Open The Tenday Of Trinkets

[Tazrae]

Timestamp:10th of Winter, 521 A.V.

With her arms full of baked goods in a basket and Bree wandering alongside her, Taz found herself headed into the Syka Commons, hoping to catch up with everyone in the Settlement. Taz had been spending a great deal of time in the Outpost and had missed the last Tenday because of it. With winter here, her Inn wasn’t as busy as it was during the spring and summer. Taz had started to accept the fact that the winter and fall would be her more free seasons. And that was okay because right now she had a lot of other things on her mind than just running the Inn. She had a new side job that took a lot of her time and involved someone who took up a lot of her thoughts. That meant there was less time for Syka and she’d missed that.

Here was her chosen home, one she intended to keep with a business she intended to grow. And that had to be one of her top priorities. Bree and spending time with her was another top priority, hence that’s why the Ixam was with her. Taz knew she wouldn’t stay for the human festivities, but there were Svefra on the beach and the Ixam often got along famously with some of the tavan that ran with the Svefra. Taz secretly had decided that the tavan were above average in their intelligence and that gave them equal footing to Bree, even though most of them couldn’t talk. The Ixam would frolic with gulls and dolphins, otters and eels alike, fully enjoying the complement of animals that the sea-faring race traveled with. At home, all she had was the talking birds and Creech who more than likely was just sleeping the afternoon away on the deck in the sun.

Taz had no illusions that the Imperial Watcher was a good guard dog. He’d likely show thieves to her fancy silver and assist them in removing it. But stealing wasn’t the way of people in Syka and they had a very little problem with it. Tazrae was glad about that. The people here needed each other badly and that was one of the reasons they held tenday events. Every ten days the Settlement would gather for food, music, and news which allowed the Founders to keep up with the population and note when someone was absent and might need a visit and an offer of help or even medical attention.

As predicted, once they reached the Commons, Bree peeled off for the beach while Taz turned to leave her large basket of baked rolls and cookies at the Communal Kitchens. She stopped to sniff the young boar on the spit, and smile in appreciation that the meal would be delicious. Other denizens were dropping off side dishes and desserts, laying down pitchers and carafes of beverages, and leaving bowls of fruits all wild-harvested throughout the jungle. It would be a good feast with good company causing Tazrae to smile.

She’d brought her mandolin to play, slung over her back in a case. So she climbed the steps to the deck, joined the other musicians already gathering there, and unslung her instrument to begin tuning it. Stu was passing around a tray that held huge mugs of some sort of fermented and chilled drink. He left one with Taz and all the rest of the musicians, for which Taz was grateful. She took a sniff then a sip and sighed in pleasure as the strawberry-mango flavor with the little afterbite kick hit her tongue. She raised the horn mug in salute to Stu and mouthed the words ‘thank you' to him as he continued passing out drinks.

Then, with a muttered song title passed around them, Taz nodded with the others and on a three-beat count, started to play. She loved playing her mandolin and while she was still learning, songs like this could hide the flaws of the weakest amidst the strongest in a mixed band like the Syka Tendays usually featured. She kept up, tapping her foot to the time, and smiled as they played. It was a lively tune, so she had to concentrate on her fingerings rather than on just making the chords dance. She made a few mistakes, wincing as she did so, but her neighboring musicians covered them neatly and she soldiered on. Once the song changed to something slower, she was able to split her concentration and raise her voice in song, joining several of the other musicians as they sang out a Svefra ballad. Taz had grown up learning Riverfalls classical music that entailed long complex scores where audiences simply sat and admired the musicians as they played. Their waltzes and two steps were played for pattern dances with strict rules about no touching or only contact through their palms when dancers were circling each other in intricate patterns.

Here in Syka, there were no patterns, just crowds dancing, and during slower music, couples breaking off and dancing cheek to cheek, enjoying each other’s company. Affection was as open here as nudity was. No one cared about such things… they had greater drives to keep them occupied – like surviving the jungle and the sea. Taz played her best, and added her voice when the song wasn’t so complicated that it needed all of her attention on her mandolin.

They had finished four or five songs before Randal stood up and wove among the crowd, clearing his voice to make an announcement. He carried a good-sized ornately carved chest in his hands roughly two feet by two feet in measure. It was tall, standing on four curved legs once the founder set it down and cleared his voice again.

“Can I have everyone’s attention?” Randal asked, standing above most of the crowd due to his height. Tazrae laid her mandolin down in its case and tucked it under the seat where she was sitting. She picked up her drink again, took a long pull from it, and remained quiet so she could hear what the youngest of the three founders wanted to say.

“As you know, we’ve declared Solitude Island off-limits because of its pre-Valterrian nature until we can fully explore it. There are lots of dangerous ruins over there and a few creatures we’ve never encountered anywhere else. We’ve been exploring the idea of learning and understanding the past in mind. And while searching its ruins, we’ve made a discovery. We found a treasure chest!” He said, indicating the box which he carefully unlatched the lid on and revealed what appeared to be trinkets, stones, and strings of pearls and other metal chains that were all obviously jewelry.

“We have no such need of this sort of wealth in and of itself. It’s magical in nature, that’s all we know, so we decided we’d spread it around to you folks as well. Feel free to come up one at a time and select a piece of jewelry from the chest. Just one though… so there’s enough to go around and we can hold some back in case someone joins the settlement later in the season. When we make discoveries like this, we hope all of you will realize it's meant to be shared and if you make your own such discoveries, the same rules apply.” Randal said, looking thoughtful for a moment. “Take a piece at your own risk though. We know they are magical, but we aren’t sure what they do. That will be up for you to discover and utilize at your own risk. Syka has a lot of this, and while it might have been every day to the people of the past, for us it’s a new scenario.” He added, then stepped back as people in their curiosity crowded up and began looking through the chest.

No one rushed, no one pushed or shoved. Everyone sort of formed a loose line which Taz found herself standing in. She smiled, greeted both those in front of her and behind, and wondered why Randal said they were magical in nature. Magical how? Taz watched curiously, to see if anyone selected jewelry that they then wore and said turned them into jungle toads. When nothing obvious like that happened, the Innkeeper moved forward with the line, waiting to select her own treasure from the chest.

Words: 1400

[Moritz Craven]

10 Winter 521

As usual Moritz was lost in thought. He had slowly been counting the days, and today was the twentieth of winter. The next day, the twenty first, would be the anniversary of when he had first learned of Morwen.

This left Moritz pondering quite heavily how much longer the goddess would last. And of course comparing what he had done, what he had learned, at least compared to where he had been a year ago. He felt he had learned and grown, but clearly not enough. And so this made the normally tepid person a bit extra melancholy. His mind normally flittering from one thing to another was bogged down with doom and mortality and weight. Self imposed weight, but weight all the same.

With such weighty thoughts his boss had reminded the Kelvic of todays event, the next tenday, and so Moritz had made his way to it, carrying in one hand a basket full of something or other for dipping into something or other. Approaching for a moment Moritz felt the press of people. It was never quite as strong as say in the Outpost, there hundreds upon hundreds could press in on you in a chime, but it was still quite a bit more dense in regards to people than normal in Syka. The tenday... At first Moritz had thought it was a check in, but had soon realized it was more of a festival or celebration than such a mundane thing. Dancing. Music. Food. A few fights, not to the death but of a more unruly and fun nature, it was a complex mix of emotions which Moritz did not quite follow but felt at some level.

