[Flashback] What is This? (Solo)

[Akari]

22nd Winter, 505AV The weather was getting much colder in Syliras now. Winter had approached, and while it was still quite pleasant, there was a definite chill to the breeze. A young girl of 14 was exiting the Great Bazaar, clutching a cloak around her lithe frame. In her other hand, she held a small leather pouch that contained some garlic. Her mother had sent her out to buy some, since they had run out and it would be needed that evening. Akari pushed open the door to her home and carefully set the pouch on a table. She shrugged off her cloak and draped it over the back of a chair and then proceeded to look for the small box the garlic lived in. A frown creased her brow as the box appeared to be missing. With a sigh she traipsed up to her mothers bedroom to hunt for it. The wardrobe yielded no results, nor did any of the other storage spaces. In desperation she knelt on the floor and stuck her arm under the bed, feeling around for it. Her hand touched something and she grabbed it. The object was long and thin, and very smooth. Definitely not the box. She pulled it out and her eyes widened when she saw what it was. Akari was holding a sheathed sword. The scabbard was black and very shiny. It had a flat end and was adorned with some sort of deep green tassel. The hilt had fabric patterned round it in the same shade of green as the tassel. She blinked and looked past the beauty of the thing. It was a sword. Swords did damage, they hurt, they killed. Why would her mother own such an item? She shifted, crossing her legs and sitting on the floor, placing the sword over her knees. She looked at it. Akari didn't dare to unsheathe it for fear of hurting herself. The young girl could not work it out. Her mother was definitely not the type to own a sword. That would probably explain why it had been hidden from view. But who was she hiding it from? Akari? The girl was confused even more now. A door opened in the kitchen and she heard her mother's footsteps. They stopped abruptly. "Akari?" The girl didn't move. "Akari where are you? Why have you left the garlic on the table?"

[Akari]

Slowly, Akari stood, holding the sword in her hand before moving to the kitchen door. Her mother had retrieved the small box from wherever it had been hidden and was now emptying the garlic into it. Akari hid the sword behind her back before entering. Nene looked up. "Akari, there you are!" She closed the box. "You forgot to put the garlic away." She walked across the room and stored the box on a shelf. "No I didn't." Akari stepped into the room. "I couldn't find the box." She stood next to the table and watched her mother approach. "Are you alright sweetheart?" Nene searched her daughters face. "You don't look well." Akari stepped back from her mother and moved her arm. The was a bang as she slammed the sword onto the table, scabbard and all. "What is that?" The girls eyes were full of suspicion, while her mothers had widened in shock. Nene pulled out a chair and sat. "You were looking under my bed?" Her voice wasn't angry, and nor was her face. She looked sad. Akari couldn't understand it. "Yes. I was looking for that box. Why do you have that?" When Nene didn't answer, the girl had to force herself not to shout her next words. "That's a sword. Why do you have sword? You're not a Knight, you're a painter! What painter has a sword?" Akari's eyes had narrowed as she stared at her mother. When Nene finally spoke, her voice was heavy, as though it were laden with sadness or guilt. "It isn't mine." Now Akari was even more confused. "She stole it?!" Her mother seemed to sense something, since she shook her head. "No darling, I didn't take it. You know I would never do that." Nene looked up at her daughter. "Sit." Slowly, Akari lowered herself into a chair, still watching her mother suspiciously. At Nene's next words however, her breath hitched, her eyes widening. "It was your fathers."

[Akari]

The words her mother spoke were hushed, but they thundered around Akari's mind like a thousand stampeding horses. How many times in the past had she tried to talk to her mother about this? Probably hundreds. And how many times had her mother refused to say a word? Oh yes, every time. Once again, the girl was confused. Why hide the fact that her father even existed, yet keep his possessions? Nene must have sensed her daughters inner turmoil, since she reached out and placed a hand over one of Akari's. "Darling I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" The girl looked at her mother, eyes filled with confusion and a hint of anger. Nene sighed. "I'll explain the best I can." Akari pulled her hand out from under her mothers and then waited. "You were born in Lhavit." Akari blinked, letting the information sink in. She had no recollection of the place, but she knew what it was. People call it 'The Floating City of Stars' and it was said to be beautiful. Nene continued. "Your father was a Shinya. He was one of the city protectors. He was named Hetan and he was incredibly talented." Once again, Akari was silent. She understood the Shinya to be amazingly skilled and disciplined warriors. And her father was one? The girl had noticed that Nene sounded as though she was reading from a book. Her eyes were shiny and she looked on the verge of tears. "Just before you were born he was offered the chance to acquire an Okomo, which would mean that he would be elevated by another rank. But he said no, because you were going to be what was important. Though when you turned 3, he had another chance. And he was almost finished. He nearly got his Okomo." Nene's voice hitched and a tear slid down her cheek. Akari kept her face passive, though inside she was reeling. "He got injured. Badly. Whoever it was had poison on their blade. Your father didn't make it. I... I couldn't bear to stay in Lhavit without him so I bought you here." Nene's fist clenched and she fell silent. Akari simply stared at her mother for a few moments. She glanced down at the sword on the table before standing up. She said nothing, and walked to her room.

[Akari]

Akari moved stiffly to her room and sunk onto her bed. It was all too much to take in. She was Lhavitian, her father was a Shinya, her father was dead. She closed her eyes and leaned forward, placing her head in her hands. She didn't cry though. She wouldn't. Footsteps sounded past her door and retreated up the corridor. They returned a moment later and stopped. Her mother quietly entered, placed something on the bed next to her and left again. Akari raised her head and looked. A small, leather-bound book was sitting on the sheets. She reached out and picked it up, opening the tie as she did so. It was a journal, written in a precise and neat hand. It was her fathers. Akari flipped through the pages to the back. Over half of the book was empty. She flicked back to the last entry. 15th Spring, 495AV I almost have my Okomo. Nene is proud, which makes me see that I have chosen to do the right thing. Another week, and I can become Hatul. I'm glad that I waited till my daughter was a little older for this. Perhaps now she can begin to understand what it is I do. She is intelligent and I know that she will make me proud. I dream that one day she will follow in my footsteps and decide to become Shinya too. Akari swallowed, fighting back tears. The last thing he wrote was that he wished for her to become a Shinya. She thought about it. The Shinya were respected and trained. Her knowledge was extremely limited, but that would change. She would follow her fathers wishes. She would become a Shinya.

[Leviathan]

Thread Award! Akari   Skills Skill Gain Info. Observation 1 -- Interrogation 1 --   Lore Personal History: Birthplace in Lhavit Personal History: The Absent Father Personal History: Father's Expectations and Goals   Extra You obtained... Father's Unfinished Journal - A small leather-bound book that is known of by the author's immediate family. Written by a Shinya of Lhavit, the journal is known for being several years old, and very little writing is actually within it. Most notable of all is the Shinya's entry of his daughter, Akari, and his plans for her before his unexpected death.