Closed Visions && Memories

[Yomila]

15th of Fall 520 AV

The Outpost was a place that felt alive under her feet, the air utterly thrumming with activity and people. Yomila found it such a contrast to the Fortress City she now lived in. Not that Syliras wasn't alive in it's own right; the Citadel was a subdued sort, sparse where the Outpost was elaborate. The focus within the city of walls was safety; the Outpost was about living and about spending. Time and money were the city's lifeblood.

However, as the Ethaefal spent more and more time within the distant city, connected only by the mysterious dovecotes, she found there was more to it: Life was in abundance here.

She had finally ventured beyond the few places she had made a point of sticking to and found that, beyond the maze of markets and stalls laden with goods, beyond the mizas that changed between hands, there was more green here than she had ever experienced. Once she took the time to notice, she saw there was life all around her: ferns hung from overhead as she passed through various walkways linking the numerous open-air sections together, trees and potted plants broke up the colorful stoneways and seating areas; there were pools of fresh water generated by the aqueducts that fed the city filled with fish; more animals than just the common cats and doves the city was known for roamed freely, fearlessly. This bounty of life only added to the city's charm. The Ethaefal was enamored with it.

There was one pool that drew her attention.

It was located separately from the other gardens, closer to the dovecote, and from the cursory glances she had given it, no signs of life lived within its waters. The area was beautiful - as all the gardens were, simpler somehow, sombre in its design. Perhaps that was due to it feeling more enclosed, the plantlife within more tightly packed here, limiting space for flowing paths and generous seating options.

When she had finally inquired about it, she was informed that is was a courtyard - the Abriske Courtyard - rather than a garden. In hindsight, the Ethaefal realized this made sense; it, at the very least, explained why it sat apart and away from the other garden areas.

She was sat upon one of the few benches, taking in one of the few daylight visits, eyes half-lidded, body feeling heavy beneath the sunlight that poured down upon her. It seemed unseasonably hot to the Ethaefal and, somewhere in her drifting thoughts, she made a mental note to purchase some lighter clothing specifically for her visits here. For now, she tried to settle her mind, taking advantage of this more tranquil space to do a bit of meditating.

It was not an easy task.

Her curiosity clawed at her, scrambling to get her attention, desperate to have her explore more. What was the purpose of the pool? It seemed like the main point of the courtyard but it was neither a fountain or a well.

She clamped her mind down on these thoughts. Forced them out. Forced her mind to be still. Quiet.

This only lasted for a few chimes before footfalls broke through her quieted mind, pulling her back into the present. Her eyes flickered open and cut to the man that had just passed her on his way to the fountain. They narrowed as she watched, flinty.

He stopped in front of the pool and then knelt one knee onto the ledge. The Ethaefal sensed hesitation in his movements, a pause. Then he dipped his hands in and brought them, cupped full of the water, to his lips, drinking it down.

Yomila's mind began its assumptions when he suddenly gripped the pool's edge and then sank to his knees. His hands moved to grip his face. His body shook with what look to be agony. Despair. She continued to watch, unable to look away, stuck watching this man as he spiralled.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed. A chime? A bell? It felt as if time had stood still while she watched, seeing him shudder, seeing the whites of his knuckles as he gripped his hair.

He came to, rose and then made a hasty exit.

The Ethaefal stared at where he had exited, mind a mess of questions. Her black gaze returned to the pool, eyeing it dubiously. Was it the water? Did he just have a bad day?

She rose and stepped to the pool's edge. Her flinty eyes travelled over the glassy surface, looking for any sign of ill-will within. Surely something here within this city would not have caused whatever the man had felt. The Ethaefal had been given no reason to think anything within this city's walls would cause its inhabits harm; in fact, that seemed to go against what it stood for.

She bent and cupped her hands within the water and, without any hesitation, brought it to her lips and drank.

Her brain shuddered as an image flooded into her mind's eye, stuttering, shifting, a whirl of colors that made her stomach lurch. Her Ethaefal form was suspended, hanging. There was a tree, giant and sprawling. Vines. Black clouds. A sun. A moon. None of it made sense, the visions sliding in and out from one another, colliding, splintering, pulling apart.

She moaned. It was a pitiful sound.

Her hand shot to the pool's edge to keep her upright.

tag: Ari'Ellin
nanocount: 903

[Ari'Ellin]

Ari’Ellin had been looking around the market of Lhavit, unable to find quite what she was looking for. Something was always either missing from the stalls, or not the right level of quality, or just priced higher than she was willing to pay.

