Flashback The Fall of Ideals

[Khal'iah]

Timestamp: 76th day of Fall 512 AV At long last, another long day of travel drew near to its close. Above, the sun made its final descent towards its resting place beyond the horizon, offering a fond farewell to the world of Mizahar by painting the heavens in a dazzling display of colors. Vibrant oranges and stunning reds, breathtaking golds and calming pinks all splashed across the heavenly canvas, painting an awe-inspiring masterpiece for all of the Wildlands to enjoy...and enjoyed it was! From atop one of the countless hills of the Syliran landscape, a violet-skinned warrior born to the name Khal'iah Vojak witnessed the close of the day with a smile plastered across his face. He loved the majesty of the sunset, especially the bright colors that found their way across the sky. Standing before a roaring fire, the warrior held a hand over his brow, shading his eyes from the light of the sun whilst he looked out towards the horizon. "Beautiful." he muttered to himself, then turned to finalize his preparations for nightfall. Though the season was still autumn, the chill of winter crept closer each and every day. The warrior had to take the necessary steps to assure that he would not awake with a chill, as he did not have the pleasure of an Inn to recuperate within. As such, he immediately set about erecting his tent; diving into the contents of his backpack and producing the components necessary to put together his structure. He did so in less than two minutes flat, and then proceeded to lay out his bedroll and blanket within the tent. This was followed by neatly arranging his belongings within the confines of his shelter and finally taking a seat before the fire. A whinny tore his attention from the dancing element before his eyes: his steed, a paintedmount by the name Jak, tugged against his reins that were secured to the branch of an adjacent tree. The Akalak chuckled, ascended to his feet, and gave his steed a gentle pat. "Hey now, relax. We've got a long day ahead of us, so you'd best get some shut eye while you can. Alright?" The horse gave no response, which was to be expected since it was a horse. Nonetheless, the Akalak gave it another gentle pat and returned to his campfire, reaching within his tent in order to produce the rations from his backpack. This consisted of some dried meet and his waterskin. Khal'iah set into eating his dinner, and whilst he chewed upon the tough piece of meat, he immediately thought of his mother's exquisite cooking...followed by thoughts of home... A sigh escaped his lips as he thought about it. He was absolutely certain that his parents were not exactly pleased with his sudden departure for Riverfall, intent on seldom returning. Heck, when he told his mother, she broke down into tears...and he didn't tell his Father. It would have killed the man to do so, or so Khal'iah thought. All his life, his sire had groomed him to be a model Akalak, with his goal ultimately being his settling down in Riverfall, having some strong children, and joining the council as an Elder. This was far from the life Khal'iah wanted for himself. He sought freedom and enlightenment, he sought to grow strong and to see all of what Mizahar had to offer. He wasn't going to be able to accomplish that while being confined to his beloved home. So, he left, and didn't even say goodbye to his father. Sure, he regretted it...but it had to be done.

[Khal'iah]

