<font color='#000000'> Timestamp: <li>Quarter: Tessera <li>Day: 37 <li>Year: 81377(3) Sha urelesi sy Pjaunfulc, sy betes yshaj Gampjudymt' pjaunt hut raam ratsyfap ogym iyoj thyolpajt, iyomd yma. Jananraj iyoj nummajt ump ra kuoseyot. <p>A cold wind blew through the courtyard, chasing dried leaves up the steep walls and crying a mocking laugh that made the trees, hanging desperately to the last of their brown leaves, shiver. The coldness could be smelled in the air, for it was already the second half of Tessera, and all the summer scents have been frozen, flushed away by the cool air. <p>Rallyn shivered a little and pulled his shawl over his maw. He normally didn't wear clothes, but the freezy autumn days had forced him, like many other otherwise clothes-rejecting Pendragons, to discard his prejudices and wrap himself in bundles of fleece and wool. He sighed, gave the deserted courtyard about him a last look, and then pushed the doors of the Janardan Academy ajar. He walked in, then stopped, perplexed, muttering to himself. A female assistant teacher from the other side of the hall yelled at  him through telepathy, causing his head to ring with the shrillness of her voice: <P>Hey, you there! Close that blasted door, or the draught will freeze everyone! Why are we heating the building, for Kythlekh's sake! <p>He obeyed, shutting the said door instantly, then shook his head, trying to wipe the last trace of the telepathic "voice" out of his cranium. He didn't like being talked to through this generally prefered way of communication. Like most males, he hadn't been gifted with the magic, and not being explosed to the "tele-attacks" of females during his youth, he hadn't gotten accustomed to it. <p>His mind sliding from the matters of bossy teachers and telepathy in general, Rallyn gazed out of one of the tall windows fenced by iron poles, his breath misting the glass. Why had he been waiting out there anyway? He thought he had some intuition that he was to meet someone there, but no one had come along. Well, nobody in their right sense would come along, in such windy weather. Rallyn scolded himself a little, making a personal note to NEVER believe in intuition again. Yet he stayed there, looking out of the window panes, his eyes scanning the silent courtyard.</font>
<font color='#810541'>Cairn shivered. The temperature was well below freezing and being as stubbern as he was he had nothing but a thin scarf to use as a barrior against the icy wind. Well, that and the wrappings that were in constant placement around his fore-legs; from paw to mid-leg. The deep maroon dragon squinted, his eyes were as cold a blue as the surrounding snow and ice. He scratched at the surface of the paper with his pencil. Not a mark was made. He cursed out loud, his words accented by puffs of fog on every syllable. The pencil had developed a thin layer of ice across the lead. A simple, but effective barrior between it and the paper. His limbs were all tingling with the painful warning of forthcoming frostbite. He knew that if he didn't return to the academy soon he would eventually become a 'dragonsicle for the caretaker to find next spring when the snows melted. With a great heaving sigh that caused a painful numbing sensation all the way to his lungs form the freezing air. He tossed his partially finished tattoo design before him and emerged from his spot underneath the boughs of the great pine that stood tall and majestic in the center of the courtyard. Brushing his thick black hair with its thick streak of pure white out of his face, Cairn picked up the sketchpad and made his way through the deep snowdrifts towards the great looming building that was Janardan Academy.</font>
<font color='#000000'>The movement caught his eye, and he quickly wiped away the foamy mist that had settled on the inside of the glass. He briefly wondered how long had he been standing there, in front of the window, for small heaps, or dunes, of the first snow now covered the cobbled ground. A Pendragon, so dark brown that at first Rallyn thought him black, was approaching the walls of the Academy, a pencil in his paw. Rallyn darted a quick look across the hallway, making sure there were no teachers, staff or other living beings in sight. Yet the space all around was deserted. In a fireplace just across the room was a crackling fire. White pipes, almost translucent against the plastery paint the walls were encrusted in, ran from somewhere behind it, diving in and out of walls, supplying the essential hot water that was needed for the heating system to work. Maybe that was why the latter female had been so anxious to make Rallyn close the door. He checked around once more, then tugged the large brass handles, opening the gate and sending a golden ray of light and warmth into the dimmed, cloudy courtyard. A blast of freezing air, carrying snowflakes and droplets of ice hit him in the face, melting immediately on his warmed scales and trickling down his neck, wetting the scarf knotted tight about it. Rallyn stepped sideways, holding the door open to the other Pendragon.</font>