Her search had been unfruitful, until one seller mentioned knowing somewhere that she could find what she was looking for.

“You could try The Outpost. They have people selling everything there!” the merchant said with a helpful smile and Ari’Ellin blinked slightly, clearly having never heard of the place. “You know, the Outpost?”

Ari’Ellin shook her head bewildered, having never heard of such a place in Lhavit. She wasn’t even aware of Lhavit having an outpost.

“Lhavit has outpost?” she questioned, confusion clear on her face before the merchant chuckled slightly and shook her head.

“No, The Outpost. Xyna’s gift to us.” confusion was still clear on Ari’s face as the merchant sighed exasperatedly. “So, The Outpost is a really good place. It has merchants from all over the world, from Lhavit to Riverfall to Zeltiva-“ at the mention Ari’Ellin’s face lit up.

“Mura?” she questioned and the woman nodded, causing a grin to spread across Ari’s face before the merchant continued.

“There’s a dovecote, not fair from here. If you go into the Dovecote and wait a few ticks, then come out you’ll find it.”

That was exactly what Ari’Ellin had done. She’d found the Dovecote that the merchant had spoken of and stepped inside it. Unsure of what to really do, she’d closed her eyes and waited, unsure how long she should really wait. She counted to five in her mind before opening her eyes and stepping out of the Dovecote, finding that she most definitely wasn’t in Lhavit anymore.

She was confused at first, looking around before she noticed someone in front of her.

“Welcome to The Outpost. Is it your first time visiting?” the man said and Ari’Ellin spent a few minutes looking him up and down, before glancing around the space and nodding dumbfoundedly as the man smiled warmly at her. “My name is Paul and this is Xyna’s city. You see here we have traders from all over the world, here to sell their wares and keep commerce thriving. Everyone has come through one of these dovecotes, and either comes through temporarily to sell their items to those who may not be able to obtain them back at their homes, or they have made this place their permanent home and base of operations.” Paul said warmly, a smile spreading across Ari’Ellin’s face as she watched the man.

“Thank you.” she said softly, bowing her head to the man after his explanation of what the place was.

“Are you looking for anything in particular, or just looking to enjoy the area for now? I can highly recommend that you have a look at the Bazaar at some point while you’re here.” Paul offered and pointed the direction of the Bazaar to Ari’Ellin.

“I think here just see what here now. Buy later.” she explained, nodding to the man as he smiled to her and she headed on her way into The Outpost.

It wasn’t long until she’d discovered the Abriske Courtyard, lying close by to the Dovecote she had came through. Stood on the edges, the courtyard looked calming, beautiful even, with it’s peaceful and serene nature. It reminded her of Mura from what she could see from her point just outside of the courtyard. It was unusual to her, to see something that reminded her so much of where she’d grew up, especially considering that so little in Lhavit had had a similar affect on her.

Humming softly to herself, she stepped into the courtyard and glanced around, her eyes landed on a woman stood at the edge of a pool, her hand wet and seeming to indicate that she had drank some of the waters within the pool.

Ari’Ellin quietly made her way closer to the woman, when the woman had given out her pitiful moan, a hand gripping at the edge of the pool and Ari’Ellin froze in response, looking her up and down, then peering into the water. Could it be? On rare occasions she’d seen things like this before, and she knew that it was exported from Mura to other places, as much as she’d never quite enjoyed knowing that.

Despite her lack of enthusiasm from her younger days, the idea that vision water could be here caused a smile to spread widely across Ari’Ellin’s face. It had been years since she’d seen the very stuff that had been the beautiful gift left upon Konti Isle. Fond memories of her days in Mura, and the beauty of the Silver Lake washed over her, suddenly dropping from her thoughts as she remember the woman.

Softly she reached out to the woman, lying a hand on her back and humming as she looked over the water.

“You drank the vision water?” she started to speak in Kontinese, the familiar sight having briefly made her forget that she wasn’t in Mura and hadn’t been for some years. Shaking her head, she started to speak again, this time in what she knew of the common tongue. “You drink vision water? What see?” Ari’Ellin questioned softly, not wanting to speaking too loudly or harshly. She didn’t want to risk drawing the woman back to reality too quickly.

She didn’t know what she was seeing. Whether it was something dark and twisted that she’d need to reaffirm wasn’t actually there yet, whether it was something beautiful that she’d never want to leave, or whether it was a confusing mess that could take several days, seasons, even years, to decipher the meanings of.

Word Count959 Words

[Yomila]

15th of Fall 520 AV

She wasn't hanging. She was...