As if to tear the violet-skinned warrior's mind away from thoughts of home, another whinny filled the night air. At first, Khal'iah turned his attention to his faithful steed, wondering if he was distressed over something. Yet as his shimmering eyes assessed the beast before them, yet another whinny sounded; and the Akalak realized that the source was not Jak. 'Well that's odd...I didn't anticipate any company.' he thought to himself, placing a hand upon the hilt of his longsword. The warrior had been taught from his youth to always be on his guard in anticipation of any situation; and an anonymous rider approaching his modest campsite was indeed a situation to be prepared for. As such, the warrior abandoned his meal and waterskin and ascended to his feet, his fingers wrapped firmly about the handle of his blade as he awaited the appearance of the rider. Moments passed by and the Akalak squint against the growing darkness. He could make out a single figure approaching from south of his position: it was the rider. Closer and closer did the beast and rider approach, until the Akalak's eyes beheld the identity of whom it was that rode astride the horse. It was a male: a powerful, towering warrior who stood at least a foot taller than Khal'iah. He was characterized by dark, violet skin and shimmering eyes...identical to those of the young warrior. A mingle of frustration and apprehension plagued the mind of the warrior as the rider directed his steed to come to a halt and dismounted. There were no words to be said for a moment, yet Khal'iah relinquished his grasp upon his longsword...as he knew raising a blade against this individual was pointless. Silence dominated the two men as their eyes locked upon the other, neither willing to make a greeting nor proper acknowledgement. Finally, after a small, tense eternity had passed, the rider addressed Khal'iah in his stern, gruff tone of voice. "Hello...son." The young warrior averted his eyes for a moment and folded his arms across his chest, muttering a response as quietly as possible. "Father. Hello." The rider, an Akalak by the name Khal'josa Vojak, said nothing more for a moment. He turned his attention to his steed and guided it over to one of the trees adjacent to Jak, then proceeded to tie its reins to a branch in order to secure it. Whilst his fingers danced about the leather, working a solid knot, he addressed his only son once more. "You know why I am here, don't you?" Khal'iah bit back a response. He wanted to say something witty and sarcastic; along the lines of 'No, I don't. Perhaps you're here to partake in my fire?' but he knew his father well enough...it'd only result in a solid blow to the head and a lecture on respect. Instead, he kept quiet and nodded. Once the knot was completed, the aging warrior strode over to his heir and exhaled solemnly. "Then let's make this easy on the both of us. We'll camp the night, and in the morning we'll head back to Riverfall." At first, Khal'iah said nothing. He averted his gaze and placed it upon the roaring fire. A conflict arose in his mind as he stared at the inferno. He weighed his options carefully...on one hand, maybe his father was right. Maybe he just needed to go home and be a good Akalak...but on the other hand, this was what he honestly wanted to do. Furthermore, in the eyes of their people, he was a man and was free to make his own decisions; regardless of how young of a man he was. So, steeling himself for the worst, the young warrior stood up to his sire for the first time. "No. I'm not going home."

[Khal'iah]

This was the first time that such an expression of surprise made its appearance upon the aging Akalak's face. Yet, before he could open his mouth and respond, his only son managed to build up some form of courage within himself and raise his voice! "The life you gave to me, the values you instilled in me, I am grateful for them. Never misunderstand my actions here as ungratefulness. But the life you want me to live and the path you expect me to walk...I don't want them Father. I have no desire to see the world only to procure a mater, I want to see the world in order to learn and grow. I don't want to settle down and do little more than sire children so that I can vie for a seat on the Council! That's your ambition, not mine Father. I want to travel, I want...to be free like a breeze upon the seas, and by Zulrav I won't let you stifle me. I refuse to accept the comforts of home Father, I refuse to walk the path you want. So no, I'm not going home..." Though Khal'iah knew that it was absolutely pointless to ever attempt to fight his father, he still placed a hand upon the pommel of his longsword. Yes, Khal'josa could disarm and defeat the violet-skinned warrior in only a few seconds, but his motion was more symbolic than anything else; for he added: "and there's nothing you can do to sway me otherwise." To say the very least, Khal'josa was stunned. He did not know what to say and his mind was a chaotic mass of confusion. Emotion after emotion played upon his face: anger, confusion, hurt, fear. He did not want his son to make such bold proclamations or to simply cast away all that he knew! "S-So," he stammered, his hands balling together into angry fists as he strode closer to his son, "you would sacrifice everything you know. You would sacrifice the Akalak Way in order to pursue...freedom and enlightenment...is that it?! Is this the son I raised? So quick to abandon everything he's ever been taught so soon after becoming a man? Is that what this is? Are you feeling especially bold because you're a man?!" He struck suddenly, colliding his offhand-fist with Khal'iah's chin. Though it was not his main hand, it still carried quite a large force...enough to set his son falling over onto his arse. "Where did I go wrong with you?!" he bellowed, rounding on his son. Khal'josa paced angrily back and forth while Khal'iah sat up, rubbing his pained jaw. Though foolish to speak at this time, he spoke his mind anyway. "You didn't go wrong Father, you raised me right. This is my choice. This isn't something that I'm doing because I'm a man now, this is something I'm doing because I want to be free. Yes, I'm willing to sacrifice the comforts of our Way...and you can't stop me."