Memories Anew [Lynnea Timandre]

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

52nd Winter 511 AV

Serrif knew he needed extended knowledge on the plants around RIverfall if he was to conduct any experiments on his own here. He had talked with Kavala and she directed him here to the Valkalah Academy. He saddled up Hasmere and took his blank books into town along with his quill and inkwell. He was going to take notes till he got tired of doing so and then head back to the Sanctuary with whatever knowledge he could glean from these books. Several things would factor into his success though. He knew that many of the books would likely not be written in common. This meant he would have only a small selection of books at his disposal at best. And well he would have to try and find the book of interest quickly to make this trip and time worth it.

So he entered the city through the main gate and then walked in. There would be a bridge over the river on his left…supposedly. He found it and walked over the bridge and there just where he was told was the Academy. He entered and then after wondering around a little he found the library. It wasn’t difficult to find really but he now had to find his diamond in the mess. Looking through the stacks he would pick up a book open it and well decide if the book was useful to him at all. First of all he had to be able to read it. After opening about five or six books he found one written in common that seemed to chronicle a merchant’s trip across the sea of grass. There were little details in the writing that were useful though.

On several occasions he had to eat local plants and the like. These were the kind of details he was looking for. So he jotted down notes as the man had written down in the writing. On several account he had taken a root and made a thick paste out of it that could help dull pain. Although it wasn’t suggested that the root be ingested because it quite often lead to stomach cramps and vomiting. So, the use was purely topical.

He sat down at a desk and copied the relevant information from the book into his blank book. The man chronicled all kinds of things in this book. His day to day travels as well as the hardships that he faced out in the sea of grass with his merchant caravan heading toward Riverfall. There were several intricate detailing hidden in the text about plants the caravan had encounters with. This information was definitely a start to what he could use.

With a smile he continued to read through the pages in detail and take notes. He would look up every now and then to see who entered the library. But it was mostly Akalaks who came here to look up information of some kind or another. He would just nod politely to them and then go back to his work. He could even put this information in the Sanctuaries sparse library. If they were to be a respectable healing institution they would need to have some kind of information for the newcomers to read wouldn’t they?

[Lynnea Timandre]

Lynnea had always loved libraries, and the treasures accounted within. She had, ever since her childhood. Something about the dust of old titles and the crinkle of aged paper had exuded a soothing effect on Lynnea, and from early on the bookcases of her family library had become something of a refuge for her. Pouring over the oldest of books and reading - no, experiencing - the words they offered up had calmed an ambitious soul, sated its desire for knowledge. The library had become her official standby during her time in Mura. But it had been years since she'd last been in Mura, and years since she'd last gone to a library. The Valkalah Library had been spotted almost by chance, caught at the corner of her eye on one of the Konti's trips to the markets. For days now she'd debated going there, one part of her itching for a chance to comb over the books within, another pointing out the pointlessness of such a visit. When the door opened and a slim white form entered, it was clear which side had won. Lynnea blinked the shift from bright exterior to dark interior away, and advanced on the bookcases within. A kind smile was afforded the receptionist as she rounded the circular desk, fingers itching for the wonders laying behind. She could feel a man's gaze on her, watching not just her but everyone that came in, but in the male-dominated Riverfall that was hardly out-of-place. She'd garnered many stares from the azure-skinned men, each so used to the sight of another male that her femininity was afforded a special interest. She assumed this was the case now, and the best thing to do was to just ignore it. Humming a soft tune under her breath, Lynnea pulled a book from one of the bookcases, its title unfamiliar, and began to read.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

He was used to libraries, the smell of books, the organization of the shelves and all the knowledge they contained. In Mura he spent many long nights perusing the shelves looking for knowledge of some kind. Sometimes the books were written in languages he did not understand, and other times they were written in common. But regardless that didn’t change the fact that every one of these books did indeed contain valuable knowledge. Just in some cases he lacked the appropriate knowledge to glean the pages effectively. He needed to learn the languages of the regions he visited. He knew this now more than ever, on the Isle he learned rough Kontinese. Mostly through listening to the women talk. Every now and then he would try it for himself; and the women would laugh and correct him kindly. That was the kind of learning he was used to. But he knew here in Riverfall things would be different.

