Flashback Primer: A look into the world

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An inland sea created by Ivak's cataclismic fury during the Valterrian, the Suvan Sea is a major trade route and the foremost hub for piracy in Mizahar. [lore]

Primer: A look into the world

Postby Wa'Djinnabi on September 17th, 2019, 9:45 am

3rd of Summer, 510 AV

It was his 4th day into travelling with the Svefra and Wa'djinnabi was, frankly, bored. The pod of ships were drifting along and lazily tacking to the north along the blue vein. The young Eypharian could still see the hazy outline of the Eyktol coast and the lush greenery that living on the coast entailed. Though early on in their journey the dunes of the desert actually met the sea itself. Djinn wondered why this place would have trees and plants and other places had simple sand. There was something there but he did not know enough about the likely complex subjects necessary to come to a conclusion.

Some of the blue eyed sailors were hard at work, swabbing down the decks or cooking while others lounged in covered awnings of fabric with careless indolence. They often would regard the six armed lad with lazy and content smiles and then tell him to get to a chore. Being neither a svefra nor one of the family, he was the lowest in the pecking order and while not given the worst tasks, he could be commanded by anyone, even the gangly youths, and be expected to obey.

At first Djinn grew indignant at the treatment. But he endured due to the lia's condition for his passage. It was this, or he could swim his way back to land. In truth, he did not actually mind doing the work. Decks needed washing, as did clothes and cookware. And he was not overworked or treated badly, he just was an outsider living among the people of the sea.

But he was slowly making friends. Often the young man would drift over to the helmsman, who was in turn often the navigator. When he did not need to work, or was given a break, he would watch the man and his eclectic instruments of the trade. Today was like those other days, but Djinn had his back to the man, kicking his legs over the water as they drifted north.

"Hey. Kid, c'mere." D'jinn looked around, before the voice repeated itself, "Yeah you, boy with the extra pits. Get over here." The eypharian, used to the taunts by now jumped up and found the navigator looking at him. He made his way over to the navigator and looked down on the shorter man. "Hold this wheel for me. Don't let it turn." Both eyebrows over hazel eyes drifted up and almost made it into his short curly hairline but he did as was told. The helmsman never let anyone touch the wheel. Even the lia got a dirty look when she took over the wheel without asking. So letting him, an outsider? Unthinkable. And yet here they were.

There was resistance in the wheel and he could feel something constantly pulling the thing from one side to another so keeping the pegs straight was an effort. He looked at the navigator, who was in turn looking at him with a thoughtful expression. "Ever sailed before boy?" He asked, scratching his silver flecked beard. Djinn shook his head and turned back to the wheel, focusing on it as a sudden jerk to it nearly loosened his grip. He added a few more arms to help stabilize their heading. "Tell you what, I'll teach you a bit and in return you work for me. Anyone tell you, you got to do anything, tell them to come talk to me. My name is Elzo." Elzo slapped an arm on the taller young man's shoulder who replied, "Wa'djinnabi, my friends call me Djinn."

Elzo smirked, "So does that make us friends, Djinn? You might want to wait until after I tell you what you to do." Djinn grew worried at the spreading smile on Elzo's face but turned his attention back to the wheel. "Good man, priority should always be to the wheel when steering. Alright boy. Time to learn a bit so you don't seem like the landlubber you really are. Really, can't believe Lia Tempest brought you on." He muttered a bit before continuing. "So this here boat, is called a Palivar. Those ones off the port bow are Casinors and the one off the starboard bow is another Palivar and is the lia's personal ship. The Casinor is sort of a family ship, a single person could sail it if they needed to, but couples and their children tend to use them." He then went on to teach Djinn on the anatomy of each boat, how the sails and rigging work to move the boat using the wind, as well as the rudder. He demonstrated on how the wheel's every movement translated to a shift in their heading and how to tack in various situation. As the older man spoke, Djinn grew more and more concerned, it was useful information and he was doing an admirable job keeping the ship going the direction they needed, but the job Elzo expected of him worried him.

What could it possibly be?

