Location [Wind Reach] The Sanikas Gates

[Iosha]

Shivering in the brisk wind of mid Autumn, Iosha brings her hands up to her lips and blows softly in finger tips. She looks around at the line of people in front of her. She gives herself a slight smile at the fact the her mother was right. This is a land of fire, and this fact is symbolized in the crimson hair of the Inartan people. Looking up at the gate, she notices that most of the people seeking entrance into the city are Inartans. Most of them carrying carcases of slightly deformed beasts. She heard rumors on the road that the storm hit Wind Reach hard, but she is surprised the effects of the storm are effecting the fauna around them too. She looks up at the line and notices it start to move.

Feeling the northern wind start to blow, Iosha pulls her hood over her head. She feels a slight tug on her sleeve, and she turns her head and notices a red hair boy. He must be no older than nine, but he looks up at her with a big smile. Iosha smirks at the boy and says softy to him, “Can I help you little one?” The boy runs his hand through his hair and ask her shyly, “Hello, I not trying to be rude or anything, but... I was curious. Are you a Konti?” Iosha smirk widens to a smile and she nods to the Inartan boy, “Yes last time I checked. Why do you ask?”

The boy shuffles his feet, looks at the ground, and he says to her without looking up from the ground, “Well...last spring a group of Konti fortune tellers came here and well...were giving out fortunes to whomever can pay.” He looks up at her, pulls some glass coins from his pants, and says with a sense of urgency in his voice, “Can you look into the future and tell me what caste I will be assigned too? I can pay!” Iosha tilts her head remembering her mother telling her about the caste system of Wind Reach. She sighs sadly wishing she could help the young man with his question, but she was never blessed with the visions of the future. She pulls her hood back , kneels down in front him, and she reaches out with her hand and closes the small hands of the boy. Still holding his hands, she gives him a gentle smile and says softly to him, “I am sorry young man. I wish I can help you with your question because I was never blessed with foresight by the goddess Avalis. My patron Goddess is Rak'keli. I am a healer not a seer...”

The boy takes a deep breath and nods sadly. Iosha frowns slightly thinking of something to say to the young man to put his mind at ease. She squeezes his hands and says softly, “Honestly, you are the only one who can control your own destiny. You don't need a seer to tell you your destiny. You know who you are, and what you will become. Just believe in yourself and you will achieve all your dreams.” The boy looks up at her with a sad look on his face. He nods and says softly to her, “Sorry to bother you miss. I hope you enjoy our city.” He turns and disappears into the crowd.

Watching the child leave, Iosha turns back to the line. Eventually she makes it to the gate, and she notices the resident Inartans are just walking into the city, but the foreigners are pulling the chain to get assistance and admittance into the city. She pulls back her hood, and she walks up the door and pulls the chain. She waits a moment for a response and says out to the gate keeper, “Hello, my name is Iosha Moonchaser, and I seek admittance into your city.” She adjusts the short bow on her back and waits for a response.

[Phoenix]

Val loved it when the weather cooperated; the flow in and out of the city was steady, hunters going out and food coming in, the old man positioning himself right by the road so that he would have the opportunity to chat with those who passed by. Some felt more enthusiastically about this than others, the Yasi pulled aside to question fidgeting and anxious to be off while old friends could have stayed for bells, had he let them. Eventually, however, they were all shooed on their way.

The Konti was spotted long before she reached the spot where the Gatekeeper sat, blue eyes crinkled by the smile that split those weathered features. A polite incline of his head was given when the exotic woman turned from the small boy and approached the gate. Rather than creek to his feet, Val extended his hand, bowing his head over hers when their fingers clasped. "A pleasure, Miss Moonchaser."

Pausing as a huge redheaded man clasped a firm hand on his shoulder, Val looked away from Iosha as the Avora nodded towards the half-dozen Dek that trudged along beneath the weight of a large, dead stag. Waving him through, Val turned back to the Konti with a thoughtful expression pursing his lips. "We would love to have you within our city, young lady. But what brings you this far north? We don't see many of your fair kind around these parts."

