Location [Entrance] The Rolling Waves

[Synthira]

5th of Winter
The journey had been long and tiresome, even nerve wracking, for Synthira. She had left her home with little warning to her fellow Konti. The whole affair was rushed, and she still wondered at her reasoning. Knowledge called to her, and so did the sea and the land she once knew. Mura was too quiet, too tame. And as soon as the idea entered her mind, she was packing the few possessions she had.

Synthira wasn't impulsive. In fact, she often thought things over a great deal more than she ought. But this time, something was pleading her to leave and she could not resist. In her mind, every possible ending was joyful.

Her steps down the dock were many and shaky; the power of the tossing waves and sea air were not lost on her. She gazed upon the port city, wondering what adventures might lie in her future.

[Iskessah]

55th Winter, 512 As Iskessah climbed through the pass and saw the city spread out in front of her, she reflected on what had brought her here. She had traveled on a whim with Samara and the others from Ravok to Syliras, but when the other return, Iskessah just...wasn't ready to go back yet. As she was searching for excuses to put off her return, she heard of the city of Zeltiva, and its great university where it was said one could learn anything. At first she hadn't thought much of it, but then she remembered Angela's letter... Perhaps someone in this city could grant her the skills to decode it. Wouldn't Joshry be surprised... Of course she would return to Ravok eventually, but... perhaps she could put it off a bit longer.

[Kenneric Crowe]

The First Day of Winter, 512 Year After Valterrain.

The Mirahil Pass, the dirt road was no frontier to Kenneric Crowe, as he had been traveling it’s rocky way many a time with his old tutor Lowych. But alas, as Crowe guided the donkey Flash along the chilly path to Zeltiva, it occurred that no more would he ever sit beside the old Nuit in this battered cart. He had just come from burying the scholar according to the man’s final wish, outside the city in a small grove. He had inherited nearly five hundred gold mizas and a few of Lowych’s books as well, along with Flash and the cart. But grief was no companion for Kenneric Crowe under this grey day, which mildly upset him.

He should feel for the Nuit, his mentor and role model for the past neigh on twelve years. Lowych had always been an emotionless and aloof sort, most likely due to his rather long stint as an animated corpse. There is only so long you can go without eating or breathing and still pretend to care for such trivial human endeavors as love. But they had, at least, enjoyed each other’s company. Scholarly pursuits aside, they had spent much time talking and even learning from each other. The last was expected for the youthful Kenneric, being neither world-weary or learned in much of anything when he first arrived in Lowych’s company. But the boy had even helped the scholar learn in some instances, and those were where they truly bonded.

So yes, Kenneric decided, he was sad to see the Nuit go. He was very glad indeed, that he had finally come to this realization. Otherwise he would have been too akin to Lowych, which would be a grave error on his part as a breathing human. A flick of the wrist sent signal to Flash. The donkey bobbed his head in the durable trot all his kind walk with. Such diligence was singularly displayed by Flash and his brethren. He just kept walking, and Kenneric was glad to have him. Dressed in his grey wool trousers, low boots, and white cotton shirt with a brown velvet jerkin and half-cape, Kenneric was in his travel attire. He did not think the Nuit’s astral soul would take offense to his less than formal garb, his better clothes were too valuable to wear out in the wilds.

The clouds shifted, leaving no manner of blue in the sky, and hiding the sun. Kenneric flicked the reigns again as traffic became a bit more cluttered in the Pass. The city was just ahead and three Wave Guards stood idly by, gazing at all the comers. Crowe was well acquainted with the city, having been there much of the past decade with Lowych, and was indeed comfortable with the Wave Guard.

“Good morning, Sirs. I trust you’re well on this winter’s day?” Crowe nodded in respect to the guardians of the city. The Wave Guards obliged him with curt, yet courteous, nods. They would have no reason to be suspicious of him, a thin traveler with a donkey and no weapons. He did not plan on making any trouble for the Guard any matter. Kenneric would now have to find work and turn to the University for study, since his tutor lay earthed over and rotting. He had already formed a loose plan as he had lain Lowych to rest. His confidence was rebuilding itself as he entered Zeltiva with the now thick crowd. Alone for the first time.

