[solo] Kneel at the Altar of Regret (CLOSED)

[Meera]

Day 75 - Sunrise

There was a sound Ysane had forgotten she missed. She hadn't been in Riverfall long, only a few days, but the birds sounded different there. They were city birds, fat on scraps and grain. Out here in the Sea of Grass, the birds had to fight for their meals. These birds were loud, and they demonstrated that very early in the morning. Her eyes hurt to see the sun shining so brightly and Ysane hadn't even opened her eyes fully. In the moment she had taken to wake up, she managed a smile at her own idiocy. An arm draped itself over her eyes to shield from the sun and she stiffly shifted her weight on her bedroll as though to test the soreness of her muscles.

The familiar press of tension ached at Ysane's spinal column. The bedroll she had slept on did not lend well to good support, but it was comfortable enough to sleep on if she was tired enough the night before. The ride had been good to her, and she had traveled a great distance which was most important. She had thought to Darksand and on cue her Strider gave a small snort of air. Ysane had fought the call to wake up but now, her horse had made sure she would remain awake. Ysane sighed and despite her wishes, she rolled from the bed. From under the blankets Ysane now shivered, having forgotten her heat from last night's run. She had stripped from her sweaty clothes, and now she woke up mostly naked and frigid in the cold air. Arms instinctively covered her chest to keep her warmth to herself. Shallow breaths gave way to shallow clouds slowly filling her tent and she deemed it absolutely necessary to dress immediately. Her thin chemise did nothing to keep her warm, but did aid in covering her modest breasts effectively. Soon enough, Ysane's body heat would warm the fabric and it would serve to insulate her, albeit poorly for the time being. Her breeches no longer felt damp with sweat, but where her legs met along the inseam did feel frozen. She had little concern for chafing. All the chafing she would ever have had happened to her already, and if not, the small amount of moisture would not affect her greatly. Next came her boots and she ensured her stockings were pulled high before slipping her foot in the hard leather and tucked in her breeches before buckling the boots up for the day.

Almost as an afterthought, her hair became priority now that she was dressed. It was loose, and she had to admit the feeling of her long blonde hair flying in the wind behind her as she rode Darksand was one of the most liberating feelings she had ever had. Quickly she finger combed the worst of the tangles and it fell to a white fire around her torso.

If Ysane thought it bright inside her tent, she was in for a rude awakening once she undid the flaps to her large tent. She cursed when the sun hit her eyes, and she cursed loudly once they had adjusted to see her location.

She was farther off the main road than anticipated. Closer to the water, yes, but she hadn't planned on being so far from the main road's stone markers. Cyphrus was her land, but she was still young, and alone.

Darksand whinnied again and she pet his nose. Her cloak was draped over him like a blanket and for the most part it had remained on Darksand. His tail's braid had to be undone, she saw as he flicked it in agitation.
"We made camp, Darksand. We will rest here for now. We are not running today, not far." Darksand turned his body away from her and made his way to the water edge.
Ysane couldn't help but laugh as she watched him walk, only to roll her eyes at him when he promptly shit at the sound of her laughter, just to show his displeasure at her. The wind picked up in the mid-morning sun an wrapped her tangle of blonde around her face and her hands did their best to maintain the onslaught of strands invading an open mouth, her nostrils, her open eyes. Suddenly she missed her braid, but did not have the courage to style it.

The fire had died, and she tended to that next, bringing it back to roaring life. Ysane's rations included some salted meats and she placed a large cold stone in the middle of her fire to provide a surface in which to prepare her meat.
It was tough and Ysane had purposefully overcooked it because it was the only way Patros had taught her. The cut of meat reminded Ysane of her first meal in Riverfall, and suddenly everything came to her in stunning clarity.

How her stomach did a tumble when she thought about how Aren had kissed her.

Still sick to her stomach. She must be getting worse, she thought, that the mere thought of him made her nauseous. Ysane wondered if she should find a healer, but thought that it wasn't terribly important. She had never been sick before, so her knowledge on the subject was rather limited.

Ysane knew she needed to hunt. She needed to make her kill so she could make her rations keep longer. As much as she wanted to use her sword, she was regretting the decision of its very purchase.

After Ysane had broken her fast and had warmed from the sun and fire, she gathered her bow. The markers on the road made too far a target to aim at, as well as she knew from experience that they were made of stone.

