More than Drykas (Cadicus)

[Vanator]

Timestamp: Early Fall, 494 AV
Location: Outside of Endrykas
Vanator: 20 years of age

Something had stampeded the zibri was all Vanator had heard. His cousin had awakened him frantically, insisting that they join the effort to round them all back up. The Ankal's heir roused from his pile of furs, drew on his pants and tugged on a tunic, stuffing his feet in his boots as he stumbled from his partition into the main chamber of the pavilion. No light filtered in from outside, only the glow of the dying hearth fire illuminated the room.

"Shyke, not even dawn yet." The young Drykas mumbled as he snagged his dagger belt and battle ax from a rack near the entrance. Vanator staggered outside, the few fires and torches doing little to cut through the pre-dawn fog. His cousin had already had a youngling strap a yvas to a Zavian mare for Van. His strider was down with an intestinal parasite that Ay’aka and Kavala were treating. Vanator vaulted into the yvas and joined his kinfolk as they rode beyond the city's perimeter to meet up with other clansmen, some bearing torches as they quickly gathered.

Van and a few other men were directed to one flank, and the horsemen veered off. Leth's white light diffused eerily through the fog, and the men extinguished their torches in favor of the moon's glow. The lowing of the cattle could be heard in the distance, and the riders turned towards the sound as the fire lights of Endrykas were swallowed behind them in the haze.

Suddenly, a throaty squawk split the air, and a number of glassbeak appeared, rushing from the blackness. Chaos ensued, horses screaming, men yelling, the sound of flesh tearing and hooves pounding. The Drykas were scattered in the dim madness, each seeking their own escape, weapons flailing as they tried to get away.

Vanator managed to cling to the rearing mare, bringing down the edge of his ax on a glassbeak that drew too close, a glancing blow that sheered part of its head away and sent it reeeling, screeching. The young Denusk urged the Zavian forwards, with no thought to direction, only away. The horse was no strider, could not tap into the Web as his fellow's mounts, could not out run a glassbeak should it choose to pursue. Such was Vanator's attention to his rearguard, ensuring he was not being followed, that he failed to note his own horses injuries. Too late, he realized the abnormal gait of the horse, and the animals shredded leg finally gave way. It toppled, its forelegs crumpling, her head driving into the ground. Vanator was flung forward, over the animal's head, where landed awkwardly on one leg before rolling in a flailing somersault and coming to a rest on his back in the tall grass.

The grassland became suddenly quiet, save for the huffing of the injured horse and the almost inaudible gasps of the Denusk as he tried to coax his lungs to suck in air again. Finally the breath the impact had taken returned. Vanator began to move each limb slowly, looking for damage. When he began to move his right leg, a sharp pains jolted through his body. The Drykas could not tell if it was broken, gashed or bruised, or exactly where the injury was. For the moment, he simply lay still, panting, hoping no predator could see or smell him.

[Cadicus]

