2024.01.24: A Dragon's Dream

A Dragon's Dream
Miranda has become friends with Stena and teaching her about Changelings. Tonight, she shows her into the Dreaming, and learns of this Dragon's Dream.
IC Date	January 24, 2024
Players	Miranda, Stena
Location	Capricorn Glade
Spheres	Bygone Changeling

The store is slow today, so they have been busy decorating for Valentine's Day. There are various heart shapes around, and the displays are changed around with various pinks and purple and red backgrounds for their jewelry. Miranda is just finishing up with one display case now.

And Stena enters into the mid-day 'crowd', small as it may be. Wrapped in her velvet cloak, she looks the part of the ren faire enthusiast stepping into the space and peering around at he displays... She always does, after all. Far be it from the dragoness to avoid looking upon pretty things. Far be it, then, for the dragon not to notice Miranda as she eventually does.

She steps towards the proprietress from the door, allowing her cloak to unwrap from around herself to show the mismatch of the modern clothing beneath.

"Hello Miranda." She says, "I hope this is not a bad time, yes?"

Miranda smiles to Stena, "Not at all. This is actually a good time, as the coming weekend is when things will start to pick up. The run toward's Valentine's Day. Come with me, I want to show you something." She'll direct Stena toward the workshop, employee only area.

Stena is wordless as she follows along with Miranda into the back... Her glistening hair trails behind her as she enters the room, where she glances about with a subdued kind of curiosity.

"Something to show me..? If it is the workshop, then it is a wonderful space." She starts, "Or is it something else?"

Miranda shows Stena inside and lets her take a look around before inviting her to take a seat. The place is beautiful, the workshop kept very clean. "Have a seat. There is more here than just a workshop. Do you see the painting on the wall over there?" She gestures to the far right wall.

Stena looks to the wall as she steps in, and finds her way to a seat... She had noticed the painting once already, but it is when Miranda mentions it that her attention is invariably drawn towards it once again. She seems, for a moment, to get lost in it... As realization seems to find its way onto her face.

"There is something peculiar about the painting. Is there not? It is... Real as can be." She looks to Miranda there, canting her head...

"IS it real?"

Miranda smiles knowingly. "Something like that. While it is a painting, it is what some would call a portal. We call it a Trod. It is our opening between the Autumn World, and the Dreaming. This is the one I opened to go to my freehold where I am Baroness. Would you like to visit?"

Stena is patient as she listens... Patient as she can be, by the slight changes in her body language. The dragoness looks, almost, excited at the prospect of seeing the place... And so she nods.

"I see... What a handy little thing. I would be honored to see your barony." She starts, rising from her seat in further confirmation. "It is a privilege."

Miranda smiles and walks toward the painting offering a hand to Stena. "Then come with me. We can step through when you are ready. It might be overwhelming at first, but considering who you are? I think it will be a breeze for you. Perhaps a way to lift your spirits."

"...They could certainly use lifting." Stena admits, stepping towards the painting and looking sideways at Miranda.

"After you, your highness. We'll see if my wits can stay my own, mmm?"

Miranda will take Stena through, and in a magical twist a la the boat ride from Willy Wonka (Oh the colors!) they step through into the Capricorn Glade. Their feet landing on the grass, Miranda will show her in where she can take in the beauty. "Welcome to the Capricorn Glade, part of the Barony of Divertimento Dithyramb Dance. Where we celebrate life, love, and beauty."

The picture was an expectation. And expectation, as one might know, is always just a facsimile of reality. Indeed, when Stena steps through that trod and onto the path... Her eyes are everywhere. Inky grey seems to glow with vibrant metaphorical fire as she sees all that there is to see, and her lips part... Close, and part again. This repeats a number of times as she steps towards the place Miranda indicates, and observes...

"...I often go to a certain place in the forest." She says, "A place with a cliff from which I can see for what seems like miles. But here... I feel I see more than miles. I see an endless distance of beauty and wonder such as I have never seen before." She cants her head, finally seeming to pull her wits together.

"To say I am humbled would be the greatest of injustices to what I am feeling. You boast a wonderful home... Truly, wonderful."

