Empire of Solaris

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Therion finally halted the horse and dismounted. The valley they stood in was small and fairly narrow, with a little rocky creek running right down the middle. Trees marked the hills, surrounding and cutting off the place from outside view.

"We're here," he announced.
 
Once Therion had gotten off, Xalia followed. Dismounting was significantly easier than mounting, though Meredith stood, ready in case she was needed. Both she and Junedith were, again, standing still, impeccably clean and motionless. The witch looked at the area and nodded. "What would you like to see me do?"
 
"Everything you think would be useful," Therion said, tying up his horse to a nearby tree. He began undoing its saddle, to give it a little break for however long they would be in this valley.
 
Everything she thought would be useful? Xalia had never had to show off her skills before. She looked about, thoughtfully, and raised a hand, palm and fingers up as though she were grasping something. With a tearing sound, a number of trees rose from the earth, clumps of dirt still in their roots. Slowly, the witch moved her hand down, and the trees resettled themselves. Misplaced dirt rolled back to where it had been, moments ago, doing its best to hold the trees back in place.
 
Therion's emotionless exterior cracked briefly; his eyes lit up and he actually smiled briefly before catching himself.

"Very impressive," he said, nodding.
 
The witch stayed silent. She pulled her hand towards her, moving it as though it were through a very viscous substance, and the trees fell forward, towards the small group. Xalia clenched her hand into a fist, and a quick line of fire rose up through the now fallen trees. It cackled intensely, growing large, until the witch opened her palm again, towards the sky, and the fire shrank into itself until it was nothing but char on the trees.

She exhaled heavily, and turned to Therion. "With practice, I could do more, I should think." Sweat beaded Xalia's brow, but she still looked at him with the same intensity that she had been through the all of their time together, making it difficult to determine just how much energy she'd spent for that show.
 
Therion nodded slowly. "That should help us a great deal--particularly the control of fire. The Solarians rely heavily on it for their weapons."
 
"If it's magic they use with it," the witch warned, "there's only so much I can do. Particularly as I am now. But even if I cannot touch their fire, I ought to be able to defend, or redirect it."
 
Therion nodded. "We might run into some witches working for them, but I don't think it's likely since they've outlawed witchcraft. Even the magicians who work for them are treated as threats."
 
The witch snorted. "Of course. But I'm sure their priests still prance around doing magic as they please, safe behind a word they've deemed alright." Xalia spat towards the ground. "Bastards. Every last one of them."
 
"Agreed," Therion said. "I haven't seen much use of magic; if they do it they're keeping it very secretive, within the priesthood itself."
 
"Perhaps." The witch could hardly offer any insight when her only company had been a ragdoll and a corpse for years. Not exactly a community flush with news. "Is there anything else you would like to see, while we're here?"
 
Therion thought it over, and shook his head. "I think that you've demonstrated the most important skills. If you're willing I'll take you back to the city; some of my allies can shelter you. And your friends." He glanced at the two "dolls."
 
Xalia inhaled sharply. "And what will you be doing while I hide with these allies of yours?" The last time she had been in a city had been years prior, and it had resulted in her final conflict with a group of Solarians. The incident was the one that had pushed her over the edge and finalized her decision to live in solitude.
 
"Collecting our forces," Therion said. The switch to an inclusive "our" was not entirely deliberate. He had started to already think of Xalia as a teammate, though he still had some reservations. Mostly about whether or not she could face the people who had enslaved her again, when it came right down to it. "Preparing for the attack."
 
"And how long should that take? What ought I do while waiting for you?" She had dismantled her house for nothing, it seemed- and, if given the choice, Xalia would have preferred to stayed in the safety of isolation than return to an area so populated as a city.
 
"I couldn't say for sure. I'll meet with you and the others regularly," Therion replied. "It's an old family estate outside of the city, you're not likely to be noticed."
 
Xalia gritted her teeth, but nodded. "I suppose there's no way around it." Certainly not with the walls of what was once her house burning down now, if they hadn't become completely ash by then. "When do we leave for the city?"
 
"Now," Therion said. "I see no reason to linger."
 
Good. Xalia walked back to the horse, assuming that they would be riding it again. "How far is the city?"
 
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