Closed A Friend of not a Friend[Nayato]

[Moritz Craven]

7 Fall 523

Letting out a sigh, Moritz watched a few guards heading inside of the front door of the Drunken Fish. It was about that time, and seeing them arrive Moritz new his work day was over and that once they were ready to work he could head out. Over the course of the day he had thrown people out, made a run for food across town, gotten into a fistfight with a man trying to break a table, and otherwise looked gruff. From keeping that up for so many bells he was about ready to take a rest and loosen his body.

Thinking on this, Moritz wondered what he should do when he got home, and recalled back to his time in Syka. Usually after getting off work it was time to get knocked around the beach by one of the tough Verusk ladies who enjoyed sparring. Of course back then he was working as a cook, the same as he had been when first arriving in Sunberth, and so did not spend all day fighting. Being a bit thick headed at times he learned better by hands on training, which usually meant getting beat up while he slowly worked out how to do better next time. Luckily they were all skilled enough to avoid inflicting any serious injuries on the Kelvic, and knew how to hit to make it hurt but not do real damage. It also helped him to train his bodies hardiness, to keep going through the pain, to properly take a hit, and to be able to take the next hit that much better. Here though in Sunberth he did not have such a useful assistant in his training, and just had to make do with finding anything he could to get better. Even if it meant tossing around some drunks trying to cause trouble.

Still in his guard mode, Moritz noticed a few of the men coming in along with the guards for the new shift were not familiar to him, and also not guards. Which meant they were just others entering by chance at the same time as the guards, or were friends with the guards and heading in with them before they began work.

Eyeing these all carefully, Moritz for a moment pondered if he should activate his djed sight, but recalled once more how bad of an idea that would be in Sunberth. Instead he settled on using another one of his abilities, one that so far as he could tell no one could sense. Focusing his combat presence detection on the men in turn, he focused on them each with a short glare. Several of them seemed to have a normal amount of ability in combat to the average Sunberther. Not none, but not a ton. One however seemed to have a bit more than the others. From what Moritz could tell it was around his own level of abilities, though he had no idea how lopsided it might be or in what aspect of combat the ability was in. Still knowing the others skill was at best on his level or worse put his mind at ease. After all at the moment he had allies around, working as a guard, and when fighting against equals numbers won out easily.

At the moment the Kelvic was armed, wearing a few daggers on his person along his weapon harness, along with having his single gauntlet out and "equipped" so to speak. Though while the gauntlet itself was equipped he did not have the blades summoned out. He also had on his boots, since he was on the job, and his common one piece suit he wore most of the time and which was a gift from back in Lhavit. It also said his name on it when worn, which made it clear enough who he was.

While the others entered Moritz kept at it, eyeing the patrons in turn along with the new people entering, checking to see who they talked to and keeping an eye out for any signs of trouble that might come up. Vigilance was the key word here, and Moritz planned to stay vigilant until his shift was over.

WC: 700

[Nayato]

7th Day of Fall, 523 AV

Just along the southern border of the Sun's Refuge Territory, the newest Raider among the Sun’s Birth stood holding his shortbow in hand with it aimed to fire.

He wore a buckler shield strapped to the same forearm which held his bow. Nayato was one among a group of five Dragoon Raiders who traveled like a pack of rabid dogs looking for any trouble they could find. It was clear that Nayato was ready for a fight while dressed in a tattered linen shirt and sun-bleached buckskin pants over which he wore a set of leather armor. He had a khopesh sheathed at his side while a quiver of arrows hung from the back of his waist.

He aimed his bow at a lone man who looked to be a dirty beggar from the tent city which the Raiders began to surround. “Just...why?” He questioned while pointing his chin towards a tipped over burlap bag on the ground that looked to be filled with soggy laundry stolen off of clothing lines.

Another Raider chimed in before the beggar could answer, “If one of your socks ever go missing, I bet you a miza that you’ll find it in Deu's at the Commons.” Nayato raised an eyebrow as he glanced down at his own clothes.