<font color='#810541'>Cairn looked up from his feet when he heard the creaking rumble that signified the opening of the door into the Janardan Academy. Warm, light bathed the snow in front of him with a golden hue and a wall of warmth hit him, as he knew the cold hit the other. The dark 'dragon picked up his step entering the building at a slow run. Once inside, he shook himself of the quickly melting snow and glanced over at his "savior". The other pendragon was also a male and he was a true black in colour, unlike himself with his mottled rusts, maroons and deep reds, and he had just the barest hint of green that you saw out of the corner of your eye, but it dissapeared as soon as you looked directly at him. Cairn nodded at the other before thinking better of it and in a hoarse voice, coming from a frozen throat managed to croak out a low <span style='color:navy'>"Thanks"</span> before errupting into a fit of coughing. He clutched at the pad of dampened paper and he doubled over. Icy lungs labouring against the suddenly warm air. He grinned at the other when the fit was over, giving only the barest of explainations. <span style='color:navy'>"Its very cold outside and very warm in here. Not easy on the body, y'know?"</span> Cairn turned to leave, idly wondering why the black 'dragon had opened the door for him. He wasn't used to people doing him favours, especially when it meant they got blasted with an icy wind.</font>
<font color='#000000'>He smiled, closing the so-talked-about door and looked at the coughing Pendragon. "Too true," a sigh escaped him, and he looked worriedly at the molten pools of snow around them. "It's strange, isn't it though? So much snow at this time of the year. Usually there's autumn for way longer, especially around Janard..." He shook his head, drifting out of his musings, and looked at Cairn. "Haven't I seen you somewhere already? Oh! That was a stupid question, I was bound to see you around the Academy since you obviously attend the classes..." His gaze slid to the drawing tools clasped in Cairn's paw. "You do Drawing? I wanted to take that too, but when they saw my doodles, they kindly requested me to take another secondary trade, so I became a Tracker." He broke the flow of words and winked, then breathlessly continued: "Pah! The classes hadn't started yet and it's already half of Tessera. They are bound to begin soon though." He smiled a little apologetically and extended his paw towards the marron Pendragon. "I guess this is probably boring you anyway. I was just wondering what your name was...?" And as an afterwthought, he added: "I'm Rallyn."</font>
<font color='#810541'>Cairn shook his head, damp hair flying in every direction. He blew up to get it out of his face before answering. <span style='color:navy'>"I'm Cairn and no, it wasn't boring me. Random and useless information parhapes but not boring."</span> He grinned, blowing his hair out of his face again as the wet locks stubbernly refused to stay out of the way. <span style='color:navy'>"Why tracking? I mean thats a bit out in left field for a city dweller."</span> He wondered if he should tell the other that he wasn't actually studying drawing, that he was designing a tattoo that should get him through the next set of classes if it sold well enough, but decided against it. It didn't really matter what he was studing and besides he found this male unusually easy to talk to. He didn't feel like loosing a companion, no matter how short the time may be, because elemental sorcery freaked Rallyn out. It was funny how many students were creeped out by the study when so many students took it. A stomping sound came from down the hallway. It stopped for a few seconds than began again, this time heading towards the courtyard entrance where Cairn and Rallyn stood. Cairn lifted a brow and looked at the walls. The tubes that carried hot water throughout the school to warm it were covered in a thin film of ice. Not condensation like there should have been, but ice. The weather was indeed odd if such a short exposure to the wind was able to cause such a reaction. Cairn felt a shiver make its way all the way down his spine. Weather like this was just not normal; not for the middle of winter and deffinetly not for late autumn.</font>
