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Amethyst "Daughter? What in the world do you think you're doing?"

A voice rings out through the water, her mother's own violet eyes locked on Amethyst. Her mother is short, though still taller than Amethyst herself. Many of her features are obscured by the armor, but one would recognize those pointed ears anywhere. She's armored almost identically to the guards flanking her, made from shimmering shells and metal. The others around her are all masked, though she's taken her own mask out for the moment.

The situation still feels tense. Just before, the elite guards had mistaken the glowing Exalted to be the very intruders they were dispatched to deal with. But it seems Amethyst's presence has calmed things a little.

With a pulse through the water, everyone can fill their usual breath return, and with it, their voices. Though the water has not receded, one can breath it as easily as air.

"And who are you all, exactly?"

Black Pearl Black Pearl emerges from her hiding and swims forward effortlessly before giving a courteous nod. "Honored lady, I am Black Pearl, a close friend and Oathsister, a hearthmate, to your daughter Yim Ametis." Looking back up, she continues, "We all are your daughter's friends, and when she sought to come here to meet you, we wished her to not be alone."
Rishi Rishi takes a deep breath as she swims over to float behind Ammy, her wings out and keeping her stabilized. The moonsilver coating her entire body remains, as does her anima and caste mark, so it's quite obvious that she's a Lunar. For now, however, she says nothing, waiting for Ammy to introduce her.
Bright Journey From the distance they were at when Bright used Dazzling Flare, they may not realize Bright was the one most obnoxiously responsible for the light show. That doesn't matter all that much, though, in the face of her full iconic anima banner shimmering and rippling all around her. The whole area around her is bathed in pure white, with a blindingly brilliant golden halo, perhaps five feet across, centered behind her head and moving as she does. The effect is pristine and majestic, but the obvious downside is she can never pass as ordinary, or approach someone for casual conversation in this state. Love or hate her, but it's nearly impossible to be indifferent to her or think of her as one of...well, almost any group, to be honest.

She pointedly dismisses her moonsilver powerbow, letting it vanish into the aether. It takes her two quivers with it, and she swims up closer to Amethyst and Pearl, joining them in a polite, respectful way.

Unusually for her, though, Bright does not immediately greet Amethyst's mother. Instead, she offers their opposite numbers a polite, respectful bow between equals. She then looks at Amethyst and gives the young alchemist an encouraging smile. Clearly she is deferring to Amethyst for this most important greeting.

Amethyst "Well, this here is Black Pearl, followed by Rishi Fleshweaver, and Bright Journey." Amethyst introduces each of her friends one at a time, gesturing and nodding to them. "I had some business I needed to discuss with you, mother, so I made the journey back here. And as Black Pearl has said, they were worried and insisted on coming with." She gives her own respectful bow, her mannerisms cruder but obviously similar to Black Pearl's, perhaps a result of all of the training she's done. "Rishi gave me this form back some time ago, I quite enjoyed it."

Her mother examines each, curiously squint at each of the chosen as they are introduced. "A dragon-blooded, a solar and a lunar. It sounds like you have been busy, dear daughter. However, none of this explains why I found you four out here after being called to battle. It sounded like a small army of fae were sent, not a group of Chosen."

Black Pearl "When we arrived there was a small army of fae, and those among us who are skilled at such things fought them and emerged victorious," Black Pearl says in return. "We did not come bearing arms to invade, and I hope that all may be at peace here."
Rishi Rishi nods after Black Pearl finishes, speaking carefully in Riverspeak, as she says "The guards were outmatched and we were unable to stop their massacre. We did successfully destroy or drive off the attackers just before you arrived. I would think your sentries would have been watching this, yes? If not, then the bodies below should tell the story."
	 Rishi looks down, then at Ammy, considering, before she says "I would like permission to go and search for any survivors. I am a medic of no small skill and, while I do not think there are any, I should like to confirm that. Assuming there are none, I shall return shortly to see to Yim Ametis's wound."
Bright Journey Well. Here is a wrinkle Bright hadn't considered--the possibility that Amethyst's mother did not know what had befallen her initial group of defenders. Indeed, it appeared she might not know she had had an initial group, now lost. Her brow furrows slightly, but she keeps her expression mostly steady. Her own companions may realize that this was intentional, a subtle attempt to convince Amethyst's mother and her warriors that Bright is surprised they didn't know. It is of course a bit easier, given that Bright really -was- surprised. She is definitely not leaving things to chance, though, when it comes to convincing them of the party's innocence.

