![[Training] Rivers, Mountains and Forests (Lily Ambrosia) Empty](https://2img.net/i/empty.gif)
"I really love this land. It's overflowing with life wherever you go. Don't you think so as well?" Lily was talking out loud as she climbed over a particularly thick root that grew from the base of a tree so big that you could have carved an entire house out of the insides. Possibly several houses if you didn't mind working vertically. The land of Seven was a land where nature ran rampant: there were places which were barren either due to a poor environment or civilizations wide claims. Seven most definitely was not one of those places. Lily could feel both life and magic pouring out of practically everything. It was no surprise that there were stories that this was the place where all beauty originated from, especially beautiful creatures.
The person -or creature- that she was talking to didn't answer, at least not in any way that anybody else would be able to hear. With every step Lily's companion took the ground would tremble, although it was getting better at softening its step to avoid doing that. A massive figure formed of stone which had been turned smooth and shiny through years of water running past it, her companion was an earth guardian who she had convinced to abandon its position of protecting a healing spring to travel with her instead. The reason for that was partially that Lily had been tasked to make the spring available to a tribe of amazons, but the bigger reason had been the feeling that the earth guardian wasn't as uninterested in the world as its stony appearance might make you believe.
That and she felt a connection to it. They were both creatures of nature with deeper bonds to the rest of the world than others. She was also one of the very few who could listen to its words, given that they were the words of mountains rather than the speech of men. Even other dryads would probably have some difficulty with that, as Lily had been rather uniquely gifted a bond with not only life but the land itself as well.
Wearing a covering of moss, roots and mushrooms the earth guardian came to a standstill and looked around, the smooth stones that formed its body all shifting and resettling as it turned its head to look from the left to the right, then returning its river-blue gaze back to Lily. The dryad waited patiently for it to finish looking at its surroundings before she nodded and giggled. "Right? It's beautiful!" From the outside this conversation would have been utter nonsense, the dryad speaking openly but acting as if she was replying to words which weren't actually spoken.
The portion of Seven they were wandering through was one where there weren't many signs of civilization. Of course that was often the case in Seven but that just made it easier for the two of them to choose this location. There were mountains to the left with rivers flowing down the slopes to wind their ways through the forests that spread out in every direction, with a big lake to the right where two of those rivers ended up before another stream on the other side of the lake led the water all the way to the ocean in the distance. This sight would be lost to them normally, however, given that these forests were dominated by humongous trees that only allowed one to spot glimpses of the blue sky beyond. It was not quite a jungle but it could just as well have been.
More than with their eyes or their ears the two of them surveyed their surroundings with their other senses. They could feel the roots forming a complex network deep underground, grasping hold of the earth and holding everything together. The person who tried to dig here would have to be pitied for their futile attempts. They could feel the mountains rising up high, their stony slopes dominating the skyline as the tallest of them even had permafrost crowning their peaks. They could feel the water flowing over the riverbeds and filling up the lake. For the two of them the world around them was home, as much as any part of the world could be home. Plants, earth and water formed the core of nature, that which everything else was built off.
Taking a deep breath Lily held it for a while, listening to the wind rustling the leafs above their heads, before turning back around to her companion. "But we can't just spend our time doing nothing. We came here for a reason." Once again there was nobody but her who heard the answer, but that was good enough. Her partner knew why they had come here and didn't disagree with the purpose.
The two of them had only come together recently, and while their bond was already strong they'd yet to figure out just how far it went and what they could do as long as they combined their strengths. Lily was a creature of strong magic, able to terraform the land by shifting earth, redirecting water and growing the right plants. Her partner was a creature of power and endurance, able to endure any punishment thrown at it and attack with the fists the size and hardness of boulders. They both were connected through their strong bond with nature. They had to be able to use that to achieve greater things than either of them could have hoped to achieve on their own.
Neither Lily nor the earth guardian had as their primary goal strength, but they weren't so silly as to believe they should just neglect a possibility like this, especially since actually practising their bond together should also make them get along better. And out here there shouldn't be anybody who could get hurt.
"The first step should be easy. What can you do other than be big and tough?" Lily smiled as she meant no offence with the question, but she was honestly curious what her friend would come up with. The stony figure stood there for several seconds, or even a full minute, to consider her question before it brought its large hands together. The dryad felt power flow through the guardian, quickly followed by another layer of rock forming. This new layer made her companion look even bigger and more intimidation than he already did, and she could feel that these rocks wouldn't break easily. "So you can make yourself even bigger and tougher? That's... definitely what you'd expect from a guardian." Lily broke out in a fit of giggles, then straightened up.
