PM to join What Washes Ashore (Levi)

[Kelski]

Early Winter, 515 AV

The storm the night before had been fierce. Kelski was used to sudden squalls coming up the coastline bringing high tides, restless waves, and usually throwing a feast upon the sand. Lhavit’s coastline was no exception. Like the whole west coast of Kalea, it was as treacherous for ships as its mountains were for people. Ships still made it through though, pulling into Lhavit’s Tranquility Port often enough to remind the citizens of the lofty peaks that the rest of the world existed. Storms, though, meant fresh food and Lhavit was in real need of that this season when early on food was already being rationed. Kelski hadn’t been affected by the food rationing. She was a good hunter, but her eagle nature meant she was a good scavenger as well. So she’d hiked down in her human form with waterproof bags and wrappings suitable for meat if she found any, and then stashed them in the fringeland where the sand started.

A flight up and down the shoreline to scout the flotsam wasn’t a bad idea. And it had, within just a few minutes, paid off. She’d found a seal body with jagged teeth marks in its flesh thrown up in the line of seaweed. It was fresh death, the type she preferred, and she’d hunkered down to feast on it chasing the gulls and smaller birds away. She left only when she’d had her fill. She went back to her stash and shifted into her human form. There she’d retrieved her things and returned to the corpse. She used a knife to carve away several big steaks and roasts off the corpse that she could trade in the city for something more tangible. The fat she took too, cutting away the seals skin and pulling the big chunks to set it off to the side and later stuff into one of her packs. The fat, once rendered, made lovely oil that while stinky, burned brightly and allowed her to stay up late in her cave practicing whatever it was she wanted to practice. Lately that had been reading, but sometimes it was something other like sketching or planning something for the future, something for Trade Secrets.

When she had harvested enough, she left the corpse, backing off so the sea gulls and other wild things could feast once more. It was easier on them now since the big raptor had been at the corpse, leaving the choice morsels of food exposed once the fat was removed.

She was about to turn away and head back towards the city when she noticed something further down the beach. It looked like wreckage. Where she was indeed ships had broken up before and wreckage had come ashore. The bay was slightly south and sometimes though ships tacked like their lives depended on it, they often didn’t make the safety of the port before storms hit. Breaking up on the rocks was a real danger. It looked like one had.

Knowing it was stupid to leave a potential shipwreck uncombed, Kelski turned with her bundle of meat and started to lightly jog down the beach to see what in fact had washed up and if she was right about the shipwreck. Before she even got close, Kelski could tell there were bodies. The girl swallowed trepidation and intersected the flotsam, walking into the shattered wood and shattered lives washed up upon the shore.

[Levi Remilian]

10th of Winter, 515 AV

It had been merely days since Levi and Naya had arrived in Lhavit. Exploring the city and learning all they could about it has been their allotment of activity alongside helping any ghosts they found. Already Levi had found a ghost with the help of a Dira-marked and helped the spirit pass on, although the encounter had left him with several bruises and a sore neck. Regardless of all that, today was yet another day for the two newcomers to the city and yet another day to roam through its streets. Today however the plan for the siblings by bond, not blood, was to be different. Only days after arriving at the Tranquil Ports, the spiritist and ghost had once more made their way down the Misty Peaks by Okomo to the seaside.

Bowing in thanks to the guide who led them down, Levi walked down the path of the Ports with Naya at his side. The location certainly lived up to its name, waters calm and mellow, but this was a different kind of tranquility, the kind that followed after something opposite of tranquility had struck. There had been a heavy storm last night. The city's skyglass had easily withstood it but down here the story could be different.

"Brother! Could you tell me why we came down here again? I don't get it." Naya said, the subtle hint of complaint present in her echoing voice. The two walked through the old cluster of warehouses, sailors and mostly fishermen walking past the two newcomers. Stares were not spared at the strange sight of the ghost by these sea-hardened people, but the ghost herself hardly noticed.

Levi looked down at the spirit and walked over to the side of the street next to a couple of fishermen sitting on wooden boxes, chatting and mending their nets, "When we first came to the Ports we did not stay long nor did we try to familiarize ourselves with the place." He said, explaining with an even tone, " Also, I want to know if any of the people here have information about ghost haunts on the seaside. Information is key for us."

Naya nodded to Levi, but he could guess that the ghost was still a little pouty even if she was not materialized. "Okay, just today I guess, then we can go and look at all the shiny glass buildings again!'

The spiritist chuckled at the spirit's childish enthusiasm. In comparison to Lhavit, the Ports were a downscale in terms of aesthetics for sure. A rough yet jaunty voice joined into their conversation, "Looking for ghosts you two? I guess go figure since one of you is a ghost!" The voice laughed and chuckled, a gravelly but strong sound, "I can tell you of a place I once found if you don't mind hearing me ramble for a bit."

Levi turned around to look at the owner of the voice. It was one of the fishermen, a salty bearded man of the sea smiling a smile with a lack of some pearly white. The other man beside who looked to be of a younger age stared at Naya with a curious stare mixed with uncertainty. With a nod and polite smile, Levi turned his full attention to the fisherman and replied, "I do not mind, please tell us. "

"Good! Cause I'm going to tell you about the haunted sea caves I once stumbled upon a while back... sit tight!"

---Several bells later---

When that fisherman said he was going to ramble, he certainly meant it. Levi plodded along the shoreline, Naya wisping about and looking at the surroundings. The tale that the old man had weaved was long and convoluted and took at least a bell, but the spiritist had understood the gist of it. There were spirits lingering in these caves that he could help, once he got there at least. Levi checked his belt pouch, taking a look at the two jars of dough and the spiritist beads. He had two daggers on him today, not that he had any mind of using them other than for letting blood.