[Besnik]

Besnik 1st of Winter, 512 AV ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Besnik lay in an abandoned corner of a ship in his animal form, hiding within the shadows of the cargo being carried to a new land. He had no sense of time of how long it had been since he’d snuck aboard, but for now he was happy slumbering out of the way. His form was large enough that he had to actively seek out a hiding place, yet being only the size of a large dog he was not an impossible size for finding somewhere to curl up. His fur was an expanse of orange, mottled with reds and browns. Buried underneath, unseen whilst he lay down, was a coating of white spreading from his lower face down his chest, over his stomach and partially under his tail. His slanted head rested upon a backpack that contained his only worldly possessions, a meagre quantity of items but more than enough for him to survive with. It also meant the bag wasn’t too heavy to carry with his fairly small jaws. A large bushy tail, tipped in black, covered his nose as he breathed lazily in and out. Large ears twitched constantly at the sounds around him as all kinds of men went about their work, but he paid little attention to it. Suddenly there was a sloshing of waves that sounded louder than the usual he had become familiar with, and the boat jolted to a stop. Brown eyes snapped open fully, small whiskers twitching as lifted his nose to scent the air. He could smell more than he’d imagined, a sign they’d reached their destination; Zeltiva. The Kelvic quickly rose with the bag clenched between his jaws, darting from his spot and knocking a barrel over in the process. A dog heard the sound and also rose, snarling as it tugged on the rope it was tied with to get to Besnik. The Kelvic couldn’t help but let out a whistling cackle, the sound individual to dholes, at the dog. Even to those who couldn’t understand canines, it was clear the creature wasn’t happy about the stowaway. Besnik bound over the side of the boat, easily clearing the small wall as if it were nothing with his powerful spring. He landed on the port and, wasting no time, quickly dashed away from the boat. In the commotion of the busy docks nobody noticed the Kelvic weave his way through the people. He stopped after a moment, almost shaking in excitement as he looked around. Zeltiva, he thought to himself, Here I come! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ||Besnik|| ||3 years|| ||Kelvic|| ||Bondmate - None||

[Kayliegh]

Timestamp: 16th of Winter, 512AV

Kayliegh was slumped in her saddle, looking exhausted as the sun lit up the afternoon sky. She'd been riding all day to get to Zeltiva before the sun set, she could not spend another night out in the wilderness without a better protection than her tent. Even if Nauda and Treasa were there. Kayliegh also wans't the best horsewoman, by any stretch of the mind. She barely knew how to keep herself on the saddle. She just kind of sat there, like sack of flour and hoped she wouldn't hurt too much at the end of the day. She knew she wouldn't have made it this far though without Treasa, so she was grateful for the mare. Even if she hated riding her.

Nauda, not as tired as his mistress but not as energetic as usual, trailed along next to the pair, occasionally dropping behind. When Kayliegh saw the city building coming into view she slid form the saddle and almost fell. Nauda rushed over and pushed against his mistress as she gripped the saddle. Her legs gradually got used to the ground and while very sore they held. Kayliegh scratched behind Nauda's ears while rummaging through her saddlebags.

Nauda was well trained but she didn't want him off his leash in the city, too dangerous. She found the large leash finally and turned towards Nauda, who already knew what was coming. He looked rather put out and turned his head away from Kayliegh, saying he didn't like this with his body language, ears down and tail still.

"I'm sorry Nauda, but you know I have to. I'll give you a piece of jerky when we find a room though." Nauda understood the word jerky and his ears picked up. Kayliegh smiled and looped the leash around his neck.
"Rema Proxi." she orderd Nauda, telling him to stay close. Kayliegh took hold of Treasa's reins and walked into the city of Zeltiva with her animal entourage.

[Red]

5th of Winter, 512 There was something about coming to a new place that turned Red’s steps as light as a feather. The sense of discovery, of exploring what was, to him, the great unknown was exquisite. He’d lived the majority of his life in a small fighting pit in the back end of Sunberth, after all, so pretty much anything was a definite step up in terms of quality and the ability to induce the pleasure of exploration in the blood-haired man. It had taken he and his motley group of greatly varied individuals that nonetheless possessed similar interests quite the trip to finally get here, but if what Red had heard of Zeltive was true, they were in for a treat. So eager to see the new city had he been that he had gone on ahead of the group, with Thohorn close behind him, so that he would waste little time in getting to know his new temporary home. Though he had to admit he had no idea how long he’d be here, they never really set a time span for such things and mostly..Came and went as they pleased. It was a pleasant way to be and his companions were good company, yet still he had not found what he was looking for. Still, he had that sense of something being missing and still, he had no idea what it was. Yet he was patient, and he believed that if he persevered he would find it someday. And who knew, perhaps he would find it this very day in Zeltiva? It was with an optimistic spring in his step and a pleasant smile on his lips that he approached the surprisingly gateless entrance to the city. He slowed, his booted feet crunching softly upon the loose stones he stood upon as he paused to drink in the moment, to savour the sensation of potential. He had no way of knowing what was going to occur in this city, to he or his group, and that notion delighted him. Certainly, he may die or suffer some horrible fate but there was little point in dwelling on such dreary notions. Better to look forward to the brighter things and revel in the now while you were still alive to do so. Without waiting to see if Thohorn had managed to catch up, he strode purposefully forward, a broad smile on his face and a spark of excitement dancing in his eyes.

