[center][h1][color=orange][b]K A L M A R[/b][/color][/h1][/center][center][h1][color=DE33FF][b]M E L A N T H A[/b][/color][/h1][/center][hr][hr]The Griffin took them high over Kalgrun, so that they could see for miles. Kalmar always felt a sense of pride when he viewed these lands from above. [color=orange]“This is Kalgrun. As I said, I made these lands,”[/color] he said to his passenger, glancing down at his recently created grasslands, where the animals now seemed as small as insects. 

Melantha, for the most part, remained quiet during the flight, the only indicator to her thoughts being the constant squeezing of Kalmar’s clothes where she had put her hands on for stability. [color=DE33FF]“Yeah..”[/color] she muttered, glancing from time to time at the ground miles below them.

In truth, Kalmar was not sure what to make of her. What had Asceal said? That she was mad? That she attacked her and Aelius? That description did not seem to suit the woman he met at all, and the implications were worrying.

Had Asceal lied to him? Was she merely trying to get him to perceive the Goddess of Darkness as an enemy because she was the Goddess of Light and therefore saw darkness as a threat? Or was there some other motivation in mind? Or was Melantha the one who was lying? Was this all some remarkably convincing act to manipulate him. Both were equally worrying, though the latter seemed more likely. It was also possible that Asceal was being entirely truthful, but whatever happened to Melantha made her a completely different person. There was no way to be sure.

What he did know was that there was something about Melantha that interested him. She had shown a remarkable survival instinct. When he appeared her first instinct had been to use the wolf for cover and as a deterrent to try to scare him away. She had shown some suspicion toward his story at first, and that Kalmar could also respect - he could only imagine what might have happened if someone other than him found her, and filled her head with lies. Yet there was also a certain gentle, cheerful nature to her - her first instinct had been to comfort the wolf, instead of running or harming it. That also indicated courage.

For now, he decided to believe that Melantha was being truthful. In which case, it was his responsibility to help her relearn what she had forgotten. And if Asceal’s words had been true, perhaps he could steer her down a different path this time.

[color=orange]“You don’t like heights?”[/color] he asked her offhandedly as they flew.

[color=DE33FF]“Oh kind of you to notice…”[/color] she replied with a half mocking, half sarcastic tone on her voice. 

[color=orange]“I should tell you that you’re a Celestial, then,”[/color] Kalmar said. [color=orange]“Your sphere, your home, is somewhere up there…”[/color] he pointed up at the night sky.

[color=DE33FF]“Of course it would be… wait, I have a home?”[/color] Her expression quickly shifted from sulking to surprised. Although Kalmar had told her, as well as done, many would-be unbelievable things in a span of very few hours, the prospect of having a home of her own meant that there was a chance for her to find out what had happened to her after all. Maybe if she were to travel to that place, she would be able to find clues about why she couldn’t remember her past. [color=DE33FF]“Do you know where that place is?”[/color] she asked him, the expectation on her face evident.

[color=orange]“No,”[/color] Kalmar answered with a slight shake of his head, an answer that made Melantha instantly deflate. [color=orange]“I have never been there, but I would assume it’s the darkest one, so it can’t be hard to find. You will need to learn to fly, though. Shynir can’t fly that high.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“Fly… I don’t think I am cut out for that for some reason…”[/color] she muttered a short reply before regaining her previous silence. 

[color=orange]“Fear is an obstacle like any other,”[/color] Kalmar told her. [color=orange]“It can be overcome, but only if you confront it. Fly enough, and you will stop being afraid of it. Stay on the ground, and you will never fly at all, which means you won’t reach your sphere.”[/color]

His words prompted Melantha to raise her head and look at the starry sky above, trying to discern anything that might pass as a sphere. [color=DE33FF]“You talk about spheres but I don’t see anything floating up there. Do you have to do anything special for them to ap-”[/color] her last few words faded into nothing as a very bright and colourful object streaked through the night sky, coming from behind them. [color=DE33FF]“Oh, that…”[/color] Melantha was taken aback by its sudden appearance.

Kalmar noted her surprise. [color=orange]“That is the Lustrous Garden,”[/color] he explained to her. [color=orange]“It is home to Asceal, the Goddess of Light.”[/color] He glanced back at her to study her expression, curious at how she might react. [color=orange]“How does it make you feel?”[/color]

[i]How does it make me feel?[/i] Melantha thought about his question as she gazed upon the object flying high above them. [color=DE33FF]“It’s… beautiful,”[/color] she admitted in the end. Especially the long tail that it left behind as it moved across the sky, its colours elicited a sense of childlike wonder in Melantha that she never really thought she would come to feel after all that had happened to her, and everything she’d come to know, in the last few hours.