Falling?

The scenes that played out within her mind were chaotic, crashing into one another in ways that caused the Ethaefal to physically ache. Every touch, every action dolled out in her mind hit her ten fold in the present. Her body convulsed involuntarily.

There was loss.

The feeling was immense. It consumed her. Squeezed her. Wrung every last bit of happiness and joy from her until she were but nothing but a brittle husk, bereft and empty. The pain was immeasurable.

Then a stab that shot through her, hacking, shooting fire through her breast bone. She was being forcibly split in two.

Yomila opened her mouth wide to cry out but none came. She shut her mouth again and a feeble, horrible noise snaked out through her teeth, low and thin and barely human. It hitched, moving from mouth to her flared nose. Her face twisted and her knees finally gave out.

She hunched there at the pool edge, quaking as the tempest raged in her mind's eye. Her hands remained on the ledge, grip desperate. It was the only thing anchoring her to this world; a lone tether to reality.

Something warm pressed against her lower back and the sliver of her consciousness that was fixed on the ledge divided, sought it out, welcoming the hand when the Ethaefal normally would have shunned it, refused it. Now it was another anchor, another connection to the present, and that sliver clung to it, a final bit of resolve willing herself to return, to drag herself out of the storm with the help of these two anchors.

Her mind's eye would not let go. The visions swam. She was drowning in them, bleeding out from invisible wounds.

A series of noises washed over her, soft, beautiful. Her consciousness wanted to lean towards them, as unfamiliar as they were, but her body remained where it was. She shuddered.

Then the noise formed words. Broken, jarring.

They were enough to pull her partially out of her mind, out of that twisted chaos the vision brought on her. Yomila let out an ugly, guttural groan.

"Water. Bad," she heaved. Another shudder ran through her. Her body was exhausted but her muscles remained locked tight. Fighting. Resisting. Squeezed and pulled and battered by what she was experiencing.

"I-" Her throat closed around the words. Everything clenched. Her face, her hands, her body.

Nearly a chime passed before it finally released her and she sucked in a ragged breath as she was flung fully back into the present. Her body lurched and she buckled over the ledge of the pool, arms like jelly as they dangled in the water. The Ethaefal gasped, desperate for air. She sounded like someone who had been submerged in water for longer than they were comfortable and finally drawn up for air.

It took several more ticks for her mind to full catch up to her body. Her black eyes opened slowly and stared ahead, unfocused. She began dimly aware of the pressure on her back and then of the person at her side. She would have jerked if she had the strength but all she managed was a feeble sway.

"Who-" she started. Her head had turned, dark eyes on the other woman. Where there usually would be heat, all that could be seen was exhaustion. Emptiness. She couldn't even find the strength to narrow them.

"I-" she tried again, but there was nothing there. Every drop of energy had been wrung from her being. The world felt wrong. Her mind haggard. Hollow.

Everything hurt.

Finally, her mind caught up to her. "Vision water?" she asked. The tone was meant to be incredulous but simply sounded weak.

"It was bad," she said. Her mouth and tongue felt lethargic. Her mind unable to conjure up what she wanted to say. "I - No one should.." she sucked in a breath and sank until she sat fully on the ground, arms clutching herself and she tried to put distance between them. "No one should drink it," she finally said.

nanocount 682

[Ari'Ellin]

The noises coming from the woman were borderline inhuman and a look of worry spread across the Konti’s face as she wondered what she could possibly be seeing, wondered what gift or curse of a vision the young woman could possibly be viewing.

She could her eyes on the woman, looking from the changing expressions on her face to her white knuckles as she gripped the edge of the pool, seemingly desperate to keep herself grounded in reality.

Ari’Ellin mostly stayed silent, just observing and hoping that the woman would be freed from the depths of her mind and the vision that was being bestowed upon her soon.

It was a few moments more before the woman made another sound, another groan and Ari’Ellin kept her hand lightly pressed against the woman’s back, expectantly waiting for some sort of sign that she was coming back from her mind, back to the courtyard that they both stood in, and back to the pool that had bestowed such a vision upon her.

The first words that came from her were sudden, although their content didn’t shock the young Konti. The heaving declaration of the water being bad was something that Ari’Ellin had half expected. It would either be something that the woman would hate, or that she would sing praises of, and all of that had depended on the vision that she had been given to her. She heard the next sound, cut off suddenly by the clenching of the woman’s whole body. She could feel it even in her back where Ari’s hand was pressed, attempting to give the woman some sort of stability, even as she came back to reality, to the present, from wherever her mind had taken her.