"Would you mind if I tried out how tough it is?" She was usually more focused on healing than harming, but she was capable of bringing about nature's wrath when needed. Once her friend had given its assent for the test she held up her arms, around her multiple rocks rising out of the ground. Bundling them together the dryad formed a stone spike which she then quickly shot towards the armoured earth guardian. Even as the spike flew she was already forming another one, watching to see how the first one would fare.
As she expected the spike smashed into her companion without much effect, its solid form and barrier withstanding the attack just fine. Launching another spike Lily observed with some awe as it took several shots before the rock barrier began to break and fall apart. "That's amazing! These spikes are supposed to hurt a lot." The earth guardian gave a quick nod before it broke its pose and placed its arms back at its sides, the rest of the rock barrier also fading away. The dryad stepped closer, then grabbed some of the moss that clung to her companion like a thick carpet and climbed its side until she was sitting on top of the rocky behemoth. "So you can protect yourself, but can you also protect others? I mean you can stand in front of them of course but how would you protect a large group of people?"
The earth guardian didn't take too long to answer that question. Lowering itself (with Lily using the moss on its back to not fall off) it placed its hands against the ground, and within seconds rocks erupted from the ground to form a large ring around the two of them, pushing aside plants and scaring away some of the animals who had come to watch the spectacle. Lily looked at the formation with interest, especially when she felt that there was more to the ring than just acting as a wall. "That's actually really clever." Holding up one hand she shot another spike towards what looked like empty air... up until it shattered and the air shimmered. The ring of stone served as anchor for a dome-like shield made of earthen magic, which would allow the earth guardian to defend a location without restricting its line of sight.
"Can you also let things pass through?" Looked down at the head of her friend she felt a feeling of satisfaction when it nodded. "We'll be able to help a great many people with this then. But I'm also curious about something else. You're big, strong, and you can use earth magic to protect yourself and others. But the amazons aren't stupid either. How did you prevent them sneaking in and stealing some of the water that way?"
There was a brief silence, Lily expectant and the earth guardian slow in response, but then it slammed both of its hands against the ground and a wave of magic rippled outwards. Sitting on her friend's back the dryad was not directly affected by it but she could feel what it was supposed to do nonetheless. "That's... impressive." The two of them were now surrounded by a magic area in which a heavy weight was weighing on everything. Aside from severely slowing would-be aggressors down it'd also make getting off of the ground (for example by jumping) a lot harder. "You know, we could combine this with my roots... Actually we could do even more than that!" Sliding off of the earth guardian's back Lily stood up next to it, looking up at it. "On the count of three you send out another wave and also try to soften up the ground. Ready?"
With the both of them in position Lily gathered her magic at the same time as the earth guardian did. "One... two... three!" As they released their magic together it combined into an effect much more potent than what either one of them would have achieved alone. Their surroundings quickly turned into a swamp: the earth turned into mud with puddles of water and many vines shot up to grasp at anything within reach. There was also a heavy, oppressive sensation from the earth guardian's grounding field. The overall result was an area in which anybody Lily and her bonded partner wanted stuck in place would have a very difficult time moving about, their body sinking into the swamp with the vines wrapping around their body and the heavy, magical atmosphere bearing down on them.
Looking around with clear satisfaction Lily smiled with excitement, although she then blinked. "Ehm... we should probably return all of this to normal." She gave a bit of a nervous laugh as she realized that she'd become so eager to see what she and her friend could accomplish together that she'd forgotten to be careful with their surroundings. She blinked when she felt a heavy hand patting her gently, looking up to see it belong to the earth guardian. The sensation was so unexpected that she laughed again, a bit harder this time. "Thank you. But that makes me think... I know you've already got a name, but I think you also need a name that others can pronounce. It's easier for when we're talking with others." The two of them stared at each other before the dryad shrugged and looked away, a little embarrassed. "Sorry."
The earth guardian wasn't upset, but it did find the entire thing a bit silly. Nevertheless it raised no objections as the two of them went about undoing the magic they'd inflicted on this random patch of forest, listening to the dryad humming as she went through several names in her head. The actual name of her companion was of a supporter and a protector. Its role for a very long time had been defending a spring so its healing magics could invigorate the jungle around it. Its audible name would definitely have to reflect that in some manner. What did you call the stone that supported the waters of life?
"I got it!" Having finished her work Lily exclaimed this as she turned back towards the earth guardian, who was finishing up on returning the ground back to its former solid state. Turning its head to look at her it waited patiently for her to explain. "How about we call you Basin?"