He was not a fashionable person since he still wore the same clothes he had on when he first left Eyktol years ago. It was the nomadic side of his brain that told him to only own what was needed to survive and that he could carry. A Dragoon riding on a horse came trotting over. "He's not worth the arrow. Strip him, beat him, then toss him out of our territory. And you, take those petching clothes back for gods sake."

"Sergeant." Nayato gave a nod as the rest of the Raiders began to follow through with their orders while he had to deal with the clothes. Nayato just sighed to himself as he picked up the soggy bag of laundry to return it to where they were stolen from. He sheathed his short bow into a loose leather flap attached to his quiver to hold the leaking bag away from himself.

***

The other Raiders all went to The Gold Lodge for a drink but Nayato entered the Drunken Fish without any pomp or circumstance after grabbing his backpack from the Barracks. It was his first time at the tavern, but he walked into it confidently with the intent of not talking to anyone and just wanted to enjoy a moment of rest to himself. He was glad that the person he returned the clothing to knew of a tavern with a neutral gang tie for him to spend some time at.

Truth be told, the fact that most of the clientele of the Drunken Fish gave off the vibe of being sea dogs and foreigners rather than 'locals' made Nayato feel better.

He took a seat at an empty table on which he placed a jar of blackened pitch tar from his fletchers kit, three blue Grosbeak feathers from a bird he hunted long ago, and a bundle of sinew twine from the same fletchers kit, along with a dagger he pulled from where it was sheathed in the high ankle of his moccasin style boot. He held up the bare back end of the arrow shaft to look at it while glancing around the tavern.

Nayato disliked how much noise his finger tips made.

The blackened freckles on the Chaktawe's fingers sensed the motion of people as they walked by. It was a distraction that he was used to by this point in his life, but it did make him seem like a paranoid blackbird as his head snapped towards random directions to just stare at the closest people around him only to slowly return his gaze back to his arrow.

WC: 649

[Moritz Craven]

Focused as he was widely on the many people in the bar, Moritz did not spend too much time on any one person. Mainly he focused on each person in turn as they entered, but other than that kept his view broad and looked more for any signs of trouble more so than looking at each person in turn.

Sudden yells, sounds of something breaking, or someone flying through the air, all were clear signs of trouble. He also had to look for other things, but some signs were easier to detect than others.

After watching those people enter Moritz saw someone approaching and felt a pat on his shoulder, recognizing it as one of the guards coming onto shift. "Your good to go Moritz, go home. We'll deal with this lot till your back tomorrow."

With a nod Moritz responded to his fellow guard, before untensing himself just a bit. While not outright calming himself, after all he was still in Sunberth and not safe totally, he no longer had to focus on everyone in the bar. Instead he just needed to focus on himself and his people, which at the moment was just himself and perhaps if he saw any signs of trouble from a fellow guard. Even if he was not working anymore if he saw they needed help he would pitch in while still around. While only a lessening by comparison it was still something to lighten his load. Stress for the Kelvic was almost constant since coming to Sunberth, different in many ways from Syka. There the danger was not people for the most part, but animals and things from the jungle.

Letting out a sigh Moritz began to head to the door, on his way noticing one of the men who he had noticed had comparable combat presence to his own. Now that the man was inside he had spread out a bit, and Moritz was able to notice he had his weapons out. Not a problem in and of itself, most people in Sunberth were armed. But the particular weapon in question came to his attention, being a bow. Other than hunters it was not a weapon he had seen many use. For one it took some skill to weild properly. Also it tended to be more costly to maintain and keep in stock arrows than a blade or random shiv pulled off some other object.

Pausing as he walked by Moritz decided to strike up a conversation, wondering about it. He also felt it was less threatening inside, seeing as it was a bow meant for ranged combat and not as useful or as easy to use up close as they were now.

"Working on your arrows? I have a bow and such back home, not here since I cannot really use it on the job indoors here, and I practice with some targets I have there. But I have not spent much time practicing with it, I have spent more time practicing other things... I have not really tried repairing my arrows myself. Is it hard? Or have you done it before? Just curious. I have not seen many who use bows in town here, what do you use it for mostly?"

