[The Labyrinth] Walk Down (Sitkanis)

[Tabarnac]

Zahari peered at Sitkanis as if he were touched, or perhaps if his fall from the Ukalas had landed him on his head. He shook a bit with suppressed mirth before he began laugh full out, the joy in it strangely beautiful in the dark and quiet of the meditation garden. "Boy, perhaps you are blind. Denval is full of women, most of whom would take you to bed in either form. Look harder. Though if you've met our Captain, you might have mistaken her for a boy... flat-chested as one, anyway. You might beguile her, though, with your shifting. Lord Aquiras knows she should beget an heir sooner or later." He chuckled. "If you mean an ethaefal, then yes. If you mean like you personally, then I don't know. I've only just met you."

[Sitkanis]

The thought of the capitain entered Sitkanis' mind. Since his fall he had only met one girl, E'adrix and there was no way tht the capitian looked like her. She was an Ethaefal like him. He often wondered about the girl but the truth was, he would most likely never see her again. It was just a spark of some kind of night time magic that he saw her. His mind wandered from the thoughts of women and onto the words that Zahari spoke. He said that Sitkanis was an Ethaefal. Since his fall he had thought he was some sort of strangely cursed man. He thought his transformation was some random happening. "Ethaefal." He tried the word out on his tounge. He now had an identity, or at least part of one. He still did not know exactly what being an Ethaefal entailed. The question burned in his mind but he was afraid to ask it. "What is an Ethaefal?" The question would sound odd coming from his lips. He was an Ethaefal for Leth's sake! Sitkanis had to know what an Ethaefal was. He needed to know if there were others like him. "What is an Ethaefal? I mean I know I am one but what am I exactly?" The question sounded childish, almost as if he was a young boy asking his father about where his race came from. "Why did I fall from the sky?" Sitkanis did not like being this emotionally exposed but the fact was, this man had answers. Maybe not all of them but this man had seen him fall. He had to know something.

[Tabarnac]

Zahari peered curiously at him, but not unkindly. He patted the slenderer version of Sitkanis on the hand as if he were his child, his grandchild, or something of that nature. "Ethaefal are what we land-bound creatures call those who were called to the realms of Syna and Leth, but returned. Apparently, the Great Cataclysm rent holes in the fabric of those celestial realms, and some of their children ... fell back to earth. You shift with the cycle of the sun and moon, reverting to the form of your past life and returning to that granted you by your deity. You shift with the seasons as well, colors changing like the forests... "Do you not remember what came before your fall?"

[Sitkanis]

The man spoke of Sitkanis' kind and truthfully he was confused. How could any of this be happening? He was sure that the man knew what he was talking about but Sitkanis could not believe how he could have fallen from the Ukalas and just started living again. So much was new and different to him that he was not sure how to handle it. "This is all a lot to take in…" He began. He was not sure what to say. There were things that he wanted to say, questions that he needed answered and yet he could not find the words to express them. He felt lost in this world that he had once called his home. He was not sure where he came from but he knew where ever he was now was far from where he was from. When Zahari asked if Sitkanis remembered anything from before his fall it hit him, he didn't. He could not remember what happened before his fall. The most he could remember was rushing grass and horses running through it. Even that memory was clouded and vague. "I remember horses and fields of grass. Other than that, nothing." The waving grasses and the horses were his fondest memory, although they were his only one. He yearned for more but there was nothing. It was like trying to pull apples from a tree that did not bear fruit. "So no, I do not remember what happened before my fall. I wish I did, any memory would be nice but I cannot seem t remember what happened in my previous life. All I have is my body in the day time to show me where I had been."

[Tabarnac]

The old man watched Sitkanis with his keen eyes, hardly less keen for the watery light of the moon. His journey had never taken him far from Denval, but here was one whose journey had taken him to the celestial realm and back. These things were relative, of course. What was distance, after all? He continued to smile kindly on the eldritch beloved of Leth. "Well, you certainly looked like a Drykas horseclansman before the night claimed you," he said, patting his shoulder comfortingly. "But I wouldn't worry too much about the memories. If you are meant to have them, they will return. If you are not, then they will not. Best to build on what you have. "What do you seek?"

