A Burning Within [Leo Please]

[Gossamer]

Timestamp: Early Fall Location: Syliras Mood: A Storm Brewing On The Horizon - Lightning Flashing Under Dark Clouds Across The Bay While The Sun Still Shines In The City. The morning was filled with restless energy just waiting off shore to descend upon the city without so much notice as a stray gust of wind. Syliras was waiting, awakening, and felt for all the world like it was a time and place heavy with anticipation. The air felt like rain was lingering, just off the coast, though the sun peaked through the clouds, amassing just off the coast, often enough. Even the people in the city were restless - as if their mood matched the weather. Some where shopping, some where moving from place to place on errands. Even the knights patrolled with caution, wondering if one of the big typhoons were about to come ashore. Their talk was of securing the city, buttoning up shops, perhaps closing the outdoor portion of the bazaar earlier than usual. It was in that outdoor portion of the fourth tier bazaar that the messenger found Leo. Whether Leo was there to purchase food or was simply just passing time doing one of his odd jobs, the young girl had no idea or did she she really care. The youth of Syliras were often recruited to run messages and wore bright orange tunics to indicate that was indeed what they were doing - darting in and out of crowds. The girl was perhaps ten or twelve, locked in that timeless moment in life where she wasn't ready for adulthood yet, but hadn't quite made it out of childhood. Bright blond hair was caught up in a single braid down her back, while whiskey colored eyes regarded him with curiosity. Odd that they weren't blue, as most blondes in the region reflected the summer sky in their gaze. Regardless, there were laws that protected them, gave the messengers the right of way in streets, and made sure that Syliras operated smoothly since other forms of communication weren't available. It was just flat out odd that she found him. Stranger still was that she paused in front of him, obviously winded, and produced a letter neatly rolled in a tube that indicated it had traveled great distances. She held the tube carefully, though Leo could hear something rattle within it, something more than a mere letter. "Are you Leo Varniak?" She asked, between breathless puffing. "If you are, this is for you." She said firmly, offering out the tube and its contents. "I was told to ask you first though, what was the secret ingredient in your mother's seagreen glaze that caused it to ripple like light on seawater - and you're to tell me precisely when it was added to the firing process to prove you are in fact who you are." She said, her manner no nonsense, and absolutely no joke. It was an odd question, a question that was so entirely out of place to who Leo was now that it almost seemed like he was propelled back in time to where he stood outside his mother's outdoor kiln, a bucket of sea salt in his hands - coarsely ground - ready to slide an insulating brick out of the way to dump the salt down a tube inside the kiln that would actually evenly distribute it like rain over the half-fired pieces, causing the ripples in the glaze. He had to add it precisely at the middle of the fire, or the effect would be ruined. It was an odd question, one that seemed almost asked for by someone outside of the business who knew little about it save that salt was a secret ingredient. There could have been so many more questions asked, so many better ways to verify his identity... but this one was unusual, odd, strangely out of place. He could taste the smell of burning salt for a moment before he snapped back to the future, and to the girl waiting for him. He noticed details about her - the same details he noticed about everyone. She had worn shoes on. Her messenger's tunic was clean yet not new, and on a leather thong about her neck hung a piece of obsidian... the type not found around Syliras. It was called Ivakstone, for its red veins running through the black mass. Her hair was blonde as well, curly, and was caught back in a ponytail that kept it out of her face for running her messages. He was supposed to tip her a silver miza. That was the way things worked, but she had no hand out asking for one. Instead, she wanted some sort of memory password before she trusted him... or at least before she handed over the letter tube. If he gave her the right answer, she'd simply hand over the tube, without demanding any payment. It was unadorned, but he recognized its maker as being local to Sylrias. Formed of hardened thin leather, the tube was just big enough to hold the letter. It was stylized, tooled, and depicted an odd patterning cut into its surface with lines running away from the patterning, circling the cylinder. The tag hanging off it read Leo Varniak. Inside he'd find a letter written by his father. Also inside, he'd find a small key with a three part handle made of a trio of swirling teardrops. It almost reminded him of fire the way the three symbols interacted to form a circle. There was nothing else in the tube save the letter and the key. And if Leo took the and inspected ithe contents, the girl would be gone when he looked up... unless he especially paid close attention to her, he'd not spot where she'd gone. The Letter :

[Leo Varniak]

Leo Varniak's ability to filter out the external world was almost supernatural. He was most alone in the thickest crowd, roaming Syliras as if it only belonged to him. A city borne out of a castle like some kind of outgrowth, Leo reasoned. Deep down, he thought of it as pus bursting out of an open wound, because that was exactly what many so-called humans were.