If he were in Mura he wouldn’t give the Konti woman slinking in a second thought. And Mura was still imprinted on his mind. For a moment he lost himself but then he looked around again and remembered he was not in Mura. Many would argue that Konti looked the same. All blonde haired lithe wonderfully curvaceous women; but that was mostly sailor talk. But he did agree, they were attractive in more than one way. But this woman, the second his eyes fell on her…it was different. Something seemed familiar to him. Like he knew her without knowing her. He stretched outward in his mind through the memories to try and find out where he thought she was from. He couldn’t remember…he had no idea. But words, he remembered words; a promise. Yes…no?

None of this made sense to him. He couldn’t just approach her and say he thought he knew her. It could be offensive to assume he knew her because he had seen more than a few Konti in his lifespan. His mind was occupied with this now digging through painful memories to try and see where he had seen her before. He swore he knew her. She was a newer memory to him. Well newer in the scope of things he thought he forgot. He poured backwards and he remembered that golden hair among the snow…her warmth…her voice…He could almost make out words now. He closed his eyes and thought hard about what he believed was only a speck of a memory. Something he believed had been erased, truth was hard to glean though. It could be constructed to be whatever he wanted it to be. He could be making up the link with this beautiful Konti woman.

I swear to take you there. To take you to Mura. Why did he remember those words? Were they spoken with her voice. He had no way of knowing for sure.

His mind could be playing a trick on him. It was likely that he just wanted a connection to this woman…to anyone who would understand him…because he honestly felt alone. He would give anything for someone that knew what he felt like, without the ‘gift’ of seeing his tortured past. He shook his head; there was no way he knew this woman. His mind was making things up. Even if the memories seemed so real to him, her face so familiar…he could be putting her face on another person who was not this woman. This however didn’t explain why the memory seemed to stick so well. Why it seemed so very real to him.

He swore he held her among the snow in his cage. Listened to her cry as she spoke to Mura to him on that night. Why did her make this all up? Why did he stretch so far to bring her into his life? Again he brushed the feeling aside even though he could swear it was all so very real to him. His mind had fooled him before, and even if he did know this woman he wouldn’t approach her. No, he didn’t want to chase her off if she was part of his life in that camp. But he couldn’t focus on his book now. He had to know, part of him wanted to reach out and touch her…know if his mind was betraying him or not. He had to know.

So in a semi act of shaded courage he put his white all fur cloak on his chair and set to find out the truth. He walked past her, not making eye contact though because he didn’t want her to know he was pondering her. No, he didn’t want to come across as a slack jawed idiot to her who had never seen Konti beauty before. He had in fact lived among the Konti for nearly a year before leaving. He would catch her eye likely for many reasons. He wore white, all white actually. A white bodysuit, and common cotton clothing over that also white. And his skin was also a contrast compared to the men around him. Inwardly he wanted to do anything to grab her attention.

Would she remember him? Or was he just a ghost of her memories like she was to him. As he got closer to her though these ghosts became phantoms…then they became so real that he swore there was no mistaking it…he knew her. Or in the least he wanted to think he knew her. He could hear her voice, feel her hair between his fingertips even. His mind started to conjure up all the memories he had…or maybe he didn’t have them at all. He was fanaticizing; he had to be. He started feeling a little embarrassed so when he walked past her he was glad that little bit of social awkwardness was over before it started. But a part of him wished he was right…wished he could have a connection. He should’ve known better.

He bet himself up inwardly, but outwardly he was just thumbing through the stacks again keeping a composed appearance. Looking for anything that could again be useful to him to take his mind off of this internal embarrassment. With a slight shake of his head he continued looking through the bookcase for anything written in common. His mind had betrayed him…He supposed he better get used to his mind creating all kinds of mazes for him to run. A book caught his attention and he pulled it off the shelf. Opening the spine he saw the pages were written in common, so he could read it at the very least. It now hit him he would have to walk past her again to get to his seat. He would try not to bother her then.