"Greetings, my lady. I do not know how many of your enemies were initially here, but when we arrived there was a pitched battle between who I would guess were your own forces and numerous creatures of the deep." She offers a fond smile to Rishi. "I don't think I would call them an -army-, but there were quite a few. Aside from their leader, they were not really ready to deal with us. Some of the lesser ones scattered and escaped while we dealt with the larger ones." She turns and points roughly towards the body, or what's left of the body, of their leader.

"All that said, we came here in peace, to help protect, support and defend Yin Ametis on her journey. We have never attacked you or yours." Bright's voice turns a bit more formal, less conversing in Old Realm and more repeating an invocation. "We would treat with your people in friendship. I formally invoke my birthright as a Crowned Sun, as emissary to your people. May we meet and part in peace."

That said, Bright's voice turns a bit more conversational and she offers Amethyst's mother a smile, then glances at Rishi. "Rishi, we may wish to let them inspect their own before we do anything with them. Let them see for themselves who attacked them."

Amethyst "It was under my own actions that we engaged. I saw our forces collapsing and decided it would be wise to intervene." Amethyst shares her bit of the story.


Her mother listens to each in turn, does not speak to the group, but instead issues instructions to her men in Old Realm, "Go, find any wounded that may still be living, and after doing a thorough search, begin collecting the dead." And with that, she glows briefly and looks ot the sky, pointing towards it as she throws a series of colors up into the air. A few seconds later, a similar series from within the city answers.

"You and your friends might have helped stop a catastrophe. Should the guard have fallen without you, they may have had free reign of this quarter of the city until I arrived." She explains, turning back to the group. "Unfortunately none of the sentries came to us to tell us of what was going on. We only had a vague idea of what had been transpiring."

"None the less, our own medics and doctors will be here soon, as will another to relieve me. Rishi Fleshweaver, if there was one you should focus on right now, it is my daughter. And Bright Journey, Quill of Heaven, your invocation is duly noted. We shall invite you and your group into our city, and so long as you respect our laws and customs, you shall not be harmed."


Amethyst looks down at herself and it's like all of the pain hits her at once as she scrunches up. "Damn, they really got me didn't they?" She starts to try to make her blood /stop/ flowing out of her wound.

Black Pearl Black Pearl lowers her head with relief, but as she was not addressed, she remains quiet, especially as she cannot assist with the treatment of wounds either.
Rishi Rishi nods at her love's mother, examines Ammy's wounds for a brief moment, looks around, sends herself flying over to slice through some seaweed in a moment before returning. She rips a bit of it up and gives it to Ammy to chew on, while she sees to the wounds. As she touches them, there is an immense flare of essence, as Rishi's shadow extends out in eight directions, each reflecting an entirely different surgical practice, as Ammy's flesh simply flows back together like the Water that flows through her body. After a moment, Rishi nods, slumping slightly, her shadow drawing back in, then says "You will wish to talk with her, but she requires strict bed rest for the rest of the day." to Ammy's mother. To Ammy she says "Remember what happened the last time you tried to avoid resting."
	 Rishi looks visibly tired, but she says "A Medic has a Duty. I would not advise any of you to try opposing me in this." and she pulls her wings in as she sinks down to the bottom to help any remaining wounded.
Bright Journey There's no disguising the intensely concerned look Bright gets when she looks at Amethyst again--clearly, Bright's mind had been on other things, like killing Big Ugly, and it hasn't registered just how bad off Amethyst had been. She immediately looks at Rishi, less graceful and all business. "Rishi, this wouldn't be the first time I've been your chirurgeon's assistant. Do you need a hand here or do you have it?"

