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| Frigid Wastes Shelter, Niveus |
| Niveus is a small moon, the surface of which is covered entirely in ice and snow. Light is filtered through heavy gray clouds, snow falling much of the time. All visible land is of snow and ice. Though there are vast, deep oceans beneath the thick surface, from above it appears as though the entire moon is made of ice. A few formations of mountain and glacier, as well as the settlements of Niveus, break up the vast, largely empty surface. There are only a few settlements to be found here, many are buried into mountains and even glaciers. Shelter, the largest, is one of the only ones easily visible from a distance. It rises from the moon like a great mountain of stone topped by the icicle-like weather stations and homes of House Iah, the lights from within visible only in a few places, giving the appearance of bright glowing rivers that run down the sides of the great settlement.
Most of the creatures of Niveus are visible only beneath the surface in the oceans, though ice bears and a few other creatures can be seen roaming through the snow. The ice bears resemble the polar bears of ancient earth, though they are often much larger and some have pale gray fur as well as white. There are also a few packs of great wolves, though it is a rare thing indeed to see one, and a few smaller creatures which are completely unique to Niveus. |
| 31 July, 3013 |
Even though all the vitals and scans reveal a clean bill of health for Sammel, Elodie is still a little skeptical at the rate which he healed. She can't keep him in the hospital any longer, in fact, she probably kept him a day longer than necessary. But now he's out, and so she's offered to make good on her invitation to show him an ice wall sunset. She greeted him on his arrival with her usual guard, Sgt Wolf, and a driver for their personal snow crawler, a lighter machine that is less likely to fall through ice sheets. She's wearing her protector armor without the helmet, and her cloak is over her arm. Her hair has been left free, tucked behind her ears, to curl down her back. She smiles to Sammel and offers her hand, introducing him to Reginald. "Are you ready?"
He may not be fully restored, strength-wise, after the time spent at the hospital, so Sammel is moving a little slower than usual. Dressed up in warm clothing, and with the cloak he was given while in the hospital, he looks around, offering polite nods and smiles to both Sgt Wolf and Reginald, before taking Elodie's hand with a smile. "Ready," he replies, with a smile.
It takes about an hour to drive to the place, the driver constantly watching his instrument read outs and not pushing the speed too fast. Along the way Elodie occasionally makes some small talk about the terrain, or something else that may come to mind, but for the most part is content to sit back in her comfortably padded seat and watch as the sun sinks lower toward the horizon. Soon, the horizon is becoming more horizontal as they approach a wall, crystalline and carved almost in columns by the granules of snow relentlessly blown against it by the wind. There is an archway in the middle, so that the whole thing resembles a leftover bit of giant stockade. The sun is just approaching the top as they pull up on a nearby ridge to watch. "Would you like to get out and walk a little closer?"
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| Just imagine it clear ice instead of white, and in the middle of a snow field instead of water. |
Looking out of the window for most of the drive, Sammel smiles as he listens to what's being said about the terrain and all that. As they come to the stop, he smiles, looking towards that wall, smiling as he nods. "It's quite beautiful," he offers, before he adds, "And walking a little closer sounds like a good idea too." Keeping quiet for a few moments longer, before he adds, "It's quite different from the Vale, of course, but both places have their unique beauty."
Elodie smiles as he notes the difference from the Vale, but acknowledges that Niveus has it's own beauty. She holds out a hand when she thinks he's going to slip, as he's not used to walking on their terrain. Her hood is snug around her face, and indeed, the wind does occasionally gust around them, making footing even more difficult at times as it tries to tug the people from their feet. "This is one of the few permanent ice structures on Niveus. That is, one that is made completely of ice, and doesn't have any land mass to keep it's shape. We're not sure why… how it came to be here or why it hasn't been eroded completely away." The sun touches the top of the wall, refracting beams of white and pale yellow from the edge, its display becoming even brighter as it nears the horizon.
Sammel struggles a little bit with the unfamiliar terrain. But he manages to avoid any serious slips at the moment, as he looks around carefully, and then back to the wall. "Maybe it came to be like that just so everyone should have something to wonder about?" he asks, with a smile now, before he smiles again as he sees the sun touching the top of the structure.
Elodie chuckles. "Well, then… it is succeeding marvelously well," she agrees, coming to a stop at the bottom of the little ridge. Now that they are lower, they see the sun through the ice, the round disk has blurred, and appears to be a series of upright pillars itself, as the curve of each section of ice cuts down its sphere. The sky is starting to take on the blush pink hues of sunset, which are softened and sparkle in the ice.
"It's an incredible sight, though. No matter why or how it came to be. I'm glad you brought me here," Sammel replies with a smile, as he watches the sun and the sky and the ice. "It's a natural show of light that's even better than anything technology can recreate."
Elodie smiles quietly to Sammel, and leads him closer, and their view of the sun is completely blocked, but in its way, enhanced by the ice. They seem to be walking by columns of pink and yellow that slowly intesnify to deep rose and gold. At times there are breaks between the columns, and the sun can be seen reflecting off the plains of snow on the other side.
Smiling again as he's led closer to the columns of the colors, Sammel's expression is one filled with awe as he looks around now. Keeping silent as he watches the colors of the sun through the ice.