<font color='#000000'>He shifted, as if pressured by an invisible uneasiness. "Yes, one just rambles on and on sometimes... Well, I take Tracking, because it could be useful if one's stranded in wilderness. Or maybe when he doesn't have enough things to trade for food, he can hunt... track up some game. The hunting trade would be more fitting here perhaps, but I don't actually like chasing and scaring something to death. Nay, the art of tracking, to follow the potentional game for many days at a time, and then catch it, appeals to me more. And then again, if someone dear dissapeared..." He broke down into a silence, yet just as soon as this breath of melancholy overcame him, it was cast aside and a flame of happines flickered in his eyes. "Actually there's a tracking class going on, that has already started, but they were full allready. I didn't feel like butting in. I've had enough excitement with my first few Elemental Kinesis classes. She's quite strict, the teacher, I mean. But she knows what she does." He pulled the scarf tighter around his neck, automatically, not even acknowledging his fingers as they tugged at the big knot. Suddenly it hit him what he was doing though, and he stared at his hands in amazement, then looked towards Cairn, eyes wide. "I never realised it was so cold inside." His gaze slid from the marron Pendragon to the ice-encrusted pipes, and then he uttered a gasp of surprise, with some fear, maybe, mixed in: "Look! Look at the fire!" With a shaking hand he pointed to the great logs, that had only a little while ago crackled with fiery life as the hot flames devoured them. Now all of them lay lifelessly scattered in the fireplace, black and charred, a thin wisp of hissing smoke licking its way up the steep walls of the chimney.</font>
<font color='#810541'>Cairns eyes traveled down from the frozen heating system to the fireplace. Indeed, the once strongly burning logs were now out and by the looks of it even the ashes were cold. Cairns voice was low and closer to a hoarse whisper than anything else. <span style='color:navy'>"Those are good reasons for tracking... I hope you never have to use the skills you gain. Probably wouldn't mean a good turn of events if you do."</span> His icy eyes reflected the warmth in the building, or there lack of, as he glanced around. Ice seemed almost to crawl up the walls as he watched, frost totally covered the windows and puffs of fog appeared every time he exhaled. If this kept up the building would soon be colder than outside! Cairns teeth chattered together and he noticed Rallyn's tightened scarf and slightly bluish tinge to his colouring. He furrowed his eyebrows, managing to cast one of the few spells he knew. Immediatly a bubble of warm air surrounded both himself and Rallyn. Cairn sighed in relief and grinned. <span style='color:navy'>"Not drawing class, elemental magic. What do you think is causing this? Couldn't be natural... could it?"</span></font>
<font color='#810541'>OOC: Hmmmm what should it be? Creating the cold I mean. ^-^ Maybe we should invite someone else in? Someone evil.... bwahahahaha! Someone who could be freezing the entire school for revenge (or whatever reason they can come up with). If we had to I could also create an evil char and write for him/her as well. Although I'd rather not do that. Gives me to much leeway, ya' know. But anyway do you have any ideas where we're going with this or where we could go? ()()( - Just editing your post because I didn't want to make a new one. :] If you two can't think of anything, I can always throw in my um.. 'insane' cryokinesis character. Her name's Kakosenas, same as my username actually. I just haven't gotten around to putting up her profile yet. - Jodie</font>
<font color='#000000'>OOC: An idea...: a student took Elemental Kinesis and some other Trade. But while he was the best at E.K., in the other subject the teacher refused to let him pass, so he was a Basic even though too old to be one. So he was really, really angry, and decided to take revenge (like Storm said). Because he controled cryokinesis, he manipulated water in its solid form, creating ice. How to solve this: I think either with the help of Fronima (if they can find a seer or someone who can use magic to thaw the ice), or a more powerful cryo or pyrokinesis expert, who would turn the ice away. And I think it would be great if you could bring Kakonesas in (if Storm doesn't have anything against). The brief background story above was just an idea, so if it doesn't go well with your charcter, just pretend I never wrote it. <p> IC: He stretched out his arms and breathed out, examining the bubble of warm air that had settled around him and Cairn. "Wow, this is great!" he exclaimed, "Very practical." He made a move as if towards the door, but changed his mind half-way through, almost tripping over his own legs. He steadied himself, his shawl now hanging loosely about his shoulders, not a scale of his body was cold. He gestured in the main direction of the rest of the Academy. "What should we do