#but i won't write them as such asdfkljn

[fvaleraye]

Good Ol’ Ruins

i gave up on the name, i couldn’t think of anything better asdflknj aaaaand here we go asdlfkjn-

finally! a sort of first chapter to Scintillam! of course, this one will be focusing on Leona and Artemis going about a little adventure, as they are our heroines :V nothing tooooo crazy in this one? just smth to get y’all acquainted with them and their little world :V

it’s not too terribly long, but... i mean, nothing i write ever is feel free to let me know if there’s any grammatical errors and such, i don’t rlly read over my stuff much, bc if i do, i might never post it h- anyway, here u go-

It was a dreary, silent day in the Old Lands. Gray clouds hung lazily over the sky, rays of sunlight slipping through them few and far between. The ground was ashen gray with the stains of old calamities, no plant-life, from the smallest blade of grass to the tallest tree, was in sight, for few things could thrive in such an environment. Old ruins dotted the landscape, providing shelter and sanctuary for any creature that called these lands their home. Few dared to pass through, fewer still even considered exploration.

Deep in one particularly maze-like ruin, there were two of the latter category.

The gentle clinks and clangs of chainmail and plate armor in motion rang throughout the silent corpse of the once great structure. The woman in the armor was helmetless for the moment, as it was difficult enough to see in the dusk of the corridors without restricting her vision. Behind her was a large, white wolf, almost unable to squeeze through some of the smaller hallways due to its size.

As the intrepid duo stepped cautiously through the old stone and... metal? Corridors, they came upon another room, one of many. Several doorways leading to several more hallways, just like every other room. Finding their way out would be a daunting task indeed. Unlike most other rooms, however, this one was not empty. Scattered here and there were... strange... things. Seemingly metal constructs of various shapes and size. The knight started to root around in the chest cavity of one as her lupine companion sniffed around, investigating the rest of the room.

"... I still don't know how these are gonna help..." Leona mused, her voice echoing against the stony architecture. "I know Caecus said it'd help his research, but I thought his research was on dragons, not... ancient golems." She let out a sigh as she continued to search inside the hollow shell. "... I mean, I guess they could have been built by the dragons... we don't really know what they did when they were still around, huh Artemis?" She turned to her companion, who was still sniffing the floor. "... I don't know why I'm talking to you like you'll respond. You're smart, but you can't talk..."

Artemis let out a big sneeze, seemingly have snorted up too much dirt, prompting a giggle from the other.

"You're a big dork, and I love you."

The wolf just huffed.

After a moment, she pulled out a cracked, cyan orb from the rusting bronze mechanism. She whistled for her traveling buddy, and she came over, allowing her to set the orb in the bag on her side, alongside other orbs of various colors and conditions. The two continued to search the other old golems, though the first was seemingly the only one with a central orb intact enough to bring back. With that, they left through the rightmost corridor, and continued on their way.

A few more empty rooms later, and the greatwolf stopped in her tracks halfway down a corridor, ears flicking. Leona looked over her shoulder at her, raising a brow. "... what do you hear, Arte?" She let out a big huff, and started to crouch down, prompting the other to as well. They both stayed silent, listening, and eventually she caught on to the sound too. It was... singing. Not creepy singing, though any singing was creeping singing in a place like this, but more like... joyful singing. It was unintelligible, but the tone was there. A very... weirdly happy one. The two started to creep forward towards the source, the knight on point while the wolf followed behind. As they went through the corridors, one had a rare source of light, an eerie green tint on the blueish stonework, pulsing gently from a doorway. She snuffed her own torch, and crept forward. The room was similar to the ones prior, a perfectly square room, with very little decoration. Though, this one was filled to the walls with random bits of metal and glass and junk. In the center sat a tall... creature, cloaked in a dingy robe, singing to itself as it sort through everything in the room. Green-flamed torches were stuck haphazardly to the walls. She stepped forward, and almost immediately stepped on a bit of glass on the ground, mostly bits from broken orbs. The creature stopped singing, and slowly turned around.

It was sat down on the floor, legs crossed, wearing some dingy pants and its concealing robe, only the cover of the cloak keeping its disturbingly gaunt frame at least partially hidden. Its face was concealed, covered by a larger than average deer skull, most likely from a greatdeer, though long graying hair flowed from underneath its makeshift mask. On the antlers were many, many trinkets and charms, which clattered with every movement, and many more were on its body, hidden under its cloak. It tilted its head at Leona, and gave a few guttural... sounds. It didn't... seem hostile. Slowly, she stood up, glancing around at the room. It seemed to be alone. After a moment of silence, it scooped up some of its junk, and held it out, one long, bony finger pointing at her bag. She raised a brow at it. "... you... want to trade...?"

It didn't really seem to react to her statement, other than tilting its head. It didn't seem to entirely understand her.

After a moment, she noticed a small pile of orbs in the corner, a couple of them seeming to be intact and even glowing. Oh, Caecus will definitely want those. She raised a hand, and pointed at the items in question. "Can I... have those...?"

It glanced at her finger, before looking to where she was pointing. It glanced between the two points of interest a few times, before setting down its handful of bits of metal glass, and grabbed a handful of orbs in its near skeletal hands, holding them out gently. "... you... w-want... shiny...?" It asked, its tone halting and slow, but inhumanly deep and guttural.

She slowly nodded, glancing at the spheres in its hands. They were all... blue. That gave her an idea. She held up a hand, and briefly stepped out of the room. She opened up Artemis' bag, the wolf herself still very much on edge, and grabbed a green orb from the bag. It was one of several, and it was the most intact, but not completely like the ones the creature was offering. She stepped back into the room, and held out the green orb, the monster trader flinching in surprise.

After a solid few seconds of nothing, it set two of the intact blue orbs on the ground, and gently pushed them towards her, before hesitantly taking her orb in return. It stared at the object in its hands, before holding it close to its chest. "... I-I hath... shiny-shiny..." It said, before it started to sing in what was assumed to be its native language again.

She hesitantly began to step out of the room, the creature paying her no further mind, and stuck the new orbs in her partner’s bag with the others. "... I think that was a good trade." She mumbled.

With that, the two turned around, and set about trying to find their way out of the ruins, seemingly satisfied with their haul. They hoped Caecus would be satisfied with their haul, though they really didn't know what any of the things they were carrying were for. Nobody did, really. But the mystery was half the charm of these little adventures.

#Valerie Writes #Scintillam #Leona #Artemis #there we goooo... #first chapter! first drabble! first whatever! yay! #i dunno how long it's gonna be until the next one; but asdlkfjn- #also! these will not be in like. chronological order. #i'll put them in chronological order on the masterpost #but i won't write them as such asdfkljn #so... keep that in mind #anyway! #i hope y'all enjoy reading this ^^ #and reborks are appreciated; if ur feelin' so inclined-