[Sitkanis]

Drykas Clansman... There was something hauntingly familiar about. Did these Drykas live in the land of horses and grass? "Drykas..., it sounds familiar. Where do they live? Is it a place like here?" Sitkanis wanted to ask if they lived in the land that kept nagging at his dreams but was he really ready to put a name on the place he kept dreaming of? What if Zahari told him of a place that did not match up with his memories? "Zahari, I know this seems out of the blue but do horses and grass have to do with Drykas? I keep dreaming about a land of grass and horses. I know it has to be important because I cannot stop thinking about it but I was unsure about how it would relate to me." Drykas, this was good information even if he barely knew what a Drykas was. He imagined the looked like him, tall and tanned. He wished he knew more about these Drykas though. His memories were not being kind to him tonight. Although he got a very clear view of what he was during the day he was not exactly sure what that race was. Zahari asked a good question, although it was one that Sitkanis was not sure if he had an answer for. What did he seek? He was not sure if he was even on Mizahar long enough to know. He really thought about it though. He wanted to give the man an answer. He closed his eyes and breathed in. He could hear the wind blowing and the scratch of the pair's feet walking through the labrynth. The question he needed to ask himself was, what was important to him. Nature, the visions of the grassy lands were proof enough of that. He knew who reigned over them... What was her name? Caiyha! He cared for Caiyha deeply. There was a reason deep down in him, buried in his memories. He had not uncovered what it was though. There was a phrase that kept bringing her to his concious though. "The Domain of the Druid". He knew it had something to do with the land he kept thinking of and he felt as though it had something to do with him but for all he knew it could have been false memories. All he knew was that he found comfort in her and the world she had created around him. Of course he cared for Leth, that was obvious because without him he would not have his second life. He was not sure how thankful he was for that but the chance to live again was proving to be interesting. "Maybe he dropped me here to test me..." Sitkanis shook his head as he noticed his mind traveling off track. "What do I seek?" He was not sure why this question was giving him so much grief. There was not much to seek except for Caiyha but he knew that there was little chance he would meet the Goddess. He was a son of Leth of course! He laughed and looked down. "I know it is odd but I seek Caiyha. Something draws me to her and her wild domain. I know it is something to do with my past. Maybe it has something to do with these Drykas Clansmen you speak of. She is what I seek though. Caiyha and maybe answers as well. I'd someday like to come to terms with both although both are difficult to find. I truthful don't know which will be harder to find!" Sitkanis gave Zahari a small smile. He did not think he would open up to anyone this soon but the man seemed to have answers. Even if they were simple to him they were astounding to Sitkanis. He was a bit amazed by the man for the simple fact that he knew what Sitkanis wished he knew.

[Tabarnac]

Zahari told him then of the plains of Cyphrus with such imaginative words that one might even believe he had been so far away from his home, and what he knew of the Drykas horseclans. Some of it was hearsay, but most of it accurate insofar as it went. The chaplains of Denval were mostly educated men and women, having spent time at their Lyceum, some even teaching there in between their duties at the various chapels. "But if Leth dropped you in our lap, then perhaps your journey is meant to be here rather than in the prairies of your former life," he offered. "Certainly we have seen more than our fair share of falling celestials here, though I have not spoken to people everywhere to ask for their ethaefal precipitation rates. "Anyway, one might find Caiyha almost anywhere. Perhaps She will have answers for you, though, in my experience, the most powerful discoveries are found on one's own rather than told by another." He paused, glancing up at Leth's face before looking back to His favored son. "Perhaps we should walk back now. I would encourage you to walk the labyrinth in future. It helps order the mind, helps uncover answers from within. But you should also feel free to visit me at the Chapel." It was hardly a dismissal, and there would be time to speak more on the walk back should Sitkanis so desire it, but it would seem the ethaefal had work to do on his own before Zahari could be of much help.

