Upon the Edge of Twilight (Arabella)

[Issildia]

12th of the Day, Fall of 509 A.V. The whispered flickering of evening zephyrs brushed against her neck with the grace of a lovers touch. Lengthy layered skirts brushed against her legs as the fabric danced about in heady waves, her obsidian hued cloak following suit as Issildia pulled it about her slender form. Such sensations were still mildly foreign to her as the memories of her time amongst the divine banished away such mortal senses. Yet here she stood, already many months of tiring recollections from this earthly existence clinging to her consciousness. How she had fought to rid herself of them…to forget and flee back within the cool embrace of the moonlight. Yet she might close her eyes with every wish and want of returning…to forget…but here she stood…ever alone and forgotten. Soon enough the Ethaefal turned her thoughts from these saddening matters, for at this very moment her skin prickled with the apprehension of nightfall and the grace of Leth that would soon emerge. The waterlogged city of Ravok wrapped itself about her, its shadows falling around Issildia like the fading locks of the fall trees as they shed their colorful tresses. Faintly her heels clicked upon the stone streets of the mercantile district of the city. The ceaseless chaos about her created by the surrounding people of the city seemed like such a distant thing, a dull murmur and nothing more. These violent and vivacious organisms drew apart like the parting waves of the sea to allow the shade veiled woman forth into the heart of the city, her mind elsewhere as others looked upon her with strange glances and mocking gestures. Still…she cared little. Detached was the most applicable word to describe Issildia in that very moment…here in his heart of civilization she could hardly tolerate the vile presence of corruption, the stench of the masses. Cerulean eyes flickered to the sky as the clouds above shifted from the clear light of day into the burning embers that painted the evening. Absently Issildia reached to her neck to grasp a luminescent milky gem clasped between two silver talons, a pendant that hung upon a single leather cord. Wordlessly her eyes closed with a flicker in remembrance of that night, the moonlight upon the waves, the stars above; all holding witness to her unwilling rebirth. All the while the evening advanced, chaos continuing and her soul pleading to be liberated once again.

[Arabella Sintos]

Never did Arabella learn to love the city she was enslaved in and even had Arabella come to Ravok of her own free will, she doubted there was a chance that she could truly love it or even like it really. She hated the dark city with a right passion, the need to escape grew and grew with every passing night, her hatred for her master grew as well. She wanted to die at times and yet she wanted very much to live, to have a life that truly was worth living. Was such a thing possible when she was trapped in the home of a madman? She highly doubted it really and yet she found reason to hope, somehow she found a way to keep hope in the depths of her ever-breaking heart. Her life had never been her own, whether by nature or by the Gods' design. By her Kelvic nature, she would never be free because it was in her very nature to someday bond with another, to become a servant to another willingly. By the Gods' choice or perhaps just fate, she was placed into slavery when her mother abandoned her and there she remained.

It was her fate...

And yet she didn't believe it was just her fate to die in slavery at the hands of her master Lazerin, she was strong despite all appearances she showed to those around her. As Lazerin often said, deep inside her human appearance dwelt a beast, fierce and primal. It was because of this that she chose to do something foolish and dangerous, something that may ultimately result in her death or painful torture, she had chosen to seek escape.

Ravok belonged to Rhysol, she knew this, never did her prayers reach Nysel's ears because of that fact. She could see that such a dirty tactic was made to discourage her and cause her to lose hope and yet in a way it strengthened her. She had been in Ravok for a few months and had been sent on various errands, which meant she knew some of the city. It was hard to say whether she would actually ever be able to know all of Ravok, she doubted Rhysol would allow such a thing to happen.

Escape...

She ran, her heard beating as a hand moved to the collar that rested around her neck, she knew various areas that she had to avoid and yet she wasn't quite sure she could actually escape the wretched collar or her master, but she had to try. She had to find someone who could help her or she'd be lost to slavery forever. The problem with that of course was that locals of Ravok knew her master and knew that helping her would surely secure their own deaths, so it surely wouldn't be worth it. No, she had to look for an outsider, even if outsiders were hard to trust on some level. Trust didn't come easy to the skittish Kelvic and yet she had to try, had to find some way out of her predicament or she'd be trapped for always and eternity.

Night was the perfect time to leave, the celestial bodies above guiding her way as she ran...or perhaps lighting the way for her captors to find her. It was hard to say considering who ruled Ravok. Hearing something behind her, the blonde looked behind her, her eyes wide as she searched the darkness for someone and yet...there was no one there. She hardly had time to think before she felt her body collide with the form of another, the impact causing her to yelp as she tumbled hard to the ground, practically eating the dirt as she skidded to a halt on the ground. Ow...that hurt.

[Issildia]

It was here within the thin drapery of the dusk, with warm ocher hues brusquely painting the sky that Issildia found herself shrouded by the encroaching shadows. Ever so softly her skin prickled once again, a frigid chill rippling up her spine in apprehension of Leth’s grace that was soon to descend. Upon emerging through that myriad of chaos the cloaked woman came to pause, allowing the anxious wailings of the market to dim from her consciousness. Stark cerulean eyes flickered out upon catching the unmistakable sound of footsteps pattering against the damp cobbled streets.
There was an urgency present in these steps, something dire and tainted with peril that simply could not be ignored. Yet these contemplations did little to prepared Issildia for what was to happen next as the subdued crescendo of a hurried gait continued until it reached its very zenith.

Rather abruptly Issildia suddenly felt as the very breath was knocked clear out of her chest, expelled upon the impact of some unkempt mass hurtling into her immobile figure. The unforgiving streets soon greeted the Ethaefal as a sharp cry escaped her lips. Pain…so very unfamiliar raced up ridged limbs that seized in surprise at the sudden impact. Eyes fluttered savagely as unfettered spite inched into her very marrow. Evidently some creature…a woman with pale tresses had careened into her rather unceremoniously.
Swearing a silent oath within the confined halls of her consciousness, the Ethaefal rolled up to her knees before snapping up to her feet, olive hands sweeping away dust as she did so.

“Foolish…” Issildia murmured down upon the kelvic, her eyes swimming with a subdued wrath that echoed a cruel sense of wisdom. Yet this violent emotion soon simmered as her gaze evened and began to bear a wintry veil.

True the Ethaefal clung desperately to that bitter sorrow along with the sense of betrayal and abandonment upon her fall to the mortal realm. Yet that eternal wisdom bequeathed by her time amongst the divine remained shrouded behind her own childish contempt born of her loss. Shrouded, yet quite present it seemed.

“What is the meaning of this?” She inquired icily, winter’s very essence sliding lazily over her tongue.

Without offering another word Issildia stepped back from Arabella with a faint frown clinging to her lips. Rather quickly a glinting of silver caught her gaze as azure orbs danced over the sight of the slave collar. Slavery was a concept that Issildia had a most potent dislike for ….to pretend that one could own another living being was simply a wretched idea that she could barely come to comprehend.


Narrowing her eyes faintly Issildia waited in silence for the slave to answer for her foolishness, disdain clearly seen loitering in her very demeanor.