Setting aside his load with the other food items Moritz stretched for a moment before heading back into the mix of people and animals and all other things under and above the Suvan.

The music struck Moritz first. Singing. Drums. Things you blew into. Things you strummed. Other things he could not name and was unsure of the sort of sound they were making. His own sandal-led feet quietly padded along, wearing his button up silk outfit he normally wore since being gifted it, the Kelvic looked about while staying quiet.

He was unsure what to do, and so settled for moving to the periphery and watching. He didn't know how to dance, or sing, or really anything of interest, and so did not expect to be a very lively participant.

As the chimes past more people arrived, and he even noticed a few whose name he knew. Or at least those whose face he recognized, even if he had forgotten their name.

After awhile he noticed Tazrae, the inn keeper he had met the season prior, looking about for her Ixam friend Bree for a moment before turning back to her. She seemed to be using some kind of stringed thing, though Moritz did not know its name.

As he was pondering if he should sit Moritz felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned around to find a long dark haired scaled woman behind him. For a moment he thought it was an Ixam turned human but only partly, before he realized it was a person. The scaling though was different than some he had seen, of a different sort than a Konti but still quite distinct, and so he wondered what their story was. Looking about he noticed a few more such scaled people, before turning back to the woman who was facing him.

"You dance."

A bit confused Moritz shook his head, trying to explain himself.

"Ah, no, I never have before. I'm not really sure how."

The woman, silver eyes boring into him with a blank expression for more refined than Moritz own one, shook her head.

"No, you. Dance. It wasn't a question. I want someone to dance with me, and your not doing anything. Or perhaps you've an invisible scarf your knitting, in which case feel free to continue."

Moritz opened his mouth to respond but found he both did not understand and did not know what to say. An invisible scarf? Looking down the Kelvic found his empty palms, and was about to respond when he realized something. Had that been a joke? Ah.... The Kelvic reassessed at that point, and admitted to himself he wasn't doing anything, invisible scarf knitting or not, and while he might not be a good dance partner perhaps any partner was better than none.

"Sure...."

Moritz barely finished uttering his one word acquiescence before the woman grabbed one of his hands and dragged him off to where others were dancing.

Turning to face his partner the woman took a few steps back before turning about, at the same time moving her body and legs in a way Moritz was unsure was possible. And yet, he had just seen her do it.

Unsure what to do Moritz settled for moving about his feet, though was unsure what to do with his hands and simply held them at his sides. For a moment he considered trying to copy what the woman had done, but he was fairly certain his spine would snap if he tried.

After a few moments of this the stoic woman reached back out and took Moritz hands, moving him about with her. He did his best to follow along but was unsure how close he was. If nothing else though he was still standing and had not fallen down, which he felt was a positive sign.

First she pulled him in close, then pushed him back out. Then she spun around, twirling Moritz with her, and leaving him with one hand grasping hers and the other hand splayed out at his side. After that she made another one of those odd motions Moritz could not describe, before turning Moritz again.

Once more glad for his strong Okomo stomach, Moritz was fairly certain this woman did not get dizzy. He perhaps did less than some people, but was not completely immune to it. Luckily she seemed to be spinning him in either direction equally, which sort of... Balanced out things. This was something the Okomo noted for later as a useful way to avoid getting dizzy, dizzying oneself in the other way to counter the other dizzying.

This continued for a few chimes before Moritz felt the woman tug, speaking with her hands and eyes rather than words. Locking Moritz in place the woman tucked and then bent before launching herself, still holding Moritz hands, landing somehow behind Moritz after sailing over his head.

After a moment Moritz felt a tug and the woman bent over at the waist, using her back and the momentum of falling over to flip and roll Moritz forward and over atop her. He felt himself roll head over heels before landing back in front of the woman, who then untwisted her body and their hands with a turn.

The Kelvic, a bit confused as to what they had just done, felt a smile on his lips despite himself and his earlier weighty thoughts.

Dancing, if that had been what it had been, was somewhat enjoyable. Though he was fairly certain most of it had been her, and not him.

"See, you do dance."

Panting from the exertions, feeling more tired than he often did from a strong workout or sparring session, Moritz nodded at the woman.

"Yes... Ah.... I'm... Moritz."

"Sinaetri. Ah, and I think something is happening, so we'll have to end things here for now."

With that the scaled woman released Moritz grip, turning to see a man approaching. Moritz turned as well, noticing the large chest the man had. He wondered what it was for, but soon found his question answered.

He had not heard of Solitude Island before, not that it was off limits, though was interested to hear that it apparently had Pre-Valterrian ruins and things on it. Though since it was off limits, and from how the man described it, he felt sure he should steer far clear of it. Ruins, monsters, beasts, and the like, not something he felt ready to dive into.

Opening the chest the man explained it was treasures from the ruins. Treasures of some magical nature, though not any more specific than that. Was a chest full of magical items that common? The Kelvic was unsure, but seeing as it was a bit announcement he was fairly certain not.

What the man said made sense, and a word occurred to Moritz. Reciprocity. When one had a boon they shared with all, and in turn when those people had a boon, more than they could use at once, they in turn shared it. Such seemed to be the motto of Syka, from what Moritz had seen so far.

Moritz did not immediately rush up, not wanting to be one of the first as he felt others should get to pick first, not out of a thought of letting others test things- such had not occurred to him- but out of a deference to the other more long standing members of Syka.

After waiting a few chimes and watching others come and go he felt a push on his back and saw that Sinaetri was back.

"Go along young one, no point in waiting. Might as well get in line."

To Moritz most anyone was old, and so being called young did not surprised the Kelvic where it might have a human. Of course that was without knowing Sinaetri or her age, which would have likely given more frame to her words.

With a nod the Kelvic moved over and got in line, finding himself not too far from Tazrae.

"Ah hello Tazrae, happy tenday."

WC: 1,626

[Oralie]

Oralie headed across the beach, sandaled feet sinking into the warm sand, cream skirt dancing around her legs in a gentle breeze. She had a basket of fruits hanging from the elbow of one arm and a pitcher of a rather bright yellow liquid held tightly in her hands. Tazrae had left them on the long table in the Inn for her to carry to the Tenday celebration. The Kelvic had been hesitant to go because the thought of attending a gathering with so many people was horrendously daunting to her, never mind the fact that everyone had been ice to her so far.

She suspected that Tazrae had prepared extra refreshments in order to make sure Oralie actually attended. She felt a little better about attending knowing that Tazrae would be there, but there were still some nerves fluttering somewhere under her sternum. Ahead, the sounds of the gathering soon filtered into her ears, quickly followed by the sight of the Commons filled with people.

Oralie headed to the Communal Kitchens to hand over the fruit and punch, darting away again before people she didn’t know could try and speak to her. She was getting a little more comfortable talking to others now, but not too many all at once. She headed down into the main area of the Commons where people were milling around, catching sight of Tazrae up on the deck. She watched as the musicians started up a song, briefly dropping her gaze to receive a mug of something that smelled extremely fruity.

She sipped on the drink, inching her way out of the centre as she did so. As the tune picked up, people were moving in to dance, with much clapping and stamping. Oralie had long perfected the art of blending in and being invisible, as had been required of her in her previous life so it was not too hard for her to avoid being pulled into the fray by someone. A younger man near her with interestingly coloured hair was not so lucky, and she watched him as he was roped into dancing with a scaled woman.