now? Should we go and tell someone? The headmaster? It could be dangeous though, he could maybe blame it on us... Anyway, I wonder if the ice is spreading in the rest of the building same as here, or if it will escape this hall when we open a door..." The words didn't seem to bring him any satisfaction, and his eyes zigzaged across the frozen floor, searching for any kind of hint. Where their circle of warmness ended, small pools of water in its liquid form appeared, small streams and waterdrops running like quicksilver away from his feet, only to freeze once more. Rallyn picked up the other's last question: "No, this certainly CAN'T be natural. It must be a quite skilled pendragon, to be able to call up on ice like this. It could be... a cryokinetic. IF it's one specimen. It could be a new method of the rapine, to freeze everyone and only then eat their souls. It could even take origin in the Fronima, so easily... someone upsets the fragile balance there, and voila, we are up to our ears in snow." He gazed angrily at an invisible enemy, the corners of his mouth drooping down.</font>
<font color='#810541'>OOC: SURE! Lets throw Kakosenas into the mix and everything will be fine... err maybe not so fine, but interesting to say the least. He he he. So, come join the party, its gonna be a real ice breaker! (Oie... I know how lame that was. Lack of sleep + sugar is NOT a good mix! ) BIC: Cairn would have laughed at the expression on Rallyn's face as he glared at the air around him if he knew the situation wasn't so bad. But the situation was that bad and so he didn't laugh. Instead he mocked himself for asking such a stupid question. <span style='color:navy'>Yes, I'm sure the inside of this nice, warm building just happened to compleatly freeze in a natural manner! Your such an idiot Cairn! Now do you remember why you dont talk to people? You always make an ass of yourself!</span> The deep maroon male walked up to where Rallyn stood, still glaring at an unknown foe. Once again Ciarn had the urge to laugh and once again denied it. Although the corners of his mouth did turn up in to a small smirk. <span style='color:navy'>"Your right. We should go check out whats happening around the school. I mean not all the students will have their own personal elementals to provide bubbles of warmth and somehow I doubt this is being contained to only a single room. Even if the ice is just in this room, its still covering the heating system which would cool down the entire building pretty damn quickly! And I dont think we need to worry about getting in trouble. Unless you have a hidden talent and a HUGE reserve of energy there is no way for the principal to even dream of this being caused by us.. I dont have anywhere near this kind of power. I dont even know how long I can keep up a simple spell like these bubbles of warm air!"</span> Cairn fell back into silence. He had probably said more in those 5 minutes than he had to any particular dragon, or to any he had talked to in the past week combined! To make up for excess of speech, Cairn simply walked to the inner doors and pushed them open, looking through them with more than just a touch of anxienty, despite his confident words.</font>
<font color='#000000'>OOC: Sorry for not posting for a week! I will never do it again, it was just that I was away for the weekend (my dad was participating in a decathlon and I helped set up the hurdles, measure distanced etc.), then I was sick and last of all RL things (ahem... school) chose to kill me. They didn't succeed, luckily. IC: "Wait for me!" he yelled at Cairn and hastened his step to stop beside the other Pendragon, who was looking around the corridor. Rallyn eyed briefly the walls, bitten with beautiful flower-shaped icy frost, and then pulled his paw out of the warm bubble. He shrank back immediately, smirking a little, and then, pretending to sound matter-of-factly like a scientist, he exclaimed: "It's cold here too." There was no one around. Rallyn pressed his ear to the wall, wincing a little when the warm scales of his hearing organ contacted with the icy stone. The wall trembled a slightly; someone was running nearby. Rallyn voiced his discovery to Cairn, then looked around, waving towards the left of the corridor: "We should go that way. I have a faint idea that there is a shortcut to the great hall somewhere in that direction. I think there will be quite a lot of people there, to discover what is happening. Or would you rather go somewhere else?" Accompanying his words with rich body language (waving his paws, pointing here and there, shifting his weight from one foot to the other), Rallyn had moved almost out of the oh-so-useful bubble of warm air. The coldness bit his tail and his back as he swerved back again, cursing a little under his breath. "I just hope you manage this bubble stay with us as long as possible. As for that energy source and secret talent..." he held his tail in his paws, fingering the tip thoughtfully, his fingers bathed in the glowing light of the flame, which danced around silently, a small light in the gloom of the dark hall, with the high, arched windows and icy atmosphere. "I can't think of anything that my talent could be really useful for. As for that reserve of energy, I have no idea. I have just started Kinesis classes and we haven't done anything yet except semi-meditations and mind exercises, so I am not sure about anything."</font>
