PM to join There are Different Ways to Travel

[Jez Firetongue]

Jez Firetongue 14th of Spring 517 AV Pavi/Grassland Sign , Common, Nari ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Spring had come and yet the Winter damage had far reaching effects on relations in Endrykas. The tension between those who had stayed true to the Gods and those who had given up on them was still high. Though he had been one of those to stay true, Jez had issue with the remaining tension. Faith meant nothing if it couldn’t be broken, and he understood why people had given in to the fear that the Gods had abandoned them. However, they were one race, bonded by their shared experiences in the Sea of Grass, and had to stick together to survive. Thomas Heartsong’s announcement had pleased him, glad to see he was not the only one hoping for unity in the trying times. In light of Thomas’ announcement, Jez was preparing to participate in the Spring Triathlon. Though he lacked the tense energy of many of his future competitors, he was looking forward to socialising with the community. He hoped the Triathlon would open the way to new friendships. Wanting to train in preparation of the event, Jez had readily agreed to a riding session this morning. The previous evening he had been in Baultime’s Barrel, relaxing after a hard day of work, when he had seen Rena. He was happy to encounter the new friend he had made over Winter once more. They had soon been joined by a stranger, Turrin. Jez was curious about the man, a newcomer to Endrykas, but hadn’t had the chance to ask much as the conversation, as is frequent in Endrykas, had turned to riding. Jez had been shocked to learn that Turrin did not ride horses. It was such an embedded part of a Drykas’ life, of survival in the Sea of Grass, that being without a horse was unthinkable. He had eagerly agreed to meet the next morning and help Turrin learn to ride. He had volunteered the services of a docile mare owned by his Pavilion. Though friendlier to outsiders than most Drykas would consider normal, there was no way he’d offer his own stallion for the task. Wind was a feisty stallion bred to be a fast steed for The Watch, definitely not suited for someone new to riding. More importantly, Turrin was still a stranger and could pose a threat to the horse. Jez valued Wind’s life above his own family and wouldn’t trust a stranger with him. Prizing the Strider was typical to the Drykas, something so natural that Jez didn’t know how strange it may come across to a foreigner. Jez rose with the sun, the sounds of his Pavilion getting ready for the day enough to rouse him from sleep. After the working hard at The Healing Hoof the day before, he was taking the whole day away, and so was free to immediately pick out the horse to bring with him. He chose one of his family’s calmer mares to bring to the meeting, knowing that anything rowdy would be tough on a beginner and potentially cause an unnecessary fear of horses in him. The mare, Eva, was a black Seme with a white mane and tail. She was stocky, a wagon puller used to shift the Pavilion’s tents, and not one that the family would usually use for riding. However, her primary use meant that she was docile and willing to put up with a lot; a good starting mare. Jez picked a plain pad to put over Eva’s back, a way to protect her while someone rode, attaching a yvas and breast collar to hold it in place. Jez also put a simple head collar on the mare and clipped a lead rope to a ring under her chin. Eva was used to moving with the Pavilion at the Ankal’s command, and Jez was not a skilled enough horseman yet to use words and body language alone to take her from their tents. The lead rope would also give off a sense of control while Turrin got used to being around and on her; Jez knew she wasn’t going to suddenly take off, but if Turrin couldn’t recognise a calm horse then he may end up worrying about her running rather than learning how to be with her. Jez didn’t know what the man was like, and it was rare to find a beginner rider at his age in the city, so he wasn’t going to take any chances. Once the mare was tacked up Jez called Wind over from where he was grazing nearby. The stallion nickered, trotting over to the Drykas. Wind wouldn’t need to have a head collar. As Jez’s bonded Strider, the pair could communicate through signs and body language in a way that Jez couldn’t communicate with any other horse. It made handling the feisty creature easier than it would otherwise have been, though the stallion could still be stubborn as a zibri. He put Wind’s personal tack on him; a purple pad and breast collar as a statement of his Clan, with the yvas covered in knotwork that symbolised various shared moments between the two. Jez tied Eva’s lead rope to one of the metal rings on the right side of Wind’s yvas, trusting his stallion to keep the mare headed in the right direction. Once tacked up, Wind started to prance on the spot, throwing his head back. Jez laughed and made a calming gesture so that he could mount. Being on Wind always made him feel complete. They could run as one, best friends and most important beings to each other, stronger as a unit. “We’re going to the other side of the city,” he informed Wind as he tugged on the lead rope, alerting Eva that they would be moving, “We’re meeting people in the valley that’s South of the Ruby Clan’s tents.” The stallion understood enough of his intention to move in the right direction, guided every now and then by a nudge of Jez’s leg. He reached the ridge of the valley but found nobody below yet. He dismounted to sit in the thin grass atop the slope, facing away from the tents at the city border. Eva bent her head to graze, moving slowly down the slope. Wind snorted, stamping his hoof from annoyance that their pace had halted, but was content enough following Eva’s lead as the rope tying them together pulled taut. If she wandered too far, Wind would corral her back in Jez’s direction. Jez simply watched them, smiling, as he waited for Rena and Turrin to appear. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ || Jez Firetongue || 25 years || Drykas || Amethyst Clan || Strider-Wind ||