WC: 541

[Nayato]

Nayato set aside the arrow for a moment to hold a blue feather down flat against the table. He used his left hand to keep it steady while taking up a dagger in his right hand. His brow furled with intense focus as he guided the tip of the dagger to touch down against the center of the feather. He focused so hard that his hand began to shake, but he solved that problem by pressing the tip hard enough that the blade pressed against the hardness of the table.

The negative pressure helped to remove his shaking but it was clear that Nayato was slicing the top of the table. He drew the blade down the shaft of the feather until he cut through the end of the quill which left him with a freshly bisected feather.

He reached aside to grab at his arrow when his fingers felt like they were tracing against muddy waters due to the constant motion of people in the tavern. It was an off putting sensation, but the strangers approach caused him to glance over at Moritz as the man approached.

The first thing Nayato did was look over the man for any gang signs. If the man had an Eight-Point Sun brand than it was hidden away by clothing, just like his sleeve hid his Sun's Birth brand along his right bicep. He relaxed slightly when he saw no thorn-dagger symbol that would identify him as a member of the Daggerhand. He raised a brown upon noticing the distinct color of the man's eyes.

“You work here and are not allowed to use a bow?” Nayato's tone of voice was low but inquisitive. He canted his head slightly to point his chin up towards the second floor balcony overlooking the ground floor of the Fish. "If I were you, that seems like a perfect place to fire down from... that is, if your job is to hurt people. I grew up around hunters, but I was taught to wield a bow as a child to protect the tribe."

Nayato shifted the arrow that was missing its fletching closer to him on the table. "When I was a child my father always ended up with feathers stuck to his fingers. He would howl at the moon like a wolf whenever it happened until one night he howled out at the sky and a black feather fell from the sky right into his mouth. That feather turned into a bird within the blink of an eye which swiftly laid an egg in his mouth. And that is how I was born." The Chaktawe told the story as he uncorked the jar of tar to rub off the sticky residue on the end of the cork lightly against the cut spine of a blue feather.

Nayato picked up the tarred-feather to press it against the end of the arrow. The tar turned into the bane of the bowman's existence as every time he pulled his hand away the feather was pulled along with him. It took Nayato a few tries before he lightly pulled his hand away in victory as a tar covered feather remained stuck to the end of the arrow.

"It is a difficult skill for me since I am not well practiced at it, but I am not going to howl or complain about it." Nayato smirked at the man as he motioned a lightly tar covered finger towards the other seats at the table as an invitation for the man to sit down if he wanted to. "As I said before, I was taught to use a bow to protect the tribe.... I still do, even here in this city. What about you and your weapons? What is your story? It's not often I meet someone with eyes more interesting in color than mine."

WC: 643

[Moritz Craven]

Hearing the mans question Moritz realized he had not explained himself properly, or the man just had not taken his words as literally as they had been meant.

"Well for one, as I said before, I am not overly trained with a bow. I have focused more of my time on training other ways of combat, a bow has always just been a secondary thing I have practiced when I had the chance. So I doubt I am skilled enough to use it around people. Plus I use a longbow, which is even less suited for up close usage. As for using it from up there, well I work as a guard here. Shooting a bow it would be relatively easy to hit the person you are trying to protect, or someone moving in the way of your shot, or the like. It is much easier to just come right at someone and hit them from up close. Much less likely to miss and hit the wrong person then as well. I suppose I have seen guards use them when we go out and work as an escort, but not really much inside the establishment. Plus shooting a bow is clearly intended to be fatal or a serious injury. But things have levels of escalation here. We do not react to every problem with fatal levels of violence. Not none, but not all."

Having felt he had explained himself properly at this point Moritz wondered on the mans other words, only then noticing the mans odd eyes. They differed from his own, but also appeared to indicate they were not human just as Moritz was not. Though what particular type of person he was Moritz did not know, only supposing the man was not a Kelvic like himself and unsure what he actually was.