Boots pressed down on wet sand, continuing towards the mentioned sea caves. Levi looked ahead and saw what looked like some kind of water creature, dark skinned and large. Curious he got closer and kneeled next to it, seeing it had a dog like muzzle but more alarmingly there were large chunks of it seemingly carved out. Was there some kind of beast here that could deal such damage? Or was it something else? Hopefully whatever came was long gone. The spiritist stood up only to see another attention-drawing sight. "Is that a shipwreck? Levi quietly murmured to himself. Naya floated up to him, her ethereal form materializing to the point where her nodding head could be seen.

"Looks like it, let's check it out!" Naya said excitedly and glided towards the wreckage. Knowing that there was no point stopping her, Levi followed after her. Approaching the ship and weaving past its ruined debris, Levi could spot the bodies on the sand near the wreckage. Before that though, the spiritist could see someone else ahead jogging towards the same destination. It appeared to be a human woman from his vantage point.

Yes, these were not the sea caves, but the situation at hand called for his attention. They should probably try to help anyone who survived the shipwreck, which he hoped that there were. If there no survivors... may Dira guide their souls. At least their bodies would be recovered quickly for a proper burial. He started jogging at a brisk speed to catch up with the woman. Still a fair distance behind her, Levi stopped and shouted to the woman, "Hello there! Do you think there are any survivors? After shouting this he began jogging again to catch up with the woman.

Credit goes to the fantastic Firenze

[Kelski]

The kelvics sharp eagle eyes were scanning the wreckage, looking for any sort of sign of life. There was none. And though she didn't have a keen sense of smell like most kelvics had, Kelski could tell it was a fresh wash-up. She'd seen enough of them in her fishing and hunting to realize they hadn't started bloating in the sun. Something shiny glittered in the sand and she'd just knelt to pick it up when she heard the man call out. Her attention had been focused the other way, down the beach where the main wreckage was, not behind her where she'd come. Her grey eyes immediately turned, locking on the figure, and pausing mid-kneel to watch him a moment.

He didn't look threatening with his simple dress and his slightly mussed shoulder length hair. Predators had a way about them, a menace, that this man didn't immediately convey. So she continued her motion, dropping to pick up the shiny thing in the sand and examined it a moment before casting it off. It was a bit of metal, useless because it was soft. Had it been harder stuff, she might have kept it for her jewelry work. Instead she moved to intercept the man.

"Hello." She said quietly, returning his greeting. The Kelvic was barefoot and wearing a pair of well fitting dark grey trousers that gathered at the ankles and a white tank top that revealed arms that were well muscled. She was a lithe woman, though she almost came up to his height. Her grey eyes had a friendly curiosity in them as if she'd welcome some company exploring the wreck.

"I just found it. I cannot see a ship off shore though and I have very good vision so I suspect it broke up farther out. If you fly straight out over the sea there are large rocks all along the coastline that harm ships in storms if they don't sail clear. Sometimes when they sail they are afraid to leave sight of the shore. It does not go well for them when they try to float over the rocks." She explained carefully, not sure of the human terminology and certainly not well versed in sailing.

"There are people here. I think most if not all are dead. Do you see how thin they are? And look at their hands... and feet." Kelski sent a sad look over her shoulder at the nearest corpse. It indeed had something odd about its hands. Bound together with an iron band, the corpse wore the iron cuffs of a slave. The ankles too were bound, but not to one another to other cuffs that were now empty. "They were not free people, at least not these bodies here." The Kelvic said, shifting uncomfortably in the sand before Levi.

"I am Kelski. I was going to look through the wreckage. Do you want to help me? We can split anything we find...." She added generously, though her eyes widened and she stopped speaking when she saw something over Levi's shoulder. Her head tilted and her dark lips parted in a slight 'oh' as she seemingly studied something that was standing behind Levi.

Levi's sister.

He could tell she'd never seen anything like her before.

Kelski hesitated, seemed to gather herself, and then turned towards the new person she noticed. Her voice wavered as if she were uncertain, maybe a little unsure of what she was seeing, before she offered a greeting to the second individual with Levi. "Hello." Kelski said quietly, her eyes wide as she watched the specter carefully, then glancing at Levi, and then back at the specter.

[Levi Remilian]

There was a storm the previous night, Levi knew that, but he did not think that it was so severe that there would be a shipwreck on the beach. It was troubling. As the spiritist got closer to the wreckage and the woman, his blue eyes could take in the details of the person he had hailed. Naya stayed by his side, strangely not bursting forward to meet the stranger first. Perhaps the nearby shipwreck and corpses had a sobering effect on the ghost. That was unlikely.

In comparison to their surroundings, there was nothing to scream out immediate danger about this woman. On a closer look now after taking in her features, there was something... different about her. Was it the unusual colouration of her hair with its streak of white in black? Or was it the black and white rimmed lips and dark eyes that suggested a possible inhuman origin, eyes now filled with curiosity that could shift to a more predatory light? She still looked human but not at the same time. Levi was not the kind to vocally ask these questions, content to muse on them in his mind until the answer is made apparent. No point in opening a potentially embarrassing or worse angering topic.

What did matter to Levi in the situation was that this woman was polite and welcoming in the quiet way. That was a relief for the spiritist. It boded well for this random encounter by a wrecked ship. His eyes looked at her with a polite light of analysis, swiftly looking at the clothes she wore before meeting her grey gaze.

