Code: PIRULUK

"DID SOMEONE SAY BURN‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽"

"Eh.... Lukewarm, at best." (Holy shit Saffron calm down)

People you know what we must do now. Let's ignore Radburn and just pass the next three turns

"Alright, let's get fired up!" As Cynthia landed among the trees, Serene leapt off her back and landed neatly on the ground in a crouched position, a flame already coagulating in her open palm. Her voice switched from its usually high, excitable timbre to a more solemn tone. "Sorrowful creature. I shall deliver unto you sacred cremation." In a single fluid motion, she spun and lobbed the magical flame at one of the two archers in her immediate vicinity. Serene moves to Q20 and tosses arcane fire at Archer 3

Valor's ever-present smile shifted slightly, bleeding into a genuine smile as the girl next to him spoke up and volunteered. She seemed to have found her resolve. Cindy, she had called herself. He tried to make a conscious effort to remember the name, but as usual, it was difficult to register this specific group of vital signs and emotions to a name. Given enough time and proximity, he might eventually be able to internalise the connection, but for now, it was a futile exercise. At any rate, she was unlikely to break down again, so his role as a gentleman was complete. He shifted his cane back to his right hand and gently touched it to the ground, but still did not make a move to do or say anything which might constitute volunteering. If the time came, he would engage in combat, but until it became strictly necessary, he would not actively seek out battle. To do so would be brutish, perhaps bordering on barbaric, and such was not the way of the gentleman.

"Well then, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Cindy." Valor was glad to note that his conversation partner's heart rate was returning to a regular pace. It was a sign that she was calming down. As she asked her question, he placed one hand on his chin in thought. "I suppose so. I understand the reasoning behind it, though I cannot say I condone violence. I consider myself a peaceful person, at any rate. That said, if I have no option, I will fight. In any case, it seems like they just want to stage a practice bout - I doubt anyone will sustain serious injury. There seems to be no cause for concern."

Serene pouted. "I know better than to start a blaze mid-flight, it's pretty hard to do. I once spent three hours on a pegasus unsuccessfully trying to get up a small blaze." Serene lightly touched the burnt skin on the back of her palms. "As for what I'm doing in this village, I was actually looking for the Misguided Children. I got distracted by the burning house. It was a nice little blaze, toasty and reasonably harmless. I couldn't resist the urge to go in and enjoy myself for a bit."

Valor smiled as the fear and anxiety in the young woman by his side began to recede. "Very well, a gentleman who is asked for a name by a lady is obliged to give it. I am Valor Igyll... Pardon me. I am Valor." Valor's grip tightened on his cane as he stopped himself from giving his family name. He bore that name no longer. Even as he did so, however, the smile never left his face, presenting an amiable front to the young woman. "Courtesy dictates that I ask your name in response, but I'm afraid to admit that I might not remember it. Names are not my strong suit. Even so, if you would like to give me your name, I would be honored to hear it."

Serene laughed, a clear, high-pitched laughter that echoed with an intense gentleness much like that of a flame licking one's skin. "Them? Nah. Never seen them in my life. I got kicked out of the army after I burned down one of their camps. It was just a small blaze, but they turned it into such a big fuss. Nobody even died. Such a boring group of people."

Valor sighed and shook his head as the loud man walked away. That was hardly the way to treat a lady who was clearly distressed. Hearing the young woman's sobs and feeling the murky mix of embarrassment and fear emanating from her, he smoothly transferred his cane to his left hand. Reaching into his left breast pocket with his now-freed right hand, he retrieved a neatly folded handkerchief and offered it to the young woman. "Here. Use this. It pains me to hear a lady with such a beautiful voice crying."

"Oh. Blazing sharp. It's actually not my first time on a wyvern; I used to ride on these to get to hotspots back when I was a soldier. Well, pegasi, more commonly, but occasionally wyverns too, depending on the unit." Serene continued patting Cynthia. Though she was not one who really enjoyed flying, she had nothing against the beasts that enabled it. "So I'm pretty okay with heights. Not too hot about actually flying though, a fire burns out way faster when flying."

As people volunteered and spoke up all around Valor, he continued to stay silent, observing. He was always observing. It was a habit born of necessity. And his observations in this case revealed that the same girl that controlled the phantom hands was now panicking. He felt confusion and anxiety emanating from her. She was a bundle of nerves. Valor was a man of few words, a man who favored reaction rather than initiative. However, before all that, he was a gentleman, raised to be a gentleman, and it went against the grain of his upbringing to ignore a lady in distress. Quietly, while several of the others were clamouring and gesticulating, Valor walked up next to the girl and spoke up. "Miss, it would probably be easier to think if you were to first calm down. I'm not fully certain what it is that has gotten you this flustered, but I am rather certain that it's not a healthy state of mind to dwell in."

Valor grimaced at the sudden outburst of the man near him. It was disturbing the peace of nature, and his own inner peace as well. It was a distinctively unwelcome intrusion. Thankfully, one of those phantom hands seemed to quiet him, allowing Valor to once again bask in the beauty of the sounds of nature. He made a mental note to thank the young girl that he presumed was controlling the hands, based on their relative positioning. His pondering was interrupted by the sudden deconstruction and reconstruction of some kind of object - a bottle? The sudden appearance of a void in space startled him, but he kept his composure. With Lumen, more than this was possible, after all. As the trio who were apparently going to be their instructors gave an explanation, Valor found himself frowning. A mock battle? He did not particularly enjoy violence, considering himself a peaceful man. Certainly, he could fight if circumstances demanded it, but he preferred not to seek out conflict of his own accord. As such, when they asked for volunteers, he did the one thing he was best at: he remained silent.

