[Flashback] The Tallest Tower (Landon)

[Aello]

Summer 8, 508 AV Location: Dusk Tower A bright-faced sun poked out from behind a sea of fluffy white clouds. Casting its bright yellow gaze out upon the earth, extending its embrace towards everything that walked upon it. Everything the light touched felt the star's warmth, the glory of Syna, as she slowly rose to greet the new day. As she walked to her lofty perch, her invisible throne, high up within the sky. As the moon sank, into nothingness, for a time. For soon enough, the world knew, it would make its reappearance. A gentle breeze swept down from the mountaintops, into the lower portions of the city, the occasional valley. It caused the green blades of grass that Aello tread upon to sway lightly, to dance as she moved herself along, towards the destination she could see clearly, only in her mind. The wind seemed to whistle around her, to sweep her long brown hair off her shoulders from time to time. But Aello ignored this, and her taste of the other elements, as she tightened her grip upon her father's old bow, as the peacock feathers which lined each of her arrows swayed lightly in the breeze. It shouldn't be much farther now, she thought, as she continued onwards, her boots crunching each time they met with the ground, pushing her steadily onwards. Not much longer at all... The young spiritist strode silently through the city for a time, until she came to a large tower, which seemed to stretch up endlessly into the sky. It seemed to have been crafted of some sort of stone, which was the color of a darkened pearl. Seemingly burnt, and clinging onto the embers which had devoured it. At its base where two large, dark wood doors. Each equipped with a door knob, in the shape of an eye. This must be it, Aello thought, as she approached the door, and extended her right hand. She wrapped her fingers around the doorknob, feeling the cool nature of the metal sink into her flesh, for a moment, before she turned the knob in a counter-clockwise fashion. The girl heard a low clicking nose, before the door creaked open. Silently, Aello stepped inside and shut the door behind her. The girl found herself in a long hallway, along which the occasional torch seemed to have been scattered. Orange light flickered along the length of the dark walls, as Aello slowly made her way forward. The heels of her boots clicked along the floor as she turned right at the end of the hall, to find herself in a garden. Green seemed to overcome her vision, along with the sweet aroma of some sort of plant she could not so much as begin to identify. The girl made her way forward, and soon settled in front of a large shrub. The leaves of which were shaped as teardrops, far larger than her head. From the center of the shrub sprouted a single flower, with vibrant pink petals. They seemed pointy, as though they were elongated sections of a mace. What a peculiar looking plant, Aello thought, as she leaned forward, and pressed her nose against one of the petals. She closed her eyes, and allowed herself to breath it in, but could smell nothing. OOCI am officially done editing this post, whenever you are ready to begin writing, feel free. =)

[Landon Mora]

While painting at home was fun, at times Landon needed a change of scenery. The gardens at Dusk Tower were usually quite nice to paint. It never hurt to get a few nature paintings in. While they might not have been his favorites, they were nice practice.

Landon had loaded up his bag with assorted colors of paints and brushes, while he held a small canvas under his arm. When he got to the tower, he pushed through the door and immediately headed to the garden. While there were many other places he could have gone, he was glad to have chosen this one. At least it seemed he would not be alone. Another person seemed to be visiting the garden. A girl, seemingly younger than him.

The man did not speak to her at first. Instead, he began looking around the garden for a good place to paint. A small plot of flowers seemed nice enough. Sitting down across from them, he began to paint. While he was not highly skilled, he would try. First he painted half of the canvas green which would be the grass.

Calling over his shoulder, he spoke to the girl. "So, what brings you to the Dusk gardens today?" He did not take his eyes from the flowers as he began to dab red over the green to be flowers. "Just felt like a stroll or are you looking for mystery?" He extended his arm dramatically at his words, letting the brush skirt through the air, flicking paint on a bush near by. What was an introduction without a bit of flair?

Biting the tip of the brush, opposite of that which was covered in paint, he leaned back on his hands. He laid his back so he was looking at the girl upside down. His brown hair hung disheveled, away from his face. While impractical, he continued to watch her from this upside down angle, balancing the brush on his lips like a pipe of some sort. He attempted to talk again, although the brush threatened to fall from his lips when he did. Spitting it out, he tried again. "I'm Landon. Very novice painter. And you are?"

[Aello]

Aello pulled her nose away from the flower, and glanced over her shoulder the moment Landon's voice reached her ears. Her long brown hair cascaded over the length of her shoulder as her dark brown eyes settled on his deep blue ones. They reminded her of the ocean. So similar to the waters that surrounded her birthplace. The girl's cheeks began to grow warm, to line themselves with a ring of red which matched the color of the flowers Landon painted. "Nothing really. I was just exploring, having never been here before." Aello paused, as she turned to face Landon head on, and tuck a few loose strands of hair behind her ears. "The aromas wafting into the hall from this place drew me to the garden. Everything simply smells as good as it looks, if not better... it's a marvel that whoever lives here manages to tend to it all." Aello took a few steps closer to Landon, as she allowed her lips to curl into the gentlest of smiles. I wonder if he has been here before. If he knows his way around, the rumors. If what they say of this place is true, the girl thought, as she came to a halt. She now stood a few paces away from where Landon was painting. "So is that what you're painting?" Aello asked. "The garden, or something from memory... it seems to be much more difficult that way for people. Perhaps, if you don't like your work, it is because of that... can't make something beautiful unless it is based off of something I'd suppose." Aello paused once more, allowing her words to settle in. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other, and then back again. "It's nice to meet you Landon. I'm Aello by the way. A novice archer, if you will." The girl's smile widened, her eyes sparkled. She hoped she was not being viewed as rude; the people here seemed to have such strange customs.