Mathias had noticed Oralie standing by herself, and came over to stand next to her, his own drink in hand. “It’s good to see you here Oralie.”
The Kelvic offered him a small smile. Mathias had been the first person – outside of James whose boat she had arrived on – she had met here in the settlement. She liked the founder; he was a calming presence. He smiled back at her. “Not as horrible as you thought, hey?”
Oralie’s smile turned sheepish and she turned her golden gaze to the floor and shook her head. “No, it is um, fun.” Mathais laughed. “Maybe next time you can dance.” He chuckled, smiling at her again before moving away to see someone else.

Oralie continued to drink the fruity beverage, and as the music bled from one song into the next, she found herself tapping her feet in time with the beat. Dancing was one of many things the Kelvic had never experienced before, but even so it was not too difficult to keep in time with the jaunty tunes. She forgot herself a little for a moment and even started bobbing her head as she listened.

As she was watching, rather than dancing, Oralie was one of the first to notice when Randal appeared carrying a chest. Solitude Island was not a place with which she was familiar, but she could hazard a guess as to where it was. Just off the coast was an island that wasn’t too hard to miss. The Valterrian too, was something she only knew of briefly, but she understood enough to know what the founder was speaking about.

She dubiously eyed the chest when it was opened. Magical items from a dangerous ruin? It did not sound very safe to her, but then again, she knew that the founders would never knowingly put the settlement in danger.

Curiosity got the better of the Kelvic, and Oralie found herself standing in line behind the man with the pink hair. Keen eyes watched with interest as the first people chose their trinkets, and she relaxed a little as nothing in particular seemed to happen to them as they did so.

When the person in front of her called a greeting ahead, Oralie noticed Tazrae was standing a few people before them. If the Innkeeper looked round to see the man who had called out, she would see Oralie peering around him at her too. The young Kelvic gave a small smile and a little wave, before shuffling forward a couple of steps with the line. It was nearly their turn now, and her keen eyes flicked over the various items in the chest with interest, wondering at just what sort of magic they were supposed to hold.

oocPost modified to make sense with the date change.
+814

[Tazrae]

Taz waited calmly in the semi-loose line and smiled when Moritz walked up to her and greeted her. “Happy Tenday.” She responded immediately. “I saw you dancing, and it looked like fun. I might try my hand at it later, though I’m a terrible dancer.” She added, gesturing to the line in front of her. “What do you think of all this, Moritz? Do they do things like this in other places? I’ve never heard of Riverfall’s rulers handing out treasure.” The young Innkeeper said thoughtfully. She wasn’t in a hurry to head up to the front… there’d be time enough for her to select something from the chest.

Instead, Tazrae watched the reactions of the other denizens of Syka, wondering how they picked what they picked and if they felt any reaction to the magic that the Founder said was in the items. Randal wouldn’t lie. Taz trusted him with her life. The man had taught her more about the Wilds than anyone else in her short life and he’d made sure she could be out in the jungle and survive the wilderness in just about anywhere now perhaps besides Kalea’s Unforgiven. Taz loved the wilds and everything Syka stood for outside of the wilds. So she stood, rising up on tippy-toes, and watched as Rainmere dug through the chest, trying on a necklace, discarding it, and finally settling on what looked like a metal hairband. She smiled, satisfied, and patted the hairband where it held her bangs off her forehead and walked away smiling. It was peering through the crowd that Taz got her first look at how full the chest was.

The Innkeeper wasn’t greedy by any means, but it was exciting thinking about picking something out of a chest of jewels that was indeed a part of a treasure. In one way, she wondered if the splitting up of this treasure wasn’t a way in which the Founders were uniting the Settlement further, binding them with treasure that all belonged together. Gracelin, in line next, selected what looked like a pair of earrings that Tazrae thought looked beautiful against her skin. Stu, not being daunted, selected a large square ring that definitely looked masculine. Taz wondered what she would pick and if the items people were picking were calling to them or just things that caught their eyes.

When Oralie joined the line, Taz smiled and wave her a wave, gesturing for her friend Juli who was behind her in the line to go first so Taz could stand with Oralie. She also let someone she didn’t know with pink hair cut the line too. If Moritz wanted to stay back with her and Oralie, Taz’s eyes would invite him to do so. The Innkeeper slipped her arm into Oralie’s and pulled her close. “Treasure, Oralie… can you imagine? Let’s select ours together.” Taz suggested, knowing inherently the Kelvic had no jewels of her own and probably would think the whole thing a trick and would bolt at the first inclination that something wasn’t right.

“We’ll let Moritz pick first, shall we? That way if he doesn’t transform into an overgrown goat with crystalline horns instantaneously or something worse… we’ll know it's safe.” She said in a deadpan voice though her eyes were dancing with mirth. Taz liked Moritz, even though she hadn’t gotten the best impression from him upon his arrival. They were … working through getting to know each other and it was going smoother than she thought.

“We should go to that Arbor soon, Moritz. Can we bring Oralie? She needs to get out in the jungle more too… and I think she’d like to see butterflies and meet a Jamoura. Oralie, have you ever met a Jamoura? They are huge hairy people who live incredibly long lives. They are supposed to be incredibly wise.” She added, then looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure where it is, but I can ask Randal to see if he has any ideas… or even Buraga. He’s been having the Ranger’s blaze trails and marks them to certain sites.” Taz replied, knowing this because she made breakfast for half of them in the mornings these days, especially when her Inn had guests. The Protea with guests meant that Taz would for sure have breakfast being made and that caused more customers to drop by. Her coffers were doing nicely this season from the profits of the restaurant she certainly did not run or advertise. Her guest count was lower, far lower in fact, than most seasons, for people tended not to travel in the fall and winter. Randal, however, had assured her that word would get out that Winter in Syka wasn’t truly winter and more people would seek relief from rain and snow because of it in the years coming.

A smile curled Taz’s lip as she reached out with her free hand and stroked Oralie’s hair. The kelvic woman looked so good since she’d started living in Syka. Her skin had taken on a burnished glow from the sunlight and her eyes were brighter. The hollows in her cheeks were starting to fill out by the sweets Taz routinely plied the overly thin girl with. The Innkeeper figured someone kept the Kelvic underfed for the majority of her life, so Taz constantly had a delicious selection of rare juicy meats she’d pile on the woman’s plate whenever it was time for them to take a meal. Between meals? Sweets. Taz had something of a sweet tooth herself and used Oralie’s overly thin frame as an excuse to keep extra’s around. That lead to the women sometimes taking extra runs on the beach that Bree or Creature often joined them at. Taz didn’t care if Oralie went on two or four legs, and they tried to end each sweaty run with a swim in the warm waters if possible.

Tazrae’s formula for recovery was sand, sun, and fresh food. And the Innkeeper had privately let it be known to the Founders that someone might be hunting Oralie as a runaway, so any strangers were watched closely as the Settlement slowly adopted the young kelvic woman as one of their own. Besides, Tazrae liked Oralie, loved her help, and wanted her to stick around if that made her happy.