There was a tree not too far off in the distance. Ysane nocked her arrow in the string and lifted the bow to her sight. She took her time in picking out her target, a large gnarled knot in the tree. She would aim for just above it. Ysane loosed her arrow and it zoomed, barely missing the target but more to the left that she had hoped for. Ysane set up another shot, and she was closer this time - firmly did the steel arrow head plant itself in the rough bark. Meera smiled and readied another shot.

She doubled over in pain when the memory of Aren saying her name resurfaced. Her stomach growled and she fell physically ill. Her purge was little in volume, mostly liquid that burned her throat into a cough. Perhaps, she thought, once she recovered and retrieved her arrows, she should take to the bed.

[Meera]

Day 75 - Evening

Darkness had covered the land. Ysane did not feel tremendously better when she left her tent at night, but her rest had definitely helped her. Or maybe it was simply the cover of the night? It was Akajia's domain, and she begged to know her secrets. The main road had slowed its traffic to a standstill and because of this Ysane was alone in the Sea of Grass. Her fire had died out bells ago and though cold, she did not attempt to relight it, but instead used her flint and steel on her lantern. She let it rest by the tent, so Ysane could make her way back home in the darkness.
Ysane made her way to the water's edge walking in the complete dark. Osri was in her boot and the blonde retrieved the dagger to draw in the sand a large triangle, and at its topmost point, a large circle. It was crude, but it was drawn - Akajia's symbols. The large circle was supposed to be her new moon - a beacon-less night - and to convey her moon darker, Ysane scratched inside the circle, creating more shadows in her moon. When it did not seem dark enough, Ysane cupped her hands in the water and coloured the drawings in dark. It was the best Ysane could do at the moment, and she hoped it would be enough.
She had drawn her triangle to point East, hoping it would be the first thing Akajia would see.
Though Ysane had prayed to Akajia multiple times, she had never felt so exposed. Ysane was fearless as she had grown up. Easily she assisted Patros in killing many a creature for their meals. She had skinned snakes for their meat, rabbits, and one particular early summer Patros had taken down an Olidosapux and they hadn't gone hungry at all. They fetched a mighty miza at the selling of the Olidosapux's fur and hide, she remembered. The blonde's stomach grumbled at the memory.

Her hair blended with the sand as she knelt before her drawing.

"Blessed Akajia, the knower of secrets," Ysane spoke into the darkness understanding the danger Akajia possessed. Patros always prayed to her, begging for her favour and protection, if she would be so inclined. Most Drykas died under her domain, and it always made sense to Patros to ask that he not join the Webbing.

The stars shone brightly, twinkling like sun coins on dark water. She had never vocalized her prayers to any of the gods and goddesses before in solitude, because she had never been alone before. Being alone now made her feel on display and vulnerable, and she really did not want to petch it all up. Kneeling in the nearly frozen sand did not feel right to Ysane. Part of her thought it best to be uncomfortable and suffer through it as a personal sacrifice, until she realized how sharding stupid it sounded, and she had already planned to sacrifice her first kill in the Sea of Grass to her name regardless.
Ysane was a Drykas, a nomadic people. Her entire city moved as well, and their horses were the fastest in Mizahar, or so she was told. It made no sense for Ysane, the lost child of Endrykas to remain stationery when she prayed for her first time. With an apologetic huff of air, Ysane stood and brushed the damp sand off her pants. She began to walk, and at first it appeared to be random and aimless.

"The mother of shadows," The Drykas restarted as she curved her path to the right and maintained the angle until she had completed a circle on the sandy bank. Patros had told her when she was young that Akajia was the mother of the night, and because most predatory creatures were awake at night it was beneficial to keep her name listed in her prayers, to keep her watching in the shadows over you as you slept. He told her to thank the earth under her horse's hooves for keeping steady, and to thank Semele and Caiyha. Patros told her to pray to Lhex, to keep in his good faith, but the stories she had heard of him had scared her when she was young. Lhex was too unpredictable and she would rather him knowing as little as possible about her, so praying was out of the question. The last god that Patros had told her about around their campfire was Zulrav. Zulrav was Semele's lover, it was important to honour the god of winds lest he decide to change them during a hunt.

Ysane broke from the circle as she prayed and outlined the triangle in her foot steps. She walked this pattern - looping around the moon and breaking off at the triangle, much like a figure eight with the second loop flattened.

