The Morning of the Moths (Vizyous)

[Poison]

Early Summer, 511 AV

Winter had made to spring and spring had made way to summer. Seasons and entire years had passed since Vizyous had left the underground city of Kalinor. People had died. Children had been born. Men and women had fallen in love. Surrogates had been brought back from the surface and suffered their intended fate. Notok and Do-Vedenza Kina had been celebrated, and Viratas had been honored countless times in the great temple that was dedicated to him. Silk had been harvested, and hunts had been conducted to assure that nobody would be starving.

Chemah vo ranek – the Morning of the Moths – had just arrived as the lost son of the Aconitum Web arrived at the Woven Gates to make his return. It was a party to celebrate the new crop of moths that made the silk that was one of the most important trade goods of Kalinor. The people in the city above were already busy preparing themselves for the festivities ahead, but in the tunnels that led to Kalinor everything was quiet. Few travellers were currently coming to Kalinor and leaving. Chemah vo ranek was a time when the Symenestra preferred to be among themselves and be surrounded by the members of their Web.

It was dark in the cave that marked the entrance to the mother city of the Symenestra. The bright green and golden flames of the firepit that sat next to the gate provided the only source of light and created an almost eery atmosphere.

It was dark and it was quiet, but then a sound suddenly cut through the silence as one of the guards descended the rope that dangled from the gate. Vizyous‘ could see a hint of the black exoskeleton armor that so many Symenestra wore, a dark cloak, and seconds later the pale face of a young Symenestra man, framed by long white hair, appeared in front of him. He smiled brightly at Vizyous and seemed to be in an extraordinary good mood, a behaviour that stood in contrast to the kind of treatment people usually got from the guards.

„Hurry up!“ the guard said to Vizyous and gestured for him to climb the rope. „The festivities are about to begin, and you don’t want to be late for Chemah vo ranek, do you?“ He made a step towards the rope as if he was in a hurry to get back into the city as well, but then he hesitated and turned around, a questioning look on his face. „You look familiar“, he remarked. „Are you by chance related to the young man that is getting married tomorrow? You look a bit alike.“

[Vizyous Aconitum]

It had been under bad circumstances that Vizyous found himself in such a coldly familiar place, shame present in his heart but no where to be found on his face. When he left Kalinor, plans of great discoveries and many treasures had spewed from his lips; he was proud in his youth, but now he returned an adult, with not a gold miza to his name. But the flames that marked the entrance of the Symenestran city was gold, it's brightness not having dulled since Vizyous saw it last. Even to his Symenestra eyes, the depth of the cave appeared uncertain, but he knew it's walls instinctively, and was sure he could make his way "home" merely by touch. Alvadas was his home, though, Vizyous clearly felt, his regret only increasing with each second that passed before a guard noticed his presence. In his subconscious, the timing of his arrival seemed odd, or important-- had he forgotten something about Kalinor so easily? It had been years since being immersed in his kind's culture, and somehow he'd managed to forget why this time of the year was important. Dark as the depths of the caves, the guard appeared suddenly and caught Vizyous off guard, his slightly sluggish reflexes making him startle a bit. He regained composure quickly, though, seeing the relief on the young man's face. Did Kalinor get that many visitors that weren't Symenestran? "Chemah vo ranek..." Vizyous repeated to himself, his voice quiet in volume but all the more louder in his mind. It echoed in his thoughts, until finally his memory recalled what those words meant. "Late?" He asked again, this time more out of surprise, however the Symenestra didn't want to mingle with the guards too long. Preparing himself to climb up the rope that seemed to never end, Vizyous stretched his arms, only to find the guard looking at him curiously. The question he was asked was one that made a sudden, harsh laugh burst out of him, short lived and in good humor. "Pfft, impossible! My brother will never get married unless threatened with death!" Although, that was more out of denial than anything else. Dinvidus was ordinary for an extravagant Symenestra, with no drive for discovery of the outside world, no motives of finding something new-- surely his younger brother hadn't succeeded in love when Vizyous hadn't. Surely Dinvidus hadn't grown more than he in the years he'd been gone.