[Iosha]

Iosha smiles at the old man and says with a grin, “Actually Master Val I am been traveling south from Avanthal. Lets just say it was kind of depressing spending two years in a land where the ocean is contently covered in ice. I decided. I had enough of that madness and traveled south where the weather made much more sense.” The wind blows slightly and her white hair flies in her face. She takes her hand and she puts it behind her ears. She looks up at Val and says to him with a smile, “Honestly, my mother before she died told me my father was Inartan, so I decided to make the journey west to visit the homeland of my father.” She adjusts her Inartan short bow, and she says to him, “I heard rumors that the spring storm hit Wind Reach hard, and I know I am might be too late to help, but I am healer of Rak'Keli and I have some medical training from Mura, so if I can assist you in anyway. Let me know.”

[Phoenix]

Nodding while he listened to the young woman's story, Val couldn't help but share her infectious smile whenever it dared make appearance. When she finished, the gatekeeper pushed himself to his feet and shuffled over to clasp her forearms in his old, weathered hands.

"I hope you find what you're looking for. Welcome to our City, dear." Ushering her on through the crush of people on the road, Val waved and, as if suddenly remembering, called after the Konti, "Don't forget to stop by the Valintar!!"

[Inshin Taelian]

Inshin shivered in the cold. The wind was gloomy, and somehow seemed to wish to hurt him. He drew his cloak tighter around himself. The winter was certainly on it's way, that he was told by the gloomy chill, that infected his very bones, and hurt him to the core. He wimpered. "I don't like you." He said. "I don't like you one bit! Stop saying that to me! Stop it!" He then wimpered again and started running, tears rolling out of his eyes, and his entire body shaking from violent sobs. Love wasn't there. Neither was Companion, Mother, Father, or anyone else he loved. Shade was. And Inshin did not like Shade one bit, as he had just told him. Shade, however, had just laughed and kept following the poor little deformed Inshin, always whispering to him about Truth. "Don't you know why they're not here? It's because they don't exist. Isn't it obvious? Why else would they never be with you when Despair, like me, is around? Noone loves you. Noone cares for you. And you will never, EVER bond. You know this, as do I. For I, like all of your friends are but a reflection of you. I am the bringer of Reality. It is known, by both you and I." Shade said to him. And Inshin felt Despair embrace him, her rotten breath making him want to throw up. "NEVER! THAT'S NOT TRUE! They are real!" He shrieked back at the silouhette, his voice becoming infected by Despair's warm, fetid breath. But deep down, he felt the ring of truth vibrate within him, and his eyes filled to the brim with more tears, as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him towards what he knew would have to be his home over the winter. Shade following close by him, still whispering, eternally whispering, telling Inshin of this "Truth" of his. Inshin truly hated Shade, and this he kept screaming as he ran towards the city gates, that were now visible. Upon arrival at the city gates, he gathered himself up, wiped away his tears, and said, as loud as he could without his voice starting to break: "Ho there, would ya' let a poor wanderer in to ya' kind city, eh?" And stood still, waiting for a reply, still shivering in the malicious whisper of the wind. "They'll let us in. I'm sure of this, my dear." Love said. Inshin turned around and smiled, making his face look more like the face of a rock, rather than that of a human being, with holes, bulges, and scars deforming his already ugly face. He did not notice this, however. For his Love, his Family, and his Companion all stood there, guarding him from the Shade, and the despair. They were smiling, and as was he, his entire being filled with the songs of Joy. He wished for this song to be everlasting, and he wished to join it on the Flute. But not now. He might be seen as someone weird. And he had early on learned that being weird was not a good thing. Especially not when you looked like he did. "We're real. You know it, we know it. We are real, because if we weren't, we'd not Be, would we? Nay, Inshin, be assured, we are real, and we exist for you. We love you." They all said, and Inshins eyes once again filled up with tears. Tears of joy. He'd never loose his Beloved Ones. Never ever.

[Sphinx]

"Whoa, whoa, boy. Something the matter?" Val stepped forward as the man approached the gate to clasp his hands on the stranger's shoulders, a firm hold in what must have been a tumultuous moment. He held back his initial disgust at the sight of the mangled face and smiled warmly.

This one is bound for the drudges... Imsun's mind touched Val's briefly. Val reserved his own judgements for when the visitor was actually assigned, if he chose to enter Skyinarta at all.