"I see, it must have been caught in last night's storms then. You seem familiar with the area." Levi said the last sentence with the subtle lift of a question. He walked over to the corpse that Kelski looked over her shoulder at, standing before it and looking over at the other bodies lying on the sand. Naya glided over next to him, quietly looking at her brother and the body. Levi frowned as he listened to Kelski, his gaze turning from the corpse to Kelski, a sadness erasing the initial icy studying light his eyes as he looked at her, and back at the body in front of him. "They were slaves... how unfortunate." The spiritist of Dira said quietly. He knelt down by the body and held his hands together and pulled up the hood of his cloak. His gaze wandered to see all the bodies and the broken ship from which they came, looking out at the sea that took their lives for a few moments. The slavers on the boat must have drowned too, the man thought to himself. Turning once more toward the body, Levi bowed his head in respect and spoke in prayer, his voice low and solemn, "Weary and enslaved, death is your release and peace. The few above you who held the whip, now they shall hold it no more. May Dira, Queen of the Dead, guide your souls to a better life, free of the chains you wore and the suffering you endured. Free of tormenting and controlling others... May death be kind to you. The ghost girl bowed her head and held her hands in a similar fashion, the traditional way of those from Black Rock.

Finishing his prayer, Levi rose and turned to face Kelski. " My name is Levi Remilian. Sorry for ignoring you, I felt I had to pray for the people who died on this ship. It appears no one is left living from this ship." Saying this the spiritist frowned at the thought of there being no survivors. It was better in a way that there were none perhaps, their souls now beginning anew in the cycle of life and death.

The drifting of Kelski's sentence and her widening gaze that darted between spirit and man alerted Levi to her surprise at seeing Naya. From the looks of it, there was the possibility that the woman had never seen a ghost before. Said ghost materialized, her form no longer translucent and a little more solid if still hazy on some parts. She smiled at Kelski, ignoring her astonishment, "Hi! I'm Naya, it's nice to meet you miss Kelski, although this place is really sad." There was a pronounced lack of sadness in the ghost girl's voice though.

"She is my sister and also a ghost. Do not worry, she is not dangerous. We have been travelling for a couple years and had arrived in Lhavit recently. He omitted any further mention to Naya's ghostly nature. People usually came up with the questions by themselves. "I can help you search through the wreckage since you asked. I am not sure what or how much we would find from a slaving ship. That brings me to ask, is slavery legal in Lhavit? I had not seen any slaves in the city so far."

The spiritist began walking towards the wreckage and Naya glided after him, passing the bodies that were strewn around the beach's sand. The tide was low today and the moving waters of the ocean lapped up on only a few of the slaves' corpses. The ship was of a fair size, enough space to carry a decent load of people and crew. There was a very large and gaping hole in the hull of the ship that had tipped back onto its side, large enough for Levi to easily step through. He turned back and reported to Kelski, "I think we could go through here or head to the other...." The spiritist suddenly stopped, looking as though he shivered, "Side..." His spiritism trained sense was picking up the presence of another ghost in the vicinity aside from Naya, somewhere close and nearby. "There's another ghost nearby..." He spoke seriously and evenly, looking around to try and sense where they were. Just as suddenly as he sensed the presence, it vanished from his detection.

Credit goes to the fantastic Firenze

[Kelski]

Kelski liked the man almost immediately because she didn’t feel stared at or overly cautious around him. He had a genuine smile and a friendly face. He was also a thinker. She could tell because thinkers often had that distracted look about them that indicated they were more in their brain than they were in the moment.

She liked quiet people. And she liked the fact that he was deep into his faith. Kelski had heard vague mutterings of a Goddess of Death and sometimes made symbols for the deity, but she’d never heard anyone say a prayer to them. Kelski made a mental note to ask Levi more about Dira when the time was right. She'd like to learn a little about the goddess of Death.

“I hunt here a lot and fish from the beach. My home is higher up overlooking this place but back in the forest a bit.” Kelski offered, trying to explain to the stranger why she was familiar. “I come here a lot. The waves soothe me when life gets tiring or confusing and when I leave this place I often feel more energized.” The Sea Eagle in human form said, glancing between the ghost and the man.

“Slaves. Yes. I know what that is like. They are free now though. It is better for them.” Kelski offered, reaching out and nudging one of the bodies gently with a toe. She watched the stranger kneel down and bow his head. She heard the goddess’ name too… Dira… and noted that she was Queen of the Dead. She liked the prayer and was glad the man spoke it. Once he was finished he made introductions.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Levi. And you too Naya. Yes it is sad, but in a way death can be a release to freedom so it is happy as well.” Kelski said, looking thoughtfully at both of them before she in turn answered Levi’s question.

“I honestly don’t know. I haven’t seen any men or women or even any children chained or branded like I have in other places. But that doesn’t mean it is against the law. Many things happen behind closed doors that I am unsure of. I’m still learning about humans and Lhavit itself. I’ve been here a while, but I stay mostly at my home or with Master Li who is teaching me Jewelcrafting at the Shining Diamond. When I am not working, I wander the markets or the beach watching people, but I really don’t know many here or have people I can ask such things. I can ask Master Li about the slavery. I know sometimes we make jeweled collars, but I always thought they were for animals or people like me.” Kelski said quietly.

It was almost as if she were starved for some good conversation or at least people to talk to the way she volunteered information about herself in hopes of getting them to do likewise. She wasn’t the questioning type, but more prone to throw tidbits and hope people opened up. Her upbringing had caused her to be more of a listener in that manner. Questions weren’t welcomed from slaves.

Kelski turned around at Levi’s words and scanned up the beach. Sure enough there was a ghostly figure walking from slave corpse to slave corpse – there were quite a few of them on the beach now that she was amongst the wreckage and could see – carrying a ghostly whip and berating the corpses. “Get up you filthy petchin’ pieces of shyke!” The ghostly whip cracked on the unresponsive corpses, and Kelski hissed inhumanly and half crouched.

It was an older man, face scarred from a hard life, with the meanest expression she’d ever seen on anyone’s face. “Lazy! Sleeping when you should be up and working. GET UP!” The whip cracked again and Kelski retreated a few steps unconsciously putting Levi between her and the ghost. The man was coming closer and suddenly he spotted Levi and the two women with him.