Two more people picked things… Jansen and his other half Kalum – two people Tazrae inherently distrusted even though they were the doctors of the Settlement - selected what she decided was some sort of wristband, while Buraga was seen taking a small pin that looked like it was supposed to go on a shirt collar as some sort of insignia. Yet a third person, Nesra, picked a strand of pearls. Taz looked at them a little wide-eyed for they were truly beautiful and she gestured for Oralie to see. “Look at Nesra’s pearls. They are beautiful.” She said, somewhat hushed.

The two women would let Moritz pick first, then they’d approach the chest – Taz’s arm locked on Oralie’s so she couldn’t escape – and would peer into the chest and begin their look. Tentatively, Taz released Oralie’s arm and reached out to dip her fingers into the chest and root around among the things there. There were so many items, small and large, simple to gaudy. Taz had no idea what to reach in for. So, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tried to ‘feel’ for what she wanted. Nothing sang out to her, and she was somewhat disappointed. So she opened her eyes again, looked closer, and felt a ring all but slip itself onto her finger as she dug into the chest beside Oralie.

It was a rose gold band with an odd emerald-cut stone set sideways. The stone was green that transitioned to pink almost like a watermelon. As she slid it up the ring finger of her right hand, it felt 'right' and fit like a dream.

"I think mine picked me," Taz said, showing Oralie the new ring now gracing her finger. Then she looked to see what Oralie had picked from the small treasure box as well.

Words: 1354

[Moritz Craven]

Moritz shrugged at Tazrae's rebuttal, unsure how exactly to respond. She wasn't wrong, and yet...

"I mean, it wasn't not fun... But I'm not sure it was fun either. I've not really done it before, so I'm not sure. But it being my first time, I'm sure you couldn't be any worse than me. I sort of just got... Well literally dragged into it by a scaled lady. Though I suppose it wasn't so bad. She seemed a good bit more skilled, so I just sort of did what she said."

Shrugging non-noncommittally Moritz returned his gaze to the chest of items, before turning back to Tazrae. She seemed a nice enough person, even if he had ended up unintentionally being rude to her the last time they met. Not the first time, Moritz admitted to himself, and likely not the last, that such a thing would occur on his first meeting with someone.

"When people clearly know more about something than me, I suppose its just a habit of mine to follow along with what they say. So far none have tried to get me to do anything too crazy. As for this... Giving out magic items? No, I don't think I've seen that in other places. Certainly not Lhavit. Though I imagine they have their reasons, even if its not obvious. I've found most people have a reason even for the odd things they seem to be doing, though I don't always figure out what those reasons are, or if I do it its often much later. Either way they don't seem to be malicious in their choice, or not that I can see, so I don't see any issue with participating."

Looking back and forth across the slowly moving line Moritz took another step with the others as the line moved, looking for a moment to see what the next person picked.

When Tazrae seemed to know the person standing near him and moved backward in line to join Moritz turned to see the person standing near him, wondering on her as Tazrae approached. He was in no rush and ended up next to her and the new person he did not know, though from Tazrae's words he quickly learned her name was Oralie. Standing together with the others he listened, glancing back at the chest occasionally to see what was being taken out, and otherwise turning to see if he was to be involved in the discussion.

At her next words Moritz frowned, not in anger but confusion, but after a moment he realized the woman was trying to make a odd joke. Peering off back at the chest of trinkets rather than Tazrae as he spoke, the Kelvic responded.

"I think I'd be more worried if I suddenly couldn't turn into one of those. But maybe yours will be cursed and you'll be turned into one. Not the worst of curses mind you, though it is rather hard to explain things to people in "Aaaaahs" and such sounds. But it is good for climbing rocks and things. I'll have to show you if we ever visit the mountainy bits around here."

Here Moritz made an approximate imitation of one of the sounds he made in his Okomo form, not exact but close enough for most non Okomo to not be able to tell the difference right away. Of course it being a rather easy sound to make it wasn't overly difficult to copy.

For a moment Moritz was lost in thought about mountains, imagining climbing up one or bounding up a incline in a way only an Okomo could, letting out such a thought with a somewhat sad huff of air.

As usual his statement of curses and Okomo was spoken in a somewhat distracted and neutral tone, not really giving much away as most of what he said was.

At the mention of their trip to the Arbor and bringing along Oralie Mortiz shrugged, having forgotten for a moment about their planned trip but being reminded by this. They had been planning to go before, Moritz was fairly certain, but he assumed Tazrae had gotten busy with work and had not been able to go yet. Whereas he was one employee of many she was running a business, and so took more time in her duties than Moritz did. Based on that he was understanding of their planned trip being pushed back.

"That's fine, one more person wouldn't hurt. I would say the more the merrier, but I suppose if we had like fifty people along the trip would not go to well, so that wouldn't be true... The more does not make the merrier. Rather too large of a group to move through the jungle with... But a few more wouldn't hurt, and I don't mind her joining."

Here Moritz tried to meet the new womans eyes, taking a moment to match gazes with Oralie. His expression was rather blank, but his eyes focused on hers, clearly showing his odd orbs to the woman if she looked in his direction as he and her were discussed. Not only did he have the square black eyes of a goat this blackness was also surrounded by the starburst coloration of his being an Iraso. An odd combination Moritz was unsure would be seen outside of Lhavit, and even then only in Aja's herd of Iraso beasts. If the woman met his eyes he would keep her gaze for a few moments before responding.

"Nice to meet you Oralie, I'm Moritz. And Tazrae, did we ever set a date on that? I know you said whenever you were free from work, but I wasn't sure if you had an idea of the time."

After awhile it was Moritz turn to look at the chest of items, and when he did he spent a few moments glancing around. As he did his left hand moved and he felt the charm bracelet on his wrist move along with the charms there, and wondered if there wouldn't be any charms there.

After a bit of searching he finally found one that looked like it would fit nicely with the others and onto the bracelet, a small metal item. It also seemed to agree with Moritz, being an odd purple metal he could not name, though he was unsure if that was the actual metals color or some kind of coloring added on top.

It was a small metal disc with a part to attach to a charm bracelet. It was simply designed other than being purple, with an eye that was partly open or partly closed engraved on one side, and a simple fist engraved on the other. This seemed to sing to Moritz in a way, as so much of who he was was in his eyes, both as an Okomo and a Iraso, and he often considered his way to be of the fist in terms of fighting over using weapons and such.

He quietly picked this item up and attached it to his bracelet, making room for the others behind him to choose. Once he had finished putting it on with the other charms he let the bracelet and its attached items jangle for a moment, before turning back to watch the woman behind him in line pick their items.

In the end Tazrae picked a ring, Moritz attempting a smile which he sort of pulled off at seeing the woman pick her item. Whether she noticed this or not she seemed interested in Oralies item.

Not wanting to interrupt he would wait until Tazrae and Oralie both picked their items and their was a good pause or moment before showing them his own.

"It seemed to go well with the charm bracelet I already have. And I mean, I can't take it off anyways, so I might as well add another charm to it. Do you know the difference between a cursed item and a magic item? I'm not sure which this would be considered... I've not seen another item you can't remove, so I'm not sure which it would be considered."

This was a discussion he had the prior season in the Outpost, when someone did not believe him and had tried to take it off. As it was he was not overly concerned about the bracelet, seeing as it did not seem to do any harm to him.