Kagari watched Black Idol descend the stage, frowning in disappointment. Noticing a very familiar cloaked figure moving next to the performer, Kagari's heart skipped a beat. She quickly sidled over to Hiroki's other side, tapping her on the shoulder and waving a friendly greeting. While she did so, she raised her voice a bit so that Black Idol could hear. "I actually arrived late, so I didn't really get to hear much of your singing. I liked what I did hear though! I think you're really good! Can I get your- hm. I've got nothing to sign. I do have a marker. OH! Would you please sign my boob?" Kagari excitedly held out a marker to Black Idol, her arm crossing directly in front of Hiroki. As she did so, she began to unzip the front portion of her suit...

Serene grinned at the fire pun, disregarding whether it was intentional. "You catch fast. Let's blaze." With that, she leapt onto Cynthia's back and patted her. "I think she likes me. I can feel the kindling of a great friendship already."

"Well, I guess it's time to blaze my name into prominence. I hope you like fire, matchsticks~"

Valor tilted his head in curiosity as he felt something moving frantically in front of his face. It felt like... a hand? It seemed like they had no arms attached to them, either. Interesting. He felt a sudden emotional shift in his vicinity. This was... embarrassment? At about the same time, he felt the hand disappear from its position, floating somewhere close to the sudden embarrassment. Considering the existence of Lumen, he had a reasonably good grasp of what had just occurred. He allowed himself to smile slightly, before a loud, twittering voice invaded his ear canal. Twitching his eyebrow in irritation, he consciously filtered it out into white noise. He had better things to devote his attention to, like the sound of the grass rustling in the wind.

Valor felt a shudder and a bump. It seemed the plane was stopping. The sounds and sensations of another seventeen humans echoed through his consciousness. He waited patiently as the plane's wheels rolled along the ground, until they came to a halt. Without saying a word, he released the seatbelt and listened carefully. Finally, he could hear and feel sensations beyond the walls of the plane. He sighed in relief. The feeling of being suspended in a hunk of metal in the air was a wholly uncomfortable experience. He stood up and reached above him, opening the compartment that held his belongings, from which he retrieved his cane - his reliable friend. Experimentally tapping it twice on the ground out of habit, he navigated to the hatch of the plane, exuding an air of reserved nobility.

"Keep moving. Hear you bright and clear. On the move." Serene smiled as enemies were felled around her. Her newfound friends were skilled, of that there was no doubt. With Meredith having moved to eliminate the sole straggler, there was little point in attacking it on her own part. The best course of action for her would likely be to move to the aid of the outnumbered pair on the hill, but Serene doubted she would be able to reach them on time if she went by foot. If she could hitch a ride on a wyvern, though... Serene sighed and ran up to Ecquis. "That's a pretty blazing wyvern. She got a name? More importantly, she got space for one more?" Moves to H18

oml frog. Tessa's power synergises ridiculously well with Valor's. If you get in we should totes team up.

Serene grinned as Meredith revealed the strange group of armed travelers to be the Misguided Children. Exactly the people she had been looking for. At least, up until she got sidetracked by the nice little blaze that someone started here. She was about to answer the various questions asked of her, as well as deny her involvement in actually starting these fires, but she was interrupted by the call to battle, mentioning the burning village. After the blue-haired noblewoman-looking person asked for her help, she called out to her, shouting her response. "Aye. I don't mind lending a hand. In fact, that's what I came here to do. But well... I do have a couple demands that I'll blaze out later!" With that. she ran forward to join her newfound allies in battle. Casting an eye over the undead, she felt revulsion surge through her veins as anger flared up within her. There were many things she was capable of condoning. Necromancy was not one of them. The dead needed to be respected. Even she knew that. The armor-clad red-haired woman, Meredith, declared her intention to protect her, adding a bit of snark to her words as she did. Serene smiled in spite of herself. She did like the snarky ones. Noticing there were no enemies in range, she decided to hang back and keep close to the knight. She preferred battling from outside visual range, after all. "Certainly, I enjoy all forms of burning. Particularly when it comes to burning bad guys. I'm counting on you to watch my back, comrade." Moves to F21

"Hmmm. That's some nice luck. Maybe I should burn some time at the gambling tables." ((Also, in case it wasn't abundantly obvious, "Sort ashes" is Serene's version of "Split Hairs". I will be lighting up other common figures of speech too, so don't be taken too off guard.))

Serene pointedly ignored the person that had failed to answer her request for identification, then nodded at the suggestions of the two men with the long, billowy hair and the effeminate appearance, reluctantly allowing herself to be pulled away from the comfortable warmth of the burning house. Standing upright and dusting off the ash from her clothes, she seemed about to speak to them, but then frowned as she realised that the flames that burned the house were starting to die out. She placed her left hand on her tome, under her cloak, and snapped the fingers of her right hand, causing the fires which enshrouded the house to blaze forth with renewed vigor. Smiling in satisfaction, she turned to the group and made her own introductions. "Merely a kindling of travelers, you say? You lot look a bit too heavily armed for that, but hey, not my policy to sort ashes. Name's Serene. I like to burn things. Scorching pleasure to make your acquaintance." After giving her name, she glanced at the pink-haired archer, pouting a bit. "Hey, don't slam it till you try it. Not even willing to bathe in the flames of the Goddess? Such lukewarm faith. You should do it someday, might be an illuminating experience."