Ari’Ellin felt helpless, just watching the woman, unsure of what she could do to aid her or offer some sort of explanation or support. She couldn’t think of anything she could do to help the woman.

It was sudden that the woman unfroze, her whole body dropping and lurching forwards over the edge of the pool, and a surprised gasp escaped from the Konti, a hand jerking slightly as she worried that the woman had submerged her head, though relaxing back onto the woman’s lower spine once she realised that only her hands were touching the water.

It looked as though she was weak, her vision having run through her and taken all the strength from her, although that wasn’t much of a surprise to Ari’Ellin. Although she hadn’t seen it often enough to know for certain, the few cases she had seen from a distance seemed to have resulted in similar weakness and lethargy.

She heard the woman forming a full words again, and softly Ari’Ellin moved to stroke her back softly as she tried to decide what to say to keep the other woman calm.

“I friend.” she said softly, keeping her voice quiet and as calm as she could despite her worry for the woman. She didn’t bother to introduce herself fully to the woman. Introductions could wait until later, until the woman had recovered slightly more from what she had seen.

Instead for now, Ari just watched and listened, ready to help should she be needed.

She watched as the woman sank down to the ground and seemed to try to move away, and Ari’Ellin let her hand move away from it’s place on the woman’s lower back, instead moving slightly away from the woman before she crouched down, moving to eye level but not wanting to crowd her or risk triggering some sort of claustrophobia.

“You recover fast though.” Ari’Ellin said calmly, a soft smile on her face as the woman spoke before she shrugged. “It come from Mura. It heal. It give you vision?” she said to the woman, tilting her head at her question. “More important, you came back. Didn’t stay in head.” Ari’Ellin continued, tapping her own temple to ensure that the woman could understand her as she regretted never having paid more attention to her father as he’d tried to teach her his language, the common language.

“Do you think it was the future or the past?” she asked, before reaching into her backpack to produce the waterskin, holding it out to the woman realising that her ordeal may have left her needing some normal water. “It okay, not vision water. You drink. Help you get strength again.” she hummed after she spoke, glancing around the courtyard to see that it was empty aside for them, both sat close to the pool that was undoubtedly the main feature of the courtyard.

Whether the woman would take the waterskin or not, she lay it down within reaching distance of the woman before she stood up, looking over the vision water. It fascinated her to see it here, somewhere that she’d only found out about earlier in the day. She couldn’t help but wonder exactly how often they went to Mura to collect more water, or whether this was a different source of vision water, somewhere that so few people had known of.


Word Count850 Words

[Yomila]

15th of Fall 520 AV

The broken words came regularly now. Soft. Reassuring. The accent was new to the Ethaefal but not unpleasant; they were a gentle caress. They coaxed rather than pushed and served as footholds, aiding Leth's creature on her journey out of the tumult of her mind's eye and back into the present. Yomila would never show it, but, in that moment, she was grateful for the voice.

The woman's presence was a shock. But so was the sudden burst of her surroundings as it all came back into focus. It all felt in high contrast. Whereas before it felt beautifully subdued with its greens and soft blues, not it felt agonizingly sharp.

The woman's words brushed her, further coaxing the Ethaefal's focus. Yomila's dark eyes finally narrowed on her face but that didn't seem to help her to further orient herself. She was perfectly pale and petite with a crown of glimmering scales and she did not fit into the Ethaefal's reality. Yomila's mind swam, shifting, lurching, threatening to pull her back under.

If she was in a better state of mind she would have questioned how this woman knew what she was asking. Knew about the water. Knew it caused visions. Asked what or where Mura was. But she was still in a precarious position of straddling her mind and reality that the thought never came.

"I don't know," her voice was soft, weak still. She sucked in a breath and shut her eyes as her surroundings continued to embrace her and pull her into the present. She was wary of thinking about what she had seen, as if that act alone would jettison her back into her visions.

The waterskin was a welcomed reprieve from all of this, if but as something to focus on. There was a moment where the Ethaefal looked as if she might not accept the offer, rightfully wary after her experience with the water from the pool. A few ticks passed before she took it and uncapped it and drank deeply. What had meant to be a welcomed distraction ended up being a true necessity; Yomila had not realized how thirsty she was until the fresh water hit her tongue. She drank greedily. The time that passed gave her mind a chance to catch up further, to settle.

There was no expression of gratitude, no words of thanks. Those things rarely came natural to the Ethaefal and, still in a delicate state of limbo, they were the last thing that would come.