[Sitkanis]

Zahari brought up a good point. Leth had to have dropped him in Denval for a reason. Whether is was to stay in the city or if there was something in the city he needed to learn or someone to meet. "I'm interested to figure out why it is I fell here but I'm sure there is time to figure that out. How do Ethaefal age?" He was not sure and although the thought really did not worry him too much he decided to ask. This man seemed to know a great deal. He did not know of anyone who could help him other than Zahari anyways. He chuckled at the man's remark of falling Ethaefals. It was good to see some light in his dreary stituation. "It would be nice to find answers and of course I would never give up a chance to find answers from Caiyha. Still, I think I would be quite the lucky man to have that chance. I agree that finding answers within myself is most likely the best path to take. We cannot except help and guidence from others until we can help ourselves. Of course I am just repeating your words." He smiled at the man. He did not expect so much to come from this meeting but he had enjoyed it and learned a good deal. "Yes, let's get you back. I know I am more of a nocturnal being but I am sure you would like to return to the chapel." He thought about Zahari's words and smiled at the thought. It would be nice to visit the labyrinth again sometime. Possibly even during the day. "Thank you for taking me aside and taking this walk with me. It's cleared a lot of things up. There are still a lot of questions to be answered but like you said, maybe I need to answer them myself. I hope we can do this again some time if you find ourself in need of a walking partner."

[Tabarnac]

Zahari let the young-seeming Ethaefal talk, though he leaned on him a bit in standing up again. When they were walking again, retracing their steps out of the labyrinth, he began to answer all those questions asked and quickly forgotten in lieu of the next one to pop into his head. "I have heard that Ethaefal live longer than men for the most part, and sometimes much longer. You will not age, though you will likely die if you are not taken up again into a god's bosom. "Seek Caiyha if you wish. She is a noble goddess. But do not turn your back upon the moon. Lord Leth loved you well, and I believe that he watches you still. If ever you doubt it, look up." He did so then, blinking back at the silvery moonlight. "And I'm too old for bedtimes. Sometimes I cannot sleep, anyway. Perhaps soon my journey will take me out of Denval, so no hour is unholy to me. I am here to help, and you should seek me out when you require it."

[Sitkanis]

Although the questions still swam in Sitkanis' mind it was good to know there were some answers. The old man spoke the truth although Sitkanis still felt a bit of sadness toward Leth. It was a bit like a child feeling scorned by his father. He loved Leth, there was no denying it. He just felt a bit betrayed that the God allowed him to fall through the cracks. He did not know how to swim but... Sitkanis thought back to the night he fell. He had almost drowned but a prayer to Leth had seemingly saved him. The God, at least in Sitkanis' mind, directed the waves to shore and allowed him to start his life anew in Denval. Possibly Leth was just doing the best he could. He could not keep watch over all of his children as well as keeping watch over Syna. "You have a point Zahari. He is doing the best he can. I guess I just wish I could still be with him." He looked up at Leth and smiled a little. He knew he could return to Leth someday. According to Zahari, it would not be of age. It was a lot to take in. He would never know what he looked like when he got older. He would forever be twenty-eight years old. "I will be sure to seek you out again Zahari. I know I will think of some new questions before Syna rises once again." He looked around at the trail around him and to the moon above. He felt a calm, although who knew how long it would last. This was not to say he was no longer scared or angry. He just felt a bit of peace for the first time since he fell. He was not sure if it was correct to say but Sitkanis felt compelled to speak the next few words. "If you ever need help on that journey I could be honored to help you. Of course, I would need to train a bit. It seems my fall has completely wiped out my fighting skills. I never thought I would see the day I would be void of the ability to throw a little offence. Still, maybe the peace is good for me." He did not notice until this moment the absence of a weapon at his side. Instead, there was a man who wanted nothing more than to help him. This was a complete turnaround although he did not know how much he had changed.