Still trying to work that bit out Moritz was even more confused when the man spoke about his past, not realizing some semblance of metaphor or storytelling was in use. All that he gathered from his words was...

"Wait... So your saying you were born from... A egg? Like you a bird? Why don't you have feathers then? Can you fly? I mean you do not have wings so I would assume not. Also, how does a feather and a man make a baby? Or a bird that lays an egg which turns into you? That does not make any sense at all..."

Unsure if the man was messing with him or what, confusion was clear on the Kelvic's face, as he tried to puzzle away at the mans words. In the end the Kelvic decided either the man was lying and spitting out a random tale to confuse him, was confused himself and had repeated some story he had heard before from his parents, or was otherwise mixed up in some very weird happenings. He could not entirely eliminate the chance the man was speaking the truth, having seen quite a few odd things in his time, but he did not take it at face value either.

"Wait so does that mean you have no mother? Or that your mother was a bird? Though that still does not really explain much of anything..."

When the man offered him the open seat Moritz took it with a bit of trepidation, still not entirely clear on what the mans circumstances were. Other than, apparently, practicing a new skill inside a bar which he admitted he was not good at. He also seemed to be making a bit of a mess, which would likely be a chore to clean up later.

"Ah, I am not sure you are supposed to be doing such things in here... That seems like it will be trouble to clean up. Anyways... You use your bow to protect your tribe, who is your tribe then? As for my weapons, I use bows a bit, but not much. Daggers a bit more. But mainly I just use my gauntlet and weaponless unarmed combat. That is where my main skill lies. I have actually had several teachers, mainly focused on unarmed fighting, and I bet any of them could kick the rears of any three men in here without so much as breaking a sweat. I am not quite there yet, but am decent compared to most in this city at it."

Looking around, Moritz wondered if any guards or servers were going to come by and try to kick the other man out for making a mess and setting up his craft in the middle of the bar. Moritz chatting with them was not enough to keep them from it, and Moritz was not on duty at the moment and so not working... And the man did not seem to be outright causing anyone harm, which was likely why no one had acted just yet.

"As for my eyes. Well that has to do with my parents, and a blessing from a mountain witch. You never know who you help out will turn out to be a nice mountain witch willing to confer a blessing."

WC: 851

[Nayato]

Details were always important when telling a good story. Nayato just slowly nodded his head as a sign to Moritz that he was indeed listening since his hands and eyes were busy with the arrow on the table.

He took up the cork in his left hand to dab the end of it lightly against the top of tar in the jar as if he were setting a quill into ink. He slid the cork against the bisected spine of the second blue feather to smear it in tar before tar-gluing it to the end of the arrow. He used the flat side of the dagger in his hand to hold the feather in place as he pulled his hand away to keep it in place.

Nayato just smirked as he reached up to the collar of his leather armor to pull it down slightly. There were signs of black paint smeared along his collar bone that he showed off with pride even as the imagery was hidden under his clothes. Just showing off the hints of his tribes color made Nayato feel proud.

“I am a raven. The Kalanue tibe of the Redstones in Eyktol. I earned my feathers when I was a child and…” In the middle of speaking Nayato’s tone of voice shifted from being playful to that of something slightly more reverent. “ … where I walk the flock follows.”

Nayato went through the motions of cutting another feather in two with his dagger just like the first one which left another slice mark along the tabletop. All he needed was one more feather that he slathered with tar to stick to the end of the arrow to complete the triumvirate pattern of fletching.

He corked the jar of tar then held it up to Moritz as a sign that he was taking his advice to stop making a mess before he placed it inside of his backpack.

“I was born of a strong woman. Words can turn a man into a hero, a feather into an egg, and let people fly high. I did not get the chance to know my mother who birthed me, but her story lives on with me.”

Nayato slathered tar all along the feathers because he needed for their to be extra material to glue sinew down so he would not have to tie a knot. He picked up the bundle of sinew twine that he left on the table to press one end of it down against the tar on the upper part of the feathers. He wound the twine around the arrows to hold all the feathers down into place.