The moments before dawn were always near-silent in Endrykas. Nothing stirred in the city but the dying embers of the previous night's campfires, and the stamping horses awake through the night. The warmth of the summer past hadn't quite fled Cyphrus just yet, and the horses barely had any blankets thrown over their strong backs to protect against the chill: only the very young and the very old. Endrykas barely stirred, still slumbering before another day in the Sea. Cadicus sat before the dying campfire of his own small tent. Crammed into his one person tent were the few worldly possessions the Ethaefal had collected in the ten years since his fall; his armour, his scimitar, his healing kits. With a long stick in hand, he poked at the low embers, trying to keep the fire alight for a few bells more, until Syna had risen and Cadicus had shifted, bursting in colours and shimmers into his rightful form. To anyone walking past, Cadicus would have seemed to be yet another Drykas, his shirt off and his windmarks splayed elegantly across his shoulderblades, but they would not have seen the celestial being that lay in wait inside, just ready to come out. Just ready for Syna. But they couldn't see the doubt that lay in wait, either. The Ethaefal were beings so intrinsically connected to their patron god or goddess, but that did not exempt them from doubt and fear. Cadicus had had everything, contentment in his heavenly home, but he had slipped: and now he had nothing, nothing but a form that reminded him of the beauty and peace he had lost. These moments before dawn, in the quiet, Cadicus could truly sit and think. Wandering through Endrykas, he heard the whispers that followed him, the girlish giggles, the men who resented his beauty and longevity. However he may look beneath Leth's cold and distant gaze, Cadicus was not a Drykas. And sometimes he could not help but wish he was. Maritus did not care, though, who he looked like: his Strider was tethered to his small, lopsided tent (he had never been patient enough to set it up properly), the horse having woken when Cadicus had emerged from his tent, sleepless. Looking over at his Strider, he smiled. His Strider had bonded to him early after his arrival in Endrykas, and had solidified his desire to stay in the moving city. Standing, Cadicus stretched. The night was drawing to a close, and Syna was coming. Smiling, Cadicus moved quickly, slinging on the yvas to his willing Strider, stomping his feet with anticipation. There was nothing Maritus loved more than a gallop, and Cadicus was going to give him one. Quickly untethering Maritus and slinging into the yvas, Cadicus smiled, leaning down to caress his mane. "Ride, Maritus, ride," and he squeezed his knees together, kicking his Strider's flanks slightly, urging him into a gallop. Already attached to the yvas and in one of the bags was his healer's kit, and hanging from his side was his scimitar. He left the shirt behind, though. He would enjoy the warmth while it lasted. Flying through the wind, Cadicus nudged and steered Maritus through the city of the tents, bursting out into the long, flowing grass of the Sea. Here, Cadicus kicked back onto Maritus, and the horse galloped even faster, riding faster than the wind. It was almost as if Cadicus was sailing through the air. In the silent pre-dawn, when the world was still dark and still, the air was filled with Cadicus' laughter and the constant thrum of Maritus' hooves. Through the fog he rode, with no direction or purpose save to fly through the breeze until Syna graced the world with his presence, and Cadicus took his divinely given form. His grin subsided into a content quirk of the lips, and slowly the darkness lessened: though the fog did not. Ahead, coming from the mist, was a strange lump on the ground: one giant, with a smaller one next to it. He hesitated, slowing Maritus, his horse tossing his head. With only a scimitar he had very little skill with, he could not handle a predator. But his curiosity won. "Slowly, Maritus," he urged his Strider into a slow trot, nearing the figures in the mist. The figures did not move, but as he gained closer, he could hear the unmistakeable sound: the laboured breath of an injured horse. "Ho there!" Cadicus urged Maritus forward, slinging off his yvas, shocked by the scene he saw. The horse's leg was completely shredded, skin and muscle ripped away from bone. Cadicus swallowed, looking away. The horse would not live. Nor would he walk again. But the smaller figure was what confused him: a young, strong Drykas lay panting on the ground, breathing heavy, his leg bleeding heavily from the thigh. "Petch, what happened here?" Swearing, Cadicus bent down and moved towards the man slowly, his hands outstretched. Dawn moved ever closer.

[Vanator]

The young Vanator did not have the nerve to reach down to feel his leg, fearing the worst. He prayed under his breath, cycling through the divinities he knew, and a few he had heard of from travelers. The Drykas knew he was easy prey for the glassbeaks that may still be about, or night lions, or wolves, or any number of predators that roamed the plains.

It was with some joy that the next sound Van heard was the pounding of hooves. Perhaps his companions had found him. Lifting his head from the ground, the Denusk saw a rider emerge from the dark fog. He sat upon a yvas, and Van sighed in relief, a Drykas.

"Petching glassbeaks." Vanator quipped in Pavi, "Charged right through our group, one caught my horse in the leg." Van shifted so that he could see the Zavian, lying in the grass. His heart sank. Though it was difficult to see the animal clearly in the dim moonlight, something told him the horse would not make it. Father will not be pleased.

The rider came near, the details of the man becoming more evident. He was a tall man, the wear on his stubbled face indicating he was many years older than Vanator himself. Shirtless, the stranger's chest and shoulders were broad, much like the Denusk's.

