[Flashback] To Where the Ink Leads (Xalet)

[Faraluun]

Lights and muddled words flashed through his conscience as he awoke from the remnants of a quickly fading dream. His eyes flashing open, he awoke with a jolt, half tilting forward till pain in his shoulder prompted him to lie back down on the medical cot he rested in. Vision swimming briefly, he only barely managed to orient on the squire before him, the one who he had bumped into in the wilds.

"How long have I been asleep?" He managed, while his vision became steadily clearer and his eyes turned to examine his own form. In the candlelight his the tattoos that banded around his arm seemed all the darker, though it wasn't their appearance that was important but the fact that they where still there. It meant night had not yet come to the world, or if it had a day at least had past. The pattern it etched in his skin was a hard semblance of a life's history long lost to him, though one day perhaps eyris would gift him with such knowledge. In looking at the bandages that wrapped around his shoulder, he could see the knights had done a well job, though his motion would be limited for a bit, with any luck his own natural hardiness and the work of the knights healers should put the wound out of mind within a day.

The absence of his clothing and possessions was not immediately startling, though he didn't find that fact immediately alarming, as by all reports the knights here where trusted people, and good on their words. What remains to sort out the rest though was another matter entirely.

"Thank you by the way" He spoke after a bit of probing the room with his eyes, and twisting about to examine any wounds that might have marred his back during his little skirmish with beasts.

[Xalet]

Knights, squires, and even pages all had various duties within Syliras. In the Knighthood you were constantly preparing, training, and readying yourself for the day when your name would be called. The rumors spread amongst the childhood of exactly what happened when it was time to become a Knight, but despite the curiosity of youngsters it was perhaps Syliras' best kept secret. indeed all Xalet knew was that you went somewhere for a long time, and when you arrived back in the city, assuming you did arrive back, the ceremony would begin for Knighthood. Even Syliras had its enigmas.

Part of all that preparation was understanding the use of proper documentation. That was the part that Xalet was now applying, theory to reality, ink to paper. His quill scribbled quickly across the various pages given to him due to his most recent excursion out of the city. Not due to his actions, but instead due to the man he had brought back with him. Hearing the man stir his quill leaned downward as his head lifted up, looking toward the injured Human. "Several bells, but not much longer." the Page remarked, and it was then that Faraluun would see he and the young Akalak were not along. Indeed there were two other unranked Knights standing near the entrance to the quarters they were currently in. As one noticed Faraluun awaken he nodded to the second Knight, whom then exited the room.

"You've caused quite the stir though. It's not often we find people with the marks of The Order upon them. Or so I'm told. The Order of the Syliran Knights, that is. You never said you were a Knight." the Akalak added, making an educated assumption now. The possibility of a common man having the banner of the Syliran Knights tattooed across his body was almost zero. Xalet therefore had to assume that this man was indeed a Knight, perhaps delirious from the blood loss, or minus some memories due to his injury. Either way, a Sergeant would be in soon enough to ask questions. The Knights showed no resistance in taking care of a wounded man, but they expected a detailed explanation of how that mark had come upon this traveler.

[Faraluun]

His inspection of his back revealed nothing save for that same bizarre tattooing that stretched over his broad form, and yet yielded no answers despite his connection with the goddess. What did catch his eye was the the two strangers in the room, well trained by the looks of them. Eyes flickering black to the deep azure man, his jaw dropped slightly at the man's words, and his head cocked to the side as confusion masked his face.

"Marks of the Order?" He uttered without thinking, his hand combing through his hair as he tried to sort through this confusion. Few had seen the markings on his back that he had only glanced at for the most part, and those few that did had no such answers for him as to what they meant. Fallen to world, a leth born ethaefal years hence, he'd learned only the namesake of his particular race, and whispers of a past lives from associates, such things reflected in the occasional intense dream. Nothing that he had remembered thus far had even been close to identifying his former life as one of the Sylrian knights and yet here this man was speaking much to the same ends. He turned to face the squire more squarely, clearing his throat as he did so.