And then, of course, Rishi proceeds to ably demonstrate that no, in actuality she does -not- need help. Like, at all. Bright may not be bad at medicine, but she looks at Rishi with a blank, comical expression as the poor girl admonishes Amethyst to rest.

"Uh. Never mind, I guess. Unless any of the guards survived..." Her voice trails off for a moment, looking at the guards out searching bodies. She gives Rishi another fond look. "You reminded me of my own mom there, telling someone to rest. Takes me back."

Amethyst Amethyst chews on the seaweed and groans as Rishi admonishes her. And then relaxes and just sorta floats in the water.


For her part, Amethyst's mother looks satisified with Rishi's efforts, "She can rest in my home. Would not be the first or last time she's ended up seriously injured." Her mother's tone is almost that of exasperation. One might wonder what sorts of trouble the young dragon got up to before meeting all of her exalted friends.

As far as the search for survivors, unfortunately, there are maybe one or two that lived out of the dozens that were cut down. The ravagers had been brutally effective. And soon several fishfolk with various first aid instruments strapped to themselves arrive. But there's not much to be done besides identifying the fallen.

And at last another wearing armor similar to Ammie's mother arrives. The two exchange looks, he nods at her, and she goes and gently grabs Amethyst. "I am Yim Ashuria, by the way." She glances at her daughter's distinct lack of an introduction.


Amethyst looks away and grumbles.


"Now then, we should be getting inside. They'll handle things from here. I'm sure you would like to do whatever business you have with me. Unless dear Ametis has not told you exactly why she's brought you all down here." Ashuria says, carrying her daughter as she swims back towards the city, It sounds as though she almost /expects/ that Amethyst has not been straightforward about her intentions. She pauses and looks back and gesturing the others to follow.

Black Pearl Black Pearl follows, gliding smoothly through the water. "We know what she has told us, but ultimately, we are here supporting her in this endeavor. Much is between you and her, Yim Ashuria." She smiles, "I do apologise for not having brought a gift for you, our hostess. I will have to rememdy that."
Rishi Rishi gives Bright a smile and a wave as she sinks down to help the guards, accompanying them back inside when their job is complete and rejoining everyone else later on.
Bright Journey "A pleasure to meet you, Yim Ashuria," Bright replies. Her words are correct but clearly, her mind is elsewhere for a moment. Eventually she shakes herself free of memory and comes back to the present, joining the conversation again as they swim back to the city.

Bright smiles quietly as Pearl speaks, then adds, "You're right, of course. We haven't been told everything. More out of a sense of privacy than secrecy, I think, if you take my meaning. But we do know part of it." She grins. "Not least of which is seeing you again, I suspect. But there's more. It's best if I let her explain it."

Amethyst Walking through streets illuminated by pale blue lights, it becomes more and more apparent that this place must've once been some sort of huge geomantic structure. There's so much white jade here, with bits of other magic materials here and there as well. In addition, there's also plenty of new construction. Though the original seems to have been made for walking, the new structures are up and over and everywhere that one could swim. Some are attached to the jade itself while others are attached to each other. Some are simply floating, anchored in place by heavy pieces of metal or stone.

And Ashuria is not leading them to one of the coral-and-shell buildings. Instead, she actually leads the party underneath the city. Here alchemical lights have joined with the older lights to help illuminate the passage way beneath. And soon we're all standing at a particular door. There's some old realm carved upon it, what seems like an old name, but nothing recognizable. And moreover, it's actually lit up properly, unlike virtually everything else in this place. A soft blue illuminating glow comes from the door. And as Ashuria brushes her hands along the symbols, the door slides upon.


And we all thought Amethyst had an incredible alchemist's lab. This one, however, is truly something else. It's also not flooded like everything else, held back by what seems to be a forcefield around the door itself. On the other side of the door one can see where its getting the power needed: A hearthstone has been placed in some sort of makeshift holder. But the room itself seems like it has much more than a fancy door. There are devices and apparatus that likely haven't worked in over a thousand years, carefully moved out of the way and placed to the side, with one of them partially disassembled (and it seems some parts were used to get the door functioning properly).