Ysane prayed for the knowledge to know her own secrets, why she was so uneasy when she remembered Riverfall, and why her heart had ceased when she spotted an Akalak traveling on the main road, and for her protection during her hunt. At the edge of the new moon she met her triangle and walked it jaggedly. She would not make a straight line, but added more angles to the shape to resemble a sloping mountain, like Patros had told her. He had always told her to say thanks to Semele even if she was not asking anything of her, for she provided all, including the ground Ysane had just etched in the symbols of other gods and goddesses.

"Mother Mizahar," she spoke softly as she began to trace the mountain's outline. She thanked her profusely, asking little of Semele than her continued support of life. She buried her hands in the earth and praised it, for even Darksand had whinnied at this point and so she had thanked him on her horse's behalf, for keeping his hold on the earth steady and strong. Darksand clopped closer to her, his still braided tail swaying peacefully. Ysane had pet his snout and she broke her pattern. Her eyes were on her horse now and she smiled faintly as she led him back to the lantern that burned by her tent strictly for the reason to serve as beacon. Praying to Akajia, Ysane knew it was imperative she be surrounded in her embrace, so she had lit no fire, but unlike the night-mother she hadn't the best vision in her hold. The sliver of the moon did not offer much in the way of light, either, especially now that it was setting like rock.

The sky was lightening up in soft pink hues, the light chasing back the night to cast shadows on the ground. It seemed to Ysane that she was the only one who understood that Akajia never really slept as she was alive in shadow, and that to have shadow, you needed the light. Akajia had a lot of respect from Ysane for that. Hardworking, tireless, fearless.

Ysane turned down her lantern and gathered her bow and arrow. The drykas mounted her stallion and galloped hard into the distance to praise Zulrav and ask him to keep the winds steady for her hunt.

- - -

It wasn't before long that Ysane spotted a deer grazing on hard grass. Closer inspection identified it as an antelope, its fur and colourings virtually indistinguishable from the dull browns and yellows surrounding her for miles. Darksand steadied, and Ysane bit her lip as she nocked an arrow on the bowstring. She took a deep breath and held it, begging silently for Darksand to keep as still as possible. The antelope raised its head and looked around, hearing something that Ysane could not.

It turned it's head to look at her, and Ysane could not hesitate - she loosed the arrow. It was a hit, wounding the animal low and opening its belly on the frozen grass. She urged Darksand forward and chased the animal. They caught up and Ysane let go of a rein to snatch Osri from her boot. Ysane was a bold rider, and she pulled her torso to fall off Darksand and land on the wounded antelope. He was strong and loud, his screams rang in her ears. Her arms wrapped around its neck and she turned her wrist to slice its neck, but the antelope jerked and she dropped her dagger. Her legs straddled the back of her prey, her feet kicking into his stomach as best she could to prevent him from finding his balance and running from her. She pressed his head in the crook of her elbow and used her torso to keep leverage on his neck. He was stronger than her, it was obvious, but Ysane brought tools to their party and she had done this once before. The antelope made snapping motions with his jaw and managed to chomp off a bit of string to her chemise. She panicked slightly as the hot breath under her chin from her catch grew warmer, closer to her skin. Finally her free hand found Osri and tilted the blade up. Ysane's left arm was covered in thick, hot blood as it poured from his neck. The antelope fell dead in her arms, his head falling limp.

She turned the beast over to gather its pelt and to carve the meat from its carcass.
The beast lay naked of its hide and its side was devoid of its meat when Ysane walked away, her clothes soaked of his blood and sticking to her curves. She had only taken what she thought would get her by for a few weeks, and left the rest for the other lingering animals in the Sea of Grass who were likely hungry. Her hair was a tangled mess of drying blood as she mounted her tan and black, and already a snarlwing flew close for her kill. It had seemed like it was going to fly right at the blood in her hair and she fell back off her horse. The snarlwing flew past paying no mind to the Drykas girl.

Her breath fell from her lungs, pushed from the impact. Her vision blurred and struggled to refocus. It eventually did, however, and she remounted her house with her spoils from the antelope, its moist, bloody skin over her legs protecting the meat she had claimed.
It was afternoon when she returned.

[Lariat]

Meera

Experience:

Shortbow: 2 xp
Dagger: 1 xp
Skinning: 1 xp
Riding (Horse): 1 xp

Lores:

Skinning an antelope

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