[Syliras Quest] Twin Cries In The Night (Kami & The Whites)

[Gossamer]

Timestamp: 63rd of Winter, 509 AV Location: Dead of Night - Castle Courtyard Purpose: A little big of fun for the white gang. Status: Open to The White Gang Sometimes when one had a kelvic in tow, it was just better to get out of bed and take them for a walk rather than trust them loose in the middle of the night in a strange city that was far bigger than any the Konti was yet used too. Generally the whole crowd went too... the sister and friend too. The night held that sort of allure with its brilliantly bitter cold and its glittering newly fallen snow. Gromhir was normally no trouble, but that didn't mean the knights wouldn't be, or anyone else that wanted to take exception to a kelvic not being able to prowl when and where it wanted too. In Mura, once word got out that Gromhir was a kelvic, the Konti women had treated him with indifference, and for the most part had let him roam where he wanted too so long as he didn't steal food or tear up their flower gardens. Quite often, he was pressed into labor if his hands were too idle or Kami was preoccupied with her studies. Here though, Gromhir had very strict needs, and those needs demanded he at least be taken for a walk in his kelvic form to stretch his legs even if it was midnight and the Leth was shining in the sky. Syliras was a safe city. Knights patrolled the streets, and the elderly were not afraid to walk home after long engagements or lost time playing cards by the fire. It was, however, a cold city this time of year. Newly falling snow was something different, for Mura didn't often get snowfalls, nor the neat white piles that tended to accumulate towards the back side of winter. It was the perfect night for a walk. It was also a perfect night to bundle up and watch her bondmate romp. Snowfall and the things that scurried through it looking for food in the heart of the night were often than naught fun to chase. Mice, even little house cats, often prowled in the dark depths starting out as the hunters and often becoming the hunted themselves. Mice, seeking seeds and scrounging for the leftovers of humanity's presence in the city scavenged, hunting fierce insects and even more delicious crusts of bread. They in turn became food for cats, who in turn often fed the owls that roamed overhead. Such a knotwork of life all gathered together in the great fortress of stone often made for a wide variety of denizens complete with their own personal drama all unfolding simultaneously. And Gromhir was perhaps surprised, in the very least, when his sensitive nose picked up an even stranger smell. Feline, blood, fear, and pain.... all those odors assaulted his nose at once. The Konti women would see the tracks, two sets of them, marking the freshly fallen snow. They were bigger than a house cat, almost like a dogs, but leading off into the distance, tinged with a bit of blood. The tracks looked fresh, and lead into an alley between two stone buildings that looked as if it was a dead end less than fifty feet past the entrance. the wall that caused it to dead end was painted, not unlike the women were used too, with a giant mural that depicted a forest - completely out of place in the fortress city of Syliras. Near the painted forest, off in the distance, kitten cries could be heard.

[Karona Isenbach]

The night was deep and full in the city of Syliras, and everywhere people were starting to retire from the darkness that draped the environs. The ever-vigilant knights of the domain were everywhere, patrolling the streets despite the biting winter cold. Vibrant, radiant lights from establishments were starting to dim somewhat, and soon the eerie cries of the wind joined the frail ones of the kittens in the dark, bloodstained alley. In the nether could be seen a figure dancing lithely in her steps, seemingly floating in midair in a form of grace that seemed quite otherworldly. She wore a very elaborate dress made of silk linens and white material, and on her blood-colored hair was a regal tiara made of silver encrusted with jewels. Her face, which seemed to emit a rather lucid, mysterious voice despite the deep silence, seemed more statuesque than real. She seemed to come out of nowhere, as if she had simply been spit out by the ground or the dead-end wall itself. Her eyes, which appeared misty and even upset, traced the features of the Ivaski and the Konti women with a curiosity that seemed to stir more from hunger rather than friendliness. Her actions connoted that she took note of the large wolf the most, as if both wary and intrigued by the form of a Kelvic running around the city in such late hours. A tiny pause caused her to stop and smile at the party at the other end of the path, her white teeth gleaming perfectly in the moonlit snow. It was then that she made a sudden turn of her head, as if a predator that had suddenly sniffed its prey, and her eyes burned with crimson fire and blood. Yet the very next second would find her head bowed and gazing sweetly at the baby felines in the left corner of the mural. Her left hand slowly descended to touch the snowy ground, as if keenly analyzing the situation they were in. Daintily dipping her finger into a drop of the bloody pawprints she rubbed it between her thumb and index fingers, feeling out the warmth and cold of it. It was fresh, and the tracks were large, obviously the markings of a very dangerous breed of wild cat. Yet the strange lady seemd to fear not the dimensions of the predator and calmly took one of the baby kittens into her bosom, clasping it to her like a mother would her own child. Returning her eyes to the party at the end of the alley, she spoke in a tormentingly alluring voice that seemed to beckon them to come closer as she stroked the fur of the young feline. The smile on her lips was ruby red, laced with pearly whites."Good evening dears. What brings you so far into these castle innards at so late and cold an hour?" she said in a melodious greeting. The hot sentient grey of her eyes seemed to burn holes into each and every one of them despite the apparent softness in her gaze, but her mysterious, enchanting sight was only directed upon the Ivaski. Within a fracture of a second, her unblinking left eye winked at the wolf, though by the speed of it it would have seemed more like a brush of imagination than an actual happening. Secret : Posted with permission from lady Gossamer. Also, please pardon the edits.