[Rena Rain]

Rena awoke to the sound of birdsong floating on a crisp breeze blowing from the south passing her tent. Rena was a visitor to Endrykas and thus she had no family pavilion Just a large tent and misc supplies she had brought from Riverfall. This would soon change however as her father was set to marry Dew Heidecraft one of the Drykas. Thus Rena had pitched her tent near the Heidecraft family pavilion which was located in the Ruby clan section of Endrykas.

Along with her future in-laws home the ruby section was home to the Baultime’s Barrel the cities tavern. Rena had spent the previous evening there in the company of Jez Firetongue one of the few friends she had made during her stay. They had spoke about many things including the speech made by Thomas introduction of the spring triathlon coming up on the 20th. Though she wasn’t much good with a bow Jez’s enthusiasm had convinced her to join in the fun.

The night was made more remarkable when the met another visitor to Endrykas named Turrin. From what rena could tell the man was well travelled and used to adapting to fit his surroundings from the fact that he was keen to learn to ride a horse, which was essential to the Drykas way of life. Jez being his normal friendly self had offered to teach Turrin and had invited Rena to join them. Before calling it a night and leaving the Baultime’s Barrel they decided as a group they to go Riding the next morning.

Thus Rena didn’t roll over and go back to sleep when the dawn chorus woke her but rose and dressed herself. Her clothes were still the same basic wool and cloth garments she had left Riverfall in, but over the winter months her hair had grown out from the short neat bob. Part of her wanted to cut it again but a desire to blend in kept her from doing so. Instead she tied it up each day with a leather thong.

Once dressed she went out to the herd of horses the Heidecraft kept and retrieved her strider Opal. Though not bonded to Opal Rena still treated and spoke to her as if she was. “Good morning Opal, want to go for a ride” Rena said greeting the mare as she carried over both saddle and tack. Humming to herself Rena lifted the saddle and placed it on the back of the waiting the mare who was standing still as trained to do. Rena tightened the belly strap ensuring the saddle was secure before placing the tack over the horse's head. Taking the reins in one hand Rena placed a foot into as stirrup and lifted herself up onto Opal’s back.

Settling into the saddle Rena turn Opal round and headed south to the little valley. There she saw Jez waiting for her. “Good Morning Jez.” she called out in common as she rode up beside him waiting in companionable silence till Turrin Emerged “”Good Morning Turrin.”

[Turrin]

Not wanting to be late to his riding lesson, Turrin woke up early like usual and got ready for the day. It was spring and the mornings tended to chilly even if the weather has been unseasonable warmer. After putting on his bryda (long flowing pants from Wind Reach), he draped his brown katinu (coat from Wind Reach) over his bare shoulders. When he was finished, he wove the feathers into his hair. The wind wasn't to bad, so he just let it flow free. These feathers in the hair were a culture norm in Wind Reach, but it was his way of paying homage to his people that he left behind. When he was finished getting dressed, he strapped his talon sword and scabbard to his belt. He knew that he wasn't going need his sword for a riding lesson, but it was a force of habit being a part of the Warhawks Flight in Wind Reach. Even if Wind Reach didn't have a formal military, the Warhawk Flight of endal was the closest thing to a military, so he still considers himself a soldier regardless of his place of new residence. If he was going to battle, he would bring his short bow and quiver, but he didn't want to alarm his riding instructor being armed to the teeth.