The Bowman used his dagger to cut the twine to restart the process of bundling twine around the base of the fletching nearest to the nock of the arrow. He smirked to himself as he cut the excess twine to store what was left of the bundle back into his backpack which left him with a new awkwardly fletched arrow.

Nayato pointed the feathered end of the arrow at Moritz for a moment before storing it back into his quiver. Nayato loosened the straps of his right leather vambrace just enough to tug his sleeve free from it. He continued to pull at his sleeve to expose his right bicep which was branded with the Eight-Point Sun of the Sun's Birth that had a sword at the center of the sun which showed that he was apart of the Dragoons.

"My tribe here in the city do their best to walk with Sylir. One of my instructors among them is an unarmed combatant who tries to teach me to use more than my fists, but I am a boxer when it comes to hand to hand combat. You can go train with them should you want at the Proving Grounds within the Sun's Refuge if you have the coin for it."

The Dragoon tightened his leather vambrace but pulled his shirt down over it this time. Nayato knew he needed to break his habit of making it hard for himself to show off the brand quickly if he needed to. "Blessed eyes? Now that sounds like a story worth being heard. Why were you even on the mountain to begin with? Did you fight someone who meant to do the witch harm?"

WC: 724

[Moritz Craven]

While Moritz was not fully understanding what the man was doing, he got a general sense of things by watching and talking. And while he was not overly confident he could make an arrow himself, even in such a poor fashion as this man seemed to, he felt like he had at least learned enough from watching him to make an attempt at it himself. He did not doubt it would involve some trial and error, but he could perhaps try to fix an arrow in a pinch if needed. He did not doubt it would be sloppy and not well done, but perhaps it would be better than nothing.

Mostly, from Moritz point of view, the man seemed to just be slicing up some feathers and sticking them to the ends of an arrow. While this sort of looked like an arrow he used and had purchased... The Kelvic was quite certain it was a bit off, and felt more confident in using the ones he had bought before than the ones this man had made.

Smiling a bit Moritz nodded along some more, still sure he was not following the mans words at all. They all seemed to be in the common tongue, and yet seemed to be arranged in some odd way such that they revealed a semblance of sense without really saying anything sensible to his discernment.

"Your a raven? Ah, my daughter is a crow. Although I feel like we are not speaking on the same page of the same story... Not quite meeting each other in this conversation. You seem to be saying a lot of words, but to be honest most of them make no sense to me. What is a Kal hands new? Or Eye... Yeah I am not even gonna try that one... Are those people? Or places? Or something else entirely?..."

When he said he had been born to a woman, but also an egg, Moritz finally worked out what was going on. The man was lying. Or perhaps, more nicely worded as he pondered it to himself, he was telling a fanciful story and exaggerating and being colorful. Or lying, which seemed the more accurate way of explaining it. Both true depending on how you look at things. Moritz for his part also told fanciful tales, but they were all true and only seemed like he was making things up.

The only time he could recall making things up and lying was either to keep his family safe, which tended to be more keeping things secret than outright lying... And the time he had been cursed to lie and had told all kinds of falsehoods and tall tales back in Syka.

"I mean if its just words that turn you into a hero, then you are not really a hero. That is just being perceived as one. Not the same thing at all. Dira is no less Dira just because we do not believe she is Death. And a hero is no less a hero because people think or do not think they are one. Its there actions, who they are, that decide that. Imagine trying to explain that one to Dira as she comes to call, that you do not believe in her. Will that make her do her duty any less? Seems pretty laughable..."

Not intending to be rude, but simply explaining things as he saw them, Moritz tried to explain his viewpoint however to the point it might be. In the end he did not really agree with much of the mans flowery language, seeing it as little more than lies, but he was not one to run away from a conversation just because the other person did not seem able to talk straight.

Not long after that though the man began to undress for some reason, confusing the Kelvic until he finally realized he was doing it to show a marking. Wearing a bit of armor this was a more complicated ordeal than just pulling aside a shirt or such. Once he did Moritz saw a symbol, one he vaguely felt he had seen before in Sunberth. However as usual he was having trouble keeping track of the name, and did not really know overly much about any of the gangs in the city.