[Gromhir]

Timestamp: 63rd of Winter, 509 AV (With permission from Kam)

It had been a day or two since they had visited the Temple in all its glory. But he was finally beginning to settle down and get used to being amongst a human populace once more. He was still wary, especially when with his bondmate but that was for her safety rather than his. Although he was still far more irritable during the day, when the city quieted at night, Gromhir seemed to return to his old self. There was something about the light that Leth brought that soothed the Kelvic’s worry-addled mind.

Maybe it had to do with the city sleeping? Maybe it was because the Knights were more readily seen and able to help if something happened to Kamalia without him being present? Or was it simply Leth’s blessing and light that calmed him and reminded him of the city they had left behind a few scant weeks ago? He had wandered in the night there as well. He was always restless in cities. There few chances to really stretch his Ivaski legs. Ivaski could run for hours with little trouble and though he may have been mentally tired, his body was aching most nights for him to move.

But tonight was different. The sky was clear and snow had recently fallen on the ground. It had been a long time since Gromhir had seen snow. But here it was, it covered the ground, the rooftops, the streets. The city looked so different in snow. There was something mystical and charming about what snow did the land, even in such a human place as this. But it wasn’t the mystique that Gromhir loved about the snow. Indeed, an Ivaski was well suited for snowy conditions, webbing between the toes and thick coat meant for swimming served him well in the snow. Not to mention the fact that his white coat made it almost impossible to tell him and snow the snow itself apart. But no, it was not for those reason he loved the snow.

It was the scents that were left behind, the tracks that were left by human, animal and all over creatures that would grace the land with their footsteps. It was the way the snow moved when he dug in it. The cold feeling when he rolled around on his back. It was such an odd sight to behold. An ivaski was a huge creature but as Gromhir bounded up the street ahead, he looked more like a mere pup than a full grown adult. Rolling and frolicking around in the snow, covering his fur in it, it was fun, it was freedom and it was feline?

The Ivaski stopped, sniffing the ground around him. His ears flattened against his skull. There were other scents in the snow as well. It was a sweet smell, sickly almost but it was unmistakeable. Fear. But there were more facets to this scent than just that, metallic and salty scents, the kind given off by blood and fear. Gromhir found the tracks, his head still down, scenting them as he followed, his tail rising level with his spine to signal he’d caught the scent and the tracks. He cared little for what was around him until he found the source of this smell.

He saw her. A figure of lithe grace stood at the end of an alley. She was dressed in white and Gromhir’s first thought was that she was another Konti. But no, her scent was odd and unfamiliar, almost human but not. A Kelvic maybe? No, he knew of no animal with such odd movements. She spoke in a voice that somehow seemed to speak directly to Gromhir’s soul. He found himself drawn to her eyes, his sapphire meeting her grey. There was something strange, enticing about her gesture, something Gromhir couldn’t place. Whether an illusion or not seemed not to concern the Ivaski but he refused to venture further down the alley towards the feline cubs, almost frozen in place, looking at the woman.

[Kamalia Timandre]

Whenever the night enfolded the world in her soothing darkness, and the entire city plummeted into a sea-deep slumber, Kamalia would find serenity amidst the churning storm. How nostalgic, how fair was the city of Syliras as Morwen draped the stone citadel in a glittering satin of pristine white. Beneath the stars, upon the downy blankets of tinkling snow, footsteps of humanfolk traced restless paths in ever-widening circles. On this lone winter evening, when the frost had wrought a silence, the three konti maidens and the lone kelvic male sauntered underneath the moonlight.

