Coran stepped gingerly around the great stone spikes, his ears twitching at the sound of the breeze moaning through the openings within the spikes. It was a horrid noise and only set him more on edge. He half expected to hear growling, to see some terrible creature come creeping out of the cave. Coran shuddered and summoned his bravery, stepping closer to the nearest spire as he examined the carvings that adorned it. They didn't do anything to ease his worry as he focused on what seemed like a screaming face. What kind of cursed place was this? Coran lifted a paw and gingerly reached out to touch the spike.

You couldn't kill me if you tried The world had been thrust into chaos overnight. Or so she thought. It felt like it, anyway. Since they had seemingly been removed from their home in the Vericona Plains, Tel couldn't say she was very happy to have been displaced. But alas, there was nothing she could do as a rogue unless she joined those that had taken over, and she wasn't entirely keen on that idea. Instead, she had taken to exploring the nearby lands when she wasn't busy, and with the events of the night before, she had a mind to see what, if anything, had changed. Making her way toward where the tremors had begun, she was surprised to find that a whole lot of stone spikes seemed to appear overnight, but the strange thing to her was the fact that they looked old. Weathered. Like they had always been there. Strange things had happened in the past, and this was no exception. Her ears flattened at the sound of the howling. The moaning and groaning. The eerie sounds that seemed to whistle around her as the breeze carried on its way. Carefully, she walked among the stone giants, the glow of her bodice pulsing with each beat of her heart. Brows furrowed as she continued her investigation, and soon enough, she came across a familiar face. "Coran!" She called out, hurrying in her approach, almost as if she were afraid that if she stayed out in the open on her own, the shadows cast from the stones might grab her. "Thank goodness you're alright, last night was terrible! And this...I don't even know what to make of this." "Speak"

Ardyn Adravendi

It was an adjustment, being ousted from his own homeland, if indirectly. They had managed to take everything of great import, including uprooting and transporting Eramaya’s little garden in clay pots. Since then, they’d been settled in the Valley. He’d been concerned, mostly for Coran’s health and recovery, but also for his parents. They weren’t young, especially his mother. She wasn’t decrepit, by any means, but it was a lot to take in so late in one’s life. Coran, at least, seemed to have come farther along on his recovery. At least there was that boon. However, the great tremors overnight, and the horrid, bloody sky come the morning had Ardyn fully on edge. So when he saw both Tel and Coran missing from the temporary dens on the ridgeline of the valley, he set out immediately, loping along the scent trails. They hadn’t left together, so he sent Sädir along Coran’s trail while he and Lunira followed Tel’s. Luckily, it seemed that though his fiancé and Coran hadn’t left in the same direction, they had more or less met up in the end, as Lyr winged back and croaked. It wasn’t long after that Ardyn spotted Tel’s pulsing light and some of the anxiety eased out of his heart, even more so when he spotted Coran’s pale cream and brindle-white coat. “Is everything alright?” And then he actually registered his surroundings and paused, heart immediately lodging somewhere in his throat as he took in the spires and the sound of the wind screaming between them. He’d been so focused on following his mate’s scent, he had completely disregarded the unnatural sights around him. His felt his entire pelt crawl under his armor as he gazed around, mismatched eyes wide. “Do… Do either of you remember this land being here before?” He couldn’t help the apprehension in his voice as he cautiously approached the one Coran was investigating and sniffed, though he was leery of letting his face get within three feet of it. _____________________________________________________________________ Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ----  "Hear" ---- Think

He jumped as he heard someone approach but was immediately relieved to see Tell. "I could say the same! I thought maybe a volcano was preparing to erupt but it seems it was these spires?" Despite how old they seemed they'd definitely not been here before. he couldn't conceive of how he could miss them.

Coran's ears perked up as his brother arrived and he shook his head. "We're alright, but… I don't think this is a good sign. I swear I've never seen these before and I've been through this way a few times."

A breeze began to pick up but it only added to the unease as it it made a terrible moaning sound when the wind moved through the spires. "I think there's something carved on these but its hard to make out, some are so warn." Coran lifted a paw and spat in it before reaching up to the nearest carving and trying to wipe off dust and debris. A contorted face stared back out at him and he grimaced. "Well… I don't think that's good. Anyone see any carvings of happy faces?"

You couldn't kill me if you tried It was as she expected. Even when Ardyn joined them, she could see the apprehension as the trio studied what now stood before them. Coran had never seen this before anymore than she had. She frowned as she looked between her soon to be brother in law and her fiance with a shake of her head. "No...with the amount of time we've lived in the West, I am sure we would've seen these before. I know the Western lands like the back of my paw, these are entirely new and yet..." She glanced up at the towering spire with confusion, "They look like they've been here for years..." The way they looked scarred and weathered. Bleached like bone that had sat under the sun. Something old yet...new. But that was impossible, wasn't it? Then again, thinking back to the Long Night...even the impossible seemed possible. Her attention was drawn then to the carvings he was looking at. Happy...faces? She was suddenly even more unsure as she laid eyes on the terror-stricken face of a creature she didn't recognize. What did all of this mean? "Speak"

Ardyn Adravendi

Ardyn nodded in response to Coran’s assurance that they were alright, and at his brother’s added remark, he frowned, thinking back on the Long Night and the changes the world had seen; changes that had faded away for the most part. He stepped back as Coran scrubbed the spire, ears flicking back in unease as the carved features came into focus. “I’d be amazed to see any happiness in this place. Even the air sounds upset.” He glanced at Tel; like Coran, she hadn’t seen this place before either. How on earth did such an ancient-looking place hide here? Or was it that the earthquakes had unearthed them? His eyes shifted from his fiancé to the spires around them, scanning for anything that stood out or maybe held a clue before padding to another nearby one and studying it. After a few minutes of examination, he tested the soil at its base with his claws unsheathed. _____________________________________________________________________ Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ----  "Hear" ---- Think

Coran's eyes drifted over the spires, ears twitching at the mournful sound they were making as his gaze drifted to where they emerged from the earth. "Could it be possible that these have been under the earth this whole time, only to shoot up out of the ground now?" He looked to Tel and Ardyn, searching for either confirmation or the reassurance that he was crazy, that maybe this was all some strange dream. As Ardyn tested the soil at the nearest spires base Coran moved to join him, digging a few inches down.

It was unnerving to think that something like this could've been under their feet the whole time but what other explanation could there possibly be? The earth quaking also seemed to fit with this theory. The next question was if the spires were all or if there was yet more buried beneath.