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Primer: A look into the world

Postby Wa'Djinnabi on September 18th, 2019, 10:58 am

After sometime under the tutelage of the brusque svefra, the man finally turned to Djinn and nodded, "Alright boy, I know you are probably dying to know what I want in return. Not a good negotiating tactic by the way." The man smirked at the younger man as a flush went across Djinn's face. "Anyway, as for your task? You are going to be my assistant. And when you get where you are goin, you are going to do a favor for me and the Lia." Elzo watched the horizon for a few moments. "You work hard, you don't complain and you don't make trouble for yourself among the pod. Not many landfolk are like that." He turned his gaze back to djinn, his deep blue eyes boring into the desert lad's, "If you do this favor for us, we'll consider you a friend of the pod." His expression lightened and his lips curled up, "Doesn't mean you will get a discount on your future fares. But friends are friends." He said like that meant anything.

Djinn, who had been pretty quiet since the man called him over nodded. What could he say to all that? Besides, getting a word edgewise was difficult. This helmsman liked the sound of his own voice and to be fair, he was not one to scorn knowledge, even at that age. The offer wasn't bad, getting out from under the thumb of the other crew and passengers would be welcome despite the light pressure he was under. This other favor though... well, he would just have to put faith in the fact that the Lia had been straight with him thus far, it was unlikely for her to suddenly grow more arms. Or so the phrase was in his mother tongue. It didn't translate well.

"Okay. But... I am not sure where I am getting off. Does that matter?" Djinn said, which caused Elzo to give the eypharian a queer look. "...How do you not know where you are going?" Elzo trailed off and his eyebrows raised, coming to some internal conclusion. "...Okay. Follow me." He called to a burly Svefra that was stripped of his shirt and shared a great tapestry of tattoos to the world. The fit looking man hurried over and took over the wheel as Elzo took Djinn below. Unnoticed by the eypharian, the new helmsman watched the youngerman leave with an appraising look.

Down below Elzo took the Djinn into his cabin which was strewn with undefinable nautical equipment and parchment. Maps were tacked over the walls and a cot with a small chest were shoved into one corner. "So let me guess. You've never left Ahnatep, huh? Wait, let me rephrase that, you've never been to another city." Djinn hesitated but nodded. Truthfully, he didn't even know the names of the distant lands beyond the desert. "...I can't imagine a world beyond the desert." He looked at his feet for a moment before the Svefra put his hand on his shoulder. "Let's fix that then, eh?" He gave a gentle smile and with an arm cleared off his desk to make room for a scroll. He unrolled it and spread it across the table to reveal a map of the known world. Djinn's eyes lit up at the sight and he leaned in.

The map of the world was large but was... unsatisfying. Sure the scale was mostly correct as was the shape. The coast was well defined, as if the svefra traded maps and combined them together, copying both masterwork and incredibly poor work together into a single map. While the coast was, at least not terrible, much of the internal lands were vague and lacked detail. Regions were marked in a clear steady hand, as were points marked with city names. Djinn ran fingers down the name of Ahnatep and followed a vast river north labelled the Blue Vein.

Elzo watched the young, many armed man pour over the map. Poor sod that he was. He was clearly educated, but at the same time, so incredibly ignorant of the world. He seemed to put on this quiet confidence when anyone was looking that disappeared as soon as they weren't. Well, it certainly didn't hurt to have friends with the landsfolk, and what better friend then one you trained yourself young. Elzo crossed his arms and let Djinn take the map in before interrupting, "That's right, we are right about here." He pointed to slight bend in the Blue Vein. "So, first off, when reading a map, especially at sea..." He then went on to explain the compass rose, the concept of longitude and latitude, as well as the measurements for scale.

It was overwhelming but... it was a kindness beyond what djinn had encountered before.
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Primer: A look into the world

Postby Wa'Djinnabi on September 24th, 2019, 8:52 pm

At first Djinn was fairly quiet throughout his impromptu lessons. He was almost shocked that anyone would give him the time of day. After all, he was a stranger to these tight knit people. Not that he was one of them by any means, but the attention was nice. As Elzo taught, Djinn started asking questions. They discussed the nature of the world and a tension in Djinn's shoulders started to ease as he grew more comfortable with the navigator and helmsman.