With the skin sat in her lap, the Ethaefal closed her eyes again. She still felt unlike herself - shaky, wrong, weak. She was vulnerable here. It was for the best she was not aware of it. Her pride would not have abided what came next.

"I am..two," she said, softly. "I am," she struggled and then motioned vaguely to herself, "past. Old. Dead." Her eyes shut more tightly, face rearranging into unsettling lines of uncertainty, discomfort. "And.. fallen, from the sky. From Leth," her voice was not smooth. It rattled. It was rough. "I can't tell-" the furrow on her brow deepened, "I don't know what the vision was for. It was.. so painful. More than I have experienced." There was something unsaid there, hinting. And I have experienced much.

Her eyes opened and she pinned the pale woman with a piercing black stare, "Do you understand visions?" Her body, her soul gathered as much strength as it had to cause her countenance to flare. It was a pitiful attempt at a threat but it was there, in her eyes. She felt cornered. She would do her best to be dangerous if she felt for a moment this woman meant her harm.

It was a short-lived act. The strength bled out of her as her eyes shut. She clutched the waterskin.

"Should I want to know the answers? To what I saw? The.. storm of.. terrible things in my head?" her apprehension was palpable, it rolled off her in waves and colored her words.

nanocount 673

[Ari'Ellin]

The woman looked almost like a deer face to face with a hunter. She looked confused and drained and a slight look of fear was on her face, whatever she’d seen having seemingly dug itself into her mind where it would remain with her for however long it took to be processed fully, or until the day that it suddenly made sense to her.

She watched her carefully as she took the waterskin, gulping the water down as though she’d lived in a desert with no water for as long as she could remember. A grimace spread across Ari’Ellin’s face as she tried to imagine how draining and how painful the vision must have been to leave her that desperate for water.

The way that the woman spoke of what she’d seen and how painful it was caused Ari to furrow her brows with worry. It seemed that the vision had been particularly traumatic and that made Ari worry that she would cast the knowledge bestowed upon her in that vision aside, give up on it and forget every valuable, blessed detail.

As the woman asked if she understood visions and Ari thought for a few moments, watching the woman as she did so. The woman looked as though being weakened was something she wasn’t familiar with. She looked as though she’d spent most of her life being strong and now that the vision water had drained her so much, she looked as though she was lost, unsure of what she should and shouldn’t do.

“Visions strange. They gift from Avalis. She show what think need. Most personal. Too personal for others to know. Too different from more vision. Some clear, some use symbol and not clear.” she exclaimed, trying to work out how she could explain the little that she knew.

Ari’Ellin hummed softly at the woman’s last question and she couldn’t help but shrug slightly whilst she tried to organise her thoughts and how she would answer the woman, even with her lack of fluency in the common tongue.

“Visions personal. Some have answers. Some don’t. Some future, some past, some mean you inside.” she tried to explain what she know. “They help some. Nobody wants same.” she continued before looking straight at the woman, curious as to what she wanted from the vision now that she’d had it. “You want answers, or no? Either way okay. Nothing wrong knowing or not knowing.” she nodded in response, half of her wanting the woman to seek answers, purely for the sake of Ari’s own curiosity.

Calmly, the Konti extended a hand to the woman as a greeting. “I Ari’Ellin. I not here for hurting. I here for helping.” she said, her face displaying a warm smile briefly as she looked at the woman, hoping that she would accept her hand and allow Ari to help her more. “You need anything to get better? I get food if need?” she offered, wanting to help her feel more comfortable with where she was, and to help her feel less vulnerable after her experience.

Word Count512 Words

[Yomila]

15th of Fall 520 AV

The Ethaefal tried to follow the woman's broken common. Tried to piece together what she meant, what her visions meant. She explained that they were meant to be personal but much of what else she said made it sound like these visions were like riddles. Like they were not necessarily meant to be taken literally. Yomila struggled with that. If the water - if Avalis - meant to show her a sign of some sort, shouldn't she take it seriously?

Her strength was returning to her but she still felt winded and beaten. She realized slowly that it wasn't so much physical exhaustion that was crippling her but, rather, mental and emotional fatigue from her experience with the vision water.

The Ethaefal swept her eyes over their surroundings and withered knowing she was still sat there on the ground in the middle of the courtyard, like some invalid. It ate at her and she went to move, gathering her limbs beneath her. She found herself too shaky and crumpled back down like a newborn foal. She blew out an exasperated noise and shot the woman a cutting look.