"So, can you tell me who you are?" Val said gently. He began to lead the Inshin towards his own chair where the furs would feel soft to the touch and warming as well. "Where are you from?"

[Darkness]

Darkness grunted, raising a hand to his eyes to protect them against the sun's glare. It was far too early for him, or perhaps late - he should've been sleeping now, and he would've if he hadn't been in such a rush to reach the city. Despite his discomfort, however, it was probably a good thing that he was coming to the city in broad daylight: where a Zith silently moving towards the city in the night might have been considered a threat, a half-blind Zith trying to keep from stumbling on the road could hardly qualify as such. But no thoughts of that kind had crossed his mind. He could only respond to the pull of his curiosity, stronger now that he was so close to the human city, so close to his goal. And then he saw the queue - just two people, but it took all his self-control to keep from jumping on them, right there. But he knew doing that would keep him from going into the city, and it would keep him from filling his craving, so he found the strength to resist until his turn finally came, after what he felt were the longest minutes of his life. He stepped up the stairs, grinning. And then, drowsy as he was, he felt something brush his arm as he walked past the columns. Tensing up, with no time for thoughts, he turned and clawed at it, his hand getting stuck in whatever it was, the sudden sound of bells around him increasing his confusion. He pulled again, harder, and this time he did go free, but the sound of bells couldn't possibly signal anything good. Angry, confused, and tired; he waited for whatever they brought.

[Invictus]

The stone floor hummed with life to the sound of bells filling the vacant air, galvanized by another stiff draw of the chain from a very insistent hand. Peeling away from the shadow of a nearby alcove, a proud frame of a man whose features bore the weight of age came in haste. By the sour expression he wore, it was clear his patience with the newcomer danced upon tenuous strings. “One draw is quite enou--” the voice began before the breath was swallowed by his own miscalculation. “Well, well. Don’t get many of your kind around here,” he bounced back, voice quickly riddled with curiosity and softened by fascination. “Seem to be missing a pair of wings, though.”

Val’s temper was short lived by a flourishing smile. It seemed his interests outweighed initial misgivings, though Darkness was not like to catch a similar greeting from the vast majority that awaited him inside. ”Well then. What’s your point of purpose?” There was a noticeable lack of insistence in his voice, as though he would have welcomed the chance to sit down and discuss the newcomer’s business over a cup of tea. It felt slightly odd coming from a man whom had at first sought to strangle the half blood with his eyes, but Val’s experiences had left him as adaptable as the thermals he’d so often rode in his youth.

[Darkness]

The infernal racket from the bells kept Darkness from hearing the old man's steps, but his complaint, though cut short, marked his location for the half-Zith, who turned to face and shamelessly evaluate the gatekeeper. Before the man had finished speaking, Darkness had already classified him as prey, and thus a minor threat. With the confidence this gave him, he straightened up, dropping his alert stance, and even let the comment about his wings pass with only a frown. "Point of purpose..." He repeated, his voice rumbling deep. He had been preparing for this precise moment for the last few days, going over answers in his head, but now that he was actually there, his nerves wrecked all his plans, mind blank of any of the replies he had prepared. Hesitantly, he finally replied. "I am here to learn about humans. And, not humans. The ones that aren't Zith." As it often happens, the very instant the words left his mouth he was convinced that it was the worst way to explain himself, but it was too late to fix it now - he just looked at the aged keeper, expectantly, while his cheeks went a shade redder.

[Invictus]

Val’s smile remained, but his eyes turned rueful to the half blood’s answer. In his old age, there were some aspects of his duty the gatekeeper did not relish. Turning away guests who outwardly posed no threat was one of them. Still, there was precedent to follow, and trusting a Zith, even one whom seemed to possess only a fraction of their blood, had come with repercussion in the past. ”I’m sorry son, but I’ve heard stunted Dek tell better lies.”

Retiring his hands behind the small of his back, Val did not depart for his alcove immediately. Instead he looked to the newcomer with encouraging eyes, perhaps hoping Darkness would be the first to walk away, or perhaps because he wanted to see the youth give him an honest answer. Wind Reach was about as isolated a city as one could find, and lacked in the diversity of other capitals which would have suited the half bloods response more appropriately.