The Preceding Epoch

Summary: A shift in the wind signals the end of an eon, the beginning of something unforetold.

For Lamia, as part of the HPFC Epic Exchange. I hope you enjoy this odd collision of fantasy worlds.

"Are you sure it's here?" Salazar's continued questioning only caused Helga to laugh.

"I thought you had a sense of adventure in you, Salazar. You're not going to find the tiburon mariposa lily out in the open like this. It's still higher up. Probably right over there," she pointed to the rock further out on the hill as she spoke. It raised about thirty feet above the ground around it, the stone wall smooth and nearly vertical on the south side, while the east was sloped, more horizontal. That was the part they would use to get up and check for the exotic flower that only grew on this mountain.

This mountain that was covered in a sea of green rather than white. The grass flowing like the ocean as a steady breeze blew across it. It almost seemed more fitting to call it a large hill rather than a mountain; a very large hill at that.

"You and Godric have a very different sense of adventure. Not that I have a problem with yours, it's less troublesome than hunting a dragon. And you don't try to kill my pets."

Helga giggled softly at the memory of Godric deeming one of those very pets an abomination to the magical world before attempting to kill it. The poor thing - still healing from it's wound - was resting in the safety of her garden now. Salazar had been able to intervene before Godric struck the killing blow. "Some of the plants can be dangerous, but this one is certainly not a threat. I'm actually worried we could do it's current locale harm if we're not careful."

It was Salazar that chuckled this time. "You're the one collecting the seeds. I won't be going anywhere near it. So there's nothing to be worried about. Once a new patch is set up at your garden you won't have to worry so much about it becoming extinct."

"True," Helga said, a small smile forming on her lips. Salazar would never go near the plants she gathered unless she told him she needed his help, and even then he became almost awkward with his careful foot placements, doing his best not to trample anything underfoot or otherwise mess with the environment. It would start to look like one of those dances from his homeland.

A gust of wind cut through the grass ahead of them, zig-zagging among the tall green stalks before shooting off to the rock.

Such an odd display made Helga stop in her tracks, while Salazar took a few steps forward, calling out to a figure that had just stepped out from behind that very rock. "Who are you?"

She was actually surprised to see it looked like a man, dressed in dark fabric, with a cape billowing out behind him; though the wind didn't feel that strong to be causing that effect. His face was obscured in shadows that danced across olive skin, created by the hood of the cape. If it weren't for the spear in his hand she would have told Salazar to not act so aggressively to a complete stranger.

"What are you doing here?" The hooded man called out, not answering the question directed at him.

Since Salazar didn't look like he was about to answer either Helga took a step forward. "I'm looking for the tiburon mariposa lily, perhaps you know where it is?"

"I do," he answered. "What do two wizards want with a flower that has no magical properties to speak of?" His voice carried over on the wind, loud and clear despite the distance. It didn't even sound like he was shouting, almost as if he were only a few feet away.

"It's a dying species. I just want some of the seeds to grow the flower in my nursery. I'm a herbalist." She hoped the information would make him lower that lance. So maybe Salazar would relax and not look like he was about to fling a curse at the man. If she could she wanted to resolve this peacefully.

"A herbalist?" the man repeated, but then he lowered the spear so it was pointing at the ground instead of at Salazar. She let out the breath she had been holding, wrapping her fingers around Salazar's wrist to assure him everything would be fine now. There was no reason for them to fight. "Stay where you are."

As the man began to walk towards them she noticed the grass behind him part suddenly, as if another gust of wind had just run through it, to disappear behind the rock. "What's your name?" she called over to him.

"Kain." Once more she was truck by how well his voice carried over the land, and he had called them wizards. Perhaps he was one himself, then? "You're telling the truth when you just want the flower's seeds right? You didn't come all this way for anything else?" Kain had stopped in the sea of grass, standing just a few yards away from them now.

"No," she assured him, though she could see Salazar frown from the corner of her eye.

"What other reason would we have to come here? There's nothing particularly unique about this mountain besides those flowers." Though, she didn't care for his tone of voice she found herself agreeing with him. It was odd to see someone else out here, and he was clearly guarding something.

Kain's cape billowed behind him once again, without the occurrence of wind, but she could see a woman standing behind him now. A curtain of golden hair falling all the way to her ankles when she stepped out from behind the cape that was settling in the still air. "This is what you came for?" The woman asked, dressed only in a bikini, a green nearly transparent cloth hanging from her right hip, as she stretched out her hands to Helga.

She couldn't help but stare down at the seeds in those hands, each one a mix of violet and yellow. Her gaze was straying to the golden bangles around the woman's wrists. They seemed to float over her skin, decorated in various gems: rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds. Each jewel glinted in the light of the sun as the bracelets spun around her wrist, never stopping.

"Ah, yes." Helga was able to shake herself out of her stupor to take the seeds from the hypnotizing woman. "Thank you."

"Barbariccia," Kain spoke softly. "Be careful. You don't want to end up like Rubicante."

"I know," the woman - Barbariccia - replied. "I don't doubt that they're only here for the seeds, though. They have no intention of capturing me."

Oh. "You're here to protect her?"

Now that Kain was closer she could see that he was frowning. "You wizards have a love for power. It's rather obvious after what became of Rubicante when they found him. I don't know what they thought he was, but they captured him and now use his flames against their enemies. Something Rubicante never agreed to, not that he ever would. He's too bound by honor to slaughter innocents just because of someone's whim."

"Rubicante?" She had never heard of the name before.

"I believe your kind call him Fiendfyre. He killed the first wizard that called on him, but the remaining ashes still live."

"And there are other wizards and witches that want to follow in that one's footsteps," Barbariccia added. "To find others like Rubicante and make more creatures like the Fiendfrye. Like a Fienderë."

Fienderë? "A wind fiend?" Helga had only been to Albania once, but she still recognized that word. Erë.

When the hooded man didn't answer Salazar spoke up, "I'm not interested in creating a monster from whatever this woman is. Neither is Helga. We won't tell anyone that you're here."

"Promise?" Barbariccia asked, stepping closer to Kain, resting one hand on the bare skin of the man's bicep.

"We promise," Helga replied, still holding the seeds she had sought in her hand.