Several years had passed since Kamalia experienced snow. Winter was gentle this year. The air was brittle with cold and snow crunched and squeaked under her soft leather boots as they walked. Hooded and cloaked against the chill, Kamalia dropped to one knee and brushed away the snow caking around the fur of her kelvic friend. She knew that Gromhir had been restless for days, and since they left the White Isle, Kamalia had failed to shower her friend with the attention she usually lavished him with. Kamalia smiled faintly, almost gratefully, at him before she allowed him to romp and frolic again around the bedspread of snow. For moments, she was content to watch, amused at the bliss and exuberance the snow stirred in him.

He rolled and cavorted in the snow, until suddenly, to her slight alarm, the beast stopped, lowering his head and sniffing the ground around him. A mixture of curiosity and concern swept over the konti girl’s face. Whitemane’s ears flattened against his skull, and his actions started to denote the presence of some threat in their surroundings. Kamalia could sense faintly through their arcane connection that her bondmate picked up peculiar scents, and soon enough she too was able to gauge the source.

Kamalia searched the snow-covered streets until she found a series of fresh, crimson-tainted pawprints leading into an alley. Carefully, watchfully, the konti wizard followed her kelvic bondmate as he sniffed the blood-drop trail that led towards the shadows. She gazed at Avayra and Satu over her shoulder, and waved a hand in an invitation to go after her. Fleet and silent, the konti wizard’s free hand inched close to her suvai’s ivory scabbard, excitement speeding up her steps as she traced the way towards the end of the alley.

As she suspected, the dead-end of the alley was not far away. A few paces beyond the crimson trail, some ten feet away, was a giant painted wall. It was a mural depicting a forest, which seemed utterly out of place in the fortress city of stone. Swallowing her disappointment, Kamalia sat back on her heels and considered the situation more closely. She could faintly hear muffled kitten cries. She carefully scanned the dark passage, until a lithe, wraithlike figure suddenly slipped out of the shadows. Kamalia’s heart leaped.

It was a woman dressed in white, mystifying and elegant in appearance with hair that spilled to the small of her back in scarlet streaks. Her beauty was ethereal and statuesque, capable of drawing longing sighs from any hearty male, but Kamalia’s keen sight made her cautious. Underneath the lady’s pulchritude, the seer could somewhat sense something vile, something malevolent. Kamalia watched the lady cradled a small kitten into her bosom. After a moment of hesitation, Kamalia rose to her feet, her violet eyes cold and unyielding. “My fair lady, may you pardon us if we disturbed your respite. My sisters and I only mean to explore the city in winter’s white,” the konti said softly, a hand idly brushing the silver coat of the ivaski at her side. She held her twilit-violet eyes unswerving as she faced the beautiful stranger squarely.

[Satu]

Glorious Night! Satu had radiated an eager happiness as the darkness descended upon Syliras. Night was perfect for walking and she was pleased that Gromhir found this the best time for his daily constitution as well. At home, weapons practice was a daily, blissful occurrence, but here a restless tension grew in her muscles. Just stretching her long legs on these nightly walks, made her terribly happy even though she never brokered a sweat. Tomorrow, she promised herself, tomorrow she would find a suitable place for practice.

Daytime Syliras burst with the crush of people and animals within its walls. It almost reminded Satu of the festivals in Mura, only here it was louder, the inhabitants cruder and much, much dirtier. It was a wonder the authorities allowed such disorder. The HeartSeer, with her Konti sensitivities found it most disconcerting. But in the evening hours fewer people walked the streets; it was gloriously quiet and calm. There were fewer altercations among the populace which meant her overworked HeartSense received a much needed rest. Peaceful, she inhaled deeply.

Snow blanketed the ground and made the buildings around it appear shiny and wet in the dark. Her breaths came in little puffs and she laughed spontaneously. Gromhir rolled in the wet, powdery snow like puppy and Satu watched him run, here and there his big paws thumping in the snow. His joy was contagious; Syliras was perhaps not as bad as she had imagined.

But then Gromhir found the scent of the kittens and followed their tracks, and the woman appeared suddenly, speaking to the Konti women in the darkness of the alley way. Her voice, at once so alluring and melodic did not quite match up with the emotions emanating from her Heart. Satu puzzled over the meaning of it. Kamalia answered in reply, but the HeartSeer deep in thought missed both of the women’s words as they passed by Satu’s ears like a snowy, winter wind.

