42nd of Spring 515AV This day, Terag woke just as he always did. However, he wasn’t going to go in to work at The Ironworks today. He didn’t even plan on going to grab himself a drink, today he was supposed to just be able to relax and take the day off. However, already he could feel that he was going to be hard pressed to become relaxed at all. After all, today was his birthday. His first birthday alone and away from family and the few friends he had been able to make in Pitrius city, which wasn’t easy in a city like that. With a soft sigh he tossed back the covers and sat up, swinging his legs out so he could sit on the edge of the bed. The room was dark, there was no window so he could see sunlight, and none of the lights were on. The only incoming light was from under the doorway, the light from the torches in the hall making its way barely into his room. The darkness didn’t bother Terag at all; his natural nightvision from being an Isurian made it much easier to function when there was only a little light to go by. Besides, when you spent most of your life underground, situations like this seemed as normal as the sun did to humans. Even with the semi-familiar environment, he couldn’t ease the knot that was slowly tying itself in his stomach. He stood and stretched, his short form not even getting close to the ceiling as he reached as high as he could, and then stretching his arms out to the side. Terag leaned down to pick his clothes up from the pile he had left them in last night. That was when he realized that the unease had been setting in for a few days now, reaching its peak on the day of his birth. Usually he remembered to at least fold his clothes nicely, but apparently last night he didn’t even care. The clothes were tossed onto the bed for easy access as he got dressed, finishing with his boots as he decided he was going to at least spend the day outside, away from here. With a casual stride he made his way to the door and grabbed his spear from its place against the wall before walking out to the hall and locking the room behind him. As he made his way back to the outside, where the sun had yet to even reach its peak in the day, he couldn’t help but let his memories flow back to his life before he left. The memories of the smiths, the time he spent with them making new weapons, armor, or whatever the customer had ordered. These were happy memories at least, and so as he walked out into the sunlight he had a small smile on his face. The city was bustling and alive, as it should be since the day had started a few bells ago. The spring air hadn’t been chilly the past few days, so without his cloak it would be a bit harder to blend in and not attract attention – but he decided it was something he should try, the looks from the humans were something he doubt would ever go away. He only knew of one other Isurian in the city, so it wasn’t a surprise that he got looks when people saw his arm, his skin, or the bony ridge across his forehead. Doing the best he could he entered the crowd and tried to avoid the eyes of everyone, though he could still feel a few stares on his arm. In response he pulled down his sleeve, but it covered only a small amount more. At least it didn’t seem to take more than a few chimes to reach the gate, and he hurried out and rounded a corner to begin making his way into the Bronze Wood. |