[Lynnea Timandre]

A book slipped through nerveless fingers to strike upon wooden floor with a force to shave the heavens. Eyes glanced upwards at the faux pas, heads tilted ever so slightly to glare incriminate at the woman, dismissing her with a supercilious brow. With a harruph and a shake of the head they eventually returned to their own business, any thought for the scaled woman and the surprise writ on her face easily tucked away. But the woman herself did not care for any of these scornful onlookers. Her eyes were affixed solely on the man in white, watching him select a book with a sort of unbelieving tremble. She drew close to him, too close, words formed in her mouth deemed unworthy and immediately discarded. One disbelieving hand rose to examine the face of the man she could not remember but meant so much to her. Lynnea's memories were but tatters, fragments left from a destruction a mind that wanted to forget had wrought. But in her attempt to rid herself of all the bad memories the select few that had been good had been tossed aside as well. A necessary evil, tied to many scars as they were. And yet... She felt something. But what? "Se...ven?" Lynnea asked uncertainly. In her mind danced the static image of a night behind silver bars, her ear pressed against the chest of a man she barely knew but trusted implicitly. A foolish promise, sworn in the grim night in an attempt to fix the uncertain promise, lingered over the scene. But what was it? It suddenly came to her. Mura. To take you to Mura. And she remembered. "Seven!" she said again, this one a cry of delight. With a heaven struck smile she leaped onto him with arms encircling around his neck. "I can't believe it's you!" After she hugged him tightly (with or without his permission), Lynnea leaned back and looked at his face, eyes shining. "After all this time," she breathed in wonder. "I had thought...I don't know what I thought. I can't believe I'm seeing you, and you're free!" "Come, let's sit down," she said breathlessly, waving Serrif over to the chair he had previously occupied. After he had taken a seat, she would take the one closest by, moving it as to face him in eager anxiety. "You must tell me everything that happened to you after that..." a sudden hiccup, a spike of remembered fear piercing the boundless depths of her joy, was easily overcome. "...that night we spent in the cage together."

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

Seven…a name he hadn’t heard called in so long. Immediately it was almost as if his world stopped and he couldn’t catch his breath. If his mind didn’t stop him he would find one of his ornately crafted daggers in his hands faster than he could think…ready for a fight to the death. None knew him by Seven except his captors…But his mind pricked in the back of his skull, lit ablaze trying to analyze what he had just heard. Was it a mistake? Did someone call Seven by mistake? Call him by mistake. No, the voice was ecstatic…overjoyed, feminine and above all familiar. The voice his head had made up had placed in the mouth of that Konti was what he heard. Was he making this up too? Was his mind so lost that it began making things like this up?

Turning around to the source of the noise he was greeted almost instantly by the Konti he thought he knew embracing him almost desperately. As much as she found it hard to believe he was here; he found it just as hard to believe that his mind was right. That maybe he could make something of the faded and sometimes missing memories he recalled. He found it awkward to embrace her as well. That was when she would notice several things about him since they last saw each other…he was a different man now. And he had many many stories to tell her.

His body felt far more fortified than last time.; it was clear he had been free for some time now. But there was more, her eyes couldn’t search for scars because of the white bodysuit he wore. But there was something that she noticed the second she touched his skin. A soothing feeling that reminded her of Mura. But why did it come from that moment? His eyes were bright and a true smile came across his face as he noticed she had escaped. Someone besides him had made it out of that place…that…horrible place that still plagued his memories…still haunted his nightmares.

“I am so glad you are free as well.” The words were more like a sweet whisper into her ear.

She wanted to talk, and so did he. But here in this library…was likely not the best place. They had already caused a good little disturbance here and were drawing attention to themselves. So he smiled and gently closed the book he was writing in and from. He took his writings so far and put them in his pack and then offered her his hand.