The woman appeared ethereal, almost ghostly in her white silks against the deep colours of the painted forest mural; it seemed she barely touched her dainty feet upon the ground. Human or not, Satu did not know, but the woman’s feelings were cold and her heart felt empty. Satu saw only soundless grey, where was the warmth of the other Heart colours? She wondered.

Satu silently waited, unwilling to tip the balance in the alleyway when she had missed the words previously exchanged between the two women. Gromhir, frozen in place, stood next to Kamalia, and Kamalia radiated tension. The Suvai fighter’s hands hovered over the bone weapons, should she need them.

[Aselia Timandre]

Avayra had immediately liked Syliras. The city was so much livelier, full of possibilities and adventures and different people that she could explore every new day. After a few days of accompanying Kamalia in her studies, she had refused to continue. As the wild child she had always been, she rather roamed the streets, listened to the citizens of the massive castle that was the powerful capital of the Sylira region.

Sometimes she wondered how they got along that well. There weren’t enough resident Konti to calm upcoming conflicts, so the knights had obviously found another way of keeping the city peaceful. Avayra was eager to find out their trick, although she would keep her doubts until she had seen the proof. The adventurous part of her whispered that perhaps the nights would bring the chaos she wanted to watch. After all, Akajia was a neutral goddess, and everyone knew Leth’s history. The moon would never stop criminals from doing evil whereas the sun was completely different. Syna did make sure that light was everywhere.

Avayra liked both, but the first few days she longed for a walk in the darkness. She had originally planned to escape the others and stroll around on her own, but when hearing that the rest of the group desired something similar, she only smiled and nodded. After all, it could only be comforting to have two suvai practitioners with her. One day she would have to learn some combat skill as well!

For the time being, she was content with accompanying them, watching Gromhir enjoying the snow and wondering about the climatic differences between Syliras and Mura. The air was cool, but they were keeping themselves warm through constant movement. Avayra, the most curious and unsuspicious of all, always was a step ahead of the group, looking at buildings, looking into windows, observing the circle of life repeating itself in the streets as well as over the rooftops.

Then the atmosphere changed. First she noticed the paw prints in the fresh snow, bigger than a cat’s, but slightly smaller than an average dog would make. So no pet? Avayra’s eyes went back to the rest of the group, Kamalia and Satu and Gromhir … who was just inspecting the tracks. Biting her lip, she waited. The Kelvic’s senses would lead them.

Indeed, they did. Avayra, concerned but still not overly so, was the last entering the small, dark alley. The first she caught sight of was a woman, dangerously beautiful and suspiciously self-confident. Her and then Kamalia’s words rushed past her ears … She rather worried about the two pups so close to the dark, unknown lady. Avayra suspected that she didn’t really care for the small life her slender hands were caressing.

Adrenaline was flooding through Avayra’s veins … and she couldn’t help but ask in a low, hesitant soprano: “Excuse me if this sounds rude, but do these two belong to you?” Rocking back at her heels, as if to create as much space between the eerie woman and herself, she waited for a reaction. Any reaction at all, although she was cautious. Her senses told her … told her something important.

[Gossamer]

The kitten that Karona so thoughtlessly scooped up was anything but little. It was fairly large, far bigger than a normal house cat for all it gave the impression of being incredibly young. Its features were easily recognizable. White tiger. A month old? Maybe? It's twin howled when the woman gracefully stooped to retrieve the first of the pair, and the kitten in her hands began to fight. It spit and hissed, already wounded and blood covered much like its matching sibling. It wasn't easy for the woman in white to hold, nor was it clean for it got crimson all up and down her gown - crimson that dripped freely from it - marring its perfectly pristine surface. It had sharp claws and a fierce bite, which it made free of adding Karona's blood to its own.

Its twin raged, hissing valiantly and grabbing the hem of her gown with its teeth. It tugged, making a micro 'roar' that sounded more cute than threatening as it tugged on her dress hem and squalled in distress that a tall monster had its sibling in its clutches. All three women and the Kelvic Ivaski would certainly see this... as it made Karona's speech slightly less than elegant when she greeted them.

