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[h3][b]Velles 5th[/b][/h3]

[sup][b]Location:[/b] Torragonese Desert - The Dragon: Burdensome Beasts
[b]Day of the week:[/b] Taldes
[b]Time:[/b] 2:XX HS
[b]Characters:[/b] Ayla [@Ti], Desmond [@Th3King0fChaos] 
Isabella [@Pantothenic], Jocasta [@Force and Fury], Marceline
Nazih [@Ziegenkonig], Woren, Zarina, Zeinab, Diego[/sup]

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[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTuhN393bWw[/youtube][/center]

[color=C78A2C]“Let’s get this party rolling!”[/color]

Wailed a cloth-covered tall teen before a duo of desert Halassa that didn’t seem to mind her presence. On board one, the male of the two, was Woren with proper precautions taken that Zarina would forgo at the start of the race: She wanted it all to feel natural, with all the risks, until the final line. Their strategies were well-established with the Hegelan, an educated high merchant that embraced new ideas, attentive to his teammate’s experiences with animals and the biome. The Virangish beastwhisperer was going to handle coordination of the animals and lead the way, while Woren’s massive RAS served as a means to defend themselves and attack adversaries.

[color=C78A2C]“Ah, the swimmers have started.”[/color] she remarked as a distant trumpet announced the beginning of the Dragon. Zarina approached her own Halassa and rested a gentle hand over the beak. The stubborn but generally docile beast closed its eyes, looking appeased, [color=C78A2C]“You look nice and ready, Zeinab. Hmmm? Yessss,”[/color] she began giving scritches just under the eye of the creature, where the skin was particularly dry, [color=C78A2C]“and you too, Diego. You pretty boy.”[/color] she seized a thick piece of cheap porc from a bag on her back and tossed it over to the male Halassa who promptly lunged his neck toward the treat and engulfed it entirely in its beak, [color=C78A2C]“You too, love.”[/color] Zeinab was giving expectant eyes to Zarina with her mouth parting a little big. She too got a treat before Zarina hopped onto her new steed.

The first leg didn’t last long, with the winning teams getting a head start. Zarina pouted, [color=C78A2C]“C’moooon Jomurr you slow turd.”[/color] six seconds in and finally they could go. A light kick on the shell and they were off. Well, Zarina was but Woren struggled a little. Diego ended up following close behind Zeinab. They were not going as fast as they could, of course, but they were going at a steady pace which was more than could be said about the vast majority of others. There were some like Jocasta that simply rushed with sheer power, and those were hard to sabotage for Woren. As such, he focused more on keeping the manageable ones at bay with properly aimed stones near the eyes of the beasts to scare them while keeping guard.

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A Froabas descended upon them! But they were ready. Woren’s immense capacity served them well as the dragon would be completely repulsed by a kinetic blast from a singular palm strike. Nonetheless, both Diego and Zeinab instinctively recoiled into their shells. Zarina had to act. [color=C78A2C]“Hey, babies. The big bad’s gone!”[/color] she whispered to her Halassa, eventually calming it and then extended that same treatment to Diego after a quick dismount. After that experience, Woren opted to conjure blinders to better shield their eyes from distractions.

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Next was a tunnel, although before they got there, Woren began to draw from the heat and form a steaming ball of ice that cooled the air around the duo and levitated over them, [color=957C39]“Ah goh me an idea! ”[/color] he exclaimed as he brought cool air to them, but this white ball of fresh goodness also had the perk of emitting light as they entered the dark and spooky tunnel. The Halassa were not as disoriented as a result, although they were not particular fans of the claustrophobic nature of such an area either. It’d take a lot of convincing from Zarina to get them to move at a regular pace! 

Both participants had agreed that the tunnel section was their best bet to find treasure, and it seemed Nazih had the same idea in a nearby tunnel, [color=C78A2C]“‘Ey, Firraz!”[/color] she shouted in crude Avincian before addressing him in Inipori, [color=C78A2C]“لا تريد فتاة المدينة أن تدعي النصر على الصحراء ، أليس كذلك؟” (You don't want a city girl to claim victory over the desert, do you?)[/color] she laughed loud enough for it to echo through the cave. Her minor taunting was cut off when something caught her eye, however, [color=C78A2C]“Calmate.”[/color] she ordered the Halassa to take a break. Within a fissure on a stone wall, she caught the lightest glimpse of something reflecting light from the ball of frost. It was a chest! Albeit the passage was a bit too narrow to get there quickly. As such, Zarina left a piece of cloth on a nearby stone as a beacon before heading getting back to the race.