"Right, that is a marking of... Something... Ah wait do not tell me... A group... Here in Sunberth.... Ah I swear someone told me before, but I have trouble keeping track of things I do not find overly interesting... Uh... What was that groups name again?"

Once more Moritz was not trying to be rude, he just truly did not find interest in many things and subsequently had trouble remembering facts about those things that did not peak his interest.

"Right, so you are a member of... A group... Here... In Sunberth. One of those... Uh... Fighty groups. And you are... Wait did you ever actually give me your name, or did I forget it too? My name is Moritz, but I mean its clearly shown on my front so you probably already figured that out... "

Pausing again Moritz found another word he did not know, this one not one he had forgotten but just one he had never heard before.

"Wait... You walk with... Sylir... Who is that? I do not think I have heard that name before. I vaguely recall hearing about some of the big groups here, but honestly working I do not need to know them as I just punch whoever causes trouble and one of the other guards will tell me if we are getting into stuff we should not. But I do not think I have heard whoever that is. Are they important?"

Thinking it over again Moritz considered the mans offer, before deciding on his reply.

"As for paying to train... I do not know, that seems kind of... Weird... I mean I suppose my mother paid my first instructor back home, when I was a child and just learning to fight... But since then, I have just mutually trained and sparred with whoever was around. I try to keep at my training, I follow Wysar as well as Dira, and he is all about being vigilant and disciplined. To keep at training. I doubt I could afford to pay every day to keep at my daily training, and I am not sure I would want to. I would rather just find some other link minded person and train with them, so we can both grow and learn mutually. I actually do know a bit of boxing, but only a bit. One of those combat ladies back in Syka showed me a bit. Was it the running lady? No, it was the lady I danced with. Yeah, she could box quite well, and ran me through the basics, but we did not do much more than that. I should probably practice on that a bit more as well..."

Before long their conversation changed topic again, and Moritz had to change his focus from talking about fighting and learning and training to talking about his eyes. Deciding what of the truth he could say here in Sunberth, Moritz tried to keep it simple and to the facts without doing into too much detail or saying anything he should not.

"Mountains? I mean, that is where Lhavit is, among the mountains. I think I was out on a lesson with a hunter outside the city there, who was supposed to be showing me how to hunt and get around the mountains... Ah but I ended up helping a boar who needed some assistance, and it turned out to be a family member of that witch. She was very nice, as was her whole family. Very welcoming. I think that is pretty much all there is too it. No fighting involved. I mean she was a witch, so I am sure she could take care of herself, but I never really saw her fight at all..."

Glancing around a bit self consciously Moritz wondered who all might be listening, and certainly not willing to say more in front of a bar full of people who may or may not be listening in... His glances about to check his surroundings might be noticeable to a vigilant eye, though with his Okomo eyes looking side to side did not take as much movement as with a humans eye which did make it much subtler than a similar checking by a normal human.

WC: 1,423

[Nayato]

"Kalanue. We are of the desert sands of Eyktol to the south of Cyphrus. You now know of my homelands and I now know of a new place among mountains called Lhavit. I shall see them someday, a land full of roaming boars to be saved."

Nayato lifted his boots off the ground so he could rest his heels on the edge of his seat with his feet hanging slightly off the front. The Chaktawe sat perched on the chair which allowed him to hug his arms around his knees.

“Your daughter is a crow?”

Nayato was unsure if the man was a Kelvic up until that point.

“If she is a crow then may her dark wings be as beautiful as my peoples eyes. And if she is lucky, may her wings be half as handsome as those of the Feathered Prince. If the latter is true, then she would be among the most beautiful girls who have ever soared the skies.” He paused as a slight smirk pulled at the side of his lips. “I can only hope you know who the Feathered Prince is?”

He asked rhetorically without giving Moritz any time to respond to the question. Nayato shifted his heels back to allow more of his feet to gain a stable foundation on the chair as he stood up on it. Once he reached his full height he opened his arms to each of his sides to emulate a bird flying through the sky as he looked down at Moritz.