“Petch it all! You over there! GET THEM ON THEIR FEET! We have to get them to market and get them sold NOW else we ain’t going to turn a profit on this sail.” He sneered and honestly looked like he was going to turn the whip on Levi next.

[Levi Remilian]

Levi listened to Kelski's answer and nodded, unnoticeably mulling over what he has seen and heard. Her answer was not exactly the one he expected as to why she knew the area well. "The sea is calming indeed, our birthplace was an island so we had grown up with it." Levi said, lips curling in a small smile of reminiscing. "But you live in the forest? I did not know that anyone would be living outside of the city. Is it not dangerous?" He asked curious to know more details about this. The mention of her hunting and fishing only added further detail to the fact she did not live in Lhavit proper. There was a possibility that this was further proof to his suspicion that Kelski was not simply human, but he still needed more information before voicing his question.

Hearing Kelski's opinion on death, it appeared that her thoughts on the topic were aligned with that of the spiritist's. "Dira is not a cruel goddess, but people see her more for the pain that death may cause rather than the release it gives." Levi quietly mused half to the woman and half to himself. Unease flashed on his face for a moment; Levi shook his head. Now was not the time for him to war with the words he said and the doubts that still lay deep in his mind. Unaware of her brother's momentary self-conflict, Naya nodded at Kelski again, "Yup, death can be happy! It isn't good or bad, like we learned back on Black Rock." Naya spoke up before Kelski went on to answer Levi's question on slavery in Lhavit.

Slavery was a practice that Levi was foreign and adverse to. Back on Black Rock there were certainly servants for some of the richer households, but nothing like the slavery he saw signs of in Riverfall for instance. He knew that different cities have different values and that he had to respect those values, but that could not stop his disapproving frown at slavery. Said frown etched itself on Levi's face as Kelski answered him, "Even a city with so much light has a darker side, like any place." He said with a knowing look. However, it was not what Kelski said on slavery in Lhavit that caught the focus of the spiritist's attention but how she said 'learning about humans' and 'people like me', noticing her quieter voice and hint of knowing some experience. Further proof for his suspicion and perfect timing to ask the question. "So you are relatively new to Lhavit as well? I see..." Levi paused and then continued with an added degree of politeness, "You talk as though you are not human. What race are you may I ask, if you do not mind?"

The ghost girl's eyes widened when she heard her brother ask the last question. "Whoa Levi! Miss Kelski is human, she just has some different but pretty coloured hair and lips! Like cosmetics you know?" She hurriedly said, trying to alleviate her brother's blunder as it appeared in her mind. An answer would probably set her straight.

Near the shipwreck, Levi felt the lance of a ghost's presence pronounce itself again, turning immediately locking his gaze on the ghost by the slave corpses. He did not have to guess at what this spirit's nature was. Levi had to prepare quickly. His right hand went down to his belt pouch, pulling out a small jar and quickly twisted the lid off. A chunk of brownish dough was taken out and the jar dropped into the sand. He threw it into his mouth and unsheathed a dagger from his bandolier. A small nick on his left middle finger was all he needed and after making the small slice then quickly sheathing the blade, he sucked the blood out of the cut, chewing and swallowing the mix as fast as he could manage. He had to have soulmist ready immediately if his assessment of this ghost was correct. It took him around ten ticks to get himself ready in the rush, not noticing that Kelski was behind him next to Naya.

While one part of his attention was on thinking of ethereal and wispy soulmist to make the dough in his stomach change into the desired substance, his attention on the physical world saw the ghost getting closer. The whip that the spirit held was clearly an extension of the ghost's soulmist; it was sad to see that slavery and oppression was so large a part of that soul's experience that it remained with him after death. From his words, the spirit was clearly delusional and has not realized the true reality of their situation. This was going to be unpleasant to handle, but handling the ethereal was Levi's duty regardless. Soulmist slowly chilling his innards, Levi spoke calmly and unfazed in reply to the ghost's snarling demand, "They will not stand nor will there be profit. They are dead... and you have also died and become a ghost sir."

"What?! You trying to petch with me you son of a vagik? What do you mean they're dead, they're just lazy and lying around like the pieces of shyke! And I am not dead you petchers! Get yer lazy arses to work!" The slaver ghost spat out angrily and snapped his whip at Levi. Reflexively the spiritist stepped back, the ghostly tendril barely missing his face. The whip could be a manifestation of the ghost's soulmist projection and would definitely sting if it hit. He needed to be more direct. Levi stood his ground firmly and shouted at the ghost. "Look at yourself! You no longer have a physical body! That whip is not real but an extension of your ghostly form. The slaves drowned when your ship was wrecked, and you died with them becoming a ghost! You are here because you have some reason for not simply passing on, think about it!"

Credit goes to the fantastic Firenze

[Kelski]

The man was full of questions. Usually no one paid her much attention or had any curiosity towards her. In a way that had always been good. She was ignored, passed over, and no one bothered her. She could watch that way and learn. It was a benefit for certain. But this man paid closer attention and noted what she said which was unusual in itself.

He grew up on an island? She thought that was curious as well. And she wanted to ask him about it. There were no islands off of Lhavit that she knew of. But there had been several off of Alvadas and even a huge one south called Bad Rock or … Black Rock? Kelski wasn’t sure. She’d never visited but had heard of it in passing.

“Yes, in a cave. Its as nice as an apartment in the city. There’s also a cot in Master Li’s shop that I can sleep on if I work too late. But I do not like it as well as my cave. My cave is warmer and more comforting than sleeping by the forge in a shop.” Kelski admitted, half smiling though she didn’t meant to be critical of her Master. She was lucky to have an apprenticeship with him. And she was even luckier that he asked very little of her other than she simply do her work and do it well.

“It is dangerous, but I was once like these people and when I stopped being like them I lived free in the wilds for a while. I am used to the danger. It is far easier for me than it would be perhaps for a human like you. I expect Naya would like it though. I don’t think much could hurt her in my cave. Maybe Naya, you could come visit sometime?” Kelski asked, certain the dead girl would like it.