Leo was not sure when he had started to hate people, but he certainly did - a majority of them, at least. This clashed with his extreme sense of justice, though, and so he channeled his negative feelings into the destruction of what he perceived as morally wrong and unjust. He could have been anything he wanted, and he was certainly more than intelligent enough to pursue most any path imaginable, but he had sacrificed his chance at a normal life, choosing to live as some kind of dark monk of judgment instead.

But even dark monks of judgment had to eat, cook and gather ingredients at the market, much to Leo's chagrin. These menial tasks always irritated him to no end, having to exchange words with merchants he disliked. If there had been such a thing as buying by correspondence, Leo would have surely made use of it. As it was, he made a bad cook but was blessed with a stoic personality that hardly cared for the pleasures of the senses. Which was to say, he had rarely eaten better than what he cooked himself, and he had little opportunity to make comparisons. Even his mother had been a poor cook next to her other talents.

Leo thought he looked totally ridiculous, the somber vigilante strolling down the street with a wicker basket to hold his things. The approaching storm did not help his mood, either. He much preferred it when the weather made up its mind on what it wanted to do. If it wanted to be sunny, then let the sun shine. If it wanted to rain, then let there be rain. These indecisive states annoyed the young Varniak and frustrated his constant urge to give names to things.

It was in this state of mind, while he wandered the booths looking for fresh eggs - possibly sold by someone who wasn't on one of his many lists - that the messenger girl found him. She seemed very serious for her age, and Leo honored her seriousness by giving her his most serious stare in return. It was all very, very serious; so serious it was almost funny. "I am he," he said, black eyes narrowing as he scanned the girl from the top of the head to the tip of her toes. "The answer is salt, sea salt. Not too finely ground, mind you, or else it is only good for the kitchen. You add it exactly halfway through the firing."

He accepted the tube from the girl, but did not immediately open it. Leo was not like that. He was curious, but not desperate for an answer; the best answers always came from people of flesh and blood, if one knew how to play such instruments. "You were lucky to find me in this crowd," he said calmly, "especially today of all days. I forgot to bring my 'I am Leo Varniak' sign with me, you see."

He produced a Miza coin - only, this one was golden instead of the expected silver. He held it out for the girl to take. "For your trouble, little seer. Are you just like that advisor woman from the white isle, or did they tell you what I looked like?" The correct color coding of her dress, the clean condition of her tunic and the fact that the letter tube was most likely Syliran all indicated that the girl was no stranger barging into town to deliver a letter.

"Who asked you to deliver this to me?" he asked. His tone did not change depending on who he was talking to; he was addressing a girl, but he might as well have been interrogating a criminal. If it had been a five year old in front of him, he'd still have asked the same question in the same tone. "They must have known my mother better than they do me." And they could not be too far.

He opened the tube as he waited for an answer from the messenger, if any. He skim-read it, eyes widening ever so little upon reading the signature. Alvias Zai. At the very least, Alvias had been smart enough to get rid of that disgusting Varniak surname. Leo himself could not do so for some reason, maybe because that would be tantamount to running from who he was... or had been told he was.

There was something with the letter... a key of sorts? Several mentions of the number three. Ironically, even amidst the conspiratorial talk, Alvias had felt the need to explain himself about his absence. So he really was his father, or thought he was. He also thought Leo was a psychic of sorts, as the letter contained little in the way of a map to his destination. Other than a strange symbol in the form of three swirling drops, he had nothing to go by.

He needed no fatherly love this late in his life, and certainly felt no pang of affection upon seeing those written words. They were just words, complex things meant to be broken down with the fire of logic. Leo wanted to find Alvias because he held answers that the young man sought. He really had nothing to go by, but then again, Leo's distinguishing trait was that he needed nothing to go by.