“The Feathered Prince. The Eagle Lord. The Crow Brother himself! The god of birds, ingenuity, and patron deity of my people … Eywaat. We are Chaktawe. You will know us by our eyes.”

He said while slowly bending at the knees to sit perched back in his chair. Nayato did not shout or yell the words, but he spoke of the god with passion. “Kalanue means raven in my language. So, yes. I am of a tribe of ravens. Call me Blackbird when you need a friend or call me Nayato when you need a brother.”

Nayato rested his forearms on the tops of his knees with the palms of his hands facing outwards. He kept his eyes on Moritz as he listened to the sensations of water that tickled at the freckles on his fingers to detect motion around him.

"If you look to the west of here you'll see Nightfall tower high in the distance. That is the Sun's Refuge. You will know you are truly there when you are among the cleanest streets in the city. That is the territory of the Sun's Birth."

The concept of death was something that always interested Nayato be it the goddess, ghosts, and even ideas of undeath. However, he himself did not wish to seek his own literal death anytime soon. Nayato grew to understand Moritz the more the man spoke. Where Nayato was raised among people that used metaphor and exaggeration in the face of barren landscape. Moritz was a very literal kind of person to use every word at face value.

“Despite your eyes I see that you walk the colorless path, Moritz. Words do have power. They can turn a coward into a hero as much as a hero into a coward. Even despite how they may have lived their lives prior to hearing such words. People are not set in stone... a good story at the right moment can change a person for the better or worse. Would a horrible person who preformed one magnificent act of ultimate kindness due to a motivational story not be a hero during that exact moment? Even if they do continue to be horrible elsewhere. When I set my eyes on Dira I would much prefer to tell her a story that would bring a smile to her lips. If she laughs at it then it would be a comedy worth telling."

Nayato turned his head when something tickled at his fingers. It caused his head to snap in that direction to look at someone who walked to a distant table. He kept his head on a swivel for a moment before returning his eyes to his new table companion. Nayato spent time in Syka as well, but he chose to just keep that to himself for the moment.

"Sylir? He is the god of peace and civilization. I would consider him incredibly important. I would not have joined the Sun's Birth if there were not people in the gang who viewed the god with high regards ever since... " He cut himself off from mentioning his time as a squire in Syliras. "Well, not everyone in the Sun's Birth worship him, however there are enough that do. I also worship Wysar through my training at the Proving Grounds. We should train together to sharpen our martial skills sometime."

WC: 813

[Moritz Craven]

As their conversation progressed, Moritz seemed to almost become more confused rather than less confused. Some of the things the man said seemed to make sense... And then others not so much. Some seem just a simple honest word, and others completely ridiculous. Which was which was becoming increasingly hard to tell, leaving the Kelvic a bit winded mentally from their back and force. He wished the man would choose one or the other, but resolved himself to trying to piece through things a bit. Some of what he said after all was of interest, in between the lies and straight outright made up things.

"I mean I suppose you could if you wished to. Just bear in mind it is a rather long journey, so I would plan accordingly before such a trip. Lhavit is quite far. I would think a short journey there would probably take... Close to a year, if you left soon and took few stops along the way. And that is just to get there one way. Not a cheap or easy trip to say the least."

Looking about at the people of Sunberth, he did not think many of them would easily be able to fund such a trip. He himself had saved up funds before coming to the city, and had even made some decent pay working since he did come here, but he had spent most of those funds along with most of his savings on having his house built. Now he was much lighter in terms of his coin purse, though his actual coin purse held no weight in particular and the one he openly carried was just a false face with a few mizas in it to pretend it was the only he carried.

"Cyphrus... That sounds vaguely familiar. I think I may have passed it at one point or another by boat. I did not actually stay there though, so I do not know much about it, nor what is south of it... Though that at least gives me a vague idea of where you speak of. Though, I am pretty sure it was a special boar, which needed saving. Most boars if you try to save them are just going to gore you. And while there are some across the mountain, it certainly is not full of them, let alone ones in danger. I would not say none, but certainly not many. And not all will result in gladdening a witch. Just that one as far as I am aware, as she did not have any others."

