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[raven_sage]

Eivor. I will respond when able.

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[sighsheavily]

[two or three days following the end of this communication, delivered by the same username:]

Good day,

I am ready to honor your request to see the calamity.
Since a location has already been agreed upon, please advise if you have the time to see this through within the hour.

Kind regards,

C. Ardenbury

[raven_sage]

[The response comes quickly.]

I am already at the docks. I will be ready when you arrive.

[sighsheavily]

[around a half an hour later, Cecelia arrives in the general area, shading her eyes from the afternoon sun as she surveys the area from a higher vantage point, flickering her gaze up for sign of the telltale raven. there are more than a few birds on the wing here, which is natural considering the location, but she thinks she's found the right one...]

Begging your pardon, sir. [she is nearby, speaking to one of the workers not currently encumbered with busywork. the vibrant volume of hair makes her stand out well enough without her not-so-dockworker state of dress, as well as the small unicorn creature at her feet.] I am looking for one named "Eivor"...do you know of them?

[raven_sage]

"Oh, the uh, the big lady with the tattoos and all the axes?" He seems mildly discomforted. "Over by the shipyard down that way." He points down a path. "There's a shed and she just kind of...moved in." And nobody apparently wants to argue with her about it.

There's a squawk from above. Perched on some scaffolding is a raven, and thankfully one of the normal, non-shadowy variety. Its eyes are glowing blue though; Eivor has learned how to use her Animal magic to relink her vision to Sýnin's as she was once able to do.

"That's her bird." The workman says. "Well, one of 'em." Sýnin takes flight, the glow from her eyes fading as she takes off down the indicated path.

"Uh. Good luck, miss."

[sighsheavily]

"...Right..."

Cecelia exhales, nodding her thanks and turning away to look toward the raven's shape as it strikes out ahead. She decides she'll give this a few minutes more before requesting that this Eivor person simply meet her somewhere, as opposed to wandering around, following animals...

"Ah. There you are." A few minutes was all she needed, apparently, finding her once the bird had landed in an opportune spot nearby.

[raven_sage]

Eivor stands outside the shed she'd apparently commandeered, working on a set of parchment on a procured table; the plans for a boat of some kind, and a list of materials. There's also a map of Camelot, and a spot next to the river east of the city circled. In deference to the relaxed atmosphere, Eivor has only two axes, hanging at her sides. She looks up as Sýnin flies over, raising her arm so the raven can land on it.

"Here I am." Eivor agrees, taking a small bit of feed from a pouch on her belt and feeding it to her bird. "We saw you speaking to the deckhand. Figured I'd make sure I have this ability under control, it's different than last I possessed it." Indeed, beforehand sharing Sýnin's sight and movements had felt natural, like both of them we sharing a space equally. It wasn't so much that she was controlling the raven's movements so much as she was setting a path for Sýnin to follow. Now it feels...different. More forcibly taking control, overriding Sýnin's own senses and she's not sure she cares for it. Thankfully, her companion doesn't seem to mind or be aware of the intrusions.

Sending Sýnin off again, Eivor begins folding up the plans and map. "Let me put these inside and we can be off." With how often the rains come, she doesn't want them getting wet.

Locking the door of the shed with the key she procured (she took it, and nobody argued when she did), she approaches Cecelia. "Now, how does this work? No drop into freezing water this time I hope."

[sighsheavily]

We saw, she says, and Cecelia's eyes flicker briefly to the raven. So, this person is not unlike the enchanted rangers of her homeland, who can share the senses of an animal companion? While it's good to notice something familiar, Cecelia can't help but feel a little sting of envy; why would this one be granted some remains of their own power, but she be stripped to her very blood of her own? Something to mull about in her private time, after the work is done.

She merely nods in understanding and waits quietly while Eivor sees to her cleanup. It gives her time to look about, catch glimpse of the papers, and wonder on what it's for. Simple commercial fishing, perhaps? Or does this ranger seek to find land beyond the island...?

She'll be sorely disappointed one way or the other, most likely.

Cecelia lifts her chin when addressed once again, making a soft sound of affirmation before replying.

"No, indeed not. Though I will warn that there is quite the fall risk should you move too close to the edge..."

That said, she turns, facing the street away from the docks.

"Come. Let us walk a ways from the city proper, and speak a bit of what you can expect."

[raven_sage]

Eivor's had her share of bad falls, and isn't eager to have another one. So she nods, and falls into step next to Cecilia. Above them, Sýnin goes round in a wide circle.

"All right, I'm listening. What does this entail?"