Miranda will point out various highlights here from the gazebo to the greenhouse, and the garden maze, and finally the river that runs through it all. Stena may spot the cupid chimera that dance around the gazebo and she points them out. "There are many spirits you might say that reside her. We call them Chimera. This place is home to a group of cupids. If you like, they serve some mead?"

"Spirits... But they are not spirits, yes? They are something different. They are, after all, from a different place." Stena replies curiously, shaking her head. "I would love a drink... I'm not one for it usually, but I feel like I could use at least one pint."

Miranda nods, "Yes. For us, chimera are living creatures of the Dreaming. Much like our fae selves." In fact, Miranda looks even more beautiful here and regal in the light of the Dreaming. "Some of our kinds look much different here. Some most like animals than humans in the Autumn. Our Chimera, some can manifest in the Autumn. We call in invoking the Wyrd. But that takes a lot of power and risk." She signals for one of the cupid chimera, and soon they are flying over looking all so cute with a pair of glasses of mead. It is sweet and fruity and smooth when drank. "Here, enjoy! It is made with the honey from the flowers here."

The cuteness does not seem to have the awwww inducing effect on Stena that it might on others. Instead? She's perplexed. As they fly in with the mead and the grace, she can only stare at them as though they were oddities. And indeed, they 'are' oddities to the dragoness. But she takes the glass, putting it to her lips before she utters even a word in response to Miranda.

"...That is bloody delicious." She says of the mead a moment later, having downed about half the pint in one, easy go.

"And... I see. So it is alot like those beings who reside in the astral. That side of the world where collective imagination makes things solid." She blinks...

"...But this place is also that. It really is all a matter of dreams, isn't it?"

Miranda nods, "Exactly. The Dreaming is a place powered by dreams. Dreams create Glamour. That is how we survive. Over there, in the Gazebo?" She may be able to see a fire within it. "That is the balefire. It is a source of glamour that when we spend time near it, we can re energize. It is how we do our magic, we call Arts. The Dreaming really exists because of dreams and why we want to bring more fascination to the Autumn world."

"And so you make a place where dreams come true." Stena replies with a nod, "A place that not only makes jewelry but, if the circumstance is right, can 'truly' grant a person's dream... Is that right?" The dragoness steps towards the gazebo and the balefire, observing it curiously. "What makes this different from regular fire..? Is all fire in the dreaming Balefire? Or is this something with something special about it?" She looks back over her shoulder...

"And if dreams make this place up... Does that mean that you yourself were once a dream?"

Miranda hs to consider that before she replies. "This place can become someone's dream. Which is why we cultivate dreamers in the autumn. We can enchant them with glamour and bring them here so their wildest dreams could come to life. The Dreaming is made up of millions of dreams all together. Not far from here is the Great Eastern Woods, which leads to the Lost in Time Market. From there you can go to Ice Peak Mountains, or the the Burning Sands Desert. There is the Lodestone Islands. I've heard tales of a Pirate's Port. There is simple so much." She steps a bit closer to the gazebo with her. "No, not all fires are Balefire. These are more like... if you know of the Olympics? You know how they send a torch with fire from Greece around the world to where they hold the games for that year? We are in the season of Imbolc in our society, in the Dreaming. There are firebrands, much like the Olympic torch bearers. They bring balefire around the world to add to each balefire around the Dreaming, around this world, to relight, refuel from the Balefire of High King David."

Stena slowly nods... "A tradition." She says, "This is good... And Imbolc no less. The pagan festivals of witches have place in your world as well as theirs I see." She turns away from the balefire then, looking back to Miranda.

"Would it be ill advised, do you think, for me to explore this place in my true shape? I am certain I could hold my own... But I would not wish to have to defend myself from anyone I ought not need to."

Miranda shakes her head, "No, not in the least. Sark is of my household, sword fealty to me. He is free to take his form. You are most welcome to be as comfortable as you wish as well."

"Mmm..." Stena rumbles, looking away from Miranda and up towards the sky.

"Sarkesian is not like me." She admits, "His appearance is one that is often associated with 'good.' Golden scales. Happy demeanor... Like a puppy." There is no spite in the way that she speaks of Sark, but it is 'clear' that she looks down on him from the perspective of their species.

She's an alpha, after all.