WC: 1,405

[Oralie]

Oralie was surprised when Tazrae let other people take her place in the line so that she could come and stand with her instead. A smile worked its way back onto her mouth as the Innkeeper linked their arms together. It was a gesture only a friend would do, and it buoyed her to know that she actually had one now. Wide golden eyes flicked back to the chest of treasure and she nodded at the suggestion of choosing together. She had never seen anything like it before. The only trinkets Oralie had laid eyes on before were the rings and necklaces that some of her master’s dinner guests wore sometimes, but even they were nothing on the hoard that was waiting for them.

She tilted her head to one side, much like an animal would do in curiosity as Tazrae named the other person standing near them. She did not understand that Tazrae was joking and her brow furrowed, her expression turning serious. The young man’s response was even more curious, and there was clearly something the pair had perhaps discussed before that the Kelvic was missing. She watched the man for a chime, trying to figure out what he meant by his words and the curious noises he made.

Oralie blinked in surprise as Tazrae then went on to volunteer her for what sounded like a trip into the jungle. She had no idea what an Arbor was, but the Innkeeper seemed rather excited by the whole idea of it. The young man too seemed agreeable to her coming along for the trip, in a somewhat roundabout way. He met her gaze then, and it caused her to pause. His eyes were different from the norm, much like her own were. Where Oralie’s were the round golden orbs of a cat with pupils that were not quite round, his had curious pattern surrounding inky black square pupils. Putting that with his words from before, perhaps the pair of them were more similar than outwards appearances might suggest. Though if that were true, she had never seen any animal with eyes like his.

“H…hello.” She dipped her head in an awkward greeting as he introduced himself to her properly. He appeared to know Tazrae well enough, asking her a little more about the potential trip. Oralie herself looked up at the Innkeeper and responded to her earlier comments. “I would very much like to see butterflies.” There had sometimes been a few in the park back in Syliras and she had found the insects mesmerising. “But I have never even heard the word Jam… Jamoura?... before. There are people who live in there? In the jungle?” She could hardly imagine such a thing, knowing now how dangerous a place it was.

She smiled, momentarily distracted by Tazrae’s hand on her hair. The Kelvic barely resembled the ragged girl who had stumbled off The Veronica at the turn of the season. The sunshine and good food, not to mention the lack of fear had done wonders for her in such a short amount of time. Her hair was shiny now, her eyes brighter and she was starting to fill out and look like the young woman she was supposed to. She watched with the others as people went up one by one and chose items from the chest. Rings and necklaces and other types of jewels that were new to the Kelvic all were picked, and she nodded appreciatively as Tazrae pointed out the lovely string of pearls chosen by another woman.

Moritz dug around in the chest first, and he picked something too small for Oralie to immediately see. Then it was the turn of herself and Tazrae, and the Innkeeper was pulling her over to look before she realised what was happening. She paused for a few ticks when they reached it, watching Tazrae as she dived right in with her hands before hesitantly picking something up.

It was a large ring, and Oralie frowned at it for a moment before putting it back. She ran her fingers over the treasures, feeling the metals and gems and bits of leather. There were some lovely necklaces that she could see, but the thought of fastening something around her neck made her want to run away screaming. Plenty of the items were decorative fiddly things and while very beautiful, they were definitely too reminiscent of the things her master’s dinner guests used to parade around in.

Her eyes were drawn to a textured piece of metal sitting near the top corner of the chest and she reached out to pick it up. It was a gold cuff bangle made from one piece of metal, hammered to add some interest. She turned it over in her hands, running a thumb over the texture. The bangle was simple yet pretty. She liked it and decided that it would be her choice.

She moved away with Tazrae so that other people could have their turns to pick, and looked at the ring the Innkeeper was showing her. “Oh that’s very pretty. I like the colours.” She had never seen a gemstone like it before. Moritz too showed them his new charm, the bracelet reminding her of the one Tazrae had shown her on her first day here. She then held up her gold cuff so they could both see it, not having put it on her arm yet.

The young man’s words reminded her that these were apparently not ordinary treasures. “How… how do they know these are magic?” Oralie turned the cuff over in her hands again. It seemed like an ordinary piece of metal to her. She assumed Tazrae might know, seeing as she was regularly adorned with magical jewellery, and if Moritz’s bracelet was anything like the Innkeepers, then he would likely have a guess too.

+976

[Tazrae]

The Verusk woman standing behind Oralie snorted at the Kelvic’s question. “You can see that they are simple enough.” The woman added, the sunlight sparkling off her peach and lavender scales. She had pierced lavender eyes and a bob of blond hair that hung straight next to her scalp. “The magic is called Auristics. It allows you to see the auras which are beyond the normal boundaries of metals and even the stones contained in the chest. I don’t know why the Founders are calling these items Trinkets. Some of them are incredibly powerful. You can see the glow if you only know how to look with your djed fueled eyes.” She added, then glanced at Tazrae. “You can look with your ears as well, bard.” The Verusk said, offering a smile to the three friends.

“It’s likely this gathering will draw some of our shyer residents out. It’s not every day that Mathias, Randal, and James start giving away items of power. I suspect they can’t protect them all if they keep them all together, so they are handing them out to the crowd so each of us can protect each thing individually.” She added, moving with the line.

Taz raised an eyebrow but said nothing, hoping the woman would elaborate. She did not. Instead, moving forward after Moritz gathered an item small enough for his charm bracelet, she smiled at him then at Oralie. “I’m Tazrae.” Taz said suddenly, introducing herself to the woman. “This is Oralie and Moritz.” She added, passing out the introductions. Then she looked pointedly at the Verusk.

The Verusk paused for a moment, her eyes widened then she smiled. “Oh… I’m Seladonna. I am one of the Verusk. I live in one of the Rancheros near Mathias.” She added, nodding at Tazrae. “I know you are the Innkeeper. And I’ve seen Moritz around. But you….” Seladonna said, glancing at Oralie… “I’ve not seen around at all.” She said, offering the young Kelvic a smile. “I’ve been meaning to stop by and try the food at the Inn, but I haven’t yet managed it. People say good things though.” She offered.

Taz smiled. “Thank you. Oralie helps at the Inn. She’s one of our more permanent guests.” Taz said, reaching out to gently touch the Kelvic reassuringly on the shoulder.

“You said the trinkets have a different aura than just what they should? What does that mean?” Taz asked, wanting to learn more about auristics.

“Well, the best way to know this is to have a baseline. Do you know what a baseline is?” Seladonna paused, not sure how advanced the Innkeeper was in magical studies.

“I have no idea.” Taz replied, glancing at Moritz to see if he knew either. She wasn’t really expecting Oralie to know the answer, but there was always the possibility. Seladonna seemed to glance around waiting for each one of them to speak.

Finally, she continued…

“A baseline is when you know what something looks like normally.” She started, then glanced around looking for an example. “If you know what normal metal looks like… silver, gold, copper, etc… then you have a baseline. Looking at these items of jewelry with Auristics means you’ll see what you’d normally expect a piece of silver, gold, or copper to look like ... if you’ve taken the time to study metal at its base or core alloy. So, you’d understand the baseline. And if they don’t look normal, you’ll understand there’s something different about them… be it a magical circumstance, a curse, god-touched… tainted… anything.” She added.

“Aurists have to spend half their time studying baselines so they know what abnormal looks like. For example, you… Tazrae. You have a bright and colorful aura. Anyone looking at it would see the tones and know that you are a lively person. I can see an added glow at the base of your neck, so I know you are marked by at least one God. I’ve never seen a glow like that so I don’t readily recognize which one. I see the added glow at the base of your left wrist on its underside. It’s not a gnosis mark, but it's something like one.” Seladonna said softly, her voice friendly.