There was yet another silence, a deep and meaningful one as the earth guardian thought it over. It would definitely be a suitable name... It took several minutes before the stone creature nodded, at which point Lily clapped her hands together in joy. "Great! Nice to meet you Basin!"
WC: 2,221
The person -or creature- that she was talking to didn't answer, at least not in any way that anybody else would be able to hear. With every step Lily's companion took the ground would tremble, although it was getting better at softening its step to avoid doing that. A massive figure formed of stone which had been turned smooth and shiny through years of water running past it, her companion was an earth guardian who she had convinced to abandon its position of protecting a healing spring to travel with her instead. The reason for that was partially that Lily had been tasked to make the spring available to a tribe of amazons, but the bigger reason had been the feeling that the earth guardian wasn't as uninterested in the world as its stony appearance might make you believe.
That and she felt a connection to it. They were both creatures of nature with deeper bonds to the rest of the world than others. She was also one of the very few who could listen to its words, given that they were the words of mountains rather than the speech of men. Even other dryads would probably have some difficulty with that, as Lily had been rather uniquely gifted a bond with not only life but the land itself as well.
Wearing a covering of moss, roots and mushrooms the earth guardian came to a standstill and looked around, the smooth stones that formed its body all shifting and resettling as it turned its head to look from the left to the right, then returning its river-blue gaze back to Lily. The dryad waited patiently for it to finish looking at its surroundings before she nodded and giggled. "Right? It's beautiful!" From the outside this conversation would have been utter nonsense, the dryad speaking openly but acting as if she was replying to words which weren't actually spoken.
The portion of Seven they were wandering through was one where there weren't many signs of civilization. Of course that was often the case in Seven but that just made it easier for the two of them to choose this location. There were mountains to the left with rivers flowing down the slopes to wind their ways through the forests that spread out in every direction, with a big lake to the right where two of those rivers ended up before another stream on the other side of the lake led the water all the way to the ocean in the distance. This sight would be lost to them normally, however, given that these forests were dominated by humongous trees that only allowed one to spot glimpses of the blue sky beyond. It was not quite a jungle but it could just as well have been.
More than with their eyes or their ears the two of them surveyed their surroundings with their other senses. They could feel the roots forming a complex network deep underground, grasping hold of the earth and holding everything together. The person who tried to dig here would have to be pitied for their futile attempts. They could feel the mountains rising up high, their stony slopes dominating the skyline as the tallest of them even had permafrost crowning their peaks. They could feel the water flowing over the riverbeds and filling up the lake. For the two of them the world around them was home, as much as any part of the world could be home. Plants, earth and water formed the core of nature, that which everything else was built off.
Taking a deep breath Lily held it for a while, listening to the wind rustling the leafs above their heads, before turning back around to her companion. "But we can't just spend our time doing nothing. We came here for a reason." Once again there was nobody but her who heard the answer, but that was good enough. Her partner knew why they had come here and didn't disagree with the purpose.
The two of them had only come together recently, and while their bond was already strong they'd yet to figure out just how far it went and what they could do as long as they combined their strengths. Lily was a creature of strong magic, able to terraform the land by shifting earth, redirecting water and growing the right plants. Her partner was a creature of power and endurance, able to endure any punishment thrown at it and attack with the fists the size and hardness of boulders. They both were connected through their strong bond with nature. They had to be able to use that to achieve greater things than either of them could have hoped to achieve on their own.
Neither Lily nor the earth guardian had as their primary goal strength, but they weren't so silly as to believe they should just neglect a possibility like this, especially since actually practising their bond together should also make them get along better. And out here there shouldn't be anybody who could get hurt.
"The first step should be easy. What can you do other than be big and tough?" Lily smiled as she meant no offence with the question, but she was honestly curious what her friend would come up with. The stony figure stood there for several seconds, or even a full minute, to consider her question before it brought its large hands together. The dryad felt power flow through the guardian, quickly followed by another layer of rock forming. This new layer made her companion look even bigger and more intimidation than he already did, and she could feel that these rocks wouldn't break easily. "So you can make yourself even bigger and tougher? That's... definitely what you'd expect from a guardian." Lily broke out in a fit of giggles, then straightened up.
"Would you mind if I tried out how tough it is?" She was usually more focused on healing than harming, but she was capable of bringing about nature's wrath when needed. Once her friend had given its assent for the test she held up her arms, around her multiple rocks rising out of the ground. Bundling them together the dryad formed a stone spike which she then quickly shot towards the armoured earth guardian. Even as the spike flew she was already forming another one, watching to see how the first one would fare.