[Tamyriel]

5th of Winter, 512

Initially Tamyriel had chosen to stay with the slower moving group, watching Red charge ahead with a frown. He was going to see the city first, what if he found adventure without them? Still she stayed, trying in vain to fight the urge to rush to the city like a child rushing to open gifts from visiting family from abroad. She was excited for their motley group of mismatched adventurers to come upon this new place, and she was ready to be there by now.

Cursing her own excitable weakness, The young Kelvic gave an apologetic smile to her closet companion and surged forward. Her heart began to pump in her chest with wild abandon as the chill morning air surged through her chest, her leg muscles warming and feeling that ever so slight burn as they worked. How far ahead had he gotten, had he seen the city yet?

Tamyriel was looking forward to this place. For some in their party it would be a town of rest, others would find adventure, maybe riches. Above all else, this Kelvic was looking forward to a whole new group of people with stories to share with her. She could hardly wait for them to get to the inn, where she would sit in the common hall for hours in the dark evenings drawing out tall tales and hearsay like tree tap drawing the sweet syrup.

A splash of blood red hair on the horizon only distracted her eyes for so long before she saw the city laid out beyond Red's figure. The Kelvic was unable to contain the happy sound that spilled from her as she picked up speed. With an infectious smile on her lips Tamyriel hurried forward, to her companion, to the city, and to the unknown.

[Keira Star]

10th day of winter 512 AV

It was starting to get cold out because of the progression into the winter season; where 14 year old Keira Star had been traveling it was no exception. She had been using the Mirahil pass through rocky and mountainous terrain. It was astonishing that a girl as young as herself was able to take a horse through such an area. She shivered in her cloak and continued on to find herself staring at a city from a decent distance. It was Zeltiva, and feeling quite exhausted from the long journey she signed in relief. Her frostmarch horse was tired, and she slid off of its back and let it into the city, grateful for any place to settle down for a while.

As she walked into town, she saw people working or walking around the city, and students attending the university nearby. She brightened a little, imagining that she could finally get the experience her instructor had been advising her to have. Her long hair fell to her sides, and she continued to walk into Zeltiva, ready for any adventure she had been longing to find.

She got permission to put up her tent and she unpacked a few belongings, placing them there and crawling back out again, daring fate to toss her what was comming next.

[Ayatah]

Ayatah, apparently, suffered from sea-sickness.

She had discovered this the first night of her journey. In the light of the day, she had enjoyed watching the ocean splash at the side of the cargo ship, staring into the murky deep and wondering what lives in there?

But by night, the ocean joined forces with the black sky and swallowed the light of the moon and stars, disfiguring their mirror images. The friendly little splashes that had sploshes that had sprayed into Ayatah’s face suddenly became turbulent. Without daylight, she hadn’t been able to see them coming, so the rocking of the boat surprised her and made her nauseated. Sitting below deck was worse - and lying on her back even more so.

The consequences of this was Ayatah had slept most of the day, and remained awake at night, shivering and throwing her meal from her stomach to the sea. The crew had tried to help, giving her all kinds of drinks and food that they swore would aid her black-flipping stomach. They’d even handed her seawater, which she had sprayed back in their faces like a child in the midst of a tantrum. The rest of the journey had been a miserable affair, and Ayatah had practically danced off the ship.

She gathered her thoughts, her wits and small number of belongings. I’ve been through hell and back to get here, and paid more homage to Laikvu with my spewed offerings than any other God. But I’m here

|| Ayatah's speech || Ayatah's thoughts || Others' speech ||

[Lusa]

40th of Winter, 512 AV Shivering, hungry, exhausted; it was a miracle when Lusa began hearing the sounds of a city. Gradually over the past weeks she had been becoming more self-aware, waking from some kind of fog that had taken her mind. She had been warned about the effects of the fog in The Spires, which was one of the last things she remembered. Were her breath not puffing in little clouds in front of her face, and her ribs and hipbones no more prominent than before, it would have seemed to her that no time had passed since. But clearly she was not where she had been before, and it was not the same season it had been when she was last 'awake.' Miserably she'd wandered, once she'd had the mental faculties to do so, thankful that in her feral state she'd managed to keep hold of most of her belongings, including her wool jacket and travel rations, which had kept her alive since she'd stopped finding enough wild foodstuffs. Intense relief washed over her when she began seeing other people, all funneling through the pass, and she followed them, arriving in the largest city she'd ever seen.