I will find a way to the Heart somehow, I wouldn't want to disturb your two's little day together after all! You've been an awful lot of help though Miss!"

"Talk."

the butterfly is proof that great darkness
can create great beauty

Isopia

Unlike his bonded, Hubris quite liked being physically close with others. Especially horses. He liked the way their nostrils were both velvety and warm, and the way the hair on their legs was short and course. Isopia preferred to keep her distance from just about everyone, and so Hubris had taken it upon himself at a very early age to be her stand-in on matters that required any sort of physical proximity.

As the mare spoke, more and more of what was going on became clear. Isopia had been right in her assumption - it had been her Father who had sent this mare on a quest. A quest for a friend. This idea seemed so bizarre to the demigoddess. After all, Hubris had just been given to her. And while that might seem entirely unfair to the General Helovian population who had to <>fight for a companion, to Isopia, it merely seemed like a sack of responsibility. Albeit a relatively cute one. But what could her Father have in mind, with a hot and cold stone? What was the point?

Looking at Myrinne, Isopia wondered if this meeting wasn't just coincidental ... Hubris had the capability to freeze things as solid as they would ever be, and while the hot stone which was required surely could not be made by her magic, she could create a warm vessel to keep it in...This quest was Myrinne's, but what part did Isopia have to play in it?

"I am called The Mountain that Knows." The demi-goddess began, offering her proferred moniker as a way to halt the mare's departure. "Most consider that a mouthful, and merely call me The Mountain." She paused thoughtfully for a moment, before continuing. "The heart was once a rocky lava-guiser. Red liquid fire ran down cracks in the earth, and the entire area was covered in ash and volcanic dust. Years ago now, a series of caves were found deep below. An opening marks the entrance to those caves. The God of the Earth places healing waters in a cavern there, and Helovia's history is painted on the walls. Crudely some might say, but it is there. Travel South from here. Before you hit the sea, you will come to an area that seems devoid of life and earth. The ground will turn rocky and scorched. It will appear volcanic. That's how you know you have reached the land you seek."

Again Isopia paused, still considering whether offer this mare additional aid was in her best interest. Deciding that despite the fact that her father wasn't omniscient, he probably knew what he was doing, the big mare sighed for a moment.

"Cold is infectious. Cold things like to remain that way. Still..." Isopia looked at the ground. Closing her golden eyes she took a breath. There before her hooves, two small vases of stone began to form. The opening was just wide enough for a stone to fit inside, while the base was small enough to slow both the endothermic and exothermic reactions of what was going to be placed inside.

Opening her eyes, Isopia nodded slightly. "Please the cold stone in that one-" She indicated to the one on the left. "Place the hot one in that one-' This time, she indicated the one on the right, which was currently giving off its own heat. "Keep them separate, or the heat from the container on the right will melt the stone that Hubris has frozen. The journey from the Heart to the Veins is not as long as your journey from here to the Heart will be, but this way you won't have to worry about losing the properties of the stones on your way."

---

@Myrrine

You can post in the records updates to get the following two small items! (When you post, say that they are 2 of ISO's small items crafted during Orangemoon)

::[Item : small stone vase.]
::[Item| Small stone vase that gives off heat]