In short order it seemed the man moved from one topic to another, and Moritz was left a bit wrong footed as he tried to work out what he was saying while also keeping things progressing.

"Uh yes, my daughter is one... And no, I have never heard of him. Although now that I think on it, I have befriended a few birds before. After all they could talk back in Syka, so I carried on a conversation or two... Although, most were not exactly great conversationalists. Other than that, I do not know much about birds, though maybe this fancy feather guy had something to do with it. I mean who else could make birds talk like that, seems reasonable enough he was involved if he is as you described."

Moritz for his part had only had a vague idea of the goings on in Syka, and besides speaking to a few birds and knowing it was common in Syka but not other places and not as far as he knew related to the birds themselves but the place they were at, he assumed some divine being or other had a hand in it.

"And I mean, we just met. I would not call you my enemy, but not sure you would be my brother or friend. Besides, I thought you already had brothers and friends, being a part of that group you already have. I have no interest in joining any of those big groups here in Sunberth, and do not perhaps see them the same way you do. I am not sure they would all take kindly to that, or us befriending each other with that in mind. I have seen enough to know blindly joining a group I do not believe in is not a good idea. And I have seen nothing to make me believe that of most any group here. Father Manowar seems decent enough, so I work for him, but that is because I have seen how he is, what he does, and the way he works. I cannot say the same for these other groups. And should I decide to leave some day, he would respect that, and expects nothing of me other than doing my work I am paid to do. I would rather form my own group than join something that does not match what I believe. And I doubt it would be easy to leave and do so once already being a member of another of those groups..."

Deciding he would not agree with the mans philosophy, which so strongly believed in words, Moritz simply shrugged.

"It seems you have already decided your truth, and I am not going to try to bend you to mine. I am what I am, and I believe what I believe. I have never seen a man triumph and become something he was not already by words alone. Seems more like if that did happen, it would mean they had the ability all the while, just not the conviction and belief they could do so. Until I do see evidence otherwise, I do not see me changing my view no matter how many words you throw at me. Words are easy, and can be as light and empty as the breath we take in. Actions, actions speak much louder than any word alone can. And there is a difference between perception, and reality. Words can shift how things are perceived, but changing the actual material of a thing or being, that is not so easy. And that is the type of change I value. I do not value much the kind of change words bring."

In some small part Moritz did care about what others thought of him, but it was a small part. Most of him cared on keeping himself and those he cared for safe, and little for others views good or ill. He did paint a picture about him, one of a foreboding and dangerous man, but he also did that out of his desire to keep his loved ones safe not out of a need to appear powerful itself.

As the topic changed back to the divine Moritz listened in passing to the man talk about Sylir, yet another divine being the man followed and who he said had a connection to the Sun's Birth. Recalling all the man had brought up, he was left to wonder how he had time to worship them all properly if he had so many to attend to, or if he was forced to pick and choose. Or perhaps he simply mentioned many, but did not truly and actively follow them all. He himself limited himself at the moment to just Dira and Wysar, with Dira being from his upbringing, and Wysar having marked him before along with several of his teachers.

"I would not mind training together with you. Perhaps we could even use my training grounds back home. Though I do not bring people into my home freely. So it would have to be with the caveat that you would not bring harm to me or mine, those I hold dear and protect in any way shape or form."

Glaring for a moment with the most stern gaze he could muster, but utter belief that what he said next was true, Moritz moved onward.

"Bearing in mind, that if you do bring harm to me and mine, I would hunt such a person and anyone involved in it to the ends of the world and beyond, in this life in the next, even if it took hundreds of years or more, and that there is no such place where a person could hide to get away from me."

Finishing his threat slash promise slash statement of intent, Moritz once more moved on, letting the attempted stern glare calm a bit from his face and return to a more normal neutral expression.

"If that is understood from you, then I would not mind bringing you by and having a spar to do some training. Although, what kind of training did you have in mind? And when?"

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