That was the last answer Kalmar had expected. He glanced up at it and observed it in silence. Beauty? He had always seen as nothing more than an asset - something that stood along the stars to provide light at night. Yet now… with her words, he found himself looking at it in a different way. [color=orange]“Yes it is,”[/color] he realized aloud.

A strange silence prevailed after Kalmar’s remark as they both looked at the Lustrous Garden, admiring it. Melantha was the one to break that silence, however. [color=DE33FF]“So, what were you doing before you found me?”[/color] she asked him, trying to learn more about this strange man in front of her.

[color=orange]“Before I found you?”[/color] Kalmar repeated her words, thinking. [color=orange]“As you know, Fenris was wounded. I tracked down the creature that wounded him, so I could find out why it attacked. It was Fenris’s howl that made me come back, and that’s how I found you.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“Yes, and I will have you know it was very rude to announce your presence like you did,”[/color] Melantha reminded him.

[color=orange]“Wouldn’t it have been ruder to continue spying on you during what you thought was a private moment?”[/color] Kalmar asked, and then shrugged apologetically. [color=orange]“Sorry, I’m not an expert on these things. I’ve already offended another god in the past for speaking at the wrong time.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“Hmm, I guess you have a point there…”[/color] she said with a thoughtful look on her face. [color=DE33FF]Did you end up finding be beast that wounded your wolf?”[/color] she asked, continuing her faux interrogation.

[color=orange]“I did,”[/color] Kalmar said gravely. [color=orange]“It was sent by Vakk, the God of Speech, to track down a mortal I once met in the area. If you ever meet this Vakk, do not trust him,”[/color] Kalmar advised seriously. He did not know why Vakk believed Hermes was a thief, and even if that was true, there was still the attack on Li’Kalla to consider.

[color=DE33FF]“Vakk huh,”[/color] she repeated the name in her head. [color=DE33FF]“What does he look like?”[/color] she asked. [i]Although with how I am right now I doubt I would be able to do anything more than run anyway…[/i]

[color=orange]“Like a very large worm, or a snake. About the size of Fenris,”[/color] Kalmar answered. [color=orange]“You were right to be suspicious of me. I’ve been nothing but truthful to you, but if another god had found you instead, they might have lied. Not all of the gods have good intentions.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“And what about your intentions…”[/color] Melantha questioned hesitantly.

[color=orange]“My intentions for what? You, or the world?”[/color] Kalmar asked her in return.

[color=DE33FF]“Chiefly about helping me. To be honest, I still hold my doubts over your whole explanation about me being a goddess, but we’ve at least established that you [b]do[/b] have mystical powers of some sort. I am pretty sure that I wouldn’t be able to escape you if you were to attack me when you found me, so the next obvious step is to come with you and see where all this takes me…”[/color]

[color=orange]“My intentions are simple,”[/color] Kalmar explained. [color=orange]“You are a deity, just like me. Your power is roughly equal to my own, even if you have forgotten how to use it. Your loss of memory is just a temporary setback for you. I will help you figure out how to use your power again, and also make sure you know what you need so you can use your powers sensibly. Too many other gods use their powers destructively or without thought. If I can prevent you from going down that path, or from falling victim to a god who already has, that will be best for everyone.”[/color]

Listening to Kalmar, Melantha tried to figure him out. His stern and serious expression indicated that he was a man that stayed true to his convictions, which meant that he was a trustworthy ally to those he chose to help. And from his words, it seemed that he meant no harm towards her, at least for the foreseeable future. [color=DE33FF]“Alright, I guess I will trust you with this. I do want to know more about this world, that one thing I am certain of…”[/color]

Once she had made up her mind, Melantha felt a certain weight come off her shoulders, the tense feelings she didn’t know were there alleviating somewhat. She subconsciously shuffled closer to Kalmar, now her arms going fully around his waist, her hands locking her in place behind him. With the cloak Kalmar had given her to wear enveloping her, she gazed at the scenery beneath them they flew over the grasslands of Kalgrun.

For a moment, Kalmar tensed as he felt her arms wrap further around him. Then, he began to relax. He closed his eyes. The wind in his hair. Melantha’s arms around him. The beating of Shynir’s wings. He fell into a peaceful silence, and the griffin carried them on.[hr][hr]The sun had begun to rise, night giving way to day, and a vast range of mountains came into view. As they drew closer, Melantha and Kalmar began noticing other griffins. Their size was minuscule compared to Shynir, but they were just as graceful. [color=orange]“What do you think of Kalgrun?”[/color] he asked her, finally breaking his silence.

[color=DE33FF]“I am not really one to ask since I don’t have many points of reference, but from what I have seen thus far it seems you’ve put great care into developing these lands. It shows in abundance I would say,”[/color] she replied. [color=DE33FF]“What I am more interested in, however, is that thing over there,”[/color] she added and gestured towards the rising sun. [color=DE33FF]“What is that?”[/color]

[color=orange]“That’s… Heliopolis, I think it’s called. It is why we have day. Without it, it would be only night,”[/color] Kalmar told her.

