Kylayia! Oh no! (Alexis Whitewave)

[Liandra]

Timestamp: Winter 32, 511 AV Time: Night Location: Somewhere between Cavindau Fishing Grounds and Glasswater Bay Who: Alexis Whitewave Liandra's hand was running through the ocean bottom silt, much like a Velispar would upon land. Her and Kylayia were enjoying an invigorating ride, solely for the sake of enjoying it. The water streamed out behind them as the two leaned forward together as one. Small fish and clumps of the life giving coral flew by as the pair continued their streamlined plight. Liandra gripped one knee tighter, and loosened the other, a signal to Kylayia. He understood it, and the two began barrel rolling along the seabed. Each time Liandra was within reach, she slid her hand into the silt, the grainy feeling flowing through the tips of her fingers. Then Kylayia would roll over once more, and the sand would leave a spiral cloud of murk in their work. Up ahead, Liandra spotted a forest of sea kelp. They were quite long, extending up from the sea floor, all the way up to the surface. She tightened her knees, telling Kylayia to stop the rolling, as they neared. The two slipped into the forest like a shark's teeth into an unlucky fish. The kelp parted for them effortless, Kylayia guiding them safely through the more dangerous clumps. Many other races often got stuck, which led to them drowning, and thus becoming food for others. But not the Charodae. She leaned forward in the saddle, Kylayia starting to descend once more. The pair darted through the forest for several chimes until it ended abruptly. Chills ran up Liandra's spine as she looked around. She was in a dark spot. A dark spot is what Charodae call a section of sea that grows much darker around dusk earlier than the surrounding sea. She looked all around her, this dark spot was particularly large. The easiest way out was always up. She knew Kylayia could see the way, and she herself could see fairly well, but she needed some more sight. So she called Kylayia to a stop, patting him gently on the neck, then dug through her saddlebags. She pulled out her two glowing coral torches and strapped them to the both sides of the saddle. The torches made the pair look like a bubble of light. She squeezed her knees as Kylayia swam upwards. Liandra knew they were deep, so it would take a while, and the dark spot seemed to extend extremely far upward, perhaps even to the surface. Liandra estimated they were about halfway to the surface. Then she heard a swooshing noise from up above. It was the unmistakeable sound of a ship. She couldn't see it, but knew it was heading closer. Then Kylayia saw something she didn't. He fluted loudly, and bucked her off. She was confused as she spun away. Then she saw the horrifying. A net scooped up Kylayia, and began to drag him away. She screamed after him. The ship wasn't targeting him, just scooping anything that was in their path. The boat wasn't very fast, and she suspected it wasn't of the Svefra variety. She saw that one of her coral torches had fallen loose. She quickly grabbed it and tied it to her upper arm and swam after the boat, while on a slight incline. She was just a tiny bit slower than the boat. She was able to keep it in sight, but it was still the faster. She breached the surface, and began shouting in despair. She couldn't save her best friend. She just wasn't fast enough. Her world began to crumble around her.

[Alexis Whitewave]

Alexis stood at the wheel of her ship, letting the cool sea breeze blow through her loose blonde hair. The moon shone down on the unusually calm waters, only broken by the gentle splashing of a young seal swimming close to the ship. Alexis was travelling late into the night only because she was travelling from Syliras to Alvadas on a limited supply of food and fresh water. Normally she would have found somewhere to let her sails down and get some rest but she could not afford to these days. She had been lacking in sleep lately however and it was taking it’s toll, leaving little bags under her sparkling aqua-blue eyes.

She was alone at her post, having sent Lynn off to sleep in the cabin. She had Airen for company though, which was comforting. Alexis let out a long yawn, squeezing her eyes shut and putting her hand to her mouth. She needed something to wake her up, so she walked down onto her deck and up to the rails. From there she leapt into the ocean where Airen was swimming about placidly. Alexis’ eyes sprung open when they hit the freezing cold winter ocean, causing her to draw her arms towards her and hug herself. Airen swam over and nudged her side, thick layers of fat protecting him from the cold. Alexis was not so lucky, but she managed to get used to the cold water after a little while.