Kamalia, for her part, felt drawn to the painting. It looked inviting, enchanting, so much so it made her want to step into it. Almost on cue, the kitten tugging on Karona's hem, as if following a cue from Kamalia herself, did just that, turning and fleeing into the painting as if sensing some sort of ire from the woman clutching its sibling. As it did so, it transformed. Bumbling into the wall, it finished its awkward leap up into the painting in the form of artistic grace. Full grown on the other side, it turned, roared, and charged the woman again as if somehow the painting had infused the little creature with bravery. It leaped out again, easily enough, though once its paws touched the cobble of the alley it was once again a tiger cub.

Satu was inundated by its emotion. Pain, fear, rage, helplessness. It wanted the woman to let go of its twin so it could run away and hide. It was afraid, terribly afraid, and worn out from its ordeal. Something had been hunting the pair that night, something fierce - which had almost had a snack. Her instinct pushed her to draw the weapons, which she knew would come easily to her grip...

But Aselia's call interrupted her train of thought. There was hesitation in her light voice, but also a buried fierceness. It caused everyone in the alley to pause, take stock, and look at Karona. Even the tiger cub in her hand stopped squirming a moment and stared at the konti. But only a moment. It wanted down and it wanted down now. It sank its little jaws into Karona's hand biting down to the bone. Its sibling, still on the ground, yowled in response to its attack and rushed forward to aid its aloft relative. Teeth sank into an ankle as well. They were razor sharp but the jaws were just not too powerful yet. But both kitten knew they were tigers... they knew what was in their blood. Give them a year and Karona would have been dead. Now though, they were very much at her mercy.

[Karona Isenbach]

Something about the night air told her that it was going to be an interesting night, and the turn of events right afterwards certainly did not hint otherwise. They all watched in surprise as the other kitten turned into a full-grown monster as it leaped from the wall. It was all too fast for even the tall woman to comprehend, for the very next second afterwards it was back to being a kitten. Her heart stopping for a moment, a long sigh of relief streamed out of her lungs, a perfect grin slowly being drawn out. There was definitely something mysterious about the mural behind her, implying of more arcane things related to their place of gathering. Still she paid it no heed, letting the perusing Kamalia observe it for herself. She was just about to reply to Aselia's less-than-friendly remark with a hiss of her own when her eyes and mouth suddenly shot open in a quiet gasp, and after awhile she began to radiate with a mixture of pleasure and fury. For a second her grotesque fangs began to bore down, in mindless preparation for a savage return of the favor. But she caught herself in time and simply laughed it off while retracting them back to a more human--or humane--appearance. Despite the burning warmth of her wounds, her satin-covered hands gently let go of the bloody kitten, allowing it to hole-up in a corner with its sibling. Although her fingers twitched to tear it apart limb from limb, she saw the prudence in acting in a more civilized way in this situation, being in the presence of four people who were obviously wary of her. No, it wasn't the right time. She looked at her clothes in pretentious sadness and surprise, with her outstretched hand freely dripping blood from the gaping holes. "Oh, my clothes are sullied. What a shame." she lamented, almost sweetly, her face remaining hard and cruel despite the carried emotion. A wan smile began to trace her lips as she returned her glowing gray eyes to the four. "This commotion has grown slightly... Out of the normal, hasn't it? Quite interesting, I would say." Kamalia, Satu, Aselia. The three women did not interest her nearly as much as the Kelvic wolf did. Yes, she knew that beneath all that fur and hair would be a man. There was just something in those eyes that hinted of weakness, of the kind of curiosity that, ironically, would fit the phrase "curiosity killed the cat" more than it would a canine version. Sighing in the despondency of her appearance, she began to hover towards the four of them, in all her bloodied glory. "Pardon my sullied appearance? It would be lovely if this night is not wasted on such an unfortunate accident as this." she concluded, lifting her hand over her face. Just as her wounded, mangled hand was in place, her eyes darted over to the two white tigers in the corner for a moment, a fearsome glow from her orbs and an unearthly whisper screaming out of her lungs. "This isn't over yet, my pretties... You shall surely die later." Curtsying when she is within striking distance of the four, she smiled confidently, her mind parading a train of chaotic desires and impulses before her sight. She needed to kill something, and soon, lest hell bend loose from her insides. "My name is Karona. Perhaps you beautiful darlings would care to introduce yourselves?"

[Gromhir]

It was the brush of Kamalia’s hand that brought him back to his senses. The mystified look to his eyes vanished and was replaced by something far more determined. Gromhir snapped his gaze away from Karona to look at his bondmate. She stood firm in the presence of this odd creature. Yes, creature. No human could move with such grace that they appeared not to walk at all. It was such an odd thing but one Gromhir would not miss again.