OOCI edited the post regarding his suspicions of her being Konti because I'm not sure about her hair color... you said she's blonde, but later that she has black hair.

[Gossamer]

Whoops!Sorry! She was blonde!

The Messenger was surprised he questioned her further. Her eyebrows lifted and she shifted a little nervously as the storm that was out in the harbor started making its way inland. The lightening was closer now, somehow apropos to the situation - especially since oddly enough the sky did not darken. It was a weird hazy bluish purple, sporting clouds that were heavy with rain but not dark with anger. The girl hesitated, looked at him again, and shook her head. "No, I'm not a Konti. But I can feel your mark, and I used to know the Zai's. You look like them." She said, almost muttering as she stared at her feet. "At least, you look the way they used too before most of them disappeared." She said, looking more and more uncomfortable by the moment. As she spoke, Leo came to realize something. He could feel something slightly 'familiar' about her as well. There was a pull, a secret connection, that was so faint he almost missed it. But if he was wandering the crowd, focused on that sensation, he would have immediately picked up on it. She was marked by Ivak as well. He was certain of it.

She pocketed the coin.

The girl paused at his next question, and nodded. "Her sister. Maysa. Your Aunt. She said she spoke with Him and had a message to give to you. It was a long time in coming because it came from so far. Kalea I think. Maysa lives there. Sultros sometimes. She is married to an Isur there. Sometimes shes another place other times... a place to the northwest. I know her because my sister is with her, studying the ancient tongue and books." The girl paused, then looked thoughtful. "She said if you asked questions, that was a good sign. She said that if you looked smart to tell you that the time is coming near. Closer every day. I am to help you, a little, if I can. And if you ask the right questions." She said, handing him a token. It was a smooth stone with her name on it. 'Kaja'. They were used to summon specific messengers to run the more important letters.

"But I didn't know what was in the letter, or what the other thing was. I do not know much, and I'm not sure how I can help you. Behaja, my sister, told Maysa that I was smart. I think she gives me too much credit. I just listen well. Is there anything else or can I go? That token will summon me if you go to a messenger station and ask for me at a certain time and place. I'll come whenever. It is as a favor to my own family." The girl said, fidgeting again. Messengers were typically restless over-energetic children that were best suited to be put to good use since they ran wild in the streets anyhow. Odds are Kaja would know quite a few things, interesting places, and a good share of Syliras and the knights therein.

[Leo Varniak]

The girl known as Kaja was indeed smart enough, in Leo's assessment. While her words opened many more questions than they answered - if they answered any at all - he could at least derive some conclusions from what she said. First, that his natural father was a part of something remarkably big, dangerous and very secret. Second, that he was going to get involved in it soon, even against his will. Third, that Kaja was probably the first bearer of Ivak's marks that he had ever met in Syliras. He could not recall feeling this peculiar sensation before.

Plenty of questions quickly formed in Leo's mind as he inspected the girl some more. His stare had turned from one of pure distrust to a more curious and interested one. He needed to think, and he always had his best thoughts when he was burning something. He grabbed his recently purchased egg and wrapped his fingers around it, slowly cooking it with Reimancy but making sure not to break the delicate pod.

Uncaring for the approaching storm, Leo decided he wanted to know more. Whatever his family was involved in, he would not stand for any injustice. While not eager to burn another father, he would have to try if it turned out he was the leader of something evil and dangerous. But for now, he had no elements whatsoever pointing at such a theory. Kaja seemed like the only source of information he possessed at this point in time.

He could have asked about Alvias first, about the rest of his family, about the circumstances of their disappearance, about the Zai and their triad and their strange symbol. However, he realized, all these things were just placeholders for other things. They were consequences, not causes; all of them important, but none of them were the crux of the matter. They were all like the leaves of a tree - no matter where you started from, if you moved up the branches you'd eventually reach the same root. There was one root here, and Leo had known its name for a long time now.

"Tell me, Kaja," he asked, "how did you come to be marked by Ivak? I take it you are not a Zai, yourself." There, Ivak, the core of the problem. Everything else existed because Ivak did, and Ivak was the one Leo wanted to know the most. His own relationship with the Zai's stemmed from a night of passion, but Ivak he wore on his own body. Kaja had had at least one close interaction with the god, and perhaps through her tale Leo could draw a more detailed portrait of who Ivak really was... for Leo really knew next to nothing. He knew Ivak was fire, and offered tempting things, though as someone had pointed out to him, Leo was not only fire. A part of Leo feared what Ivak stood for, the unbridled fury untempered by morals. Only time would tell whether Leo would end up embracing Ivak or constrasting his influence.