"Many pardons, this was yet unknown to me. I knew the markings where there but had no idea to what they meant. I fell to this world three years ago, for I am an ethaefal, born of leth"

[Xalet]

Xalet was young, very much so, and the city of Syliras while incredibly populated was not the place to go about learning of the various races that populated Mizahar. Syliras was overwhelming Human, although a few different sub-cultures within the typical Human often showed themselves, such as the Svefra or the Benshira. Xalet was a particular oddity in himself, being an Akalak, but even as strange as his own race was within the walls of Syliras, something rarer still was a Ethaefal. Xalet's quill lapsed onto the paper as his turn came to be filled with confusion. However, before he got a chance to express it the Knight whom had left the room returned with another Knight, a shorter female with flowing platinum hair and pristine ivory skin. Her issued outfit was slightly different than the two Knights that stood in her presence. While they sported the heavier suits of full platemail, this woman wore some plate accoutrements with leather vambraces and gardbrace. A full shirt and skirt of chainmail rustled softly beneath, and upon her outer tunic a pin consisting of two swords shined.

"Sergeant." the Knight that had stayed behind greeted the woman, bringing his feet together and standing at attention.

Xalet, even as the rank of a lowly page slid his seat back and stood up from his desk, "Sergeant." he responded much in the same kind as the Knight before him. His shoulders sat back and he turned to face her as he did so, leaving his papers and quill as they were until told otherwise.

"At ease." she said softly causing Xalet and the Knights to relax from their previous stances. The woman walked over beside the cot of the injured Ethaefal. She looked across his bandages, nodding slightly at their competence with a satisfactory glance. From that distance, devoid of a helm it was clearer to see that the woman was not simply a pale Human, but a Konti. "So, this is the man found within our woodlands, bearing the mark of the Syliran Knights? Good work, Page." she turned slightly toward Xalet, offering him a slight nod, a gesture of her appreciation for a job well done.

"I will be reading the full report of course, but in the meantime..." she then pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down upon it, shifting her armor slightly to gain further comfort, "...how are you feeling, stranger? I wouldn't want to send a barrage of questions at you, but the Knights are not favored by all. Those with such an overt mark, such as the one you apparently wear could become a target by other despicable organizations. My most pressing concern is how and wear you received the markings, where you were coming from, and where you were going. Syliras is open to all whom seek it, but we must abide by our duty to ensure the security and safety within it's walls."

[Faraluun]

Raw truths just recently exposed, Faraluun couldn't help but feel naked in front of the squires eyes, and that of the knight newly arrived. He hadn't asked for the ink that stained his flesh, nor the grievance of the wolf bite that brought him to his current situation, but it seemed leth had his own designs that suffered his followers comfort, though it was beyond him to question the god's intents and purpose for it was far removed from his own understanding. If he was to continue telling the same words over and over though, he feared he might lose patience with pain gripping his form so.

His face turning to better look at hers, his teal eyes matched hers and he drew breath to speak, albeit hesitantly. "I am of better health, though as to your more concerning questions, as I told him I fell to the earth with these markings on my skin, for you see I am an Ethaefal. As for my path, I come from Riverfall and find myself bound still for Zeltiva after respite in the city."

[Xalet]

"Ethaefal eh?" the Sergeant repeated that name. A most unusual race, known well by only the most educated, so rare that the typical man or woman would go the span of a life never seeing but one. This meant that while she didn't necessarily believe the man was lying, she had no personal knowledge to back his claim up with. There was an Ethaefal within the order of the Knights, but the vastness of the city and the Knighthood itself meant not everyone knew everybody.