[sighsheavily]

"Hazards should be minimal so long as you're not apt to trying to break barriers or walk off bottomless cliffs," Cecelia replies, her eyes fixed forward as they go. "The former being all that keeps this place from falling into catastrophe and the latter being...well. A bottomless cliff. That ought to speak for itself.

"In any case, there is an instrument there able to give you a closer look at the calamity in its current, frozen state. You're welcome to survey it as long as you like, so long as it doesn't take longer than a full day, due to the magical strain. I mean to log anything that seems different or out of place from my last instance there, so don't feel rushed on my account."

With the docks well behind them, Cecelia leads them in a direction toward the outside of the city, along the road leading in.

"The desert you'll find there is an expanse far beyond our means to travel safely, so I'm told; should you be inclined to try it out, please know I'll have no part of it. I'm of the belief that even if there is something of value out there, we as a collective aren't yet at a level to manage finding it.

"Oh, and...mind you do not break or tamper with the vending machines at the little shop there. I'm told retribution will be swift and unforgiving."

[raven_sage]

"I certainly cannot imagine why I'd wish to." Eivor replies bemusedly at the suggestion she'd just...toss herself off a cliff.

She shakes her head. "It will not take nearly that long. I wish to observe, and see this calamity for myself. Perhaps once I do, it will help me decide a course of action." There are many on the network...surely if she put out the call, there would be plenty of others who might feel the same and offer to join her. But she has to be sure, first. She has to see it for herself.

Eivor nods solemnly. "I will not stray far." But she her brow furrows in confusion.

"Vending machines? I thought you said it was a desert."

[sighsheavily]

"It is, but it also has a single structure right at the edge of it. One which you are strongly advised to not tamper with."

By this time, they are clearing the city gates and on the main road.

"That said, there is very little else there of note. Some sitting space, the telescope as I mentioned, the disaster in the sky..." She trails off for a beat, combing her memory. "Beyond that, not much else."

She doesn't stick to the road very long, instead stepping into the grass nearby a few yards before slowing to a stop and turning to face Eivor, lifting her chin and fixing her eyes on her.

"Have you any questions?"

[raven_sage]

Eivor shakes her head. "Only how we begin." She says firmly, following Cecilia onto the grass. "I am ready for the journey. Ah..."

Sýnin, Eivor's regular raven companion, flutters downward and alights on the vikingr's outstretched arm. She strokes the bird lovingly with a smile. "Not this time, my friend. You stay behind, and worry not, I will be back before you know it. Go, now and hunt. You will know when I return." She raises her arm again and the raven takes flight, sailing over Cecilia's head and away towards the countryside. Eivor lowers her arm and looks back towards the other woman.

"I am ready."

[sighsheavily]

Cecelia has to try very hard to not flinch or recoil outwardly too much when the large bird drops in on them. Honestly, she's always been terrible with animals -- they're fine from afar! But up close, she gets too anxious and uncomfortable. Nowadays she can at least tamp down on the apprehension and keep from jumping, but animals always seem to know how uneasy they make her feel...

Most aren't keen to take advantage of it, thank goodness. And thank goodness this one is obedient and gets the hell out of her face soon enough! Cecelia exhales and lifts her head once more, holding her hands out.

"Then take my hands and close your eyes. The light is quite blinding."

[raven_sage]

Eivor takes her head without hesitation, or any sign of fear, grasping it firmly in her hands. She closes her eyes as instructed, but under her breath she utters a brief prayer.

"Yggdrasil shelter us on our way."

[sighsheavily]

Now there's a name she's not heard in quite a while. It gives Cecelia pause, but only very briefly.

Her familiar draws near, angling its horn toward the crystal bangle she wears, and the both begin to glow. The latter's light seems to flicker like flame, and then rapidly grow, enveloping the both of them. The feeling of fresh air and a late-spring breeze is dramatically sucked away, and the feeling of stagnant air and an imposing vastness overtakes. It's the sort of thing that always catches a body off-guard, and Cecelia bristles and stays still for a beat after-the-fact before she opens her eyes to scan and confirm the area. When all seems clear, her fingers twitch and relax, permitting Eivor let go should she wish.

"...You may look now."

And she'll see...space in a scope unseeable in the natural way of the world. Magic shimmers in the sky periodically, the barrier which protects them from being sucked into that void. Among the array of stars, the calamity itself can be seen at a great distance: An explosive corona surrounding a bleak blackness, the fringes of which seem...off. It's hard to see from so far away, but that's why the telescope is here.