[Epic Quest] Darkness Falls (Fois)

[Gossamer]

Timestamp:Summer 1, 511 AV Purpose: Epic Quest Assignment Status: Closed The guardian of the gate let him right in, even though his companion wasn't someone the guard recognized. The Watch Rider hadn't even cried a warning either as two figures walked up the road. Fois wasn't normally one that walked and it was unusual he was anywhere without his eagle, but it did happen. Mainly it happened because the beautiful woman that was with him was distracting. She gave her name to the guardian with a soft voice, and the record was noted in the log. Caristan entered Wind Reach unchallenged because Mirt wore Fois' face and no one remembered that Fois had once had a twin brother. The pair went directly to the Valintar, got assigned quarters - Cayden didn't really mind that a lost child of Wind Reach found his way home with a wife and was assigned status along with the rest of the lot. Caristan was to be an Avora - an herbalist and philterer while Mirt was to be a cook, a Chiet. Both duties were fine with the petitioners, who were just glad to get good positions. Mirt didn't mind the commoner status, becuase he could share quarters with Caristan, who got assigned one of the better more spacious places in the warrens. It had an outside window and was almost as nice as an Aerie. They also got put on the duty roster, which didn't seem to please her much at all. Once they unpacked their things, which we only what consisted of what they could carry in their packs, and grabbed two Dek to put them away, Mirt penned a message to Fois. Dear Brother- It is with profound happiness I write you this note. It seems my disappearance didn't merit my death, and any rumors thereabouts have been greatly exaggerated. I've returned home. My tale is long and complex, but I would really like to meet with you and catch up. I have brought with me, home, a lovely wife and she too is eager to meet you. We've come home to stay after all these years. I have quarters, the dek taking you this message will know where they are. Will you please meet me here sometime this evening when your duties free you for leisure time? We have so much to catch up on, and so much to talk about. Mirt The letter was delivered indeed by a Dek who found Fois in his aerie. The dek offered him the note, then waited as instructed to tell him where the warrens was that his twin was occupying. It was an unassuming creature, dressed in hand-me-downs that had perhaps gone through fifty people before getting to the creature. Sex was indeterminable, but then again sometimes the dek purposely camouflaged their sex that way. It said nothing, other than offering him the note when he answered the scratch at his Aerie door, and would speak only when spoken too. Too many slaps over too many years had taught the dek respect. Mirt knew it would be a shock, but he had no idea how Fois would react after all this time and hearing nothing. It had taken him asking the Valintar to find out if his brother was even alive. Caristan was no help either. She remained quietly at his side, mousy even though she was lovely. Already she was fussing about the lack of plant life so high up on the slopes and eager to check out the hydroponics and underground forest that the Valintar had pointed out more than made up for the lack of plants above ground. She'd departed immediately, not wanting to wait for Fois' reunion or to intrude upon the twin's catch-up time.

[Fois]