Black Rock! She was right! Kelski smiled at Naya and nodded. “I didn’t stop there when I traveled from Alvadas to Lhavit. I flew across the mountains instead. But I bet I would have seen it if I had taken a boat to Lhavit. They stop there sometimes, right?” Kelski asked, looking curious. In a way she was sad because it would have given her more in common with the pair – something to talk about.

Levi had more to say, and she could see he wasn’t a big fan of slavery. “Everything has a darker side. But I don’t mind the shadows.” She said, a hint of a smile playing across her lips. She very much preferred the shadows, in fact, and that’s what got her through her loneliness that she often felt in Lhavit. Kelski brightened though. She wasn’t lonely today. Today she had good company and two new people to talk to, even if one was a little transparent unless concentrating on being ‘real’.

Levi was still talking though, and Kelski quickly turned her attention back to him. He was putting two and two together and drawing his own conclusions. The dreaded question came out, one she was afraid to answer because some people saw her kind as lesser than humans, more animals likely to be on chains or fetters. Swallowing once, twice, Kelski started to answer and then Naya interrupted. The Kelvic could have hugged the girl, though she wasn’t sure she could with her looking so see-through. A smile played across her lips, one of nervousness and uncertainty. She bowed her head knowing she could lie. The ghost gave her an out. But would it be the right thing to do? She glanced up and met Naya’s eyes, her own grey gaze deep with gratitude and then turned her sight to Levi. She dug a toe into the sand and then straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath.

Her words came tumbling out, all jumbled together because of her nervousness. But his answers were all there, buried in her explanation. Kelski opted for the truth. It meant a lot to her to not be deceptive. Deceit was a human trait and she was not truthfully human.

“I’m not a slave. Not any longer. People elsewhere think Kelvics like me are. But we are not. We should be free just like most humans. I was born free, out on the ocean among humans there who live on ships rather than live in houses. But they worship the Sea God, whom I have great respect for, but unlike the rest of my family, I was not born with eyes the color of the sea and sky and I was not born with the mark of their God on my body. My eyes darkened to grey and this was a bad thing. They toss children into the sea who do not have blue eyes. It’s considered bad for their luck. But I like to think my mother loved me. She gave me to a man in exchange for supplies. He kept me in a cage a great deal. I didn’t like it and the man was mean, with a rough voice and rough hands. I do not think he had known much kindness in his life. I had very few purposes, and all the ones I did have was to serve him. I didn’t even know what I was until he told me one day when he had drank the pungent drink too much. I didn’t even know I could fly until later, when I was older, and by then he was dead.” She paused then, taking a deep long breath. This next part was embarrassing.

“One day he didn’t come home and it took my hunger and my loneliness to even try to open the cage. It wasn’t even locked. A man held me confined and controlled without even a lock … just fear. I vowed never to let another human ever do that. I grew wings and flew. And I kept flying until I found this place. And I liked it. Fishing is good here and so too is hunting. I don’t have to be hungry here. I don’t have to do things I do not wish to do for the promise of fresh water, a little food, maybe a blanket to keep warm at night. I can have all those things by my own hands or wings. I don’t know much about humans. I’m learning. And they are letting me because no one has tried to put me in a cage yet. Maybe it is because they think I am human too, like Naya.” Kelski said, glancing at the ghost and offering her a smile. She really didn’t think Naya thought she was human. For some reason she thought Naya was just trying to help her keep pretending to be human if that’s what she wanted. “I got an apprenticeship with a man, an old man who didn’t care I wasn’t human, and now I’m learning his trade because I’m very good with sight and very smart.” She added, knowing it gave her credibility.

Then the man with the whip that Levi identified as dead began his racket. Kelski was afraid, in truth, not because she had a cowardly nature but because like Naya, this was not something she’d experienced before. Could the whip hurt? Could the man hurt her? Was he going to hurt Levi thinking he was a slave too? She watched as Levi did something… grabbed a snack made of his blood and something from his bag? The Kelvic liked fresh blood, but wasn’t certain she’d enjoy her own. It was almost as interesting, what he was doing, as what the ghost was doing. So she stepped sideways, giving herself a more clear view of what was happening both with Levi and the man who evidently was dead.

Levi began talking, trying to make the man see reason, but he did not. Instead he became more enraged and started doing something that scared Kelski. He started blinking back and forth, winking out of existence at one body then blinking into existence at another body. She thought it looked like Night Stalking, but there were no shadows in the weak early winter haze of morning. It wasn’t bright out but the sun was behind clouds and there were no shadows around.

The ghost shook his head in denial and finally blinked in front of Levi. His whip lashed out and he tried to strike Levi in the chest with it. “Unless you want thrown in chains yourself, shut up. You know nothing about me and my crew! I’m not dead! And these lazy louts are always feigning sickness and weakness. We give them plenty of food and water! More than they deserve… laying about like this.” He insisted.

Kelski backed up and off to the side. She was not willing to let the ghost get anywhere near her. She knew what a whip felt like and she didn’t enjoy it. And she definitely didn’t want to find out if a ghost’s whip was the same pain. Instead she moved to put Naya behind her, afraid that even though Levi’s little sister was already dead, the other dead man could hurt her as well. She turned her head, whispering over her shoulder. “You should stay back. This man looks like the sort that you don’t want anywhere near you.” She hissed.

It looked as if the ghost was dismissing everything Levi said. Kelski had no experience with ghosts and had no idea how reasonable they were or weren't. This one, however, looked mean. It looked as mean as a wolverine and the whip looked wicked. He barely listened to Levi's words before he shrugged them off and made his move.

The dead man, disbelieving Levi’s words, turned his whip on Levi. Kelski cried a warning, but she was certain Levi was ready for the move.