"What are you?" the tremor had left her voice, replaced with its usual heat. It was like color returning to someone's face after an illness. Her words had claws again; they were demanding. "What is Avalis? A place?" she again demanded. Then, focusing on the context, she amended, "A divine?" Her thoughts jumbled together, racing, colliding, tripping and spinning out of control. "Are you marked?" The heat was still there. Her words dug in, desperate.

There was a look in her eyes that sought to trust the woman before her but it was evident she was hesitant to do so. It was visible in her body language, that need to bolt or to fight. She was not someone accustomed to confiding in others so this was unfamiliar territory. She wanted to though, the look in her black eyes said as much. It was loud. It screamed.

The Ethaefal tested her legs again and stood. She held the waterskin out, offering it back, and then turned to look at a stone bench near the rear of the courtyard. It was wreathed in dense bushes. Her eyes returned to the woman after she had given her an explanation and plainly said, we continue this there. She did not need food. She did not need water. She needed answers. She needed clarity.

Whether Yomila fully trusted this woman or not no longer mattered to her; she was hellbent on sorting through her thoughts. It had seemed so much like dreams she had had. They had been twisted things, more like nightmares, her fall played out on a loop. But her dreams hadn't hurt like this vision had.

There had been times since her fall when bits and pieces of what she now believed to be her 'past' had come to her. Memories from this body's life when possessed with the soul she carried now. She did not understand fully but she knew that in those moments when those fleeting memories came to her, they surged, shooting through her like bolts of lightning. They were short bursts of agony. The Ethaefal was always trying to puzzle things out and she began to wonder if there was a link between this painful vision and those memories? Was it similar? The process? Did it have to do with Avalis?

She seated herself and waited for the woman to join her. Despite her earlier boldness, the Ethaefal looked shrunken again, body hunching involuntarily as she wrapped her arms loosely around herself. Her eyes bore into the ground before her and she tried to focus on the fragrant air, on anything that might aid as a distraction so she could further fortify herself.

"You say the vision is a message.. that is is.. what people want to see?" she edged, uncertainty returning, pouring water on the fire that had colored her words previously. She understood Ari'Ellin's lack of common might be a barrier but Yomila steadfastly believed they could work around it. She would poke and prod and reword whatever she needed to in order to get as much answers as she could.

"My name is Yomila. I... did not want to see that." The uncertainty lingered. It was not in her top lie but she was suddenly aware that she wasn't entirely sure what she said was truth, either.

"There were symbols," she added as her eyes lifted to Ari'Ellin's face. "Can you interpret them?" Even as she asked this, even as much as she knew she wanted so badly to understand, she also knew she was terrified of revisiting them.

nanocount 782

[Ari'Ellin]

At the woman’s feeble attempt to move, Ari grimaced in sympathy. The way that the woman had struggled and failed was something that was uncomfortable for Ari’Ellin, and she imagined most other people, to watch. But then came the words and Ari was taken aback. It seemed as though she had already recovered and regained her mental strength and energy, even despite her lack of physical strength, and the sudden change wasn’t something that Ari had expected. She was happy to see it but also shocked, beginning to see the woman coming back to her body and wondering exactly who she was and where she had come from.

Then came the questions, Ari spent a tick or two in silence, taking time to process the words and the questions, organising her thoughts in her mind before starting to respond. “I Konti. See?” she stated, holding up her arms and showing her scales to the woman, before pulling the collar of her shirt away from her neck to expose her gills, as though trying to prove herself as a Konti, even though it seemed that the woman had no clue what a Konti was. Then came the next question, about what Avalis was.

In Ari’Ellin’s eyes it was bizarre that the woman hadn’t heard of Avalis before. She could understand her not being aware of the Konti, after all the island that they came from was small and few Konti ever seemed to travel away from Mura, so it was highly possible that the woman had never met one. But the idea of someone not knowing who Avalis was, that was an enigma to Ari’Ellin. The goddess wasn’t exclusive to the Konti, otherwise there would be no fortune tellers in any of the other races.

It was obvious to everyone that the other woman wasn’t comfortable in her situation, though her posture and body language didn’t seem to give an easy insight in what she might do in order to regain her sense of confidence again. Ari was wary, her eyes rarely leaving the woman in fear that she might just find her feet again and vanish into near thin air. Even with the gifts that Avalis had blessed her with, Ari’Ellin had no clue exactly what the woman might attempt.

The waterskin being handed to her brought her back to her own senses, and her ingrained manners forced her to nod thankfully at the woman for returning the object, her eyes watching the woman and briefly leaving her to see where she was looking before nodding in response. It looked like a better location, rather than the exposed center of the courtyard floor. The bench looked as though it would be less troublesome to others wanting to drinking from the pool as well.