Turning to Moritz, she smiled at him and spoke. “I can see your bracelet and that you can’t take it off. It’s firmly latched to you. Tazrae has one just like it. You kids should pick up Auristics. It’s a good magic to have.” She advised, then stepped forward. She paused, moving forward, and selecting a necklace of black pearls from the trinket box. “This thing is interesting. It feels like it pulls magic instead of radiating it. I shall have a good time figuring out what it does.” She added, then nodded to Tazrae.

“Thanks for sharing the information with us.” Tazrae said politely. Seladonna had given her information on magic Tazrae hadn’t had.

“No worries. If you ever want to talk more about Auristics, look me up.” Seladonna said, fingering her black pearls and smiling to herself. “I’m going to go get a plate of food if anyone else is hungry.” She added, running the pearls back and forth between her fingers before heading that way. “Anyone want to join me?” She asked, before she moved off completely.

Taz thought it over. “I could eat.” She added, and turned to follow Seladonna towards the stairs leading down and heading to the Communal Kitchen. Less hungry and more curious about magic, Tazrae decided to follow.

Words: 923

[Moritz Craven]

At the awkward greeting from the woman Moritz nodded in reply. As he had just introduced himself he had expected her to do likewise, but seeing as she hadn't the Kelvic was left unsure what to do next... She hadn't introduced herself, explained anything, or asked him anything... And so rather than focusing on this and after his nod in recognition since she did not seem to have any questions for him he simply moved on. He pondered for a moment or two another step to take, but unsure what that would be he decided to simply move on instead.

Of course he had just heard her name from Tazrae, so perhaps that was why she did not introduce herself?

When she did ask a question Moritz tried to help, unsure if Tazrae would do so and after giving her a chance he tried to explain.

"From what was said before, I think that might be a race, but I don't know they are from there. It seemed like a singular entity, not a group, though perhaps Tazrae or others know more. I don't know much on them either."

Leaving it open for others to answer and fill i details, Moritz own being lacking from the short conversation he and Tazrae had with Indigo which had been the extent of his knowledge on it.

Eventually Oralie seemed to pick an item, only to have more questions afterward. He was not much for jewelry, having picked his items more for reasons of practicality over aesthetics, and so had little to say on either of the others choice of items.

At her question on magic items Moritz pondered things as well, realizing he had nothing to go on them being magical besides what the people who had brought out the chest had said... But then being a authoritative person from Syka he had no reason to doubt them, and assumed logically that they had found out they were magical by some means or other. What that method was he was unsure, though he himself had some background in telling things apart. Particularly, here he reminded himself by touching around his eyes, due to his special eyes.

Before however Moritz had a chance to fully reason out an answer or how it might have been done another person answered. From her response it seemed she felt it was obvious, which though Moritz had a few ideas he had not felt. Which, reasoning it out, meant the woman in question likely knew much more about magic than Moritz. Not saying much however, Moritz reminded himself, as he knew painfully little about magic.

Turning to face the new comer Moritz found another scaly woman, making him wonder if all of these were woman as well since he had met at least three who were all female that he had directly to or around or met more directly.

At her mention of Auristics Moritz was reminded of his own mother who had once mentioned something about just that... Aura's and Auristics... An aura being a thing around a thing... Though that too was a bit vague, and he did not know overly much about it. Due to that he listened closely to what the scaled woman had to say, teasing away at each detail and fact she shared on it.

At the mention of djed fueled eyes Moritz wondered if she meant something like his own Iraso sight, but was unsure if it was... Particularly when she continued on to hearing an Aura, he felt the answer was in the negative that it was not like his sight...

When the woman then explained either the true reasoning of inviting people to take items from the chest or her own personal belief in why it was done Moritz nodded along as he listened, also teasing her words apart on this. Following her chain of logic he seemed to find it valid, or at least not clearly wrong. If nothing else it was a much more valid reasoning for the action than anything else he had heard, and confirmed what he had said earlier to Tazrae. Even if he did not know the reason, there likely was one and a quite logical one behind the odd actions.

Rather than keeping all of the items in one place they were dividing them out among the citizens of Syka as a means of protecting them. Rather than one big vulnerable target it would be many smaller ones... And, at least from the ones Moritz had met, quite a few of the citizens of Syka seemed skilled at defending themselves.

As he thought over the woman's words and while looking at her Moritz wondered how strong at fighting and such she was. As he did he felt a... Feeling... He was unsure how to describe it. Like a weak pulse from himself, flowing into a back corner of his mind. At the same time he felt a pulse from the woman, a feeling, which was of a similar variety but much stronger. Feeling both at once he could compare and feel the differences. Like a puddle next to a barrel of water, the scale and size and depth of the presence was far different, with the scaled woman's being much larger and stronger. Suddenly taken aback at the large looming presence he did not understand coming off the woman which was much stronger than his own he stumbled back a step, letting out a half curse of surprise as he did, before apologizing for his sudden outburst while looking at the scaled woman.

"Dira's name! Sorry... I just... I don't know what that was."

Looking around at the others he tried to see if it would abate or continue, but as he glanced away from the woman and she exited his vision the presence he had felt quickly faded away. He still had the memory of the feeling, of how it had felt, but not the feeling itself. And when he returned his gaze to the woman with a clear mind it did not return.

"That was weird... I just... I'm not sure what I felt."

Tilting his head he wondered for a moment if it was something the woman had done or... He thought to himself, if it had been something he had done. Seladonna, another complicated name he had trouble with. The term Verusk though that seemed to be a name, and from context and her note that she was one of many it seemed to be the name of her group or race. Similar in some manners to a Konti perhaps, also being scaled? Shaking away the thought as it was idle speculation he wondered on the name, not believing he had heard it before.

When Tazrae and the Sel... whatever... Woman continued, he considered her question for a moment before answering.

"Well, a base is the bottom, like the base of a wall. And a line is a... Well line... So I would think a baseline would be the bottom or beginning of a line. But I'm not quite sure how that would work in this context with this magic. But I also don't think I've heard it used in that way, so maybe I'm just not understanding."

From what the woman said the items of magic had a changed aura, which he nodded along to. Just as, in his experience at least, items of magic had changed djed. As did animals, people, and so on. But then he was fairly certain he did not see such things the same way as how this Aura thing worked.

When she did explain Moritz nodded along, exclaiming with a "Oh" once she was done.

"Oh, you mean like for comparisons! Having a normal one to compare to a stronger one... I know of that, I've just never heard it called that! Its a good term. I'll have to remember it.. I've done that before with other things with the eyes the Witch gave me. Though they don't really see Aura's as you describe them, they see... Well.,,"

Here Moritz petered off, not sure again how to explain the concept it was literally impossible for a Non-Iraso to see or truly understand. Instead he tried substituting other terms which were close enough for a non-Iraso to understand, or so he hoped.

"They let me see... I suppose you might say density. But I know what you mean, about baseline. I've done it with items, or animals, or with people. Like with people. Some people are much less... Dense... And then some people are much more dense..."

The more the topic was discussed the more he realized how different Auristic's was in being able to see Auras, whereas his own sight simply let him see an object or persons djed itself.