<font color='#810541'>OOC: Not a problem at all! I'll probably dissapear on an unexplained absence before this is finished too. It just happens. I'm just glad your back. I like the thread. Especially since its beginning to get intersting! BIC: <span style='color:navy'>"The Great Hall seems like as good a place as any to begin looking for whats doing this. You lead the way and I'll follow. Lets take it a bit faster than just a walk though, just in case...well, you know."</span> He poked at the edge of the bubble causing it to shimmer and cast a rainbow effect across the bandages on his paws. Even though Cairn had been attending Janardan for years, most of his time was spent in either the courtyard, his dorm or the classrooms. He never had a reason to explore and so didn't know his way around very well. This combined with his tendancy to stay away from busy areas meant Cairn couldn't even remember what the Great Hall looked like! It was a fact that embarrased him greatly when the MUCH younger Rallyn talked about hidden passages and shortcuts. As they set off at a jog Cairn's brow furrowed in worry and thought. He really didn't know how long this spell could be kept up. Although simple in its casting, it did take a fair amount of energy to warm the rapidly cooling temperature. He could already feel the missing energy that was being used to heat the air around him and Rallyn. He needed to find a way to reduce the amount of energy being used, and quickly... As they ran down the large vaulted hallways, made with various forms of marble and decorated with gay design work, the only sound heard was the sound of their own paws hitting the tiled floor. Cairn's ears rotated to face behind him and then forward again. There was nothing. <span style='color:navy'>"Hey, Rallyn. I'm either going deaf or its way] to quiet in here. I'm not a social butterfly, but even I know that if there are 'dragons around they are going to talk... if they are able to."</span></font>
<font color='#000000'>He almost flew along the ground, his paws bounding over the tiled floors. Even though he had been here for only around forty days, he had spent almost all of his free time in the first week exploring around. Of course, he had been attending the school before the free days, but they always changed the halls a little, barricading some and building others over the 'holidays'. It wasn't the excitement though, that lured him into the dark rooms, unused classroom and halls, into the flickering torchlight, and sometimes more modern lights (thinking about it, even the torches weren't real. They were made of some kind of substance found around Ramath-lehi that didn't wear off for a long - a really long - time and gave enough light to navigate by). It wasn't even the bittersweet taste of tresspassing that led him around the edge of the basement mazes with signs plastered everywhere, denying access to everyone but the staff. Rallyn looked at secret hallways and shortcuts as on a means of escape, if he would ever be chased by bullies. Not much of a fighter, he found a supply of unknown passages very useful. Right now he headed to one he had found only a couple of days before, stumbling into it by accident. It ended just behind a great stone statue of a crocodile-like creature, meant to represent a rapine specimen. It was so ugly and dangerous-looking that not many would chose to even walk by it. Peeking behind the big grey body was something no one would probably ever dream off. Rallyn had no experience with energy, magicka, or any other things like that. Being so young... he didn't realise the danger of Cairn wearing his supply out, so he just pressed on, not noticing the worried look on his companion's face. Suddenly, he skidded to a halt in front of a woven tapestry, so huge it took up the whole wall, and that depicted a landscape somewhere in the swamps, with a couple of Pendragons working there, up to their bellies in greasy mud. Rallyn spoke: "The entrance is behind this tapestry. I remember it well." His ears twitched. "Hang on, you're right. But no need to sound so pesimistic. Perhaps there is just no one around here." Though sounding so hearty, Cairn's words planted a seed of uncertanity in his mind. As if to reassure himself, he tugged the woven cloth aside and squinted into the opening behind it. A set of stairs led somewhere away into pitch blackness. In a voice so weak he barely recongnised it as his own, Rallyn squeaked: "I don't remember the stairs... I don't think there were any before..."</font>