[color=DE33FF]“Hmm, it’s too… bright,”[/color] she said after some consideration. For some reason, she felt her eyes acting up whenever she looked towards that thing, something akin to a phantom pain emerging from someplace behind them. She squinted her eyes and moved her head behind Kalmar to shield herself from the sun’s rays.

Kalmar could sense the movement behind him, and he suspected she was shielding herself. [color=orange]“That’s to be expected,”[/color] he noted aloud. [color=orange]“You are the Goddess of Darkness, so it’s natural that would bother you. Asceal has the day, while you have the night. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, but there needs to be balance.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“You’ve been saying that for some time now,”[/color] Melantha noted. [color=DE33FF]“Darkness seems somewhat vague of a description to be honest. How exactly am I to know how to control such powers when I don’t even know where to start from…”[/color] she complained.

[color=orange]“I won’t be of much help in teaching you how to use your powers specifically in relation to darkness,”[/color] Kalmar said to her, [color=orange]“you will have to master that on your own. But I can teach you where to start.”[/color] For a moment he paused, and then suddenly he asked, [color=orange]“are you ready to learn how to fly?”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“No,”[/color] Melantha blurted without thinking. However, she then remembered how she had decided to trust Kalmar with helping her and found herself with a dilemma. Face her fear with the help of Kalmar, or stay safe while never experiencing the sensation of flying all by herself. Truthfully, she did not feel ready at all, but she nevertheless assented that it was something she had to go through with it the end. [color=DE33FF]“Scratch that, I meant yes,”[/color] she corrected herself with a determined look on her face. 

Kalmar smiled thinly. [color=orange]“Good. Remember this: you are a Goddess. The rules of nature that bind creatures like Shynir and Fenris do not have to apply to you. You only need to [i]will[/i] that you do not fall, and you won’t. So, jump off the griffin and fly.”[/color]

For a moment, Melantha’s eyes darted between Kalmar’s back, the griffin’s back, and the empty space below. Steeling her nerves, she slowly released her hold on Kalmar and started moving backwards until she was a good few meters away from him and very carefully stood up. Thankfully the griffin, Shynir, was pretty large and thus she had enough space to maneuver herself around.

[color=orange]“Tie that cloak tighter,”[/color] Kalmar advised. [color=orange]“The wind might rip it away.”[/color] The cloak was of no real value to him, in truth, but he had it for so long that he still did not wish to see it needlessly lost.

[color=DE33FF]“Ha ha, very funny…”[/color] Melantha mock laughed at his words as she tightened the knot at the waist of the cloak, but unbeknownst to him, what he said had somewhat helped her relax. [i]Yes, this is something you can do. Just… will it and it will happen… just…[/i]

And then she jumped. For a few seconds, Melantha did not do anything but simply feel the wind on her skin as she cut through the air, falling towards the ground below. However the trance she found herself in quickly wore off and anxiety took its place when she realized she could not stop.

[color=DE33FF]“FLY,”[/color] she shouted repeatedly out loud, with no response. [color=DE33FF]“UH MOVE, GLIDE, STOP, STOP NOW, STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP...”[/color] Melantha’s shouting devolved into panicked screaming as she found herself unable to do as Kalmar had instructed. She watched on helplessly at the ground rapidly rushing towards her.

After Melantha had jumped, Kalmar had followed, falling with her. He pursed his lips in disappointment at her failure. Then, just before she hit the trees, he swooped down and grabbed her, activating his own flying abilities as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He said nothing as he looked at her, his expression neutral.

She was at a loss for words. Melantha silently hung her head in shame, a feeling of failure overwhelming as well as surprising her. Somehow, after spending some time with Kalmar, she’d come to take his view of her as something of value, and thus failing in his eyes struck a particular chord with her that she didn’t know she had.

Kalmar lowered her until they passed the canopy of the forest and their feet touched the ground. Only then, as he let her go, did he speak. [color=orange]“When trying something for the first time, you may not succeed,”[/color] he said to her. [color=orange]“But if you keep trying, eventually you will learn.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“Yeah, I guess that is true…”[/color] she said with a nod, but the sadness on her tone was evident. She looked around at the place where they had landed. [color=DE33FF]“Where are we now?”[/color]

[color=orange]“The western side of the continent, near the mountains,”[/color] Kalmar told her. [color=orange]“I brought Shynir here so he could protect it, and use it as his home.”[/color]

Melantha watched as the massive griffin circled in their air above them before promptly coming down and landing on a nearby clearing. [color=DE33FF]“Protect it from who?”[/color] she asked curiously.