“Come, let’s not disturb these people any more. I would love to talk of everything.” If and when she took his hand the feeling would come back to her. That soothing feeling that she felt before; how and why was this feeling linked to him. The longer she held his hand the deeper and stronger the calming feeling become. The closer she would feel to Mura…to home even though she was so very far away from it.

He would take her to an overlook near the top of the water fall where he would stop with her and look over it…beautiful. But on the way he was thinking about her name. He couldn’t remember it at first but he came to it eventually. Lynnea…that was her name. Or in the very least it was close to her name…close enough to be her name. Such details were often lost in his mind. But she remembered him just fine. Which was met with a mixture of horror and delight at the same time once he realized it was her.

“Lynnea…” He said almost as if he was unsure of himself; as if he couldn’t remember her name. “I remember you, that night in the cage. I spent…” Somewhat ashamed he continued, “another few winters there.”

He stopped there and then with delight spoke a few words gently into her ear in her native tongue. HER native tongue there was no mistaking it now… "I saw the Isle” The words sounded wonderful in Kontinese as he whispered them gently into her ear looking out over the landscape. The Kontinese was rough, but he learned it well enough that she would know exactly what he said.

“It seems the Gods honored your promise to me.” He only wished she could’ve been there too. He knew it likely had to hurt knowing he had been to Mura and she had not yet.

There were hints of this visit. His body was a clear sign of this, his arms were stronger…larger. His chest was fortified from work and proper nutrition. Now that he was filled out he looked…handsome. His face strong and his body stronger. But underneath it all his body was scarred, even heavier than the last time she had seen him. The daggers on his chest on the harness; a Konti had made them. Only a Konti could have made them. The elegance of them was an obvious give away, as were the ornate sheaths.

With a smile he spoke to her sweetly. “I wish you could be home, in Mura. It was everything you told me it would be…and far far more.” The words stung him to speak because he wished just like she had that he could send her home. But here in Riverfall wasn’t so bad…not compared to the camp.

[Lynnea Timandre]

Lynnea felt Serrif's gift through the touch, a delightful feeling transferred across nerves singing as one to bring a feeling of peace to her, a feeling she would not had not thought she would have felt until back on the isle of her sisters. It brought the smell of vian wood, the touch of cool water, and the feeling of magic tingling through casting fingers back to her in a moment, summoned in her mind as if one of the trickster god Ionu's illusions had been placed on her. Perhaps it was the ecstatic joy she felt or something only the Gods in their heavenly plane knew, but Lynnea felt Serrif's touch much more profoundly than one might have believed. A gasp expunged breath chilled by winter, new astonishment mingling with that already there. "I can't believe it's you," she whispered, starkly contrasting with the jubilant tones of time so recently past. "It's really, really you." Lynnea allowed him to lead her out of the library with explicit trust, a apologetic smile as the only response to the nasty glances the occupants therein gave her on her hasty exit. A eye was barely spared for the overlook he took her to, as both were busy drinking in the sight, sound, and smell of the man who had led her there. As he spoke to her, Lynnea's hand reached up to draw across the side of Serrif's face, a silent rejoice at the healthy vitality she felt underneath conveyed in another brilliant smile. "I don't care how long you stayed there," she said in shining breathlessness, "I'm just so glad to see you now." "But yes, let's talk..." "You went to Mura!" she exclaimed in admiring Kontinese. "And yes, it seems they did...Seems like they aren't as bad as they seemed." Bitterness rankled joy only for a few unfortunate minutes. "Oh, I will get there eventually." Lynnea assured him as he spoke of home, the desperate urge she had felt hither stayed, if for but a moment. "Don't you worry about me, let's talk about you." "Tell me everything that happened to you after that night we spent together."