<font color='#810541'>Cairn was impressed. His companion deffinetly knew his way around the old building. How in the world had he managed to find a passage that was hidden behind a tapestry that was located behind a statue!? <span style='color:black'>"I don't remember the stairs... I don't think there were any before..."</span> Cairn stared at Rallyn as if he had grown a second head. <span style='color:navy'>"What do you mean 'there wern't any stairs before'? Are you saying that they just appeared? And they say I'm crazy!"</span> The last sentance was said under his breath, barly a mumble. <span style='color:navy'>"Well we're here now. May as well continue on."</span>He didn't say it, but the silence was really beginning to freak him out. The maroon 'dragon began up the stairs, taking them two at a time. The dark tunnel seemed to go on forever. Cairn strained his eyes trying to see the top, but it was either not in sight or was hidden in the inky blackness. The chase away the silence Cairn began to whistle. At first the sound was raspy and corse, but quickly eased into the soft, low sound. The tune was one he had been taught as a child in his homeland, far to the south. He hadn't even known that he remembered it until the moment he began to whistle to it. Remembering was a pleasent surprise. His homeland was something he had pushed from his mind for so long he had thought the memory truly lost. Then he remembered why he had pushed it from his mind. He glanced down at the bandages that covered his fore-paws. His whistling faltered, then picked up again. This time in a tune that was local and well-known.</font>
<font color='#000000'>OOC: Hmm, just thinking... we could have all the others turned to ice (for a brief period of time, so if won't interrupt the other stories taking place at this time)... IC: "I... I..." his teeth rattled, but then Rallyn took a hold on himself. He peered worriedly at the stone steps, as he slowly lifted his front leg and hesitantly stepped after Cairn, who was now whistling a tune Rallyn had never heard before. Instead, subconsciously keeping right behind the marron's tail, he thought about the passage. Last week, he had been going from a class, towards the dining room. There had been mobs of pendragons everywhere, shouting, talking and laughing together and creating altogether a rumble that filled every inch of the halls. Rallyn had just been passing the rapine statue, which stood right at the beginning of the Great Hall, when a team of some game or other - he could never remember the name - passed him, cheering, and incidentally pushed him so he fell over the crocodile's snout, sliding behind it. Instead of falling to the floor though, he had slid down a short chute, and landed on his rump some metre and a half below the floor. There had been a passage, so Rallyn, curious as to where it might lead, set out to investigate. Using his flame as a torch, for there was not one source of light in the passage, he had walked over the slippery, muddy ground - of that he was sure. In the finish, he had tripped over his own legs and flown headfirst down the sloping floor of the passage, only to fall from under the tapestry indicating the end of the shortcut. There were no stairs. This worried the black Pendragon, but he didn't say anything, just tromped behind Cairn. A few moments later, he himself joined in the new whistle-song, one he knew well. Every once a while he slipped and slid over the floor, for the muddy filth had frozen and turned into life-threatening icy walkways. Suddenly Cairn stopped. There was a small opening, leading into a chute somewhere above their head. "Here we go. This is it." he said, and, leaping from the ground, pulled himself to the floor of the Great Hall. He crouched behind the massive body of the statue and waited for Cairn to climb up next to him.</font>