Seleer slightly dropped his left wing making a rather large semicircle while aiming to his aerie. Fois was on his back in the saddle, clasping the reins in his hands. The muscles of his legs slightly contracted during the maneuverer, but it was a result of reflex rather than of fear of falling. The Endal prepared himself for landing, knowing from experience that the Wind Eagle often wasn’t very generous on soft touchdowns. This time, however, Seleer widely spread his wings to slow him down and almost gently perched on the cliff at the entrance of their aerie. ”Rather unexpected,” Fois said to Seleer while sliding down the side of the bird. ”Watch the feathers!” the Wind Eagle wasn’t too happy about how the man chose to dismount from him. ”And you complain too much about it anyway.” The rider only replied with a personal smile. Fois removed his longbow that was strapped to the saddle and, after propping it against the wall, began unbuckling the leather straps of the saddle. Seleer was eager to be freed from the disliked shackles. ”What are going to do now?” he inquired once Fois took off the saddle and hoisted it over his shoulder. ”No idea, really,” the Endal replied as he put the baggage down at the side of the Seleer’s room, where it wasn’t in the Wind Eagle’s way. ”Having something to eat at some point is somewhere in my plans.” Fois walked back to take his bow and then left the Wind Eagle behind, entering his common room. Putting his Katinu and all the equipment in the room that he used for storage concluded his hunting session for the day. Fois felt somewhat happy with himself that day, even though the results weren’t better than would have been expected, and Seleer was quick to nag him about it. His quarry was usually just enough to satisfy what was required from an Endal, but often the rider felt that he should have done better to justify his status. To serve his duty… But today wasn’t such day. Maybe because Fois had felt that he was getting better at what he did, maybe simply the good weather was the reason behind it, but whilst washing his face at the bathing chamber none of the usual upsetting thoughts could have been found in his mind. As the Endal watched his reflection in the water, he couldn’t help but think that for some reason everything was going to be alright. His ears were reached by some sound from the aerie’s doors, so Fois went there to answer them. Behind the doors was a dek - a lowly form of life that, when presented with in such personal situations, the eagle rider met with a strange mixture of disappointment and disdain on his face. This one was no different from the others, thought it appeared that the creature knew its place by showing the purpose of this disturbance before Fois could have even questioningly raised his eyebrows, much less asked. With only a minor hint of curiosity, the man took the note and began reading it. The first two words were enough to unsettle him and wash away the good mood, leaving no trace of it behind. Fois skipped over the message to the signature and his heart skipped another beat, because the name was indeed of the only person that would have called him brother. With a confused look on his face he glanced at the messenger. ”What is this?” the question sounded angry, reflecting the annoyance that Fois felt about someone trying to pull such a prank. He didn’t wait for an answer, because what dek had to say to it was probably irrelevant. Instead he went on to read the rest of the text. Could this have been true? Was this message really from Mirt? The wordy manner in which the short letter spoke sounded as the way his brother would have spoken, and yet it sounded differently. It sounded more mature… And after all, Mirt that he remembered was a twelve year old boy, not a man that would have written it; a man that clearly must have lead a very different life than Fois. The details of the message were soon buried deep beneath all the new thoughts that so suddenly overwhelmed his mind, but the most essential element remained at the surface – his brother was alive and back in Wind Reach. And if not, someone was soon to regret writing such note. Fois looked at the dek again. ”Where?” he asked in the same voice as earlier. The Endal waited for the drudge to tell him the location of the sender’s quarters and strongly pushed it out of his way. ”Stay here. I will feed you to my Wind Eagle if this message is a lie,” Fois said as he passed the dek. He didn’t care if it actually listened to the command, but it just felt good to relieve some of his frustration about the possibility that this could have been only a stupid joke. ”You feel disturbed,” Seleer’s voice invaded his mind as he was walking down the stairs from his aerie. ”I do,” Fois replied trying to stay calm. ”I got a message. Mirt is here.” ”Mirt?” ”My brother,” the Endal clarified. ”I thought he was dead.” ”Me too.” ”And so it turns out he had just left the Inarta, only to feel like coming back now,” Seleer’s voice didn’t hide his position on the matter. He had always been very open about it. ”A true Inarta, hah! What are you going to do?” ”Going to meet him,” Fois was too preoccupied with his thoughts to put much effort into this conversation. ”Well, have fun with that then. I’m flying away for a while.” Navigating the warrens, Fois tried to establish how he felt about the news, about the possible change in his life, about the nearing encounter, but he wasn’t able to reach any sort of satisfying conclusion. A wide mixture of emotions was tearing his soul, and most of them weren’t making him happy. His expression changed from angry to sad to hurt to relieved and to confused before going back to angry to start the journey again. When Fois reached the doors that should have been the right ones, if dek had been correct and he hadn’t got lost, his face had stopped at a quite cold look – his typical mien of a superior Endal. He knocked on the door and waited for it to be opened. Whether that was Mirt or an unfortunate prankster on the other side, Fois didn’t really have to wait, but he chose to. For the last time he let the uncertainty agitate various parts of his body before the inevitable reveal would take it away.