"My scales are black and crystalline. My teeth, wicked and sharp. I am told as well, that I scream of evil." She looks back to Miranda.....

"Would you like to see to be sure?"

Miranda nods, "Black can be beautiful too. Please, I would be honored. And I've seen evil. I do not quite get that sense from you." She'll step back to give the woman some space.

There are no words before it happens... But it is not sudden. There is a moment in which Stena takes the time to, it seems, think. But before too long? She's come to a decision. A decision made evident in the way that her body slackens, and her posture corrects. She closes her eyes, and sucks in a sudden deep breath.

By the time that breath is over? The change is already complete.

An Impossibly large creature at no less than 25 feet tall, and equally as impossibly beautiful. Glistening crystalline scales, a wingspan which creates monstrous shade beneath, and three nefarious heads each set with an array of wickedly sharp, swordlike teeth. There is an impeccable sense of that very thing she claimed to have... Of 'evil.' But it is not, for all intents, 'her' evil.

Stena is some kind of cursed. Tainted.

The dragoness rights her posture with rumbling thuds. Claws dig into the ground as she rises to her full height, stretching her heads and wingspan wide as her tail swishes behind to curl around the front... Her body then lowers, and she situates herself infront of Miranda.

Then she would hear in her mind, assuming there was nothing preventing it.

"Let my claims be proven. I shall fancy introducing myself as the dragon queen of Prospect before long... I doubt there are any who might disprove me."

Someone has a little pride.

This creature dominates the landscape with awe-inspiring grandeur, it's imposing form reaching impossibly skyward. It's immense stature stands at an imposing height of 40 feet, while stretching a breathtaking 60 feet in length. It is a memory of the mythic age, given shape in this titan of legend.

A dragon of magnificence that defies parallel, its ebony scales cast an otherworldly shimmer, as if kissed by starlight. From the upper part of its formidable frame rise three heads, each a testament to terror, their menacing maws bristling with teeth resembling the length and sharpness of formidable swords. As if not formidable enough, the creature's limbs are adorned with razor-sharp claws, further enhancing its lethal prowess. Six eyes, gleaming with an uncanny intelligence and cunning dart about with a predatory focus, ever vigilant and perceptive.

Situated upon its spiny back, a pair of majestic leathery wings rests, folded to maintain their pristine condition. These majestic appendages, when unfurled, bestow an air of breathtaking elegance upon the creature, their expansive span narrowing to the very tip of its serpentine tail. Yet, even amidst the awe-inspiring presence, an unsettling sensation permeates the air.

A profound sense of wrongness emanates from this creature. A feeling akin to the raw embodiment of malevolence itself.

Miranda sees the creature grow before her and she is in awe. "You are quite... amazing. I'm not sure what to call the feeling I have though. It's hard to juxtapose the darkness with the beauty of ebony and the person I've come to know - with the just feeling you give off. It's more than awe, but I cannot bring myself to say evil as you said."

The dragoness rumbles with amusement... A truly thunderous sound. Like the distant anger of a storm.

"There are those who would call it such. It is the influence of a wicked witch whose life has long since been extinguished. A lingering memory of the sleep I wasted and the Fire she stole from me." She pauses for a moment... The middle head remains fcused upon Miranda, but lowers to the ground to rest. The other two remain curious, peering around at the minutiae to occupy their, or her, time.

"I am a scion of powerful dragons. My siblings each went on to carve terrible reputations for themselves in Kievan Rus, rivalling the stories told even of the great zmei... I was much the same, until Nikita. It was this reputation that saw the witch Areximachia coming to my den when the Great Sleep took me. She sought to steal my power for herself, and yet, found my resilience too much to overcome even in my slumber. It is her influence which stains me so, and I have yet to find a way to rid myself of it."

Miranda comes up closer to StenaDragon. There is empathy evident. She approaches the middle head that is focused on her, resting on the ground. "Stena, oh great and powerful dragon. I would like to help you. To overcome this stain. Perhaps, with the Dreaming, you were brought my way so that I can help you find this. You said you lost your fire?"