<font color='#810541'>OOC: Okay icicle-dragons sounds good to me ^-^ Explains the silence and kinda fits with the freezing plot we have anyway. *grins* Ummm I dont know if Kakosenas (sp?) is still going to join us with this. Any other ideas we could use if she doesn't? Should we advertise in the game related forum for someone or maybe create a new creature that freezes things? Heh. We seem to be working backwards. ^-^ IC: The elder male peered up at the chute, eyeballing its size. <span style='color:navy'>"Uhh, Rallyn. I dont think I can fit through there..."</span> Cairn wasn't a large pendragon. In fact, he was quite small with the same body type as his companion; that of a runner. He was lean and wirey. He was also much older than his adolesent friend and as such had the wider shoulders and larger mucles mass that marked him as a fully mature male. He sighed looking up at the hole and judged it's width again. It would be close. He might, just might, be able to squeeze through. He called up again to where Rallyn waited. <span style='color:navy'>"Its going to be tight and we're going to be damned lucky if I can make it through, but I'll try."</span> He crouched down, aiming for the direct center of the square, and then jumped. <span style='color:navy'>Please dont let me get stuck. Please dont let me get stuck. Please dont let me get stu--</span> Cairn's thoughts stopped in mid though as an expected snagging of his midriff occured. With a bang his upper half crashed to the floor of the Great Hall. His lower half dangled from the ceiling of the secret passage, his feet scrambling in mid air for some sort of purchase. <span style='color:navy'>"thes! That really smarts!</span> Cairn struggled against the steel binding, trying to get through or, when that didn't work, trying to get back down. They were both miserable failures. Cairn was stuck, suspended between two floors. <span style='color:navy'>"Its no use. I cant get my back legs through."</span> He winced and shivered with cold, suddenly realizing that the metal holding him was indeed cold. In fact, it was very cold! He swore again, and only partially because his spell had broken. He realized now why the Great Hall was named as such. It was a magnificent room with a vaulted, ribed ceiling that came to an arching peak far above their heads. Statues stood on the patterned marble floor against the walls, which were themselves decorated with fine designwork, tapestries of various sceans, and a number of pictures. The room would have been breathtaking if it wasn't for the icicles that hung from the ceiling, or the frost that covered the pictures making the images they displayed impossible to make out. Sheets of glass-like ice covered the floor and the walls and, most hideous of it all, a number of pendragons were scattered in a frozen state across the floor. Cairn struggled even more franticlly against the hole. His abdomen was by now supporting a very nice bruise all the way round and he could feel some of the skin starting to rub raw as he continued to struggle. The chilling effect of the metal wasn't helping his predicement either. He could feel his body shaking and hear his teeth chattering. He tried to re-cast the spell, but it was to no avail. He simply couldn't consentrate being as cold as he was as stuck in as precarious a position. The maroon dragon looked up at Rallyn with an expression that spoke volumes of his frustration.</font>
<font color='#000000'>He stared at the once-living icicles, their lifeless eyes, mercifully closed, staring back at him. It was only when a metal thud sounded behind him that he averted his eyes from the gruesome scene in front of him and looked at Cairn. He stared at his companion, stuck somewhere in between earth and heaven, gasping and heving as he struggled to break free of the treacherous chute. Rallyn had half the mind for apologising, but in a split second he concluded that it would do no good right at the moment. He searched his mind for any slightest hint that could help him free Cairn, whose lips were getting a bluish tinge. Strange, Rallyn hadn't noticed until then that the warm bubble had evaporated, but now its absence hit him hard as the snearing frost wave swept all over him. He was still standing in front of the opening, looking helplessly at Cairn, and cursing himself in his mind for not coming up with any help. He was rather mad at himself, and his tail flicked angrily, its tip licking the back of the Pendragon's neck. Rallyn yelped softly with pain, as the flame, burning with rage, scorched his scales, sending a faint whiff of burning kalcit into the air. Just then and idea struck the your Nioti. He bent down on his hind legs and took his flame in his paw, willing it with all his might to be as hot as possible. "Don't worry, you'll make it," he sifted through teeth gritted with concentration and effort, "But it might hurt a little." Tugging his tail, he held the burning flame close to the metal binding that held Cairn in place, taking care not to hurt the other Pendragon, but not really managing. Quickly, he ran the flame around Cairn's body, the icy metal defrosting for a few seconds, which were just enough for the iron to pull apart for a few milimetres. Rallyn smiled slightly - the situation was still too grave for a full-hearted smile, however pleased with himself he may be - in the summer the railroads pull apart. Why hadn't he though so before? Pulling out his paw, he grabbed Cairn's and proceeded to tug at it, meaning to help the older Pendragon out.</font>