Walking out of his tent, Turrin made his way into the clearing between the purple tents and the blue tents and walked towards the city center with the large ribbon pole. He still didn't know the significance of the color system in Endrykas, but he knew the color of the gemstone ruby, so he started to walk towards the opening between the red and white tents. The hunter knew that he needed to meet the riding instructor past the ruby clan tents. As he walked he remember Zhol, a Drykas living in Wind Reach, said that he was a member of the Ruby clan. He was vague on the reason that he left, but he said that it had something to do with him not bonding to a strider or not being good in the trades. He didn't understand the significance, but it must have been serious if he left his people. By the end of his days in Wind Reach, he started to feel like each day in the volcano city was a cruel reminder that he failed to keep his wind eagle safe. There was nothing that he could do. The Zith surprised and overwhelmed the dire eagle and himself, so at Aponivi's command. He fled back to the city and left the wind eagle to his grisly fate of being torn apart by a Zith hunting band. He could still hear the strangled cries of the wind eagle as he fought them and himself fleeing to safety.

Shaking the thoughts from his mind, Turrin started to wonder if he should had brought Muncher with him. When he went to the stables the horse basically ignored him when he went to see him. He knew that he needed to try bonding with the animal, but he wasn't quite sure how too. With a wind eagle, he could just telepathically communicate with it, so bond was much easier. With a horse, he wasn't sure because he couldn't read it's thoughts or feelings. He felt blind. He tried bonding with food, but the horse was always eating, so he didn't care for the food Turrin brought for him. He thought that he could bribe the horse with presents, but the horse wasn't Aponivi who loved trinkets like wind chimes, glass mobiles, and mirrors, so he could stare at. Muncher seemed content with eating, and nothing accept socializing with his fellow horses would interrupt him to stare at.

Thinking about his dead wind eagle started to sour his mood, so Turrin did his best to pull his mind away from those thoughts. As he got closer to the edge of the tent city. He noticed two people with three horses. When he got to them, the Inarta rationalized that these people were his instructors. The first one a young woman with short brown hair welcomed him first. She wasn't dressed in Drykas clothing, so he wondered if she was foriegner like himself, but the male was definitely looked like a Drykas.

Looking at the young woman who already seemed to know his name. Turrin said in common with a thick Kalea accent, “Good morning. I wish that I knew your name, so I could give you a proper greeting.”

He didn't know her name, but she seemed to know his name. From what he could tell, she seemed friendly enough. He turned his gaze to the male Drykas and nodded to the young human woman and said in common, “My name is Turrin Aponi...”

Turrin paused and sadly realized that he couldn't use Aponivi's as a surname anymore because he was dead, and he wasn't a eagle rider anymore. Everyone in Endrykas seemed to have surnames. It wasn't a common practice in Wind Reach because most of the children didn't even know their parents. Placing a stray burgundy lock of hair behind his ear, Turrin thought of the first nickname given to him when he reached Endrykas by a toothless wagoner, “My name is Turrin Goldeyes.” It was a good surname for a vagabond. The Inarta continued, “I thank you both for taking the time to teach me how to ride.”

Looking at the male Drykas than back to the woman, Turrin said in common with a chuckle, “I hope your both are patient because I am hopeless when it comes to horses. My horse Muncher would rather eat than acknowledge my presence. It rather disheartening...”