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

There was no way for him to know the potency of his gift on Lynnea. He still didn’t know he had a gift at all. None had told him and how could they really know for sure? His hands found hers as he continued to watch her and study her expressions weighing each word carefully for emotion. It was a delicate situation even if she was happy for him. He had seen her home. The place he swore couldn’t exist, and yet he had accidentally ended up there. The gods had placed him there. That was the only reasoning behind it; and they both seemed to know it.

She was happy for him, elated was more the right word. A smile crossed his face and he nodded to her indicating that he would tell her everything. One thing that lifted his spirits the most was when his fingers brushed across her wrists…indicating she had been liberated and not indentured into servitude again. She was truly free like him; either could come and go as they pleased and now only they were responsible for their own destiny. She seemed to brush off going home, but he knew it weighted heavily on her heart, he knew a place like Mura would weigh heavily on anyone. Especially since Mura was home for her.

His features came alive as he then began to lay out his story to her. “I stepped foot in Mura by accident. I escaped from the camp I don’t know how and ended up on a merchant ship. I was going to get off at first port and well first port was Mura.” He stopped for a minute to really ponder how lucky he had been. It was clear, he was very very lucky. Anywhere else and it wouldn’t be Serrif that stood before her now. No a much more different man would fill his shoes. A man who knew not compassion, love, nor forgiveness; he knew the other man he could be. The man with blood tainting his hands and soul; he also knew how close he had been to becoming that man.

“I set up a tent on the north western beach in the forest near a rock outcropping” maybe she knew of this place, “and that was home for nearly a full year. I became Ildin’s pupil for my entire stay, worked with Lym in the Opal temple, attended the pumpkin festival. I did so much, I even met Shahal Timandre and met Rak’keli! I actually met and was touched by Rak’keli herself. It….I can’t even tell you what a different man it has made me. I took the name Serrif Von Chatlyn when I entered port. Because I couldn’t remember my name before the camp, and seven wasn’t much of a name.” He smiled and nodded to her.

“Every now and then, I remember things relating to the camp. And not too often…” He lightly squeezed her hand and a genuine smile crossed his face as he then spoke lightly. “, the memories aren’t all that horrible. They remind me who I am as well as where I stand.” He still could hardly believe she was real. That his mind was true and not playing games with him. It was a relief to say the least that some of the cracked memories could be real.

“But what of you Lynnea, I see you were rescued and released as well. Besides trying to get home to Mura is there anything else you are up to?”

[Lynnea Timandre]

Lynnea nodded at appropriate lulls in his story, eager to hear everything the man had to say. Even as she listened, however, her eyes couldn’t help but stray to the man’s various features; the scars that lay hidden beneath, the muscle that had grown over it and the dark tan he had acquired, doubtless on Muran beach. She looked at him with mingled longing and joy, a small smile carved across a soft, supple face. “Serrif von Chatlyn...” she tried the name out, rolling it across her tongue, experiencing every syllable of the forename. At last she nodded. “Yes, it suits you. But, why did you pick it? Any particular reason?” She shook her head and made some distant sound of exclamation. “So much has happened to you since being released...but I cannot say the same happened for me.” “You see, Sev- I mean, Serrif, I was not rescued so much as escaped. I was sold into the ownership of a man named Vernon Lark. He...he was a terrible man. And I lived under his thumb for four long years. Eventually though, I caused so much trouble he decided to sell me, to an old eypharian friend of his, a slaver down in Ahnatep. I was boarded onto a ship headed for Eyktol and set out to sea.” She looked down, some troubling memory tilting the corners of her mouth into a frown. “...It was there I made my escape. I managed to slip off the ship and swim to shore, and went I did I found myself not in Sylira or Mura, but in the Sea of Grass. I nearly died there...would have died there, if not for Eldon Sunkiss. That man...he rescued me. He nursed my wounds, saved me from the predators of the Cyphrus region. And he brought me back to his pavilion; I owe my life to him, as it were. Eventually I did leave the Sunkiss pavilion, though, coming here so as to charter a ship for home.” Lynnea smiled wanly as he squeezed her hand. “I sometimes think of the camp, too. Mainly of...that night.” Her voice faltered, choked into something like a sob. “In fact, I only think of that night.” For a moment, Lynnea’s eyes were squeezed shut and she said naught a word. At long last, however, she managed to compose herself and opened her sapphire eyes once more. She looked up, glanced into Serrif’s eyes. “You say...you say you met Grandmother Timandre. Can you tell me more about this encounter?” A touch of desperation clouded her voice. “How is my family doing?”