She spent a good half-chime in the water, swimming and diving and playing with Airen. She was under the water, not exactly paying attention to anything in particular when she heard a chilling voice echo through the water. Alexis quickly swam upwards, her head bursting out of the chilly depths. Her hair was soaked and clung to her back and face. She heard the yell again, only louder this time, sending chills down her spine. She look around but could not see anyone. It was nearly too late when she saw a small fishing boat approaching, only a little bigger than her small casinor.

With a short gasp Alexis climbed back onto her boat, shivering. There were goosebumps trailing up and down her arm. The ship sailed past her casinor, quite slowly though. It was obviously not svefra built. Alexis dismissed it, hugging herself as she went to light a lantern. She reach into the bag that rested on the deck and brought out her flint and steel. She had to strike the flint more than a few times before she got a spark but she eventually managed to light the lantern, providing herself with a little more warmth than she had before, albeit not much. She picked it up and set it down near the wheel, where she positioned herself once again.

It was then that she saw something in the near distance, or maybe even someone. What’s someone doing in the sea? she wondered to herself as she went down to reposition her sails, trying to catch the wind again as she had taken them down when she went to swim with Airen. As she got closer to whoever it was she heard them shout out. It was the voice from earlier! Relieved that the voice could be explained and she wasn’t going mad from lack of sleep, Alexis threw a rope into the water.

[Liandra]

Even though her world was falling apart, something in her was still paying attention to her surroundings. Especially when something splashed in the water behind her. She turned and saw that a rope had been thrown to her, and at the end of that rope was a Svefran vessel, one of the smaller ones. She'd met several Svefra in her travels, and found that they were quite hospital to her kind, seemingly more than several other races. She grabbed the rope and pulled herself quickly along its length while kicking powerfully. She'd managed to build up enough momentum as she reached the ship that she was quickly able to pull herself up the rope and onto the boat. She saw a blonde hair, blue-eyed Svefra girl. Liandra's eyes were screaming for her to help. "Can you please help me?," she pleaded desperately, "They took him, they kidnapped Kylayia. That ship there." She pointed at the ship that was beginning to distance itself from them. She knew many Svefra required some form of payment, be it coin, trade, or service. "Please help me. I don't have much to pay, but I will do whatever it takes to get him back. Please, you have to help." Liandra finally broke down, saltless tears escaping her eyes, her voice wavering. "Please... I can't live without him."

[Alexis Whitewave]

Alexis hid her surprise as the blue Charoda girl leapt onto her deck. Alexis had heard of the Charoda before but had never seen them in person, only knowing them from the songs and stories she’d heard. Alexis raised her eyebrows as she listened to the panicked Charoda, turning away to adjust her sails slightly. She turned back to the girl, her blue eyes sparkling in the white moonlight. ”And who exactly is Kylayia, exactly?” she asked, not entirely sure what she’d gotten herself into.
”While we’re on the topic, who are you?” she continued, readjusting her tone to a more friendly note. She turned on her heel and walked back to her wheel, lingering for a moment before turning it suddenly, causing the ship to lurch around in a tight u-turn. ”I’m Alexis Whitewave and we’ll talk about the price later.” she said with a slightly teasing, bur good natured grin.

Alexis walked back down to the deck and began to adjust her sails once more in order to get the best speed out of the wind she had. Whatever light breeze there had been it was now blowing against them. Despite all that Alexis was pretty confident in her little casinor, however small it was it was faster than any vessel crafted by another race. It was a well known fact that the Svefra built the best boats on the Suvan Sea. Alexis had picked up a nice pace and was approaching the fishing boat, which was only a little bigger than her own.
Alexis grinned mischievously at the distressed Charoda and approached her slowly. Within a few moments she had pulled the sword tied around her waist and had it pointed at the girl. ”Hope this isn’t you’re first time. How do you suppose we go about getting on that ship?” she asked playfully, putting the sword back round her waist and jerking her head towards the boat they were approaching.