"One more thing," he added, his finger breaking into the egg. Thin smoke rose from the diminutive hole, which made Leo feel considerably more satisfied. "Do I have any more uncles and aunts that you know of? Is there a third sibling you did not mention?" The easiest explanation for the "triad", and a piece of information that she might actually know. "Want some?" He held out the wicker basket so Kaja could partake of it contents, as it was clear that Leo would have burned them all if their conversation dragged a little longer. Might as well keep them from getting wasted together with the entire basket.

[Gossamer]

Kaja looked thoughtfully at Leo, absorbing his question and deciding precisely how to answer it. "No, I'm not a Zai. I come from a long line of people that have a specific purpose. We are 'releasers'. My mother is an Azenth, from the Avisata line. She has two marks from Ivak, and brought our family here because Syliras does not have any releasers. I was marked when I was five. It is part of a family tradition. I.. agreed to join in and help them with their work. It is important and saves lives. To many people have already died because of the Valterrian. We want.. Ivak wants... to continue his work so no more die because of his inattention or hesitation." She said hesitantly, as if she was uncertain how much to tell him or if indeed he would believe her. "Sometimes pressure, beneath the ground, builds up and causes the earth to shake. My family is very sensitive to this pressure and can release it if enough of us help with it. You can too, and you can sense it as well with your mark. You might feel uneasy, or an intense build up of pressure that turns towards into a headache. You feel hotter, and are drawn to fire... but when you get really good, you can feel more than the heat and have more than the love of fire. The whole of the world swims on a molten sea. If you become really good, you can swim in that molten sea and go anywhere. That is Ivak's realm. " She said softly, hesitantly, as if she was afraid he'd disbelieve her.

"I do know that the Zai family is large. There's many of you... many more than you'd suspect. You probably have siblings, and aunts and uncles a plenty. With us, the closer we marry, the stronger the abilities. I assume its the same with the Zai. While my family guards the land, yours monitors emotions. I do not know much more about the Zai than that though, I'm sorry to say. I'm not even sure you are a Zai, but you certainly look like them." He acted like them too, though Kaja wasn't one to actually admit that openly.

She declined the egg, though she didn't seemed bothered by his need to cook them all.

[Leo Varniak]

Leo frowned at the new revelation. It sure opened up unseen avenues that he had never contemplated before. He, too, had been a prisoner of Ivak's stereotype as a god of unbridled destruction. Of course, he was listening to a worshipper's tale and as such there may definitely be some level of bias to be carefully identified and separated, but what Kaja said gave Leo some pause. Ivak's domain extended past the control of fire itself, and Kaja seemed convinced of her positive role in the cogs of the world's clockwork as a 'releaser' of subterranean energies.

She knew little of the Zai, however, which meant that he would have to keep his questions generic to the whole of the... Azenth, was it? For an imprisoned god, Ivak sure still enjoyed quite a following. He must have been a truly powerful god at his peak. Leo was at a loss here. He had been marked, but how did this mix with his self-imposed mission to rid the world of all wrong-doers? Alvias' and Kaja's revelations added a new layer of complexity to Leo's straightforward life as he knew it - the simple, black-and-white existence he had chosen for himself. He needed to break down the contradictions until it all made sense.

He stroked his chin pensively for a second. "Thank you," he said. "Just one more thing and I'll let you go back to your work." The letter had foreshadowed many things, but Kaja was unlikely to be in the know, and Leo felt he was more interested in the big picture to begin with. He could fill in the details later. He could think of one question Kaja was likely capable of answering with some measure of accuracy.

"Do we have enemies?" he asked. "I can imagine most would be hostile to Ivak, given his past record. But what about specific enemies? Were you guarded against something in particular?" The Zai, Kaja had said, were disappearing. Most likely, they were being picked off. This sounded like a potential crime worth investigating, Leo conveniently made up an excuse for getting to the bottom of the mystery. If the Zai had been unjustly targeted, then there would be punishment to deal out. Leo could easily volunteer for that.