[Jez Firetongue]

Jez Firetongue 14th of Spring 517 AV Pavi/Grassland Sign , Common, Nari ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ As Jez waited for Rena and Turrin to appear, he absentmindedly rubbed at his right cheek. The small welt from archery training a few days prior had almost completely healed. Although not skilled at archery yet, he found that working towards the goal of the Triathlon competition was inspiring him to keep learning archery. If he got good enough it would probably help him out on future journeys, saving some money on rations. The unmistakable sound of hooves on grass slowly came into earshot and Jez turned. He lit up upon seeing Rena, glad to spend more time developing their blossoming friendship. He hoped she would be in Endrykas for a while as he wished to explore their friendship more, to get to know her better. In recent years he had been fairly insular to his Pavilion and work, so it was exciting to him to get to know new people outside of his usual circles. Jez stood to wave as she came closer. It was a little jarring to see the full tack on Opal. Even with all the bright knotwork hanging from it, Wind’s yvas was designed to come off easily should the horse need to remove it himself. He couldn’t help the momentary grimace at seeing a Strider treated like a horse form outside Endrykas. Perhaps with time Rena would grow accustomed to the Drykas way and replace the tack with yvas. She seemed to already be beginning to blend in, growing out her hair from the short cut that typified a slave in Endrykas. Regardless of her evident status as walakh, non-Drykas, Jez was happy to see the woman again. “Rena,” he greeted, “It’s great to see you again! How’re you do…” He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck with a chuckle and changing his language. “My apologies. I forgot the language to use. I am glad to see you once more. How is your day?” He was, as usual, more formal than he intended when speaking Common, due to lacking fluency in the language. He hoped that after muddling through the confusion in their first conversation, Rena would understand the friendly meaning behind his formal words. After the greeting, Jez was happy to follow Rena’s lead in the companionable silence until Turrin appeared. Stood now, he was facing the right way to watch as Turrin walked toward them. He was taken aback, as he had been at Baultime’s Barrel the previous night, by the man’s appearance. The burgundy hair and golden eye combination was enough alone to mark him as a foreigner in these parts. Jez was curious about his heritage, and slightly cautious about his intentions coming to Endrykas, but the man was humanoid enough that Jez was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt; it’s not like he was Zith. If his physical appearance wasn’t enough to mark him as an outsider, his unusual clothing stood out like a sore thumb. Having recently bought new clothing for himself, Jez’s current appearance was a great representation of Drykas style. His cotton shirt was undyed, but embellished with fancier features. The buttons extending half way down his chest were fully unbuttoned, displaying his dog fang necklace over strong chest muscles. Surrounding the buttons and along the sleeve hems was purple embroidery of many intricate patterns, incorporating animals and marks of significant meaning to Jez. His trousers were also undyed, but remained unembellished to draw attention to the sash around his waist. The thick sash was a purple piece of fabric, a symbol of his status as a Drykas, someone bonded to a Strider, and an accepted member of the Amethyst Clan. Hanging from and looping around the sash was a variety of knotwork decorations made of thin dyed rope and silk, representing his adventures, status and beliefs. Jez did note, as Turrin approached them, that there was one similarity in their style. Turrin’s hair was decorated with feathers, something Drykas were not unknown to do. Jez, on top of the couple of knotwork pieces and ribbons twined in his hair, had a feather incorporated in his own hair decorations. It was a Glassbeak Kelvic’s feather, gifted to him years ago, and he kept it as a talisman for protection against the fearsome creatures. He ran a finger over the emerald green feather as he thought of it, the item strangely reassuring for him given the creature it came from. Jez held back as Turrin arrived at their side, happy to let Rena reintroduce herself before taking his own