She watched the woman make her way to the bench and sit down, and almost immediately she followed the woman, sitting down on the bench next to the woman but leaving a gap between them, not wanting to overcrowd the woman, especially not now that she seemed to be becoming more of who she was than the frightened shell that had been left immediately after the vision, even if for now she still looked apprehensive and closed off, sealed by a week wall of anxiety.

At her question she shrugged as she thought. “People pray Avalis visions. They want vision. They want good vision.” she mused out loud as she thought. It was true that she’d seen many people desperate for a vision, even she herself craved to receive some sort of divine vision that was about her, but she doubted that people truly wanted to be gifted a vision that would risk telling them something that wasn’t positive. She doubted people would really want to receive a vision that might traumatise them, no matter what it symbolised and meant.

As the woman gave her name, Ari’Ellin had to fight the urge to smile at the introduction, sound finding it an easy task as the woman said that she hadn’t wanted to see what she had been shown. Ari’Ellin just blinked at her for a moment. “Yomila...” she repeated, committing the name to her memory before she hummed softly. “The trouble visions. Not always show what want.” she sighed softly and shook her head.

Ari’Ellin blinked as the woman asked if there were symbols and if she’d be able to interpret them. For a moment she was practically mute as she tried to organise her thoughts. “Maybe symbols. Sometimes symbols.” she nodded as she spoke, before humming. “I try. No promise. Might not be accurate. Might be personal meaning. But I try?” she offered, watching the woman and humming slightly, doubting whether she would be able to help her, whether she’d be able to give the woman the answers she needed, or whether she’d just harm her instead of helping her.

Word Count814 Words

[Yomila]

15th of Fall 520 AV

The Ethaefal's lack of worldliness was showing. She didn't know the Konti, the race that Ari'Ellin called herself. Perhaps she should have. Yomila's life had been a fairly sheltered one up until she left the Sea of Grass and it was a challenge for her to come to terms with how large and vast the world beyond was.

Judging by how Ari'Ellin presented her hands and bared her neck, Yomila guessed she was offering the Ethaefal insight into what made the race what they were: beautiful scales not only crowned her forehead but also covered her hands from fingertip to wrist and her collar-line. There were strange slits along her neck, like layers of thick skin laid over one another. It would take some further explaining for Yomila to understand these were gills. The Ethaefal had never even seen a fish, let alone the things they used to breath with.

If Yomila's mind had not still been warring with the vision she had experienced, she might have also noticed Ari'Ellin's hands were webbed.

The Konti explained what Avalis was. Or tried to. Her broken description left the Ethaefal with more questions, but she managed to piece things together. "Avalis.. she is a Goddess of these visions?" she ventured. Then, bolder, "The Goddess of the past... and the future?" She supposed that would make sense. The things Ari'Ellin hinted at and the way she spoke of the water made the Ethaefal decide it was part of the Goddess' realm, perhaps a gift from Her. What she saw was either a glimpse into her past or her future, the water acting as a vessel for the Goddess' power.

The Ethaefal frowned inwardly. She did not consider what she experienced to be a gift and she wasn't sure how welcoming she was of Avalis or her power.

She was, at least, grateful Ari'Ellin had the good grace to leave some space between them once she joined the Ethaefal on the stone bench.

The slim, pale Konti was both persistent and cautious. Her presence both soothing and maddening. The Ethaefal's black eyes shifted between the Konti's pale blue ones, losing herself in them. She was vaguely aware the Konti had evaded some of her needling questions but that did not seem important. What was important was what the woman could make of what the Ethaefal had experienced in her mind's eye. Ari'Ellin was willing to help to the best of her ability, to piece out the fractured parts and curious symbols, to guide her as she waded back through that deeply painful experience.

"Thank you," the Ethaefal said, softly. It was not a word she was accustomed to and it felt strange on her tongue and lips. The gratitude in her eyes was genuine. However, Yomila found she was not quite ready.

She hated feeling like a coward.

She stalled, "Like I said... I am two. I'm what people call an Ethaefal. I don't know if that will..." she sought an appropriate word, "complicate things." Her eyes shifted over the Konti's face, searching for a hint of something. Understanding. Maybe even an answer. Yes, it is complicated, but it is doable. She mused. Or even, No, the soul is the same.