[color=orange]“Anything that might cause senseless destruction,”[/color] Kalmar answered. [color=orange]“As I said, there are gods who use their powers destructively and without thought. I can’t be everywhere at once to stop them, so I create beings like Fenris and Shynir to watch over things when I’m not there.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“If deities are as powerful as you claim, with reality manipulating powers, then I don’t think Shynir will be enough to stop them from destroying something once they’ve set their eyes upon it,[/color] Melantha reasoned. [color=DE33FF]“Size evidently doesn't mean everything,”[/color] she added.

[color=orange]“He won’t,”[/color] Kalmar agreed. [color=orange]“But if another god creates a beast of their own, and sends it to cause destruction in their stead? Shinyr can fight that, as Fenris fought Vakk’s monster. And if a god does make an appearance, my creations can warn me so I can deal with it.”[/color]

Melantha walked around, feeling the ground beneath as she moved with her bare feet. Surprisingly, her body had mostly recovered from whatever had happened to her prior to losing her memories and ending up in the situation she was when she awakened on Kalgrun. Her limbs and muscles did not feel as stiff as they used to, and her head, not counting when she tried remembering things, was mostly pain-free. [color=DE33FF]“So, what now? Do you have anywhere we can stay? Some kind of shelter?”[/color]

[color=orange]“There might be a cave somewhere in the mountains,”[/color] Kalmar answered, thinking. She was probably hoping to get out of the light. [color=orange]“But before we look… do you need clothing?”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“Clothing? Honestly, I have not felt neither cold nor heat as long as I’ve been awake so the cloak did little for me besides covering my body,”[/color] Melantha replied as she looked at the garment he had given her to wear. [color=DE33FF]“I don’t understand why covering yourself with animal furs would be more comfortable than simply being as is,”[/color] she added. 

[color=orange]“We don’t need clothing because our power already protects us from the elements,”[/color] Kalmar told her and shrugged. [color=orange]“But some gods find it more comfortable to wear clothing anyway. For me, the skins I wear are from animals I have killed myself, to mark what I have done. I only asked if you needed clothing because I wanted to know if we should make some.”[/color]

[color=DE33FF]“Well, I don’t really need them, but making something sounds pretty interesting so I guess It won’t hurt to try it. Who knows, I might change my mind while doing so.[/color]

[color=orange]“We will hunt for it, then,”[/color] Kalmar said, pulling his bow off his back. [color=orange]“I will show you how to use a bow. Watch.”[/color]

With that, the Hunter turned away from her and drew an arrow. Carefully, he notched it into the string. Then he raised the bow, pulled the string back, and released. The arrow struck a nearby tree with a sharp [i]crack![/i] Then Kalmar turned to her and held the bow out for her to take, along with another arrow.

Melantha watched Kalmar’s actions step by step, from the pulling of the string to the stance he took, to the timing and finally the release of the arrow, taking in everything that she could learn. Then, when he offered her the bow and arrow to try, she grabbed it and repeated everything she had seen. A few seconds later, an arrow was stuck right next to the one Kalmar had shot. [color=DE33FF]“Is this good enough?”[/color] she asked with an innocent look on her face.

[color=orange]“Yes. Well done,”[/color] Kalmar said with an approving nod. [color=orange]“Come. It’s time to go hunting,”[/color] and with those words, he began walking in the direction of the mountains. Melantha put the bow over her shoulder, imitating how Kalmar had it before and started walking right behind him after throwing one last glance towards Shynir, waving him farewell with her hand.[hr][hr][hider=SUMMARY]Kalmar and Melantha fly through Kalgrun atop the griffin Shynir. During a conversation regarding her fear of heights, Kalmar informs her that she has a sphere, and proceeds to tell her what spheres are. Melantha then spots the Lustrous Garden in the sky and tells Kalmar it is beautiful.

Melantha then asks Kalmar what he was doing before he found her. He tells her about the Hunter’s attack against Fenris, and how it was sent to Vakk to track someone down. He then warns her that not all the gods are trustworthy.

She asks what his intentions are for her. He says he wants to help her relearn what she has forgotten, to bring her back to full power and teach her to use that power responsibly.

They reach the mountain, and Melantha is made uncomfortable by the sun. Kalmar tells her that there needs to be a balance between both light and dark. He then decides it is time for her to learn how to fly. Melantha is reluctant but eventually convinces herself to go along with it and jumps off the griffin.

She tries to fly, but it doesn’t work, so Kalmar has to catch her. When they land she is unhappy, but Kalmar tells her that she needs to keep trying. He tells her where they are, and how he intends for Shynir to watch over the western mountains of Kalgrun.

Kalmar then asks Melantha if she wants some clothing. Melantha doesn’t understand the point of it but decides to try it out. Kalmar shows her how to use his bow, and the two depart on a hunting trip.

No Might or FP was spent during this post.[/hider]