turn. His head tilted a little, surprised, when Turrin stopped half way through his second name and gave a different one instead. He readily accepted the slip, given how common a name change was in the Drykas culture. He assumed something significant must have happened in Turrin’s life, as life events were often the catalyst for name changes for Drykas. “I am Jez Firetongue,” he made his own reintroduction, not knowing whether Turrin would remember his name from the introductions last night. He was glad that the man was at the very least as fluent in Common as he and Rena were. There was already enough of a language gap that any more would make a conversation between the three of them difficult. “Goldeyes is a fitting second name,” he continued with a jesting wink. From the sound of it the naming conventions of Turrin’s culture were very similar to Drykas ones, not only in when they change but also their formation. Pavilion names traditionally meant something to the Pavilion upon creation. Jez knew the tales around his own Pavilion’s name, that Firetongue came from the first Ankal’s mastery of negotiation. “Ohs tratche,” Jez shrugged at Turrin’s thanks for the lesson, the common phrase ‘just another ride’ slipping naturally from him before he could come up with the closest translation he knew in Common. “Your thanks are appreciated, but not necessary,” he translated, “It is not often that a stranger comes by Endrykas without the ability to ride. I hope the skills we teach you help keep you alive in the Sea of Grass.” Jez wasn’t trying to underestimate Turrin’s survival skills; he had simply grown up with the lesson that horses were pivotal to survival as Drykas. Indeed, their whole social hierarchy was based on the fact. The thought of anyone, even a walakh, not knowing how to ride was worrying. Unless Turrin proved to be a threat to the Sea of Grass, going against Caiyha’s will, he found no issue with teaching him the skills necessary. Besides, this meant he got to spend some extra time with Wind in preparation for the Triathlon. As Turrin mentioned his lacking skills, hoping the pair would be patient with him, Jez laughed. He was glad that the man seemed to have a sense of humour. “Horses are instinct to me,” he told him, “I am interested how much I see as instinct is actually something I had to learn, just at a young age. Rena,” he turned to the woman, “I will probably need your help understanding why Turrin may not be getting the hang of something.” “Do not be disheartened, however,” he continued, “I am sure your culture has customs that would be a… erm…” “mystery… erm…” he struggled to find the words, “would make little sense to me.” He paused before curiosity gave over manners, “Where are you from?” Jez gestured to Eva, grazing in the centre of the valley below, at Turrin’s mention of his horse favouring food over him. “Food draws many animals, even humans. Try to befriend your horse with its favourite food. First, though, you must understand their body language to make sure they are in the right mood to respond to you. May I ask why you did not bring your horse with you today?” Once the short conversation had finished, Jez made his way down the valley slope towards his horses. He left Rena and Turrin to converse, follow him or do both, choosing to call his horses over instead of inviting them to follow him first. At the bottom of the slope he stopped. “Wind,” he called to garner the stallion’s attention, making a series of complex signs once he was looking. The stallion could read him well and immediately turned to Eva, nickering to distract her from grazing. Wind tugged at the lead rope joining them together and guided the Seme straight to Jez’s side. “Hey there, Eva,” Jez tugged the knot loose that connected the Seme’s lead rope to the Strider’s yvas, setting Wind free to do as he wished, “Time to get to work.” Jez expected Wind to dash off upon gaining freedom, surprised when the stallion chose to stay beside him, eyeing up the two people he’d never met. Jez rolled his eyes and instead looked over to the pair to see if they were ready to be introduced to Eva. Turrin would need to trust the mare to be able to focus on riding, whilst if Rena was like Jez she would need to assess the mare for herself to figure out the best way to teach with that specific horse. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ || Jez Firetongue || 25 years || Drykas || Amethyst Clan || Firetongue Pavilion || Strider-Wind ||