<font color='#810541'>OOC: So? Shall we recruit, ask Kakosenas if she's still with us, or create an icy monster? Its your choice. ^-^ IC: Cairn shyed away from the heated flame of Rallyn's tail. Or at least he tried to. As the ice covering the metal bonds began to melt the metal also began to heat. Cairn squirmed, quickly taking Rallyn's hand when it was offered. Ever so slowly, with a lot of pulling, Cairn lower half was slowly emerging from the chute. With a final tug and a grunt of effort the metal finally lost its hold on the dark 'dragon who went plummeting into his younger companion, sending them both crashing to the ground. Cairn rolled off Rallyn with a mumbeled <span style='color:navy'>"thanks"</span>, and began inspecting his midriff. It was a ugly pinkish tint, from begin partially frozen, rubbed raw, and then nearly scalded. He winced as he poked at it and suddenly burst into laughter. Between gasps he managed to speak to the downed Rallyn. <span style='color:navy'>"We are a sorry sight! You with a burn along your back from your own tail. Me, a scarred belt around my middle from a tunnel chute! Its just sad!"</span> He wiped tears from his eyes, quickly sobering when he looked around the room again. <span style='color:navy'>"You know,I've never seen anyones tail flame give off heat like that. You sure you dont have any magic?"</span> Another shiver made its way down his spine. Cairn once again concentrated on the heating spell, this time altering it slightly. A shimmering magic wall conformed itself to Rallyns body, once again heating the air to a comfortable level. This time a much smaller area was being heated, which ment a smaller drain on Cairn's energy reserves. Around his own body the wall came into existance as well. Cairns own bubble, however, was much duller for the air was only being heated to a few degrees above freezing. It was still cold,but not cold enough to freeze to death by. He straightnd up,surveying the room once more. <span style='color:navy'>"Well, there are people here, but I dont think they are going to be much help. You know the layout of the school better. So, where to next? Oh, and can we stay away form tunnels with small exits or entries?"</span></font>
<font color='#000000'>OOC: I say ask Kakosenas to join. I'll PM her right after I write this post. Between, about the flame being really hot, I thought it was normal. At least, I have read in the FAQ about it, and it said that it depended on the mood or will of the Pendragon .:shrug:. IC: "Oh, does it look really that vile?" he asked with a giggle, turning his head at an almost impossible angle to get a view of his back, yet failing of course. He gave up after the second try, and watched with satisfaction as the glimmering sheat of heat spread around his body. "Listen, Cairn, is it hard to learn this spell? The instructor's lessons are worth their time in gold. It is just so useful and valuable when its freezing..." his voice became more serious, as Cairn stopped laughing. "We may be a poor sight, but we are still way better off than those around here." He waves his paw towards the scattered ice statues, his brown furrowing in some deep repulsion or determination, perhaps. "I don't know if I have the energy or not. I don't know anything about it," he said this sadly, beginning to feel a little sorry for himself. If he knew what exactly his gift was, or if he had been a skilled Kinetic, he could have helped those around perhaps. "It does no good to think about it, stop being stupid and pick yourself up!" he mumbled to himself, pushing the matter to the back of his mind. To Cairn, he added in a more brisque tone: "I didn't know about the flame either. But I did read an old volume about it, in the Janardan Library, and it said that our flames are as unpredictable as everything that comes from the spirit world. It mentioned that you the flame could burn according to it's owner's will, but I didn't have a reason to try it out." he laughed, "Until now, that is!" Once again in an alarmingly short period of time, he looked alarmed and lost for ideas. "The bad thing is, that I don't know where to go now. Sure, we can keep to the larger passages and corridors," he paused, "I don't think either of us would like to experience this again. But where should we go? I think the situation is similar at the offices to what it is like here. Ice, and frozen 'dragons. And since we don't know what is causing this, how can we decide where to look and what to do?" He stepped from one foot to another, his tail swinging, his eyes trying to make out the patterns in the tiles on the floor, avoiding contact with the other Pendragon's.</font>