Giving the couple their space, Morrigan follows quietly. Keeping to a slightly different route that keeps him above the others for a better vantage point, the young sergeant keeps his hands folded behind his back. staying silent.
Elodie doesn't seem to mind the silence from Sammel. In fact, as she watches his face, and his expression as he walks with her, her own smile grows more content. She lets out a long, contented sigh, her steps unhurried as they wander parallel about fifty yards from the gigantic pillars. Her fingers cross underneath her cloak, and her prayers are answered as the sun approaches the horizon and begins to send out the flickering shades of crimson and orange flame that turn the pillars of ice to pillars of fire.
Coming to a stop as he sees the change for the pillars again, Sammel whistles a little bit. "Now that is quite a sight…" he offers, after a few moments of pause, gaze on the pillars rather carefully for a while now.
"I was hoping you would get to see that," Elodie says, stopping and moving closer to Sammel. "We call it The Bridge of Fire. People wonder how we can Bridge of Fire in the middle of the Frozen Wastes of Niveus." She turns eyes glowing with mischief, pride, and some of the awe that comes every time the natural phenomenon is witnessed to him. "It's something of a Niveun secret, and now you know."
Sammel smiles as he hears that, nodding a bit now. "It looks quite impressive," he offers, before he adds, "Thank you for sharing the Niveun secret with me. It's something I'll never forget."
As the display continues, Elodie leans her head against Sammel's shoulder, content to watch for a bit. The top of the bridge slowly turns lavendar, then violet, and the darker colors begin to take over the top as the bottom fades away to coals, and she offers her hand to lead him back to the crawler before the light fades completely. "How did your cloak work?" she asks, grinning up to him.
As she leans her head against his shoulder, Sammel smiles and slips his arm around her if she lets him. Content to watch in silence as the colors change. When she offers him her hand, he takes the offered hand, smiling. "It works quite well. I'm almost amazed at how warm and comfortable it is." A brief pause, before he adds, "Time to go back, then?"
Elodie grins at Sammel's wonder of the cloak, then nods. "Trust me. By the time we get back, you will be quite starved." She hadn't seemed to mind his arm around her at all, in fact, it's possible she even snuggled into the protection of such a gesture. "What is your favorite food?" she suddenly asks, as talk of being hungry reminds her that she doesn't know even that simple thing.
"Starved?" A brief pause, as he hears that, before Sammel hears the question, and looks a bit thoughtful for a few moments now. "My favorite food?" A brief pause as he considers that question. "I'm not really sure. One of my favorites would be some kind of roast, I guess." A grin, before he adds, "How about yours?"
Elodie nods. "Starved," she reaffirms quite steadily, but with a mischievous grin. She considers his question in return, and chuckles. "Pepper smoked redfish," she replies without hesitation. "Especially with mushrooms."
"Now that sounds like a quite wonderful meal," Sammel replies, before he grins again. "Why am I suspecting that you're trying to make sure I'll be starved now?" he asks, a bit lightly.
Elodie gives Sammel a sly look. "I don't have to do anything," she tells him. "You'll see. People are always surprised how hungry they are when they've been outside on Niveus." The door to the snow crawler is opened for them by Sargeant Wolf, and she climbs in, adjusting her skin suit down for the warmth inside the vehicle as she settles into her seat again.
Sammel smiles, moving to fet inside the crawler as well, he turns off the heat on the cloak as he settles down in his seat again now. "Now that you mention it, I'm starting to get a bit hungry now…" he offers with a smile.
"I told you," Elodie winks to Sammel with a chuckle. Even in her armor, she somehow seems to find a way to settle in and lean her head back a little. "So, tomorrow, I'm thinking…" she sounds a little tired. "No Name might need to get some exercise. He's probably tired of being cooped up in his stable."
"He might need to get out and use some of that energy, yes," Sammel replies with a smile now. "After all, I don't think he got to do much of it since the battle." A brief pause as he hears her sounding a little tired. "What was your idea?" he asks, after a few brief moments now.
Elodie blinks and lifts her head upright. "Idea?"
Sammel smiles, "I was just wondering if you had any particular idea about how to get him to get some exercise, or if it was just a suggestion that we should go riding tomorrow." Another smile now, as he adds, "Which is an excellent idea in itself."
Elodie's expression clears. "Ooh! I was just… it was kind of my way of saying that I'm not going to try and hold you back from getting in the saddle and training again…" she leans her head back again. "But I do also like the idea of riding with you. I have rounds to do in the morning, but I am free after that."
Sammel smiles as he hears that, nodding a bit. "I guess I should spend some time doing some physical training too. To regain what I lost while I was in the hospital." Smiling as he hears the rest, before he adds, "But going for a ride after that sounds like a wonderful idea."
Elodie nods and reaches out her hand to Sammel's arm. "As long as you don't overdo it. I know that you need to get your strength back, but… save the heroics for fighting the Hostiles?" She requests, turning her head on the rest to look at him hopefully.
"I'll do my best not to overdo it," Sammel replies, with a smile. "And I'll make sure to save the heroics for when I fight them." A quiet smile, before he adds, "I promise." Going quiet again, as he leans back in his seat a bit more now, enjoying the rest of the trip back now.