[Levi Remilian]

If someone were to ask him, Levi would never admit to being of a curious personality. He would euphemise it to a more professional term such as inquisitive or information gathering. That was what he was doing right now; in fact it was something that he tried to do with most people he met. Kelski was one such person who he found worth his time getting to know more, not that he was curious. Curiosity was for children like Naya in the spiritist's mind.

A cave... that could work as a home if one furnished it well enough and it was a relatively safe location, Levi thought to himself. Could one even furnish a cave? Also travel to the city and back would be a problem though it was partially explained by her sometimes sleeping at her workplace, a jeweller's workshop. So Kelski was a jeweller; not that Levi had any mind for jewellery, but a person's occupation was key information. Once again, a mention referring Levi as human, but Levi kept quiet about that.

Naya silently clapped her ghostly hands in glee at Kelski's invitation, "I would love to! A cave is such a neat home, I really wanna see what it's like. I'll visit for sure when Levi is busy doing something. Maybe you could help Levi visit sometime?" Naya exclaimed with excitement. Her brother chuckled softly, "Maybe, but as Kelski said it would be difficult. It will take a fair amount of walking for me." Levi stopped talking as the conversation seemed to continue on to the next topic. His attention rested on what Kelski said earlier in her sentence. She said she was once like these people, like the slaves who now lay dead on the sands of this beach. Kelski was a former slave... that was what he could conclude from this. He gave no mention of what she had said, deciding that it was probably a touchy subject for Kelski.

Once more another clue to her inhuman nature was dropped by Kelski: flew. Levi quietly pondered this; he had heard there were races capable of flight in Mizahar, not many but a few. One that were similar to bats in certain ways, Zith he barely recalled, and another race of shape-shifting animals... or were they shape-shifting humans? Was it neither? It sounded like a confusing race. Keeping these musings locked away, Levi nodded, "Yes, the boat from Alvadas to Lhavit does stop in Black Rock. It is an interesting location to newcomers, it is the abode of our goddess Dira and the island has a fittingly sombre atmosphere. There are as many ghosts as there are living on the island, since we welcome and accept their existence until they decide to pass on to their next life." The spiritist discretely avoided any mentioning of Kelski's flying. He would find out more in a later question.

The woman's delicate and almost sly smile when she talked of the shadows caught Levi's eyes. It was like she had a relation to the shadows she spoke of, an affinity to the deep darkness in which things unseen lie hidden. It struck Levi as peculiar, in addition to the other peculiarities that he had noticed about Kelski. "The world needs both light and shadow, as life and death are both intertwined and in balance." Levi said, a faint humoured smile gracing him, "I would place myself as the soul who looks upon both sides of light and shadow, death and life."

One would have to be completely socially inept in the reading of emotions to not notice that the question of race was a sensitive one that Levi has just taken a push into. Levi was thankfully not of the socially inept variety and could clearly see Kelski's hesitation to quickly answer. Did the nature of her race bring difficulty to her life? Most likely, and if that piece was combined with the earlier mentioned possibility of being a past slave, it made sense. Naya's hurried defence of her humanity was answered with silence on Levi's part. He looked at the girl and seeing her knew that she was earnest in her statement, but why? Naya may seem naive, but she was far more intelligent than people gave credit to her. She certainly must have noticed the clues in Kelski's choice of words, or was the ghost girl really unaware of the woman's true race? Sometimes it was hard to pinpoint the exact motivations of the ghost when it comes to matters unrelated with her reason for remaining. That pondering was for later as after a long silence of hesitation from Kelski, she began answering Levi.

The spiritist's calm gaze from light blue eyes remained fixed on Kelski as she told the story of the life she had led, trying to maintain a semblance of stoic calmness and unflinching steadiness. As the Kelvic told more details of what she went through, the thin veneer of composed detachment quickly melted away from the fire of hardship that was Kelski's life. He crossed his arm, his brows beginning to furrow slightly as his straight expression shifted to that of a subdued and gentle sympathy. He could not help himself and there was no point trying to restrain his emotions right now. How could he not react to everything that the woman had gone through at the hands of humans? When she finished, he lowered his own head, resting his hand against his chin for a moment, eyes scrunched shut. He opened them, blue orbs looking back at grey. "Just because you were a Kelvic, you were treated in such a cruel way by humans like myself..." Levi spoke quietly, the normally steady voice quivered and he found himself clenching his fists, "I... I see... and I... well I am sorry for what we humans have done to you, and to others of your race too I can conjecture." In his voice there was a genuine sadness, an emotion he tried his best to keep out of sight, "You are a person who walks a path in life, a being with a soul and thus equal with me and anyone else in this world. That is all... not something to be enslaved and treated as lower, by Dira no!" Anger rose in the last sentence, whatever check he held on his feelings gone. Was this the right response to such a story he wondered, because this was the only response he could possibly imagine. There was no way he could simply stand calmly and merely accept it all.

Naya looked as though she was about to cry, if it was even possible for a ghost to cry anymore. She concentrated and her form became solid. "But why would they do that to you? Mothers don't abandon their children, and people should not be put in cages! You're such a nice person, why would they do that to you?!" The ghost girl shouted, indignation flaring in her wispy voice. The little ghost floated forward and hugged Kelski around her waist, clinging to her, "No one should ever do that to you, but it happened... so... so I'll not let it happen again! It doesn't matter that you're Kelvic, You said you can grow wings and fly? Actually I think that's really cool! We'll be your human friends!" Naya looked up at Kelski, flashing her a reassuring smile. Levi looked at his sister, the anger that was rising vanishing into a slowly settling sympathy. In response he nodded silently to Kelski. He had little else left to say, only agreement with his sister's words.