"...My fire is secondary." Stena says, "There is another thing that I would prefer a solution to first, and we have already discussed this. But... Yes. I have lost it. It was stolen from me and used to create a magical item of some sort the precise nature of which, I do not know. Were I to desire to seek out my old fire? I expect I could feel it if I drew close enough to it. But... The problem with that might be clear with explanation." The dragon huffs.

"Ukraine, the country where this artifact must reside, is embroiled in war."

Miranda aahs, "That is a problem. Would you need your original fire? Or what if there was another out there? And you said it is secondary? What is primary to helping you?"

The dragoness is silent for a moment...

"...Love." She says with plainness. "To find her. I don't care about anything else besides that." There is another rumble from deep in the pit of the dragon's stomach... It is displeased. Perhaps, even, sad? It's doubtful that a creature could cry, but she almost looks to be on the brink.

"...It is possible that that alone may bring my fire back. Though it is a relic of a time of death and destruction, it might perhaps be restored through some other desire to protect."

Miranda holds her hand over her heart and sits down next to StenaDragonhead. "Love. Oh that is one of the strongest things in the world. Tell me about her? I want to know everything. Perhaps... perhaps we can help to find her. There is much Fae magic can do, and if that is your dream? It could really happen."

"...She was beautiful." Stena says. And much as it is implied, she... MEANS it. REALLY means it. Deeper than perhaps anyone who had said those words had ever met them.

"She was compassionate beyond measure... When the whole world she lived thought me a monster, she came to me and sought to understand. She came to me, weak and empty handed, and sought to know me. It... It confused me. Perplexed me. But she didn't stop coming... Even though it was a risk to her own life, she never stopped coming to see me. To teach me about human culture. Teach me about the ways that humans lived... It is thanks to her that I have that human shape you know. It is her ideal... The beauty that she longed to possess. I... I made of myself the thing which she could love the most and, indeed, she loved me like no other. She smiled, like no other. She was vastly intelligent like no other..." She pauses there and... Her form. It shifts, back down into that comparably diminutive human shape. She wraps the cloak tightly around herself, and explains further...

"This cloak... It was hers. She left it with me, the day that the village bound and burned her. She was... To come back and claim it from me. But she never did."

Miranda has tears in her eyes. One falls down her cheek even. "She sounds beautiful, from the inside out. Stena, please. Let me help you. We fae, we are able to reincarnate. Well. the other kiths, not the Sidhe. That is what I am. But it can happen. I bet we can find her soul somewhere. Can I help you?"

"Please..." Stena says, her voice low and pleading. Her eyes glisten, but tears do not spill.

They'd all been spilled long since.

"I 'beg' of you to help me, Mereid... Help me, and I will owe you whatever debt you choose."

Miranda opens up her arms and gives Stena a hug. "I give you my word. I will do everything in my power to help you find her. When you can, please share more about her with me. You having her cloak will make it easier. But I swear, I will do everything in my power to help you."

"...What power do you have to help me?" Stena asks sincerely, "I can think of nothing that could find her. I do not even know where to begin looking... If you ask me where she might be, i could not tell you. I do not know who she is. I... I 'know' she is out there. I know she has 'been' out there several times since I went to sleep. I..." She stops, lips parted and body tense... But she does, invariably, sigh.

"I will share everything about her that I possibly can remember... There is no memory fonder. But if we do, I suggest one of two options." She holds up a finger...

"First, we do it later." And a second finger...

"Second, you get enough mead from those cherubs to make 'me' drunk, and we get it over with tonight."

Miranda mmms, "Well, we have ways to ask the Daan for information we are seeking. Things from beyond, from previous lives. I cannot guarantee it, but it is a place to start. I know a woman with that art. I plan to learn more about it myself, but I can ask her to help." She signals to the cherubs to bring more mead. "You should have another drink. I need to contact my friend first, so not tonight. But I want you to hold this close to you..." She takes her hand. "When I give my word, I stick to it. We will find a way."

"I trust you." Stena says, her body slackening in posture as she sighs.

"I trust you, Miranda." She repeats, "And I mean it... If you can make this happen. Even if nothing comes of it. Even if only I just... know that I can protect her. That will be enough for me."

Miranda nods and nods, "Absolutely. I want to see you find your dreams. I want you to find your love, your happiness. I will do all I can."