Beyond the technology are the levels and levels of shelves, complete with a ladder to access the less used ingredients. And also books. The entire second level of the workshop seems to be a library. And there's a small doorway at the top that leads to living quarters.

"Welcome to my home among Elderloch. If Amethyst is to rest, perhaps you all should do so as well. I'm sure whatever journey you took was awfully long."

Black Pearl "Thank you for your hospitality, Yim Ashuria, and accepting us as your guests," Black Pearl says. "And it would be nice to rest and be refreshed before continuing. But this is a delightful and amazing city. I could spend quite a while here, and not finish being impressed.
Bright Journey As the party swims along, Bright looks genuinely impressed. The city may be repurposed, but...still. She looks around, taking in the sights, as the party wends its way towards the underground. Or is that below decks? Hard to say anymore.

As Ashuria leads everyone into her home, Bright's pink eyebrows rise in surprise. She looks around, considering one of the ancient alchemical devices, but aside from looking interesting, she clearly doesn't have all the expertise needed to appreciate it. Instead, she turns to Ashuria and smiles warmly. "We appreciate your hospitality. Thank you. We will not abuse your trust in us." She is careful to not touch anything, but looks at the lab appreciateively. "I am no one's alchemist, but I can certainly see where she got her skills from."

Amethyst "Elderloch is pretty damn incredible." Amethyst nods. "One can only imagine what this place was like before it sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Let me tell you, the city goes down for quite a while. And also up. Some of the highest structures in the place can only be accessed from some the lowest through what I think were once high speed platforms or something."

Soon Ashuria leads the party to the living quarters, and sets Amethyst on her bed, complete with a purple silken blanket with the mon of Danaa'd on it. Aside from the bed in the corner, there's also a few sofas, comfy chairs, and a nice table. The furnishings here are definitely a lot newer than the rest of this place.

But the kitchen is a different story. Clearly there's more old broken technology here, but some more recent (and working) things have been brought in so that she can still cook here. And it's furnished just as nicely as the living room. There's one more room, curtained off. Beyond is presumably Ashuria's bedroom.


"The pleasure is mine. I don't get to see too many faces. And some well mannered and pleasant company too, especially from my daughter, comes as a lovely surprise. Are you hungry? Would you like any tea?" Ashuria speaks with her warm, charming voice. Of all the things Amethyst inherited, she sure didn't inherit her mother's calm focus and steady voice.

Black Pearl Black Pearl looks around curiously at the furnishing. Old-fashioned, old-school, old enough that the Realm would have laughed loudly at it, but starting to be old enough that it is respected instead. "Tea is always welcome, thank you," Black Pearl says. "ANd I would love to discuss some of these decorations and motifs. They are exquisitely preserved."
Bright Journey "Now that sounds lovely." Bright chuckles and sits down, crossing her legs. "I admit I wasn't entirely sure how your people went about eating or drinking underwater. Especially drinking. But it seems I had nothing to worry about."

Looking where Pearl is looking, Bright nods in reply. "I am no more an artisan than I am an alchemist, but..." She smiles fondly. "I remember tiny bits and pieces of the past, but not enough about -things- to be useful. Anyone else here can tell you I'm far more attuned to people. I'd love to learn more about this city, though...what it used to be."

Amethyst "I remember a lot about this place from days long past. At one point I think it used to be a massive ship cruising on the seas, filled with Exalted of all types. But anything more specific than that's hard for me to remember. But being here tends to help jog memories long forgotten." Amethyst explains as she looks up at the ceiling from where she's laying. "It'd be cool to see this place at full power again someday, but even I'm not crazy enough to think I could do that." Amethyst yawns and curls up in her blanket, "But I'm gonna get some sleep and rest. Goodnight guys."


After food and tea, Ashuria uses a bit of fae magic to conjure up sleeping accommodations for the others, and retreats to catch some sleep herself, leaving the others to rest until the morning.