Whatever sad emotion of sympathy Levi was feeling had to be swiftly shut down and thrown back for the spiritist to deal with the situation of the slaver ghost. Once more a mask of sheer cold and self-control settled on his face as he braced himself. This was a violent ghost and words will take time to get through to him. The ethereal whip came snaking at him and the spiritist quickly ducked out of the way, barely getting out of the soulmist tendril's way. Taking a couple steps back after getting back up his mind raced to determine his options now. A last mental image of a ghost's essence further sped the soulmist's creation in his gullet. He had that coming to use soon. Equipment wise he had two throwing daggers and ghostbeads in his pouch. He now remembered that these had already been soulmist infused from yesterday's encounter with the ghost Veila. How could he forget that? He glanced back at Kelski and Naya; they needed to stay safe. He reached into his pouch and pulled out his set of soulbeads, tossing them to Kelski where they landed in the sand in front of her. "Set that up and stay inside! Naya help her!" He said with brevity, attention fully on the ghost who had returned to blinking around the corpses and whipping at them. Distracted for now, good.

Naya stayed right by Kelski's side and nodded to her, "I know. Ghosts can hurt ghosts. But you need to spread the beads out in a circle and get inside he won't get you then. I'll be fine." She said, glancing between Kelski, her brother and the slaver ghost with worried eyes. Levi stood his ground, keeping his position in front of Kelski and Naya. He did have his two daggers that could hurt the ghost, but those were a last resort. If he used those, that was the end of diplomacy. The ghost blinked back in front of Levi, "You damn petcher aren't helping me! Get to it!" The whip cracked again and Levi tried dodging the attack, but the whip still caught him on the left shoulder. It felt like a small brick had hit him as Levi tumbled to the ground, only just managing to catch himself with his hands on the sand. He jumped back to his feet and began shouting again, "None of that matters anymore! Listen! Tell me what you remember before ending up here, what happened to you? Try to remember!"

The slaver ghost snarled a livid scowl, "Of course I remember! I was on the ship with my crew damn it, what else? You trying to stall me here? You are aren'chya? Well it ain't gonna work! That's it, I'm putting you and those two girls there into chains!" He snapped the whip at Levi again, the spiritist ducking out of its strike, but the ghost was already gone by the time he looked up. The slaver had blinked over to Kelski and Naya, grinned darkly at the two and raised his whip ready to strike, "I think I'll take you two first!" Naya blinked behind Kelski, or as close as she could manage if the Kelvic had set up Levi's ghostbeads.

Credit goes to the fantastic Firenze

[Kelski]

Kelski, had she have known Levi’s thoughts, would have sat down and debated vocabulary with him. Inquisitive and curious had the same definitions. Inquisitive even commonly used curious as its definition. Curious people were eager to know things. Inquisitive people were the same thing. He was talking apples and apples. The Kelvic liked words. She loved knowing what they meant and how to use them properly. It wasn’t something the Spiritist was likely to find out about her anytime soon though. They were too busy… with ghosts.

“You can come anytime. Levi can as well. You can get there on foot easily, but it’s a long walk from the city.” She said gently, not to imply they were soft or unable to do it. It just wasn’t accessible via a trail Okomo carried people on. The Kelvic had a hard time with that to. People used Okomo to get up and down the mountains around here, rarely using their own feet. She wondered what made it okay to let an animal port them up and down on its back when they had perfectly good working limbs. Wings were far easier. The poor humans, even the dead, had no idea what they were missing.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to come. I would be disappointed, but Naya can still visit anytime.” Kelski said, happy to at least know the child and know that the child wanted to be friends. Kelski didn’t truthfully have any. A ghost and her older brother would be very welcome. Levi was hard to read though. Some things he commented on, others he remained silent about. Naya was easier to understand. She gleamed like a diamond and you could see all her thoughts and feelings shine in her ghostly gaze. Kelski wondered if her brother was just a private person, intent on making his own way in life. That she could understand. Sometimes when people know a great deal about you, they could use it against you or worse yet, use it to judge you.

Perhaps she’d said too much.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Levi began to speak. Black Rock. She’d suspected but wasn’t sure. It wasn’t anywhere she’d been, her experiences in life limited to Alvadas and Lhavit. But she’d heard talk on one of her many listening sprees. There were ghost talk around, but Naya had been the first real ghost she’d seen. Lhavit had haunted areas, but to Kelski, someone who didn’t want to move on wasn’t in her mind that uncommon. Humans loved their habits. They gathered places, socialized, and had routines that were set in stone. She imagined it was hard for them to give up such things when they died. Death wasn’t something Kelski thought much about. She had always had bigger worries such as finding food, shelter, or learning her work well. Humans had things that gave them advantages. Families came to mind first. Then they had schools to teach those skills they would need to survive in the world. Kelvics did not have these things. The man whom her mother had given her to had taught her that. Her race was created to serve. They were slaves to humans and designed to ease humans lives even more. It was why she had that secret longing inside of her to be with them, to please them, to make them want to have her around. It was something she fought off and on. She could go days without company, just working her gemstones or linking chain, or even soldering new pieces together. Then she’d feel that burning need for company and it would be indisputable. She’d go to some bar, some restaurant, and pretend she was there with people, among people, loved by people and it would sooth her a bit. But deep down the man had been right. Deep down she knew his words were true. When she belonged to him and he used her for whatever purposes he desired, she felt different… less restless. And though they’d had no bond, none could form from that cold man’s heart, she had been in a way content. Freedom was better though, and in a lot of ways she enjoyed it more.

Maybe Naya would be a friend she could talk to about things like that. Maybe Naya could understand. Levi though, Kelski thought, was scarier. He was alive, very human, and very male. She didn’t know what he thought about things. She didn’t know why even he was here. She didn’t even know what kind of heart he had. Kelski worried about such things. She wanted someone to serve again, and badly, but she wanted the right kind of someone. Now that she was older, she understood such differences clearly.

