Cliffs of Epoche -- Bluhen

## Summary

Bluhen ventured into the forest to reach the cliffs on the edge of Epoche. After a brief, but otherwise uneventful run in with a dangerous creature, he made it safely to the cliffs to begin his ascent. However, a barrier struck him square on the head some distant up. Upon further review, it would appear that said barrier extends indefinitely across the skies of Epoche.

This exploration was awarded 40 AP.

## Transcript

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PANDOR.

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Exploration commenced.

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Bluhen

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Bluhen looks down at his Tempo, the two blue lights around him seemingly curious as to what he's doing. If what he was told was correct, the presence of a dense, rather dark forest should signify that he's on the right path. He's never been this far out of the city before. Surely he'll be fine, though. Going on foot might let him find something while on the way there. Worst comes to worst, he's not just limited to the ground. Getting lost isn't an option when you have a bird's eye view available to you, after all. ~ He chuckles to himself as he responds to one last message before putting his hands back in his pockets and looking on ahead. Now then... how much longer is it going to take? Maybe he should have brought Ben along... at least he knows exactly where to go... Oh well. He shrugs. Nobody's around to see him shrug (or so he hopes) and that's fine by him. That means nobody can stop him either. He snaps his fingers as he summons his third Wille, the three Eids combining into a larger one. There. At least he'll be ready in case anything happens. Hopefully it won't be anything much. Or anything at all. That's also fine by him.

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PANDOR.

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It's almost as if the landscape heard your thoughts - there, right in front of you, is that same dark forest you were told about. You take your first few steps in and notice that there is some sort of rugged path. The clear demarcation between it the the trees is almost long gone, but still discernible enough to lead you through.

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Bluhen

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Oh! The wonders of being lost in your thoughts... to think he almost didn't notice the forest right ahead of him. He steels himself and his resolve, and follows the path ahead of him. He hopes it'll lead him directly to where he wishes to go, but whatever detour he goes on doesn't really matter to him. He'll have to take it slowly to make sure he doesn't lose sight of it - but he has more than enough time. There's no rush when the hands don't move. Keeping his senses sharp, he tries to stay open to his surroundings, just in the off-chance something tries to sneak up on him. It's a bit hard to focus both on following a trail and on his surroundings, but he'll make do. He knows he'll be fine either way.

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PANDOR.

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Your thoughts giveth, and your thoughts taketh away.

As you go deeper into the forest, you hear rustling in the trees off the path. On your left. On your right. Behind you. It's hunting, and---a large animal jumps out in your path, snarling and baring its teeth at you, ready to strike if you even make another move.

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Bluhen

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Bluhen freezes up when his path is suddenly interrupted as he stares down at the animal. Oh, great. He was really hoping he wouldn't have to end up in a scuffle... he sighs, shaking his head. It's a wild animal, right? Maybe he can just chase it off... He holds his hands out, chanting words in a foreign language as the fire energy in the air coalesces into a flamethrower of fire, stopping just barely short of the animal, hoping it'll get scared by the sudden flame and run off. Normally you'd be a bit worried throwing around fire in the middle of a forest, but it's cycle magic - he knows he can just extinguish all of it with the snap of his fingers, so he's not too worried about collateral damage. Still, he wonders how his magic works sometimes. This isn't Elrios, there shouldn't be any El energy in the air... but this definitely is not the time to think of that.

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PANDOR.

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That does the trick - the animal runs into the trees to protect itself from the flame, not even bothering to attack you. The path is clear once more.

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Bluhen

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Good. Good! Bluhen blows out the flame in his hand (a completely unnecessary but totally necessary move) before continuing onwards. It is a good thing he is so prepared... he can only imagine how it'd go if he didn't have all these fancy tricks at his disposal. Time to follow the path some more, then.

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PANDOR.

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Nothing else jumps out at you as you follow the trail. Perhaps the creatures in the forest sensed something was wrong and are all avoiding the path for now.

Not long after the encounter, you can make out some sort of clearing at the end. It opens into a large field, leading over a cliff. All you can see before you in the sky are clouds that seem to go on infinitely. You've arrived at your destination.

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Bluhen

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It took him a little while, but he finally made it. That was... though he personally assumed it would have lasted longer, he definitely isn't complaining. He steps out into the field, looking around in awe. They definitely weren't kidding when they said this place was in a huge hole, huh... He fixes his coat before taking in a deep breath. Now that he's where he needed to be, it's time for him to do what he needed to do. Muttering to himself in an ancient language, a bright flash of green light bursts from him as ethereal wings sprout from his back, a crown of light appears around his head and his entire body changes color into an unnatural, divine white accented by minty shades. The mark of Henir brands itself onto his face, a solemn reminder of things he'd rather forget. But it's fine. He's better now. He leaps into the air, godly magic supporting his hovering as he starts his ascent. And he sure as hell isn't planning on stopping until he reaches the very top.

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PANDOR.

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As you fly up through the clouds, nothing gets in your way. Sure, there are a couple of birds here and there, but nothing that poses a real threat. It does start to get colder as you get higher and higher, but otherwise, it's a smooth flight up.

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Bluhen

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A smooth flight up. He's grateful. It's starting to get kind of cold, though. He summons Mut, the oath of courage, imbued with the element of fire, holds it close, kind of nuzzles it a little to heat himself up as he continues upwards without hesitating. He has to see what's up there.

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PANDOR.

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Your journey continues safely until you hit an invisible wall above you. Thankfully you are unharmed, but this barrier does not permit you to fly higher than you already are. Your only choices, it seems, are to go back down or explore the rest of the sky in any other direction than up.

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Bluhen

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donk. Is what he hears and feels as he flies face-first into an invisible wall. He reels in mid-air a little, rubbing his face as he mutters a quiet "ow-ow-ow...", blinking a few times before-- wait. He pats the invisible wall a few times, visibly confused. What's going on? What the... After a short moment of complete dumbfoundedness, he takes out his Tempo and frantically types away on it for a second before stopping and considering his options. Mmm... that's... that's really weird. Really, really weird. What in the Heavens...? He pushes with his hand on the invisible wall, takes a picture of it (well, his hand) with his Tempo, and eventually comes to a decision. OK. Time for plan B. Casually trailing his hand along the ceiling, to check how far the invisible wall seems to extend, he starts to fly throughout the skies. Maybe he can find something of interest with his newfound bird's eye view. But the thing he came for turned out to be completely out of reach... He'll just have to figure that out later.

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PANDOR.

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As you look around, you can see the forest you traversed peeking out from the clouds below you. In that time, the gentle sensation of that invisible barrier never leaves your fingertips, indicating that it seems to cover the span of the very sky itself.

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Bluhen

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How... wonderful. Hmm... After properly deducing (to his knowledge, at least) that the barrier seems to run on endlessly, he looks back over in the direction of Epoche itself. He's been up here for long enough. He can always come back later, but for now, all that flying's kinda tiring him out, and he wants to take a break, and he feels cold. It's chilly. Really chilly. So that's what he'll do. Time to head back to Epoche and take a little nap.

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PANDOR.

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Exploration ended.