The drowning of a lonely soul

by **Valo** on October 24th, 2012, 6:18 pm

32nd of Fall, 512 A.V.
The Farson Home for Orphans
Evening

Valo had gotten very drunk that evening and he wondered the streets yelling all sorts of nonsense. The state he was in was just shameful. His black shirt was unbuttoned and the silky red hair which he usually kept so neatly combed was now no more than a fiery mess. Few bystanders saw him that evening, as he stumbled his way down the smallest of alleys of Zeltiva and they wept for his soul. For Valo's very soul was drowned in alcohol.

There was a little alley which branched off from the road, upon which the Farson Home for Orphans was situated. That was where Valo eventually wound up, sitting propped up awkwardly against a wall like a rag doll. One arm over his face in a state of misery. He was beginning to sober up slowly. Very slowly...

by **Arianthe Swansong** on October 24th, 2012, 8:50 pm

It was early evening and Arianthe had just finished putting the younger ones to bed. She emerged from the orphanage and was struck by the biting cold as the wind hit her, she put the hood of her large black satin cloak up and pulled it closer around her, so that she looked like she almost disappeared into the darkness. It was then that she stumbled across a body slumped against a wall.

"Are you alright?" she knelt down next to it, all propriety vanishing, then she realised who it was and smelt the stench of liquor upon his breath. Her first instinct was simply to leave him, but she decided otherwise. She didn't want him to die of the cold or be imprisoned for drunk and disorderly behaviour, or at least she didn't want that on her consciense.

"Is there anything I can do?" She hated the situation. She really did, but she had to try and help.

by **Valo** on October 24th, 2012, 9:15 pm

Valo was muttering something which probably made very little sense. So unlike his usual eloquent manner. But when he was like this he seemed to care little for words. He cared little for everything...

Running a heavy palm down his face, he looked at Arianthe blankly. Waiting for his eyes to focus. His entire appearance seemed to darken. There were heavy purple bruises under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept for days and lines in his face appeared, ageing him by at least a decade. The charismatic glow to his eyes disappeared. Instead they were the grey eyes of a dead man, a ghost, a soul drowned in cheep ale, beaten by life like a dog. There was an open cut on his right palm and the blood from it had combined with dirt and partially smeared across his face. A pitiful sight indeed.

"Leave me alone." he moaned, not yet in control of him self.

by **Nadiya Whitevine** on October 25th, 2012, 1:11 am

Nadiya Whitevine

For a long while, Nadi had been wandering the streets of Zeltiva since she arrived. She knew she had to go back, and she did for a little bit. Yet she didn't really drink or ate anything seriously at the time. She only ate some bread and simple milk along with it. For now, the young woman was making her way down the streets to where she heard a orphanage was nearby. She had her white coat on, while her dark hair, was down out of the ponytail this time instead of in it when she arrived. Her beautiful eyes would gaze and eat up the look of the city and buildings. The whole time she watched, she had a slight purple hight light's within her sapphire blue eyes. Showing she was curious of what she saw.

As she was making her way down one alleyway, she soon heard a young woman's voice call out of there. Nadiya couldn't help but stop, as she turned her head to look down and see she was leaning towards a man hair that looked a bit red-ginger to her eyes. The purple in her eyes grew more, until it covered her eyes completely. Now her curiosity was full.

Tilting her head, she remained silent as she stood at the entrance of the alleyway. When the male spoke to the woman once more, that's when Nadi spoke up. "Is there something wrong?" Nadiya ended up forgetting to speak in Common, and spoken in her native tongue. Vani.

The Wandering Healer

by **Valo** on October 25th, 2012, 10:57 am

"Is there something wrong?" spoke the new comer in Vani. A language which Valo was indeed familiar with, but his state caused the elaborate sound to distort. None the less, he understood the general outline of the question.

Without even looking at her he cried melancholically. His sentences a ridiculous mess of common with occasional specs of Vani. The phrases of a broken man. "Nothing's wrong! Nothing is ever wrong beneath this sky of perfection. I will die and then nothing will ever be wrong again! Can't you see I'm drunk my dear?"

Alas, calmed down a fraction he looked around him, realising that there were in fact two women by him. He was no longer alone like he had convinced himself. They were not the figment of his imagination. He made a frail attempt at standing up, the wall holding his weight. His knees were still shaking, but he managed to pull himself up and with embarrassment stared at the pavement. He no longer wished to yell, but wished for the ground to split and swallow him, sending his in the road straight to hell. He bit his lip... dark specs of crimson blood escaped his teeth.

by **Arianthe Swansong** on October 25th, 2012, 7:52 pm

Arianthe knelt down, realising only after she'd done it that she was getting her skirt dirty. She sighed - she didn't have such a large number of dresses going around.

"For goodness sake," she murmured, taking a white handkerchief and wiping the blood away irritable, before turning to the woman to her side, "Do you have any suggestions what we do with him in this state? I am tempted to leave him but..." she broke off. She would not do that, imbued too much with a sense of honour and doing what is right, but she could not help wishing that it was somebody else who had stumbled across him at this late time.

by **Valo** on November 25th, 2012, 5:05 pm

Valo pulled away from her abruptly, as she wiped away the blood. "Don't touch me." he groaned as he swayed and nearly fell over. Normally he was quite lovely when at this level of intoxication, but there was something about Arianthe that put him on edge subconsciously. Part of it may have been that he worked very hard on portraying himself in a certain way to her - and drunk was definitely not part of his desired image - but there was something in the way in which she treated him that put him on edge. A familiar face can be both a blessing and a curse at times like these.

Hanging to the very threads of his dignity, also feeling a little more sober -enough to walk anyway - he thanked Arianthe for her thoughts. Though perhaps he wasn't quite so thankful. And with an abrupt goodbye, he turned on his heel and began walking home. Ah what a wonderful though his bed proved to be. A place to rest his aching head. It was time indeed for Valo to stop drinking quite so excessively.

by **Arcane** on December 24th, 2012, 12:56 pm

Rewards and Treasure!

Valo :

Arianthe :

Nadiya :

In Conclusion
To be honest... that felt a little abrupt lol. It seems that it started out with some sort of direction, but then the story got cut short somehow. I'm curious though, why was Valo so angsty?

Completed The drowning of a lonely soul