Levi’s words about the shadows and about balance made Kelski nod. It was true what he said and the way he said it made her think he was neither good nor bad, but somewhere in the middle walking in the places sometimes people called greys.

And then she started talking, unable to stop herself, and a flood of words and indeed her whole story tumbled out. She hadn’t meant to tell him, nor Naya, who delightfully was even now proving to be a good friend defending her. But it was Levi’s words that next stunned her. His actions, lowering his head, blue eyes filled with an emotion she hadn’t yet seen in a human gaze, stopped her in her tracks.

He apologized.

Kelski was stunned. Levi apologized to her for what others had done to both her and her race. She didn’t have to guess his thoughts in that moment. His sincerity was clear. His words named her as equal to himself, to Nya and to everyone else in the world. She longed to drop to her knees and press her forehead against his legs to show her gratitude because the emotion that swept through her was intense. She’d never felt anything like it. No one had ever apologized or felt sympathy… no sympathized… with what had happened before. And clearly he felt it. His words matched his gaze and his facial expression. The Kelvic was simply speechless.

The Kelvic took a step towards him. She wanted to make a gesture, to reassure him that it was okay, that life was better now when Naya started speaking. She reached out, as if to touch both of them, to thank them for their offer of friendship, when the ghost reacted.

Truthfully Kelski had forgotten he was there. Levi’s confidence and Naya’s unfailing high spirits tended to do that. But Levi reacted quickly, tossing her a strange necklace, one far larger than she’d ever make at the shop. She would have no idea what to do with them, but Naya pipped up and explained. Kelski did as she asked, and stepped into the circle of beads spread out on the sand. Once inside she crouched down, narrowed her eyes, and hissed birdlike, wishing there was something she could do.

When the whip caught Levi’s left shoulder Kelski lunged. When Levi went down she cried out, more raptorial than human, and almost lost her mind with fear and rage. She stopped short just before crossing the lines of the beads, but she was beside herself with the urge to protect Levi and his sister. The long time conditioning of a slave and instructions of not to cross the line was heavy in her mind. She twisted and turned this direction and that, but didn’t in the end cross the beads or step outside the circle they created. She wanted to get to Levi. She wanted to get to him bad. Naya she was less worried about. She’d heard the ghost say that the other ghost could hurt her, but Naya was fast and could do the blink thing or become so solid as to be almost living. She had, in Kelski’s mind, more ways to protect herself than Levi did.

And in that moment, Kelski realized she had little to no way to defend herself in the noon light with no shadows lingering about. She always relied on the shadows these days. No cage could hold her if there were shadows about. Cuffs and collars, even jesses, could, but most were too stupid to guard against such things. She couldn’t step through a shadow and rescue Levi by taking him through another shadow. The sun was too bright and too overhead for any of her inhuman companions to be about.

When the ghost blinked to her side, standing right next to the beads and Naya had moved in to crouch at her back, Kelski knew fear. The raised whip was a thing she knew well and she hunkered down, twisting to try and cover Naya’s frailer form with her own. The Kelvic could take a beating better than a child could. And while she didn’t know Naya that well, she wasn’t going to let the brute hurt her.

The slaver raised his whip, laughing, and brought it down as if to begin Kelski’s punishment. However, the slaver’s lash seemed to deflect off the ghost beads causing the man to curse. He let three or four good lashes go before he stepped back and roared with rage. The string of obscenities that came out of his mouth burned Kelski’s ears. They were threats to Kelski and Naya’s life and an apt description of just what he was going to do to them when he got access to them down to the every single detail all delivered in rapid fire common that teamed with rage. All sorts of things were mentioned, most brutal and violent, until at last he finished with hanging them from the timbers of his ship and flaying the skin off of them while they were still alive.

Kelski whimpered, still crouched, but slowly realizing the simple beads had some sort of power and were blocking the ghosts access. She rose then, keeping her gaze on the ghost, knowing if he lost his anger the ghost might realize he’d left his back and side vulnerable to Levi if Levi could get on his feet and get organized long enough to attack.

Levi would attack right? That’s what men did? He surely had his own whip or a dagger or something to defend himself and the girls with. It seemed this talk was enough talk for the ghost because he was all about action now and something had to be done. Kelski was tempted to step outside the circle, to draw the ghost away, but she wasn’t sure how far she’d make it until the ghost’s whip brought her down. So she did the next best thing she could think of.

She bluffed.

The girl straightened her shoulders and caught the slaver’s ghostly gaze. She held it there and smiled gesturing down at the beads. “You cannot get us in here. You’re powerless. Weak. That’s why all these slaves are sleeping. They won’t listen to you. They won’t do as you ask. They look at you and see a man not as strong as they are, one with a mind that is not whole. They think you a fool and just continue to sleep, resting while they can before someone stronger and more intimidating comes along, because you couldn’t intimidate a flea.” The Kelvic said gesturing to the corpses laying out on the beach.

The slaver turned, this time giving Levi his back, and howled his rage. He raised his whip and took a step towards the nearest corpse, bringing the lash down on it over and over again on the dead body. Kelski flinched at the fact it was actually opening the flesh, though the dead did not bleed. She turned to look at Naya, completely baffled at the ghosts actions and how driven by its emotions it was. Levi and Naya were so opposite. They were driven by their thoughts. Each action, carefully made, Kelski thought.

Now that the ghost was distracted, taking out his rage on first one body then the next. It was a good time for Levi to act if he was going too. Kelski was sure he had more tricks up his sleeve.

[Kelski]

Kelski

Experience: Observation +4, Planning +2, Foraging +2, Cooking +1, Socialization +3, Spiritism +1,

Lore: Socialization Meeting Levi & His Dead Sister, Black Rock: It’s Location And The Fact Its Home of Many Many Ghosts, Shipwrecks: Can Contain Ghosts