[Gossamer]

Kaja looked incredibly uncomfortable for a moment. She paused, as if all the restless energy in her was suddenly sucked out and left her standing as a stone statue would have. Her eyes went wide, crossed with a momentary fear that perhaps only a Zai would have recognized, and then returned to normal. "It is like I said, Leo. Most of the Zai have disappeared. None of us know why, exactly, because no one group is taking responsibility or pointing to themselves as specifically having done anything. My family hasn't been affected so far, but we are worried with all of yours disappearing, ours will be next. Sure, we have enemies. Ivak is not well-loved because of the Valterrian, but for the most part these people understand what we do and why we do it, and leave us too it. That doesn't mean they are nice or civil to us, and that doesn't mean they won't try and discredit or harm us in other ways. And mostly these people that are those that are long lived, ones that remember loosing family and friends in the Valterrian, or are second generation to those that did and grew up with parents that were really damaged." She looked thoughtful. "And the Cerulean too. They do not have much use for us. They believe we should let earthshakes happen, that death is natural, and that tampering with the land further may result in another Valterrian. But with Ivak imprisoned, nothing truly is natural. They don't understand that, not really." She said softly, shaking her head.

Kaja studied Leo, marveling at how talking to him... talking to any Zai.. was like talking to someone whom you knew was instantly judging you, weighing your worth in the world, and making decisions. The Zai, she knew, were killers. They always had been. But some of them, the best of them in fact, could twist emotions or better yet untwist them so that sometimes people could be cured of their damage. Most people, she'd learned at an early age, were evil because evil had been done to them. It left scars that didn't so easily heal.

Kaja spoke up then, voluntarily, before she made her departure. "There was a circle here once. A circle of Zai. They have them in almost every city. It was rumored to be on the third tier of the castle, but when we moved here, there was no evidence of one being in existence. It was supposedly ran by an old man named Baltio, though I haven't heard of him or seen him since moving here. No one knows what happened. He was a weaver of some renown. Rugs and tapestries I think. His work was said to be magical." The girl said, then gently shook out her tunic, fidgeted, and wanted to be off

[Leo Varniak]

She was afraid. Afraid of what, Leo could not fathom just yet; maybe something she would not tell him about, or maybe Leo himself. Either way, this held little significance on its own. The young pyromancer made a mental note of it, and committed it to memory for later, but suspended judgment for the time being. Kaja had given him no reason to believe she was willingly withholding information from him, and if anything the girl had been much more informative to him than the letter she had delivered.

He had by now resigned himself to just waiting for future events to unfold, when she spoke of her own volition. Leo was mildly surprised, once because she had decided to go past the expectations of her job, and once because she was saving the best piece for last. Certainly, for one who claimed to know so little of the Zai, young Kaja was pretty well informed. It left him wondering, though, just how out of touch Alvias could be. Did he know that the local Circle of Zai had been... dismantled, so to speak? Perhaps his vagueness had not been as intentional as Leo had initially thought. Maybe he sincerely believed the mention of a Circle would be enough of a lead.

At least Leo had something to go by now. And if everything else failed, he could look elsewhere for answers... Zeltiva. Gods knew he'd never enter Ravok or Sunberth in his current condition. He'd get killed before the hour, trying to take out as many of the bad guys as he could.

"Good," he said. Leo needed no long speeches to express his approval, and he clearly approved of Kaja. "You are a good girl, Kaja. Stay out of trouble. I will keep in touch." Maybe even ask her to deliver a reply, he entertained the idea... but no, not yet. He could not risk his existence becoming public at this time. If there was one advantage Leo had right now that the rest of Zai lacked, was that hardly anyone knew of his connection to the family. Leo should make sure it stayed that way.

And with those parting words, the Reimancer turned about-face, immediately making haste towards Stormhold's third tier. Someone else - mostly anyone else - would have made a stop home to drop the shopping basket and get ready for the investigation. Leo was not mostly anyone else, though. He could feel his internal temperature rising slightly as he walked, the air cooling his skin down as he parted it with his swift strides. While the name Baltio did not ring a bell, Leo had always been confident in his ability to get information out of willing (or slightly less than willing) people.