Xalet was in a similar boat. As young as the Akalak was, he couldn't question the possibility of different people or races, his knowledge being even more limited than the Konti Sergeant whom had lived decades longer and had the rank to possibly interact with the Ethaefal dwelling within the ranks of the Knights. He could only watch their exchange before getting a quick glance from one of the two Knights at their posts, lingering behind the Sergeant, almost as if that glance was telling him get back to writing. With a flurry Xalet's quill was retrieved and went back upon the page, slowly being covered in his unusually neat script.

"That's not something you hear often around these parts. Though stories have it there was a woman before you whom served the Knights before falling down to this place. Now she serves once again. That's as the story goes, of course." her lilting voice recalled hearing of such things, could this have been a similar instance? "Could this mean then that you too served the Knights in your years past, I wonder. A Knights service terminates upon death, or when one is no longer able to carry out the duties of a Knight. Thus, as it were, you would no longer be bound if hypothetically you were a Knight. If your tattoo there is an indication of your previous rank, that would have made you a Captain, quite an accomplishment. I suppose more answers may come in time. What will you do then, in the meantime as you recover? I wonder what fates have brought you here, to this place where those tattoo's may have come from..."

OOCI've been told that knowledge of Ethaefal's is extremely rare unless they've interacted with one or are extremely well educated. For this reason I decided to play the knowledge as somewhat ambiguous since there is an Ethaefal within the Knights, rather than simply not knowing at all what it is. .

[Faraluun]

The world had seemed to shatter and reform itself just moments ago, yet nothing had really changed. His flesh was still bound where the sellswords told him to go, and his will was not yet his own. The knowledge his mortal form had been of the knights was a surprise, but it changed him hardly though it did bring curiosity brimming to the surface. Enough to perhaps to try and peel back the ravages of time and take a better look at this order his flesh might one time have been bound too. The lady of wisdom might even bless such a effort to bear fruit, though that was something he would never know if he didn't try.

"Words of mouth and books have ever been my friend. As I recover it might do me so good to see what I can gather" He said quite simply though he was apprehensive about how resistant men and tombs might be to his searching. The woman told of enemies that would like to see one so thusly marked dead, so perhaps words of truth on the matter of the order might be harder than his research previous. Wisdom told to press on though, for with truth came strength, and in the coming days he would need plenty of it.

[Xalet]

"Very well, we'll leave you to it then. The men here will have your things for you when you are well enough to get up and about." the woman replied as she straightened up and brushed out her uniform. Turning to the young Akalak she gestured with her head as she gave him his orders, "Page Xalet, come with me. We'll leave him be for the time being. If he needs directions or information on the city make sure to instruct him appropriately. We're heading to the training grounds. I'd rather you not twist that pen so much that you forget how to hold a sword." the words, firm as they were had as much care as they did strength. When the woman spoke, her tone was almost motherly.

Finishing up the last few strokes for his report, Xalet replaced the quill into the ink well and carefully placed a weight upon the parchment so that it would dry cleanly. Pushing his chair back he took one last look upon the man he had met and reflected upon their interaction and the things he had learned about that race of people, most rare and peculiar. "Yes Sergeant." he answered, falling in behind her as they prepared to leave the room.

Before exiting the arch of the entranceway, Sergeant Braklin looked toward the Knights in attendance, "Due to this unusual circumstance as well as his potential link to the Syliran Knights, I'm granting this man temporary access to the training grounds should he need to make contact with myself or Page Xalet. Carry on." she mentioned, garnering a salute and a quick shout of affirmation before both she and the purple skinned Akalak left.

[Emblem]

Congratulations! You Get Glorious Experience! Faraluun Skills Observation- 3 XP Lores A Wolf's Bite Xalet (Partial) Origin of the Markings A Pit Stop in Syliras Xalet Skills Observation- 3 XP Riding: Horse- 2 XP Medicine- 1 XP Lores Rescue in the Woods Faraluun (Partial) Ethaefal (Partial) Comments : Nice thread guys! I had a hard time awarding many XP points since there wasn't too many skills being utilized. But there were some lores to award! So if you have any questions or concerns feel free to to shoot me PM!