She then said, "Could.. what I saw be from an old life. The one this face lived?" Absently, she reached for the waterskin. "I have had visions from that life in this present one. They hurt, too. And they're confusing, but very brief and intense by comparison. Could there be a link?" Yomila was doing her best to appear to be doing anything but stalling the inevitable. Her questions were genuine, as was her wonder at the possible link. But it was just that, something to help her buy further time, to give her precious ticks to fortify herself against the pain she would have to revisit.

Finally, she breathed out, "There was a tree. It was huge and terrifying. And pain. So much pain. Like I was being ripped in half... or something was being ripped out of me." Her boldness darted like a shy doe, leaving her hollow. The Ethaefal focused on Ari'Ellin's closeness, her warmth, her breathing. Anything to keep her steady.

nanocount 704

[Ari'Ellin]

It was a mild disappointed to Ari’Ellin that the woman seemed to have no clue as to what she was, though she had expected it. She’d encountered enough people that didn’t know what she was, definitely able to tell that she wasn’t human thanks to the pearlescent scales adorning her body. It seemed that Yomila had the same experiences as those people had and Ari instantly felt as though she had to give off a good first impression, quickly adjusting the way she was sat to try to make herself look like more than she was.

Ari’Ellin listened to the woman as she spoke, repeating what she’d said and causing a brief frown to spread across her face, before realising that her common likely hadn’t been good enough, and the woman was checking her understanding of the concepts Ari’Ellin had mentioned. Listening to her, she thought for a moment before nodding gently.

“Mm hmm, yes... Maybe... Not actual time. Avalis just see past, future, present. Avalis see it. Not control.” she tried to clarify what both she and woman had said, trying to give an opportunity for a better level of understanding before a slightly awkward chuckle escaping her as she shook her head. “Sorry. Hard explain. I try, but hard do.”

It was awkward for a while as she tried to work out exactly what the best thing to do would be, especially with the woman now seeming to be relying on her for some sort of explanation that she didn’t even know whether she could give. She liked to think she could try and all she’d said this far was that she would try, but the thought whirled around in her mind, continuously questioning whether her best was enough or whether she would just be disappointing both Yomila and Avalis.

As the woman thanked her, Ari’Ellin blinked and stared at her for a moment, not having expected it before she furrowed her brow slightly, only one word escaping her. “Why?” she murmured slightly, genuinely unsure as to what the woman was thanking her for.

Then she listened to the woman as she spoke, describing what she was while Ari listened, carefully trying to find the right words to listen to as she furrowed her brow concentrating as she tried to comprehend everything. “I don’t think change. But I double check later. I think people like you in Lhavit. I find out for true.” she explained, aware that her words likely didn’t offer any sense of trust or certainty.

“Old life? Possible. Old life is still you, I think. Just old you. Could be from old you life.” she hummed softly as she spoke. Then as the woman spoke of visions she’d had before, Ari’Ellin felt her face light up, a smile spread across her face at the knowledge that she’d already been having visions, even if they were from a previous life. It could still be a gift from Avalis to the woman, even if it those visions were just memories. “Could link! Yes could link! Vision past is memory, yes? You no access old life memory in head, so vision show you. Avalis try show you important. Something important you need know.” Ari’Ellin nodded a little too vigorously as she spoke, seemingly having lost her sense of composure before she realised that she was maybe being a little too intense. Awkwardly she adjusted herself, clasping her hands together to try to calm herself and control her limbs as she let the woman speak.

“Tree...” she repeated, trying to think of what a tree represented to her. “Tree strong, sturdy. Stable. On earth, not clouds. Tree is sensible and... and... planted?” she chewed on her lip as she tried to think. “Tree whole or tree broken?” she questioned, wanting to know a few more details as she looked over the woman before an idea came to mind and she recalled her runestones.

“I have stones. Tell future with. One stone is Yew Tree. When drawn, it can mean few things.” she started in her explanation, before stopping and humming as she tried to think of a word. “T-T-Tra... Change. It mean change, and protect, and death, and eternal life. Also hunting. You old life. Old life die. Now you. From old life you change.” she hummed as she thought more, trying to piece things together like she would reading a fortune. “Pain, rip apart? Could be change. Things change, memory gone. Memory rip out to give new life?” she offered her insight, chewing on her lip as she thought more to try and see if there was any other way to interpret.

“If past vision, could be. Could be telling you about how change from old to new? Or change going to come?” At her last words, Ari furrowed her brow, realising just how unpleasant the latter interpretation could come across, before shaking her head. “If future, future not certain. Future can change. Future not going happen. Just might.”

Word Count833 Words