[Gossamer]

The third tier of Syliras' Stormhold was a transitional one. For the most part it was residences of commoners, but some corridors housed actual businesses that were spillovers from the fourth tier and its massive bazaar. It wasn't difficult to navigate. From the market, one could enter the bazaar and there were numerous staircases leading upwards towards the third tier. Once on the third tier, the castle was divided into a main floorspace towards the ocean side, with two enormous wings leading off in either direction. To the right and east were residences while to the left and west were businesses. Down the business corridor was the logical place to start, and as Leo walked not only did he meet with a great many open doors and signs advertising goods and services available, but he met with all sorts of people. Knights patrolled the corridor while people hurried from one location to another. Some businesses had what appeared to be homes in adjacent rooms as well.

When he'd traveled fairly far down one wing - over a mile within the main corridor itself, he came to a crossroads. However, just before the intersection, two doors on either side of the cooridor were open - rugs were displayed both right and left. One shop to the right was bright and airy. The other shop to the left was dark and gloomy. He could see the sellers in each location clearly.




Both sellers seemed to have their shops open for business. It was evident from the fact that they both called a greeting and asked if he wanted to buy a ck. The darker of the two shops, Leo could see a woman with green eyes roaming around in the background, while the lighter of the two had children playing among the rugs. He was obviously watching them for someone - perhaps even his own wife. Leo could feel free to question either one, or move on to another location. There were all sorts of businesses up and down the corridor. There was a weavers, a yarn outlet, a framer, and even a paint supply place. There was a store filled with jewelery, and an oddly set up rock shop. If he looked further, he'd probably find even more businesses. A woman passed him, pale with white hair and blue eyes. She slipped into the cross corridor and headed right. Obviously Konti, she slipped into a room that had the sign of a palm on it. The choices were endless... and if Leo wanted answers, he'd probably have to talk to as many people as he could.

[Leo Varniak]

"This city makes me sick," Leo commented inwardly. "It feels like walking through the bowels of an earthworm." The sights, the smells, the sounds of humanity plying the petty trade of its existence. Leo wondered how he could dislike Syliras to such an extreme and still remain here in spite of that. Probably a matter of simple survival. Before the Valterrian, it might have been possible for a hermit to survive on his own, but Mizahar had since gotten far harsher. The truth, annoying though it may be, was that Leo needed the petty humans he so despised; his day-to-day survival depended on them.

The thing about the lower levels of Syliras was that they didn't feel like an exterior at all - more like the natural continuation of an indoors space. It was as if you could not tell where the privacy of your own cubicle of a home ended, and where the communal city began. Ambiguous. Promiscuous. Just like roommates you did not get to choose. Leo did not like.

He stopped briefly in front of the two sellers who had their shops opposite each other. "Here's someone who could use a lesson or two in business savvy," he thought. Leo had been told about a man called Baltio who had once been a rug seller in this city. These artisans had, in all likelyhood, replaced Baltio's business. Who knew, they may have "replaced" him with ironic quotes around the word. If so, then dropping the name too casually might be counter-productive or even dangerous, as only cornered men could be.

Leo may be fire, but methodical fire. He would carefully eat at the foundations of the problem until it collapsed under its own weight. And then, he would consume it all... he would understand it all. He gifted the two craftsmen with a brief glance, followed by one at their wares - which did little but gauge how flammable they may be. Then he moved on, still clueless but purposeful.

As he examined the two stalls, he had noticed a Konti passing him by. That in itself felt somewhat strange in this part of town. He had supposed someone with such talents would find a better place to live, but that was not the only reason drawing him that way. Leo could not tell exactly what it was that they sold in there by just looking at the sign and entrance; that, too, was unique. Another demonstration of business sense.

If the woman was old enough, she may even remember Baltio's times. She looked very young, but rumor had it that Tanroa spared all Konti women the humiliation of decay. His mind made up, Leo decided his investigation would start here, in the shop with the palm sign. He stepped in, shopping basket at the ready. The predator was prowling the streets searching for the memory of a memory.

He hoped Baltio had been killed. That would mean he could stop being Leo Varniak for a while and spend a satisfying afternoon being Justice instead.