Post by Gabriel Jhaedaes Os Tar on Apr 4, 2013 0:59:29 GMT -5
Satisfied that Hadjara would deal with the loss of her familiars and still enjoy the Dream Land, at least most of the time, Gabriel nodded and worked on suppressing the rest of his reaction to his sibling's memorial. It had been something he'd done when he was only eight or nine, not long after his sister had died, and he was surprised by the clarity with which he remembered it now that he was here. It was easier now they were walking away, the memory forced deeper into the recesses of his mind with each step towards the city. He knew Hadjara was uneasy around him when he was like this and he didn't blame her; he was unpredictable at the best of times, and confronting his dead siblings was far from the best of times. Fortunately Gabriel was good at backing down from that particular type of confrontation - in some things, he'd turned avoidance into an art form.
"Just the usual, although Daemons here will be more sensitive than those in Litharia. Don't insult anyone unless you're looking for a fight to the death; the Daemon that feels he's been insulted gets to determine the terms of the fight. Other than that anything goes; there are no rules or laws here." Hadjara not being able to speak the Daemon language would be awkward for her but probably wasn't a bad thing really; she'd be less likely to inadvertently insult someone. He wasn't really concerned though - Hadjara could defend herself, even if she looked like easy pickings, and unlike in Litharia there was little in the way of ramifications should you snap and kill someone. No Hounds, no laws, no-one more important than anyone else - you might have to deal with a few pissed off friends if you did kill someone, but Hadjara could deal with that too.
As they walked and Gabriel stopped thinking about his dead brothers and sister, the Daemon Lord began to notice other things about their arrival in Dream Land. After descending onto the plains there was nothing but empty space and the ever-lasting storm to see, so his mind turned inwards and he realised part of the reason it had taken some time to wrestle his emotions into order was the excess energy now zinging around his system. He was still starving, so it was slightly muted, but even as he thought about it a heady rush of pure energy made him feel like he could have crushed someone's skull in his palm with relative ease - which, he suddenly realised, he probably could. In the Dream Land Daemons became stronger, more powerful, with age and Gabriel was old by Daemon standards since the Dream Land was so dangerous.
"We're immortal here," he said suddenly, realising that returning here had reverted him back to his old status - never aging, immortal. He hadn't missed it, not really, but he'd been a lot younger than he was now when he'd left the Dream Land and he was enjoying how alive and strong he felt. It was nothing approaching the enhanced strength that magic might give some people but it was definitely an improvement on his basic strength in Litharia.
"I mean, you can be killed of course. But we're not aging, there's no upper limit like there is in Litharia. I didn't realise this would come back when we returned."
Now in a vastly improved mood, Gabriel laughed and nodded.
"That's about all they have. Seed eaters don't usually survive long here." Certainly not in the cities. The Dream Land was brutal, and better suited to carnivores than herbivores. The animals that weren't predatory were so heavily armoured, and often huge, that they made up for a lack of tearing teeth with sheer power. And they certainly weren't less bad-tempered than the predators, either. Daemons didn't have the size and power to back it up, so those that didn't eat meat typically died young. His train of thought about food, despite his hunger, was suddenly interrupted when Hadjara stooped to pick up a rock. He watched as magic flowed over the pebble then frowned, taking it off her palm and sniffing it delicately.
"Is that chocolate? He tasted it gingerly and realised it was, before popping the whole thing in his mouth and looking impressed.
"Great! Wait...you can't do that to people, right?" Gabriel stepped warily away from her; he didn't want to end up a lump of chocolate should Malak decide to be funny.
"Just the usual, although Daemons here will be more sensitive than those in Litharia. Don't insult anyone unless you're looking for a fight to the death; the Daemon that feels he's been insulted gets to determine the terms of the fight. Other than that anything goes; there are no rules or laws here." Hadjara not being able to speak the Daemon language would be awkward for her but probably wasn't a bad thing really; she'd be less likely to inadvertently insult someone. He wasn't really concerned though - Hadjara could defend herself, even if she looked like easy pickings, and unlike in Litharia there was little in the way of ramifications should you snap and kill someone. No Hounds, no laws, no-one more important than anyone else - you might have to deal with a few pissed off friends if you did kill someone, but Hadjara could deal with that too.
As they walked and Gabriel stopped thinking about his dead brothers and sister, the Daemon Lord began to notice other things about their arrival in Dream Land. After descending onto the plains there was nothing but empty space and the ever-lasting storm to see, so his mind turned inwards and he realised part of the reason it had taken some time to wrestle his emotions into order was the excess energy now zinging around his system. He was still starving, so it was slightly muted, but even as he thought about it a heady rush of pure energy made him feel like he could have crushed someone's skull in his palm with relative ease - which, he suddenly realised, he probably could. In the Dream Land Daemons became stronger, more powerful, with age and Gabriel was old by Daemon standards since the Dream Land was so dangerous.
"We're immortal here," he said suddenly, realising that returning here had reverted him back to his old status - never aging, immortal. He hadn't missed it, not really, but he'd been a lot younger than he was now when he'd left the Dream Land and he was enjoying how alive and strong he felt. It was nothing approaching the enhanced strength that magic might give some people but it was definitely an improvement on his basic strength in Litharia.
"I mean, you can be killed of course. But we're not aging, there's no upper limit like there is in Litharia. I didn't realise this would come back when we returned."
Now in a vastly improved mood, Gabriel laughed and nodded.
"That's about all they have. Seed eaters don't usually survive long here." Certainly not in the cities. The Dream Land was brutal, and better suited to carnivores than herbivores. The animals that weren't predatory were so heavily armoured, and often huge, that they made up for a lack of tearing teeth with sheer power. And they certainly weren't less bad-tempered than the predators, either. Daemons didn't have the size and power to back it up, so those that didn't eat meat typically died young. His train of thought about food, despite his hunger, was suddenly interrupted when Hadjara stooped to pick up a rock. He watched as magic flowed over the pebble then frowned, taking it off her palm and sniffing it delicately.
"Is that chocolate? He tasted it gingerly and realised it was, before popping the whole thing in his mouth and looking impressed.
"Great! Wait...you can't do that to people, right?" Gabriel stepped warily away from her; he didn't want to end up a lump of chocolate should Malak decide to be funny.