The 80th Day of Winter, 511 AV
Elhaym had been too long without a sponsor. With her former master gone, the Shinya had yet to elect another within their ranks that they thought would be able to handle the odd Acolyte. At twenty-six she was far different than most students. Despite, she had received a summons after she arose from a two hour sleep, quickly dressing in her uniform and meeting the young master who had called for her. Their conversation was brief and succinct; though Elhaym would have a Sponsor soon, she was to begin training with another talented Acolyte whom the Shinya believed could match her skill set. Moreover, the Shinya felt these two could teach each other much.
The sound of her soft footfalls were the only thing battling the pleasant silence of the Pavillion's halls as she made her way to the small courtyard she would be meeting her partner. "He is devoted in a way that a foreigner will never understand Elhaym, and that is not meant as an affront to you. None of us doubt you, but you will learn much from young Lu if you care to listen," the Shinya had said.
Elhaym wasn't offended by the prospect of one more pious than she. Her faith had remained in her fists until a short time ago, even as she repeated the teachings of Zintila to her Master's faces. She burst through the open doorway into the courtyard she would meet this Acolyte, walking the perimeter of the yard at a quick pace. Elhaym had been in the company of truly raised Shinya for the last few months, wearing their same armor and coming to be relied upon as an equal after a fashion. Formalities have little place in the wild, so they had said. It had been odd to walk once more unhindered by hard leather plates and to bow to brothers and sisters as she had before, but it was refreshing. For this she was armored, if only by habit. She silently wondered when the Shinya would send an initiate to reclaim the hardened leather plates she wore.
After she had deemed the area acceptable, Elhaym folded her legs beneath her to sit on the hard earth. She resisted the urge to shift into a more comfortable position, instead retreating somewhere else. Somewhere infinite and devoid of pain or comfort, sadness or rage. It was there she waited for this Lu Gavima, aware enough to notice his presence when he approached but to detached too feel the jagged blades of earth digging into her legs and buttocks.
What he would find when he arrived was a woman grown, 10 years his senior and built like few women in Lhavit. She was thick with muscle yet soft of face. She could have been pretty had she ever tried, but a thrice broken nose had put a permanent damper on beauty. Yet her thick build, her scarred nose nor her crooked smile were not what drew the eye of a stranger these days. Her hair had grown since she last left Lhavit and it had flourished into an onyx lions mane, a long and thick head of hair that even beautiful women would have been envious of. She had not noticed.
When at last she heard the almost silent footfalls nearing her, she rose under the power of her legs alone. Thick black hair snapped in the wind, and Elhaym unwound a coil of red and black prayer beads at her wrist to bind her unruly mane into a thick pony tail behind her head.
"Lu Gavima? My name is Elhaym Vormav. Seems we're to be partners for a time... and I was told you could handle me." She spoke with a breathy foreigner's accent, an effect that likely added to her reputation as being less than refined.
The sound of her soft footfalls were the only thing battling the pleasant silence of the Pavillion's halls as she made her way to the small courtyard she would be meeting her partner. "He is devoted in a way that a foreigner will never understand Elhaym, and that is not meant as an affront to you. None of us doubt you, but you will learn much from young Lu if you care to listen," the Shinya had said.
Elhaym wasn't offended by the prospect of one more pious than she. Her faith had remained in her fists until a short time ago, even as she repeated the teachings of Zintila to her Master's faces. She burst through the open doorway into the courtyard she would meet this Acolyte, walking the perimeter of the yard at a quick pace. Elhaym had been in the company of truly raised Shinya for the last few months, wearing their same armor and coming to be relied upon as an equal after a fashion. Formalities have little place in the wild, so they had said. It had been odd to walk once more unhindered by hard leather plates and to bow to brothers and sisters as she had before, but it was refreshing. For this she was armored, if only by habit. She silently wondered when the Shinya would send an initiate to reclaim the hardened leather plates she wore.
After she had deemed the area acceptable, Elhaym folded her legs beneath her to sit on the hard earth. She resisted the urge to shift into a more comfortable position, instead retreating somewhere else. Somewhere infinite and devoid of pain or comfort, sadness or rage. It was there she waited for this Lu Gavima, aware enough to notice his presence when he approached but to detached too feel the jagged blades of earth digging into her legs and buttocks.
What he would find when he arrived was a woman grown, 10 years his senior and built like few women in Lhavit. She was thick with muscle yet soft of face. She could have been pretty had she ever tried, but a thrice broken nose had put a permanent damper on beauty. Yet her thick build, her scarred nose nor her crooked smile were not what drew the eye of a stranger these days. Her hair had grown since she last left Lhavit and it had flourished into an onyx lions mane, a long and thick head of hair that even beautiful women would have been envious of. She had not noticed.
When at last she heard the almost silent footfalls nearing her, she rose under the power of her legs alone. Thick black hair snapped in the wind, and Elhaym unwound a coil of red and black prayer beads at her wrist to bind her unruly mane into a thick pony tail behind her head.
"Lu Gavima? My name is Elhaym Vormav. Seems we're to be partners for a time... and I was told you could handle me." She spoke with a breathy foreigner's accent, an effect that likely added to her reputation as being less than refined.