But what were worse were the feelings that sparked from her for a brief moment as she was bitten. Karona had been almost a void of emotions but for that one moment, the façade she put up cracked. Pleasure and fury in equal parts filled his other sense before vanishing just as quickly. It was odd, so very odd. What kind of person would find pleasure in pain? He wanted to know more, out of morbid curiosity. He wanted to know what she was. What he do with that information once he had it would depend on what exactly it was but he allowed his childlike, for it was, curiosity take hold for now.

But something else spoke to him. Whether it was about that mural that transformed the creatures into older version of themselves. Would that happen to him? He was fully grown, would he grow old and grizzled if he stepped through the painting. Could he step into it at all? Were the tigers magical like himself but in a different way? Could they jump into any painting they so chose?

The Ivaski’s tail flicked side-to-side showing aggravation. So many questions, if only they were canine, he could speak with them. But no, they were from Nature’s feline growths. Children as well. They needed to be protected. Human or no, this Karona could have hurt them already. He could feel the fear that they felt. Were they more able to protect themselves he would have left them but they were young.

As the odd figure began to drift towards his companions and himself, he broke rank from the four preventing Karona from getting close to the others. He stood defiant and unwilling to move. If she had frightened the kittens then she would not be allowed near Kamalia.

[Kamalia Timandre]

The night softly warbled clandestine whispers. Secrets that reverberated through the goddess-given perception that was the gift and birthright of all konti—elusive echoes that subtly cautioned them of something, something uncanny, that will shatter the quiescence of the night.

And shattered it was, for there stood the dark lady in a silken gown of pristine white, the two white tiger cubs that beggared a maternal guidance, and the eldritch mural depicting a verdant, mystic forest—these were definitely a smattering of things unordinary in the fortress city of stone. In quietude, the konti maiden watched as the events unfurled before her, observing as the cub in Karona’s arms wriggled and struggled for freedom, smearing her immaculate garments with stains of crimson. Something sinister, something vile, something pernicious loomed in the air around this female as the shadows about her danced and pranced and lengthened at the moon’s silver kiss.

Soft and gentle were the konti’s touch, as tender as dawn that chased the darkness away, when a slender hand the hue of frozen aurora brushed across the ivaski’s soft fur. For a while, what the ivaski saw was twilight, and his mind teetered on a doorsill between darkness and light, until Kamalia’s radiance enfolded him wholly and snatched him from the umbrage.

In a heartbeat, the mirror image of the creature in the fell grasp of the dark woman leaped towards the mural, rippling as if it were painted liquid. In the forest, it was no small cub. The moment it leapt into the wall painting, the cub turned magically into an adult tiger, massive in size and regal in visage. As a noble beast, it spun to face its twin’s captor, and growled an imperial roar before leaping back into the alley with feline grace. Yet, as the wall spat the creature out, it was once again a juvenile cat.

Curious.

The konti wizard did not fail to note the predatory gleam on Karona’s eyes as her velvet glance swept over her kelvic guardian’s form. Kamalia’s temper flared, and Whitemane would swiftly sense her sheltering anger spiraling around his heart through their arcane bond. “My name is Kamalia,” the konti spoke gently as she held the stranger’s gaze with ice-cold composure. “My sister, Aselia, and a dear friend, Satu.”

Yet it was neither the half-symenestra’s spectral presence nor her bleeding mangled hand that beguiled Kamalia, it was the forest mural behind the dark lady’s form. Another tender caress of the konti’s hand would allay the kelvic’s swelling restlessness that surged from within, a quiet promise of safety. She cast a sidelong glance to her sister. “Look after the cubs,” she whispered in gossamer Kontinese. “I will examine the mural.”

With a purposeful stride, Kamalia stepped closer to the mystifying wall painting. The wall was certainly magical, of that the mage had little doubt. Whether it was crafted with arcane or divine djeds, Kamalia was not sure. A plan popped into her mind and she seized it at once.

Marshalling all the discipline of her divination training, the konti seer shut out the sounds of the winter evening and whispered a silent prayer to the Seer Mother. She closed her eyes, envisioning the crescent silver isle beyond the gulf of Vaska, the gleaming white shores and the fey beauty that was her ancestral home. If this was a spellwork of divine illusion, Avalis might be able to pave the way for her through a vision, opening a window to the past that will show her what had brought about the existence of this mysterious wall.

Should her Sight fail her, Kamalia would touch the wall with her suvai.