[Poison]

„The Morning of the Moths!“ the young guard exclaimed as Vizyous repeated the name, as if he didn’t know what it meant. He was quite obviously excited about it. „Today is the first day of the festival, and the weaving contest is about to begin.“ He paused and furrowed his brow, and then he decided, „It might already have begun! The winner’s work is going to be exhibited in the gathering hall. They are going to choose the Moth Queen as well! Do you have a sister? I don’t remember if you have one, but if you do, she might be eligible! My younger sister is going to participate as well!“

„Petch, don’t say that you’ve forgotten all about it! How long have you been gone from Kalinor? This is the biggest festival of the season!“ The young man shook his head in disbelief. As he realized that Vizyous wasn’t particularly talkative and far less excited about the festival than he was, he made a face. How could it be that Vizyous didn’t care? Everybody he knew cared about Chemah vo ranek!

„Maybe your parents threatened him with death then“, the guard guessed as Vizyous voiced his surprise at the news that his brother was getting maried. „I don’t know anything about. You should ask them – or him.“ He shrugged his shoulders. „But fact is, he is getting married, and his future wife is quite lovely. There are rumours about an extravagant wedding gift that they are keeping hidden until after the ceremony.“

He shrugged his shoulders again and stepped away, allowing Vizyous to climb the rope first. It had become obvious to him that Vizyous had no intention to linger, and thus he wouldn’t bother him any longer. Once Vizyous had climbed the rope, the guard did so as well and returned to his usual post. He’d only have to be here for a little longer, and then he’d be able to participate in the festivities as well!

As Vizyous passed the gate, he could notice that the city itself seemed to have changed in the time that he had been away. The buildings were still the same, but many of them had been decorated with colourful tapestries and clothes of silk in honor of the festival, and a lot of the Symenestra that he could see wore especially elegant clothes. There was an almost tangible sense of excitement in the air.

Curious glances followed him, wherever he ultimately decided to go. His face seemed familiar to them – the rest of his Web still resided in the city – but on the other hand he had been gone just long enough that he had become a relative stranger to some of the people of Kalinor.

[Vizyous Aconitum]

The news was shallowly taken, Vizyous stubbornly but not rudely replying with a slightly skeptical sounding, "I'll believe it when I see it." He gave a small smile of reassurance to the guard to show him his tone wasn't of disrespect, then began the climb up.

Each hand of rope that filled his rough, travel-worn hands brought him closer to the entrance of the gray area in his mind that still was unsure whether Kalinor should be considered his home or not. The guard and every other Symenestra in the darkness of the city would look upon him as both a stranger and a strangely placed but matching piece to the city of Kalinor.

When it came time to finally walk forward, Vizyous did so with carefully guarded eyes. His gaze was roaming but calm, and although perhaps he should have had a mask of joy for the festivities, the beauty of both the buildings and it's people, the mask was mostly for himself and his conflicted emotions inside. People looked at him in curiosity that either lingered in innocence or darted away with the first glimpse of his ragged, dirty clothes. Certainly, the Symenestra should hurry away to find his Web, and dress more appropriately than the red rags that hung off his body.

"I fear I'm not dressed for the occasion," He said in a low mummer to the guard, wondering if he was even paying attention to him anymore, "but there's nothing that can be done, I guess. Do you have any idea where my brother might be?"

[Poison]

His clothes attracted attention as well. Almost every Symenestra that he could see, be it on the Red Strand, the main pathway through the city or in a ‚side street‘ was dressed in flowing clothes of silk, in white and gold and brilliant jewel tones. Very few would dare to walk around dressed like he was. An old Symenestra lady made a step towards him, a shawl of brilliant scarlet silk that was decorated with tiny pearls in her hands, about to place it around his shoulders, but then she changed her mind, worried that he would not appreciate her intervention.

The guard had already turned away and was standing on the other side of the gate, watching the festivities from afar with a look of longing on his face. As Vizyous adressed him again, he turned around, surprised. After his lack of enthusiasm about the festival he had not expected Vizyous to adress him again, but disappear straight into the city and do whatever he had come for. As he heard the Aconitum’s voice, he turned around. His eyes were a little wide with surprise.

„No, there’s nothing that can be done, I’m afraid“, he agreed. „As for where your brother is ...“ He hesitated for a moment. He was about to tell him ‚Shouldn’t you have a better idea of where your brother is than a stranger?‘, but then he remembered how long Vizyous had been gone again. „It would probably be best if you went home first. He’ll either be there or they’ll be able to tell you where he is. They’ll probably be happy to see you again!“