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Woren had also spent some time searching, and his effort would only be rewarded at one of the secret exits of the cave, further East from the one most found, [color=957C39]“Zez!”[/color] he called out for his partner, [color=957C39]“This’n ouh key t’win!”[/color] indeed, they had lagged behind and the one she had previously taunted was quite a ways ahead. As such, she took this opportunity and had her Halassa pass the gold-coloured flag that signalled a “Major Boost”. Upon seizing the flag, the stone under Zeinab began to levitate, surrounded by strange runes, and began flying at great speeds through the track. Passing by a large cactus at the optimal altitude for the Virangish rider to simply pluck it out via telekinesis, [color=C78A2C]“Weeeeee!”[/color]

Zeinab was thoroughly unimpressed. 

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Consequently, this boost would make the cliff climb somewhat trivial for Zarina and her mount, although Woren would still be left behind to deal with it himself. This was fine, though, as he had the abilities and RAS to break the obstacles. Plus, he had the PERFECT position once at the peak to begin harassing those that were contesting Zarina’s position in the first place. A lot of kinetic blasts to flip the tortoises and blood-created obstacles. Ayla in particular would meet a giant, sandstone wall before her Halassa, [color=957C39]“Seng less gurl, quit makin’yer audience fall asleep!”[/color] Zarina burst into laughter even from where she was.

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Jocasta’s struggle was a sight to behold, [color=C78A2C]“Hey, Jo! Think fast!”[/color] a piece of meat was hurled near the Tethered’s uncooperative mount. It immediately went for the snack with no desire to comply with her demands, [color=C78A2C]“What a cutie! I hope you gave it a nice name.”[/color] Zarina stuck her tongue out as she continued to proceed with Zeinab. She was indeed putting herself at risk with a little bit of tomfoolery with Jojo, but then there was Woren who definitely had her back with a monstrous RAS of his own.

Zarina wasn’t finished with her reign of terror, however. Next was Isabella and her duo of Halassa, with one breaking off and consequently slowing her down, although with the lead her team had she still contested the first spot. And so, a little bit of tortoise tipping was in order! The same went for Desmond, although as a more mobile individual, he wouldn’t be as impaired as a Tethered. And finally, there was Nazih. Zarina was consistently fighting with his mount for the head of the race, [color=C78A2C]“قد تعرف الصحراء ، لكنني أفضل صديق لحلاسة!” (You may know the desert, but I'm a Halassa's best friend!)[/color] she grinned confidently before really pushing her Zeinab in those last fifty meters. The dragons up above were no issue with Woren’s sacrifice of positions for assistance. The big beasts were going full-speed with their big, clumsy legs.

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[color=C78A2C]“Yes yes yes yes yes yes …”[/color]

So close! This was going to be tight. But with all the preparations she had made with Zeinab and her abilities as an animal whisperer of sorts, Zarina pulled through just enough to gain a second on her fellow Darhannic, [color=C78A2C]“YEAAAAAHHHHH!”[/color] she screeched, arms ripped out of her stony safeties to wave in the air. After a brief celebration on the shell, she hopped off her beast and rewarded it with a yummy treat. Before long Woren would arrive with a modest but decent standing.

[color=C78A2C]“Good game, Mister Firraz.”[/color] she smiled and winked at Nazih’s direction. Her attention, after mellowing from her victory high, was on the animal she had stressed for this race. Many pets and scritches followed with little worry given to the next race. Augusto and Talkhan were going to do just fine. The Dragon was fun and all, but only one thing was on her mind after finishing the race: The Treasure in the Cave …

[center][i][b]Next up: The Secrets of Zaqhoria! Witness Zarina and her friends discover the dark past of Zaqhoria lost deep within the sands of Torragon! What they will find will shock them for life. Coming soon …[/b][/i][/center][/color]