[Liandra]

"Kylayia is my closest friend in the entire world! We have to save him, now hurry!" Liandra was still in a frenzied panic, annoyed by the need for introductions. This Svefra didn't seem like the rest, most would jump at the opportunity to do something dangerous, exciting, and helpful. But little miss analytical had to ask all those questions. Liandra thought she was just as bad as those Charoda men back in Charbosi, who are only concerned with their studies. The type that never really live. "Liandra is my name. And thank you." Now that the boat was in pursuit, and gaining, Liandra relaxed, if only slightly. Liandra began to rummage through her pack until she found her sharpened shell. Not much of a knife, but it would have to do. "I don't hear his screaming, so he must still be in the net below the surf. If you can get us close enough, I'll go below and try to cut him loose." Liandra could see one man on the deck of the ship, manning the sails, who somehow hadn't even noticed their presence yet. But there was a pit feeling in her gut, and it was telling her that he was not alone. As the Casinor was now in a deck jump away from the other boat, the man finally noticed them. A startled yelp escaped his lips. The sails adjusted, and he slowed the boat, knowing outrunning wasn't an option. He struggled to pull a spiked morningstar off of his belt, thinking he was about to become the victim of Svefra piracy. The man was fairly proficient in combat, but certainly was no expert at it. And fighting Svefra at sea had always made him nervous. Liandra dove over the rail of the boat, into the surf below. Liandra didn't hear the man yell that one went beneath the boat. She swam over to the net, and saw Kylayia and several other assorted fish tangled within its deathly grasp. She had to save him.

[Alexis Whitewave]

Alexis grinned and reached for her sword, her hand clasping the slightly worn handle. Better judgement would tell her to reason with the man, explain their situation and come to a compromise but Alexis honestly doubted the worried looking man would be too happy with them cutting up his net. When the boats lined up close enough Alexis balanced herself on the rails of her boat and took a leap across, landing safely if not gracefully. She held out her sword in front of her, pointing it at the man. "I'm not here for what you think I'm here for, although it would be a very nice bonus." she said with a smirk. "But I doubt you'd believe me no matter what I say, am I right?" she continued with an accusing glance. She knew there was at least one more of them on board, the man had shouted to someone.


She took a quick glance at the water, hoping to get off without this turning into a fight she couldn't win when the lunged at her. As quickly as she could Alexis dodged the nearly deadly swing before spinning back and meeting his blade with her own. She was by no means an excellent fighter, but she was good enough to match the nervous sailor. The clashing of metal against metal brought another sailor up onto deck, having not been woken by the earlier yells. He was groggy and looked thoroughly surprised at what was going on. With the two against her she had no chance of winning this fight. She was backed against the edge of the boat within a couple chimes.

"You nearly done down there Liandra?" she yelled down into the water.

[Nalu]

Liandra 2 Points in Riding Lores: Kelp Field Navigation Svefra Bartering Systems Mass Fishing Practice Alexis 1 point Swimming Lore Wet Flint Doesn't Strike Charodae Existance All I'm going to say is that each posting round left me wanting more and unsatisfied. It was a quick thread to read, and I'm not going to sugar coat, easily forgettable. The devil is in the details and I expect players to dance with the devil. That is what will get you the best xp and better lores. If ya only put one or two percent of effort into threads, expect the same results when I grade. Other than that, I enjoyed getting to know the characters, though mostly ooc.

[Phoenix]

Liandra

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Riding (Seahorse)	2
Acrobatics	1
Swimming	1
Leadership	1
Observation	1
Ocean Navigation	1

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Riding: The Joys
•	Kelp Forest: Navigation
•	Riding: Nonverbal Commands
•	Dark Spot: Navigation
•	Kylayia Captured
•	The fear of losing your best friend
•	A Valiant rescue attempt
•	Race: Sfevra

Alexis

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Swimming	1
Sailing	2
Observation	1
Leadership	1
Weapon (Longsword)	1

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Falling asleep at the wheel
•	Rescuing Liandra
•	Race: Chardoa
•	Always thinking of profit
•	Bartering during a sticky situation

The Order of the Phoenix

Hey there! Please disregard Nalu's grade. If there is anything he gave you that I haven't that you would like, just let me know.

I liked the thread. Yes, it was cut short but it was very intriguing and personalized by both Liandra's passion and Alexis's clam and collected matter. Great job and keep writing!

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.