"Alright, so can you tell me the regions of the world?" Elzo asked, not bothering to hide the map. The young man thought for a moment, trying to remember them all. "...Eyktol, Cyphrus, Falyndar... Syliras and... uh..." Naturally he could only remember the ones he was vaguely familiar with but Elzo came to his rescue and nodded, "Right, then you have Kalea and Taldera. As well as the associated islands like Sahova, Akvatar and Konti." He paused for a moment in thought before nodding and continuing the lesson, as if he had to think for a moment to remember as well. "You already know about Eyktol, the deserts are renowned across the world. Cyphrus is known for its Sea of Grass, the Endrykas as well as Riverfall, which will be our first stop."

Djinn interrupted, "The Endrykas, are those the people who live on horseback all their lives?" Which Elzo smirked and shrugged, "An exaggeration. They are a nomadic people, like us, but instead of living on a sea of water, they roam the sea of grass. They keep herds of horses and animals, and probably are more used to riding atop a horse then using their own feet but no, they do not live their whole life on their horse."

Elzo went on to explain the other regions. Wa'djinnabi learned about the jungle forests of Falyndar and the dangerous Dhani that lived there. Apparently they were something that sat firmly between a snake and a person. They went over the cities, both known and fabled. Djinn was mostly fascinated with black rock, the city of the dead. He would have many dreams about the place. They also went over the mountainous regions of Kalea and the cities and people who lived there. Naturally he had never heard of Sultros and the Isur who lived in their mountain strongholds. As Elzo put it, they were a people blessed with arms fashioned from metal. Djinn hoped to meet one one day.

"And of course you have the Sylira Region, said to be the hope of civilization. Most of humanity lives there as I hear it. Syliras, Nyka, Zeltiva, even Ravok. If you took all the people in all the other cities and lands, they wouldn't add up to the mass of humanity that lives in Sylira." Naturally, Djinn's pride was pricked at that. "Surely it couldn't be that much. The Eyphrians have to be more numerous." He said, a bit puffed up. Elzo gave him a hard look, "You will see." He said simply and moved on, talking a little bit about each city. Djinn found the tales of knights and evil paladins fascinating. Syliras apparently had a bit of a rivalry with the den of evil that is Ravok but Elzo made it clear that while the god of evil ruled Ravok, the people themselves were not inherently evil. People were people and generally were concerned with living and making a living.

The lesson started to wind down as he quickly spoke about the northern forests and wastes of the Taldera region and then moved to the various island nations. After they spoke of the ephemeral (clearly a word inspired by the epyharians) konti and their healing prowess. The conversation moved to an apparently sore subject.

"Then there is the island of Sahova. Our pod never visits there, and we don't know of anyone who does visit there. It... is not friendly waters." Djinn tilted his head at that and frowned, "Why not? Are there monsters?" He asked. Elzo nodded, "Not the kind you mean, but yes. The island is filled with a creature called the Nuit. They are... unpleasant. They are a kind of undead creature that takes over the corpses of others and lives through their skin. The process ruins the body over time and... desecrates it." Elzo grimaced, "They are not inherently evil, but they are still monsters. Sahova is a colony of these undead creatures that study ancient magic. It is said there are powerful mages from before the Valterrian still alive. I do not know how true that is, but I do know they capable of unnatural and fell magic. You should stay away if you can."

Djinn was kind of nervous, between his hypnotism and his alchemy, he could defintely qualify as a mage of fell and unnatural magic. Best if he kept that to himself however. Djinn was about to ask another question before Elzo brusquely changed the subject, "Next I am going to have you start copying these maps. If you ruin any of my master maps I will throw you overboard." Elzo then bussled through his cabin and brought out a stick of charcoal and a stack of parchment. He also put down a bottle of ink and a featherless pen, but gave Djinn a meaningful look. The message was clear, sketch with charcoal, then ink the lines with the pen. The problem was that Djinn was a terrible artist so he would be at the task for quite awhile before his own standards let him show off anything to Elzo.

Ah, well. The learning was fun while it lasted. Now he realized the real insidious plan of the helmsman. He really wanted a scribe!


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Wa'Djinnabi
Finding forgiveness among the weeds
 
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