"I could use a hand getting back to Endrykas. I have done something to my leg." As if to emphasize the fact, Vanator winced as he shifted the injured limb.

[Cadicus]

Cadicus, despite the situation, grinned at the man who lay on the ground, his chest glistening with sweat and heaving with laboured breath. It was so like the Drykas to be matter-of-fact at a time like this: abandoned in the fog, alone without a friend, without a horse to lean upon. And the man just took Cadicus’ arrival for granted! He was either incredibly foolish, or entirely brave. Perhaps both. He slung off the yvas, easily dismounting with a solid thump to the ground. His movements were smooth, as if he had been doing this all his life: he hadn’t, the very opposite, but perhaps some memories of a past life were filtering through. ”Be still, Maritus,” he said, holding a hand out to pacify his Strider, hoping the horse would trust him. ”Ah, yes, the glassbeaks. Pesky nuisance they are.” He was grinning as he walked through the fog. Even out in the wild, injured, bleeding and alone, the Drykas were a hardy and hearty people. ”Your group? Cadicus asked, turning and frowning into the mist, looking for shadowy figures that he may have missed. He squinted, but in the pre-dawn with only the barest glimmer of light at the horizon to hint at Syna’s coming, and in the Sea so filled with fog, it was difficult to see more than a few paces away clearly. ”Were they... were they taken by the Glassbeaks?” He swallowed, looking troubled. Cad may not have been of the Drykas by blood, but by the Gods, he would defend and heal their people until his last breath. Kneeling in between the Zavian and the stranger on the ground, he laid a hand gently on the horse’s ribs, below his forelegs. The thready flutter of his heart could be felt, thumping slowly and irregularly. ”Yes, your horse... what is his name?” Did he even have one? The Zavians always came second to the Striders in Endrykas. ”Hello, friend. I am Cadicus.” He whispered into the fluttering ear of the Zavian. ”He will most likely not make it, my friend,” Cadicus said, softly, not knowing how close this man was to the horse. ”I could try to heal his leg some, but it would be a long and extremely painful walk back to Endrykas, and he wouldn’t be able to make the journey for several days.” His fingers were dancing a smooth and graceful rhythm over the horse’s flank, attempting to soothe the hurting beast. ”It would be more humane to end his life here, with those who care about him. I could do the deed, or you could. But at this point, Drykas-brother, it would be the right thing to do.” Standing up while he waited to hear the man’s decision, he moved quickly, striding over to his yvas and saddlebags. Pulling his healing kit from his bag, he turned quickly and moved back to the man’s side. Pulling out a scalpel from the kit, he grinned wryly. ”I can take you back to Endrykas bleeding and sore, if you would prefer, but I have some basic medical knowledge. I’d have to cut off your pant-leg, though. Up to you and your modesty’s discretion.” Perhaps Cadicus was teasing because it was a part of his nature, perhaps it was instead his attempt to keep the wounded man’s spirit up. Whatever the case, the Sun crept closer to shining upon the world. Cadicus could feel Syna’s approach.

[Vanator]

Vanator watched the man approach, turning his attention first to the Denusk's horse lying in the grass. Van replied to his questions, his tone rasped with as much consternation as it was pain. "I don't know what happened to the others, I just gave heel to my mount and ran off. The others were on Striders, they had a far better chance than I to escape. Fate would have it none of the petching things chased me. I suppose in the dark and the fog, both the glassbeaks and my companions would have a hard time finding me, unless someone took the time to check the Web. I don't know if any of them were webbers. All this because someone let the zibri run."

The stranger knelt beside the ailing Zavian, and in the pale light Vanator could make out a windmark across the man's back. Though unsure of the detail, it appeared to be in the design of wings. "His name is Sekto." With the news that the horse would not be make it, the task of getting it back to Endrykas all but impossible, the Denusk dropped his head back into the grass, eyes staring up into the eerie half-darkness of the pre-dawn plains. "Great." He muttered. "Father will not be happy about that." Vanator regretted the beast's demise, the faithful Zavian had carried him from danger even while mortally wounded. Sekto was not Zura, his Strider, but he was a family horse that the young man had known for years. He groaned at the suggestion that the horse be culled. He knew the stranger was right.