Moritz from prior interactions avoided using his Iraso sight on people without asking first, and so had not looked at Tazrae, Oralies, or this new womans. However seeing as she was using Auristics to look at Tazrae's aura it seemed perhaps it was not rude to do so as he had previously been told... Or perhaps it was just his mother who did not like it...

Focusing on his eyes in turn Moritz awakened his Iraso sight which lit the markings on his eyes, turning his gaze from the new scaly woman - whose name he had forgotten- to Tazrae. While it was not an exact thing comparing the two the djed of the scaled woman was stronger in terms of djed density than Tazrae's. Both though seemed strong, at least to most of the "normal" people near them...

"Thats interesting, so you use Auristics then? Can you see all the Aura's at once, like I see all the djed with the eyes the witch gave? Or does it work differently? Your djed certainly seems... Dense... Denser than Tazrae's. Though I think hers looks more dense than a normal persons. I'm not sure if thats from magic use, or how exactly that works, though the Witch who gave me the gift was a strong mage and she had very dense djed. So maybe its related to ones strength as a mage...Do you use magic as well then Tazrae?"

"I don't think I can see the same sorts of details as what you see in an Aura, but then I don't think that is really where this is really focused... I think its mainly for other things..."

As he looked down a bit Moritz could see numerous paths crisscrossing the ground, enough to confuse him a bit as he tried to instinctively pick out the trails and failed due to their overlapping nature. Instead he looked back up avoid staring directly at the trails and instead at the woman's djed bodies.

At the offering of food and Tazrae heading off Moritz decided to follow as well. Unlike Tazrae who was less in the mood to eat once they arrived at the dishes Moritz would avoid anything meat or animal based and instead focus on any plant items that looked good and sample one or two. While he understood others partaking, the thought of him himself eating meat or of animals was still an idea he was averse to. And while the Kelvic was not starving by any means, he still had plenty of room to eat.

WC: 1,895

[Oralie]

Oralie nodded thoughtfully at Moritz as he told her what he knew of the Jamoura. A whole race of huge hairy people… she could not imagine such a thing. “I suppose then that we will both learn when we see them. Or him, I guess, if it is just one.”

Oralie nearly jumped out of her skin when a noise sounded right behind her. Turning, she took in the sight of a scaled woman, with a sharp blonde bob. Oralie counted to five in her head to calm her jangly nerves before listening with interest to what she had to say. The woman spoke of a magic named Auristics that would allow someone to see an aura of a thing. The Kelvic thought she had an idea of what an aura was – she had heard the word before. As far as she could tell, and the continued words from the woman seemed to confirm, an aura was some sort of glow or light that surrounded something.

She had no idea what djed was however, assuming that it was linked to magic, or perhaps just this type of magic in particular. She did not want to appear stupid in front of so many people, so she did not interrupt, but instead made a mental note to ask Tazrae later. The Innkeeper seemed to know a lot about many things, even magic.

Oralie smiled by way of greeting as Tazrae introduced everyone to the woman. The Kelvic thought her name was very beautiful, and was pleased to learn the name for the scaled people – Verusk. She had seen one or two during her short time in the Settlement. The woman’s smile softened her face and made her seem much less intimidating. Oralie, trying her best to be more sociable responded to her. “I have not long arrived here.”

She was grateful to have Tazrae next to her for the Innkeeper was more comfortable around people than anyone she had ever known. Her comforting touch helped Oralie relax a little more. Though she tensed up all over again when Moritz jumped and shouted next to her, and she glanced round at him, golden eyes startled. Oralie blinked, taking a deep calming breath as he tried to explain himself. She did not really understand what he was saying, and she wondered if some sort of insect might had made him jump.

She returned her attention to Seladonna as she began to explain a little more of the magic. It was not entirely obvious to the Kelvic, as she had never experienced any sort of magic before herself, but she seemed to be trying to explain it as simply as she could. As such, Oralie got a general gist of it and figured that each thing had a specific aura. So all gold would have the same aura, as would all silver. Then if you looked at something you knew was gold, like her bangle, and it had an aura that was changed from the normal gold one it would be safe to assume it was somehow altered. It made sense, she supposed.

It sounded like people might be different as Seladonna remarked on Tazrae’s aura. Oralie wondered idly what her own looked like. The magic sounded interesting, and something the Kelvic thought she might want to know more about. It seemed that a lot of people in Syka were versed in at least one sort of magic, so perhaps learning something such as Auristics might be beneficial to her.

Mortiz too started to speak about magic, a different one from what she could tell, though she again did not really know what he was meaning. The word ‘djed’ was popping up again, and it sounded like it was something very important to understanding these things. She would have to try to learn as much as she could.

While the others were conversing, Oralie studied her gold cuff again. It did not look remarkable to her, but if the trinkets were magic as everyone said, then who was she to say otherwise. She slid it onto her upper arm, where it fit snugly a couple of fingers width above her elbow.

She had accidentally tuned out of the end of the magic conversation, but upon hearing the word ‘food’ Oralie perked right back up. Tazrae agreed and Oralie chimed in too. “I can always eat!” Oralie was something like a teenage boy in that regard, at least at the moment. While she wasn’t necessarily always starving, she would never turn down food. She followed the two women, and turned to see that Moritz was coming too.

The Kelvic made a beeline for the meats and added a few things to her plate, before grabbing a couple of fruit wedges too. She then looked around for Tazrae, heading over to hover next to her again. She ventured a question to her, hoping that nobody else would hear out of fear of seeming stupid.
“Tazrae… do you know what djed is? Can you tell me?” She suspected that Tazrae would want to sit with Seladonna and ask her more questions, and Oralie wanted to not feel quite so blind to the conversation if that was to be the case.

+872

[Ialari Pythone]

Ialari’s encounter with Tanroa had given her a great deal to think about. So much in fact that she spent two days after in and out of meditation as she pondered the various concepts she’d been introduced to. The idea of personal reality as it is influenced by the passage of time and how it relates to the realities of others within the same point in existence; it was all on a higher level of thought that she needed time to process. As she pulled herself out of meditation, she did so with a sense of purpose.

Voicing her thoughts aloud, “The only way I’m going to even begin to understand all of this is to go out there…”

This elicited a response from the void followed by the manifestation of Ialari’s subconscious, the echo of the long dead mage, Amir Berliotz, the mad wizard whose soul was partially reforged by Ialari years prior. “You do realize that a lot of time has passed since you last walked the physical world. Much has likely changed.”

With a frustrated sigh, Ialari responded in a slightly annoyed tone, “What would you have me do? Stay here? Look around, this place is almost too perfect.” She gestured to the surroundings of her Dominion. “I control nearly everything here. Night and day quite literally happen because I will it to. It rains because I want it to. The plants flourish or flounder with my moods. There is no unpredictability here; no way of truly understanding time or even my own existence in relation to everything and everyone else.”

Ialari paused a moment as a stray thought occurred to her. “Perhaps this is why the gods spend so much time screwing with mortals. They get bored.”

Berliotz’s shade frowned. “You are no god.”

Ialari chuckled. “You are so perceptive. It’s a good thing you are but a figment of my imagination or you may be dangerous. I’ve decided. I am going out there. It could be…educational if nothing else."

“Or something could eat your.” Berliotz quipped.

Ialari brushed aside the shade’s comment with a wave of her hand as she set to gathering things she thought she would need for a journey outside of the Ukalas.