[Turrin]

The Drykas male introduced himself as Jez Firetongue. Turrin gathered by the horses in tow that he was going to be the main instructor for today. The male seemed dressed in typical drykas attire, but he had large green feather woven into his hair. The short time Turrin has been in the city. Feathers weren't normally typical drykas attire. It must be personal. It must hold a memory that was dear to him. The Inarta felt out of place being surrounded by people who devoted their lives to horses. His culture had a stigma attached to them. Inarta thought they were dirty animals that only the lower castes would ride. If you weren't blessed to be bonded to a wind eagle, horses were your only mode of transportation unless you walk everywhere in the Unforgiving. He knew from personal experience with Aponivi that his wind eagle was personally offended when he asked to learn how to ride the four legged beasts. In the wind eagles eyes, horses were mere food and the four legged shyting machines were just prey like most of the other large animals in Kalea. When he mentioned his surname, Turrin just smiled and said softly, “Inarta don't have surnames, but I wanted to fit into your society, so I gave myself one. Goldeneyes was a nickname that a wagoner gave me. It fit me well, so I used it.”

When the Drykas male asked him about his homeland, Turrin's mind instinctively went to Wind Reach. Taloba wasn't his home since his grandmother banished his family from the clan. The half breed Inarta looked at the Drykas and said with a nod, “My homeland is the city of Wind Reach. It is located far to the northwestern part of the continent called Kalea.” The Drykas seemed unfamiliar with common, so he mistook his disheartening joke as being seriously. Turrin said with a smile, “It was just a joke, but to answer your question about not bringing my horse. He wasn't listening to me, and he seemed content to eat his weight in grass today, so I went without him.” When the Drykas male walked away to tend to the needs of the other horse, Turrin sat there silently and waited for him to return. As he stood there, he was kind of excited about learning formally how to ride a horse. The Inarta did his best to ride Muncher, but the horse wasn't listening to his commands half the time. He could get him to move, but it took days for him for him to learn that nudging the horse with heel was the command for move. It took him longer to learn that tightening up on the reigns and stirring him with his hands got the horse to move in the direction that he wanted him too.

Turrin watched the drykas male handle his horses. The human seemed comfortable with them, and they seemed to respond to him in kind. It reminded him about how the Inarta were like with birds. It was natural to them, and they seemed to know what the bird was thinking. The Inarta waited patiently for him to bring the horses over. They were pretty animals especially the larger male stallion. Turrin wonder if it was a strider that Zhol told him about. When Jez got closer to him, Turrin asked with a nod to the larger male horse, “I knew a man who came from Endrykas in Wind Reach. He said your people bonded with god touched horses called Striders. Is the large horse one of them? He seems to carry himself differently than the rest the other horse.”

[Jez Firetongue]

Jez Firetongue
14th of Spring 517 AV
Pavi/Grassland Sign , Common, Nari

A slight blush graced Jez’s cheeks at the mistake, caused by a slip in translation. The inflections that meant one was joking rather than being serious sometimes differed between languages. It was especially difficult given that he wasn’t fluent in Common and that the language had no Grassland Sign to aid the meaning of words.

Jez huffed a laugh at Turrin’s reason for not bringing his own horse to the lesson. He looked over to where Eva stood beside Wind, “I know someone with a similar personality. Eva is calm but has a consistent work routine. Our Ankal guides her with our Pavilion. I am uncomfortable using a head collar on her, but she would not have followed me otherwise.”

After calling the mare over and unknotting her lead rope from Wind’s yvas, Jez prepared her for riding while answering Turrin. Her lead rope was knotted to the chin rung of her head collar and he threw the loose end over her neck, knotting it in the same rung. It looked like a strange mimic of reins, despite Jez having no intention of teaching Turrin that style of riding. Instead the loose loop of rope around the mare’s neck was for the foreigner’s security; if he felt unstable he would be able to grab onto the rope and rebalance himself. The method had worked when his mother had taught him to move with a horse, so Jez saw no reason to change the teaching style now.

“Wind is indeed a Strider,” was Jez’s response, “Our bond…we are each other’s.” Wind lifted his head and snorted as if to confirm what Jez said. His words were the best way he could describe their two way bond in the Common tongue, that it wasn’t just a case of ownership or two separate beings mutually benefiting in survival terms. Jez didn’t know if Turrin understood what their sort of bond entailed, but he wasn’t going to go into detail explaining it. An explanation would involve details about the Web that tied Drykas and their animals to each other and the land. A Drykas, even one as open as Jez, wouldn’t reveal such an important aspect of their culture to a walahk.

Jez realised that if Turrin had to ask whether Wind was a Strider then he probably didn’t not much about them. That could lead to a fatal misunderstanding within Endrykas, where Striders were as important to know about as the people themselves. “Striders are born of Zulrav and Semele. They are sacred. Harming Wind is harming me, and you will be punished as such.” Wind stamped his hoof as Jez spoke, still watching Turrin warily. The Drykas didn’t expect Turrin to harm Wind, but needed to make the severity of such possible actions known.

“Eva is ready to ride,” Jez patted her neck and signed mount, “What do you know? Can you mount?”

| Jez Firetongue || 25 years || Drykas || Amethyst Clan || Firetongue Pavilion || Bond to Wind |

The Heart of Nature Soothes the Heart of Man More Than Any Woman Can