As she expected the spike smashed into her companion without much effect, its solid form and barrier withstanding the attack just fine. Launching another spike Lily observed with some awe as it took several shots before the rock barrier began to break and fall apart. "That's amazing! These spikes are supposed to hurt a lot." The earth guardian gave a quick nod before it broke its pose and placed its arms back at its sides, the rest of the rock barrier also fading away. The dryad stepped closer, then grabbed some of the moss that clung to her companion like a thick carpet and climbed its side until she was sitting on top of the rocky behemoth. "So you can protect yourself, but can you also protect others? I mean you can stand in front of them of course but how would you protect a large group of people?"
The earth guardian didn't take too long to answer that question. Lowering itself (with Lily using the moss on its back to not fall off) it placed its hands against the ground, and within seconds rocks erupted from the ground to form a large ring around the two of them, pushing aside plants and scaring away some of the animals who had come to watch the spectacle. Lily looked at the formation with interest, especially when she felt that there was more to the ring than just acting as a wall. "That's actually really clever." Holding up one hand she shot another spike towards what looked like empty air... up until it shattered and the air shimmered. The ring of stone served as anchor for a dome-like shield made of earthen magic, which would allow the earth guardian to defend a location without restricting its line of sight.
"Can you also let things pass through?" Looked down at the head of her friend she felt a feeling of satisfaction when it nodded. "We'll be able to help a great many people with this then. But I'm also curious about something else. You're big, strong, and you can use earth magic to protect yourself and others. But the amazons aren't stupid either. How did you prevent them sneaking in and stealing some of the water that way?"
There was a brief silence, Lily expectant and the earth guardian slow in response, but then it slammed both of its hands against the ground and a wave of magic rippled outwards. Sitting on her friend's back the dryad was not directly affected by it but she could feel what it was supposed to do nonetheless. "That's... impressive." The two of them were now surrounded by a magic area in which a heavy weight was weighing on everything. Aside from severely slowing would-be aggressors down it'd also make getting off of the ground (for example by jumping) a lot harder. "You know, we could combine this with my roots... Actually we could do even more than that!" Sliding off of the earth guardian's back Lily stood up next to it, looking up at it. "On the count of three you send out another wave and also try to soften up the ground. Ready?"
With the both of them in position Lily gathered her magic at the same time as the earth guardian did. "One... two... three!" As they released their magic together it combined into an effect much more potent than what either one of them would have achieved alone. Their surroundings quickly turned into a swamp: the earth turned into mud with puddles of water and many vines shot up to grasp at anything within reach. There was also a heavy, oppressive sensation from the earth guardian's grounding field. The overall result was an area in which anybody Lily and her bonded partner wanted stuck in place would have a very difficult time moving about, their body sinking into the swamp with the vines wrapping around their body and the heavy, magical atmosphere bearing down on them.
Looking around with clear satisfaction Lily smiled with excitement, although she then blinked. "Ehm... we should probably return all of this to normal." She gave a bit of a nervous laugh as she realized that she'd become so eager to see what she and her friend could accomplish together that she'd forgotten to be careful with their surroundings. She blinked when she felt a heavy hand patting her gently, looking up to see it belong to the earth guardian. The sensation was so unexpected that she laughed again, a bit harder this time. "Thank you. But that makes me think... I know you've already got a name, but I think you also need a name that others can pronounce. It's easier for when we're talking with others." The two of them stared at each other before the dryad shrugged and looked away, a little embarrassed. "Sorry."
The earth guardian wasn't upset, but it did find the entire thing a bit silly. Nevertheless it raised no objections as the two of them went about undoing the magic they'd inflicted on this random patch of forest, listening to the dryad humming as she went through several names in her head. The actual name of her companion was of a supporter and a protector. Its role for a very long time had been defending a spring so its healing magics could invigorate the jungle around it. Its audible name would definitely have to reflect that in some manner. What did you call the stone that supported the waters of life?
"I got it!" Having finished her work Lily exclaimed this as she turned back towards the earth guardian, who was finishing up on returning the ground back to its former solid state. Turning its head to look at her it waited patiently for her to explain. "How about we call you Basin?"
There was yet another silence, a deep and meaningful one as the earth guardian thought it over. It would definitely be a suitable name... It took several minutes before the stone creature nodded, at which point Lily clapped her hands together in joy. "Great! Nice to meet you Basin!"
WC: 2,221
![[Training] Rivers, Mountains and Forests (Lily Ambrosia) Lily-a10](https://i.servimg.com/u/f96/20/06/18/43/lily-a10.jpg)