She rummaged through her meager, dated possessions in search of items that would be appropriate. As it had been quite some time since she’d left her Dominion, it took her awhile to decided on what was most appropriate.

“Ok, so I’ll need to dress light. If I’m not mistaken, it is winter. That said though, for obvious reasons, it is still rather warm in Syka.” She settled for a simple black chest wrap and a loincloth with belt. She grabbed a couple belt pouches with some essential items from her poisoncrafting and philtering kits. For protection, she attached her enchanted dagger to the belt and retrieved Stormslinger; the weapon capable of unleashing bolts of electricity. Attached to a leather strap, she slung it over her shoulder. Rounding it out with a few small odds and ends, she then took a piece of chalk from her work bench.

Walking over to a section of ground that was separated from her main workspace, Ialari knelt down with the piece of chalk in hand. The ground was mainly stone, butting up against the grassy expanse that made up the majority of her Dominion. “Now where to come out at…” She thought back to the time she was in Syka. She recalled one of the ranchos where she spent a night a long time ago. She remembered how simple the construction was yet it was adequate for what it was meant to do. Such a memory was relatively insignificant but for an isur, noticing such things and remembering them was not uncommon.

With the chalk in hand, she set to drawing upon the stone a rectangle. It was roughly the size of the average door. She drew the main shape followed by a series of lines that connected in the center. She then drew her dagger and cut just deep enough into the palm of her hand to cause the slightest bit of blood. She then placed her hand on the point where the lines intersected and envisioned the door on the other side. The doorframe, as she remembered it, had some carvings on it depicting seashells and fish. As she did this, the ground within the rectangle rippled. The stone faded away and was replaced by a glassy surface that soon revealed the scene beyond. A dock that connected to a number of ranchos and then to the beach itself. It looked as though there was nobody around.

Standing up, Ialari took a deep breath and took a step into the doorway. Standing fulling within it, she started to sink into the glassy surface. Moments later she found herself stepping out of the mystical doorway that appeared where the physical door was. Standing on the wood platform surrounding the rancho, she was back in the physical world.

She was greeted with the barrage of smells from the sea along with the sounds of seagulls. The sun shined brightly; momentarily blinding her. When her eyes were finally able to adjust, she found herself back in the world she had all but forgot.

After several moments of adjustment, she took a few uneasy steps forward. The transition between the Ukalas and the physical world was not without difficulty. It was as if she had spun around in place several times only to stop at one point and try to right herself. When the spinning stopped, she took stock of where she was.

The sounds of the sea echoed all around her, broken only by the sounds of music in the distance. It was to that direction she headed.

It was but a relatively short distance to the Syka Commons where Ialari approached the large gathering. As she got closer, she could see that there were a lot of people coming together. When she arrived, there were already large amounts of food and drink placed around the Commons. There were musicians playing with one particular woman playing a mandolin. Ialari stopped at the edge of the gathering and listened. The music was exhilarating. She hadn’t heard music, real music in so long. She simply stood, her eyes closed as she listened and took it all in. As the music played, she felt herself swaying a bit to the rhythm.

Those who witnessed her arrival saw a woman who definitely stood out in a crowd. Dressed in a black silk chest wrap and loincloth, she wore a belt with weathered leather pouches and an elaborate, seemingly ceremonial dagger attached. Slung over her shoulder was an item that looked something like a weapon decorated in glyphs much like that which some of the Verusk carried. Her pale-bluish colored skin save for her black metallic arm was lightly scarred in many places. Her short blond hair was a little unkempt and anyone close enough to see her eyes would notice they were dark brown, with a a faint circle ringing the iris in a starry blue. Her metallic arm was tattooed with an elaborate pattern stretching up to her elbow. To the more perceptive eye, one could see she that her movements and reactions were a little off as if she was in a constant state of uncertainty.

Opening her eyes, she glanced around and saw several faces she recognized. The founders of the settlement were scattered amongst the people as well as the Verusk. There were new faces as well, people she did not recognize. Those few who recognized her did so with a look of confusion and surprise. In response she simply smiled and nodded as if saying I see you, you see me, there is a story to be told some other time.

Noting a collection of drinks laid out on a nearby table, she grabbed two of them and down them in short order. “Liquid courage. I’m going to need a lot of it.” She said to herself.

As she stood outside of the crowd, watching and listening, she tried to avoid any obvious attention. It wasn’t that she didn’t want it, it was more that she didn’t know how to react to it. This made her stand out like the proverbial sore thumb. She was an isur, not a common sight in Syka. She was also new to most of those who hadn’t been around for a while. In addition to her racial appearance, she was heavily scarred in places and moved with an awkwardness that was noticeable. She couldn’t help but keep the sparse walls and pillars of the commons at her back and moved with a deliberate, foreign gate.

It was soon after that she noticed the familiar face of Randal step forward and begin to speak. He mentioned a discovery while exploring the ruins surrounding the settlement. He spoke of the collection of magical trinkets that would be shared with the people.

They give away magic now? By Izurdin I’ve been gone too long. She thought as the founder spoke.

As the line of people began to form in wait to dig into the strange chest of items presented. Ialari took her place at the end of it. She watched as, one by one, people reached in and took a piece. She observed each person taking an item from the chest and listened to what they had to say. The entire experience felt nothing short of awkward. People with no idea what they were getting into. Simply reaching in and taking magic that they had no idea what it was capable of. Random power given freely to those who were ignorant of the consequences.

She had to stop herself. You didn’t know what you were getting yourself into back then. Discovery is the beginning. For better or…for worse.

When it was her turn to approach the chest, Ialari knelt down and reached in. She gripped the first thing that she touched; a blue opal set in a silver clasp attached to a silver chain. It was just the right size to place on her head with the stone hanging just above the bridge of her nose. Something about the trinket drew her to it. After toying with it for a moment she put in her pouch and moved on.

Looking around, she sought someone who seemed to hold a similar fascination with the entire spectacle. There were so many, some going in other directions, others remaining nearby. Her feeling of awkwardness grew while her curiosity peaked at the same time. Trying to avoid those who recognized her at least for the moment, she sought out those with a look of curiosity like her own.

She caught sight of the young musician speaking with a few others including another familiar face, Seladonna, the leader of the Verusk. She caught a bit about what they were speaking about and cautiously approached as they were apparently moving to indulge in the collected food.

"My apologies for interrupting." Ialari said with a look that matched although her isurian accent was rather thick. She caught the eye of Seladonna and gave a respectful nod and a smile. "I couldn't help but overhear some of your conversation."

"You speak of magic and djed and of food. I would be honored to partake in such a discussion if you would find it acceptable. That is of course if you do not mind some added company. I have a bit of insight into such things...and to be honest, I...miss good conversation." She looked at Seladonna then to Tazrae, Oralie and Moritz. Her awkwardness was clear. Her words felt odd coming out of her mouth and she found herself fidgeting a bit with her hands.

What are you doing, Ialari. Except for Seladonna, these are complete strangers. Seladonna hasn't seen you in some time. Are you ready for this? You don't even know how to carry yourself like others. You are an outsider to them. Will they accept you? These were all thoughts that went through her head as she worked up the courage to socialize. For a moment she considered the words of her subconscious telling her she was not ready for mortal interaction. The moment faded however with the rumbling from her belly at the idea of food; real food.