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

“Honestly I panicked when I was asked for a name at the port. As simple as a name is it didn’t occur to me that I would be asked for one when we landed. I just, made it up it sounded right for some reason.” Honestly and truthfully he had no earthly idea where the name had come from in the first place. He just threw things together until it resembled a name and said the first thing that came to mind. “Seven wasn’t much of a name.”

“Well it seems we both escaped then. And to meet again! I can hardly believe it.” His eyes were alight with energy as he was so very happy to see a familiar face from his past. They shared something, several things. They both loved Mura, and had both been tested by that cold night in the camp. It almost stunned him that she thought only of that night? Was there something special about it that set it aside from every other night there? His timeline was all messed up because he had no idea how long she had been there with him. He wouldn’t ask though; those were memories he knew they were both trying to forget if they could.

So many of his memories had confusing ties to them; both good and bad. And some were mixed. He was happy to see her, even if it brought back horrible memories of the camp to him. Even if it meant reliving how he ended up being like she found him that night. Reliving the confusion, the terror. Even through all that her words of Mura and the promise were well worth it. Somehow someone far greater than both of them had to have heard her that night. For he had ended up purely by chance in Mura; a place to heal and gain his feet again. The very place he needed to be to become the man he was. He owed her in a way the same amount she owed this Eldon. She had given him hope of a place outside the camp, urging him to press forward through everything. And it paid off.

“During the Pumpkin Festival I met her, Ildin and I were invited to attend a late night gathering of sorts. We attended and all of who was able to attend of the Timandre household was there, including Shahal herself. She is a very interesting woman, as are all her children, grand children, and great grand children. Your family is doing fine Lynnea; prospering as usual. I talked with her only briefly, about all kinds of things. She is a wise woman who I mistook for Avalis at first accidentally. But I hear such a thing isn’t uncommon among visitors to the Isle.” He said with a sly smile and a little bit of a laugh. It was true, Shahal did own a certain unreal beauty even among Konti.

“You’ll see them again Lynnea. If I made it to Mura you will too.” He said reassuring her as he smiled and nodded looking into her deep sapphire eyes. He knew she had to be stressed, happy and a mixture of many other emotions as well. It was difficult to say just what but he knew she was stretched somewhat.

“I can’t even begin to tell you what it means to see you again Lynnea…I remember little of that place. But it is good to remember something…someone like you.” There was so much death, destruction and torture associated with the camp for both of them. And to remember something that was in the least bit relieving…well for Serrif this was everything. Knowing someone else escaped and was now ok was relieving. To see her as doing better and healthy; that was even more of a relief to him.

It was now that he realized he had never released her hands from his. He was only gently holding onto them. Lightly as if he didn’t want to hurt her or give anyone the impression that he owned her. He was merely having contact with her. Touching a part of his past. The first part of his past that he actually didn’t mind being in the presence of. He didn’t release her though, she could easily pull her hands from his if she wished, his grip light and hardly present. But the effects still there. Soothing, lulling her to the smell sight and feeling of Mura. The feeling would be strongest first at the point of contact. In her hands, and then outward and onward from there.

[Gossamer]

. Character: Serrif Experience: +1 Research, +4 Socialization Lore: A single glimpse can dredge up unpleasant memories. Character: Lynnea Timandre Experience: +1 Observation, +4 Socialization Lore: Recognizing old friends. Additional Note: Reconnection threads are really fantastic. I wish this one would have been finished out and Lynnea hadn’t quit. So sad. Anyhow, glad you posted this up for review. If she returns and it continues, let me know and I’ll regrade. .