Work the Tension Out [Solo]

[Valan]

32 Spring 511

The sun had just started it's daily trek across the heavens when Valan left his tent in the city of Endrykas and entered the Sea of Grass. He did not take his horse, instead, he had proceeded out on foot. A cotton shirt and leather pants with a bright purple sash hung from his lean frame; a bow and several dozen arrows hung in a harness across his back

But something told Valan he would not be attacked during this little expedition into the wilderness. Whether it was intuition, a hint from the heavens, or something else he did not know. It was not Valan's place to try and unravel the oddities of fate.

A strange tension dwelt within his limbs. He did not know where it came from, or why; only that it was present. It existed in everything he did, from sunrise to sundown. It set him on edge and made him cranky. Just yesterday he snapped at a merchant for "wanting to know if we wanted this fine shirt". Certainly, this needed to be dealt with.

Cresting a small hill that was nestled among the grass, Valan took the opportunity to scope out his surroundings; in all directions there was a neverending sea of grass, with only slight rustling to denote the presence of an animal, but they were far and few between, and none were near his position. Valan glanced over his shoulder; a small, multicolored dot was present on the horizon, and Valan knew it was Endrykas, the city he had just left. Good, he had traveled a good distance. Far enough away that he wouldn't be disturbed, but close enough in case of emergency.

Valan pulled the bow off his back, and investigated the stringing. It seemed to be nice and tight, which was good, because Valan had little to no experience in Bowing- the bow was a family heirloom and had last been bound by his father, who luckily was a master in that particular field. However, Valan knew that a time would come where he needed to restring the bow, and so learning Bowing was something that he needed to do- one of many, unfortunately.

Finally done inspecting the bow, Valan took out an arrow and notched it, noting that is was a game arrow. Good- those were less expensive than his regular arrows. It was therefore more prudent to use them instead of his regulars for this practice session, in case the arrow was lost.

Valan drew the arrow back and placed the tip of his knuckle at his cheek, looking down the shaft of the arrow. His steady hand kept the quivering bow steady as his eye searched his surroundings. But while he did so, his mind couldn't help but wander- this time, it wondered why he was here.

The easy answer was the tension. He wanted to find a way to work it out, and perhaps shooting a few arrows would do that for him. Give him a chance to exercise out the tension. But his mind wondered why- why was the tension here in the first place? Why did he feel so edgy and off-balance?

Wait- There. a gnarled tree, uncountably old and half-dead as it was. It was strange to see the tree out here in the Sea of Grass, given how precious firewood was, but Valan was grateful for it. For it was the perfect target, and his bow, almost as if acting on his own, moved towards it. It had enduring many things in this savage environment, from the gases of the geysers to the harsh seasons; a couple of arrows wouldn't hurt it. It was far enough away that trying to hit specifics of the tree- like one of it's branches, for example- would prove a challenge. It was a perfect target.

Valan never did feel happy in one place. He liked life on the move- experiencing new things, new sights. But there was another contributor- one that Valan regretted to admit. He lacked purpose. He was like a leaf, blowing in the wind- he drifted from place to place, never knowing why he was there. Why had Zulrav chosen him as a Stormwarden? Why was it that he was always so restless, never wanting to commit himself to things? Why did he not know his position in life? Why the indecision? Why, why, why?

[Valan]

Valan took a deep breath and focused his thoughts. He couldn't think of this now. Archery required total focus. He couldn't spend time dwelling on the purpose of his life, that wasn't what he came here for...

But wasn't it, really? Work the tension out...that had been the point of this trek at such an ungodly hour. No offense to the god of the dawn or whoever rules this period of day, Valan added hastily. He was pretty sure Syna was goddess of the sun and so Valan should be apologizing to her, but heavens knows that Valan was unwise in the ways of the gods, barring that of Zulrav, of course. But...anyways.

Valan kept his eye focused on the tree, and held his breath. Here was the crucial moment...the time that mattered in the shooting...

It wasn't that he was not attached to anything. On the contrary, he was. He loved his home pavilion, the way at midday the sun would always hit the perfect spot on the house, no matter where they were camped. How it lit the tentwork in resplendent sunlight...it was just, Valan always felt like his destiny lay elsewhere. Somewhere, out of sight...

It took a second before Valan released he had released the string, so caught up in his thoughts, he was. The arrow flew way to the left, brushing the grass that lay at the edge of the clearing- of which the tree was the center. A soft wind passed, rustling the half-dead leaves on the tree and producing a noise like mocking laughter.

Valan's muscled tightened and he breathed heavily in frustration. He put another arrow in his bow, but his wrist shook slightly as he did; his terrible miss had upset him, it was clear. But it was not the only thing that was currently affecting him.

...It was the lack of jobs, he knew it was. The jobs of guiding...it staunched his need for purpose, for a short time at the least. But it had been nearly three weeks since he had last got one. The restless feeling had descended once more. He was trapped in a neverending cycle of desire and frustration. For a second, Valan felt almost sorry for himself.

Enough! Valan mentally shouted. Enough. Save your feelings for someone else, he told himself. You don't have it tough. There's way worse things out in the world than a lack of purpose. You don't feel sorry for yourself. And you don't act as though fate is forcing you elsewhere. You are Drykas. You are strong. And you make your own fate.

You are Drykas...

With one fluid motion, Valan drew back his arm and loosed the arrow. It sailed true, hitting one of the tree's branches with enough force to detach it and send it flying away. For a second, Valan's eyes widened in disbelief, watching the branch with the arrow embedded in it fall to the ground. Then a smile spread across his face.

He gathered his arrows quickly and began to make his way back to Endrykas. The sun had now firmly lit up the tent city, and the image of his family pavilion entered Valan's mind once more. With another smile, and his mind more cleared than it was before, he made the trek back home.

The tension had been worked out.