Vanator delayed the final decision as the older Drykas turned his attention to the Denusk's injured leg. He sighed, frustrated with his current situation. "Well, might as well do what you can now. Do want you need to with the pants." Vanator was not particularly modest, before male or female. "And what brings you out here at night alone, certainly not looking to rescue foolish men hunting their lost cattle."

[Cadicus]

"Sekto," Cadicus murmured, his skin prickling with the knowledge that the sun was rising, and that even while the fog swirled around him, a new day would dawn: a new day that would not have this brave horse in it. Cadicus' hand fluttered over the tense neck of the Zavian, stroking soothingly, trying to calm the horse's racing pulse. The Drykas were so in tune with their mounts, but Sekto was afraid, and had not the slightest idea what would happen to him, even as his leg's muscles and sinews quivered in the bare air, his flesh ripped away.

"You are a brave steed, Sekto," he whispered, and he could hear Maritus whinny in the background. A moment from horse to horse: mourning for his own kind. The great Strider extending grace and prayers to the lesser being. With the man's groan behind him, Cadicus shut his eyes tightly. For all he loved animals and wished to cure their hurts, he could do nothing for this beast, and he had to watch him die. This is what was so painful about healing: when the healing would do nothing.

He turned back to the young man on the ground, grinning bitterly. Taking a scalpel from the healing kit beside him, Cadicus made swift work of the pants, cutting them off easily, unabashed by the nakedness in front of him. A naked man bleeding from the thigh had no effect on the Ethaefal: dawn was too close for him to indulge in such mortal urges. "I am Cadicus, by the by. Just out for a morning ride. I dislike sleeping too long in the night. And your name?"Opening up the kit further, he looked closely on the gash at the thigh. It was deep, and bleeding heavily, but it wasn't too long or wide. It would, however, need stitches.

"Your leg has been gashed open at the thigh by one of the Glassbeaks, it seems," Cadicus explained, turning to his healing kit, pulling out what he would need. "Perhaps in the same swoop that hurt your horse so. I'll need to clean it out ... and," he paused, knowing the Drykas wouldn't be too happy about this. "It will need stitches to help the wound heal."

While he waited for a response, he was ever conscious of the heavy pained breathing from Sekto behind him. "And friend... have you made a decision about poor Sekto?" He did not mean to push the grief, but it was best for the horse that a decision was made soon.

[Vanator]

Vanator watched the curious man examine his horse, and Vanator could see the chest of the animal rising and falling in an uneasy, foreboding way. The dim light obscured the fellow Dryka's' face as it glanced over the beast, but the Denusk could see by the set of his shoulders, the stranger was saddened by what he saw. Slowly lifting himself from the beast, the man moved over to the human patient.

Van's head remained propped up as the man produced a scalpel, and he watched with wary eyes until he realized that its purpose was simply to open his pants so his wounds could be examined. The cool air chilled the exposed flesh, but Vanator paid it no mind, the sensation paling in comparison to the pain of the injury. He laid his head back against the ground again, looking up into the black as his injury was inspected. He was alive, and he had help. He would not end up like others, the one's who have never returned.

"Vanator...Denusk." Van replied to Cadicus' question, adding his pavilion name. He did not recall the face or the name Cadicus and wondered what Pavilion, or even clan, claimed him. Van's musings were interrupted by a quick diagnosis. Stitches, could be worse, if it could be stitched up. The Denusk sighed heavily at the news the rider delivered, but was resolved to let him do what he needed to treat the leg. "Do what you need to do with it..." He paused to lift his head enough to see the man. "Thanks."

His tired gaze shifted to the dark shape of Sekto lying in the grass. Again, a heavy sigh escaped his lips. "End the animal's suffering, please."