Solo Final Message

[Lian Windrunner]

Timestamp: 5th of Fall, 513

Lian eyed his friend dubiously. The younger man was bubbling with excitement over the upcoming hunt. And despite the fact that he was still recovering from a moderately severe leg injury, he was so confident in his skills as a hunter that he refused to listen to reason. Meric was determined to participate in the hunt, and nothing was going to stop him. So Lian watched his friend double check his gear once more in silence. "Oi, Lian!" Lian jumped a little as he was jolted from his thoughts. "What is it, Meric? Ready to admit that you're pushing yourself too far too fast, and that you're insane for going hunting with that injured leg of yours?" "Nah. My leg's almost healed. It'll be fine, you'll see!" Lian glanced down at his friend's bandaged leg pointedly, but said nothing. "Seriously, it's going to be fine. Nothing's going to happen, I promise!" "If you say so. Just be careful, okay?" "I will. You don't have to worry. It's just...well...look, nothing's going to happen. My leg is nearly healed, and this is an easy hunt. We're hunting rabbits, not glassbeaks. Still...if something does happen to me...promise that you'll tell my family to look after Tenrai. She hasn't said anything yet, but my sister and my mother are both healers, so I've picked up a few things from them. I think that Tenrai's pregnant. Nothing's going to happen to me...but if the worst does happen, she's going to need someone to take care of her in my stead." Lian nodded. It was the only thing he could do. "I'll tell them." he promised quietly. Lian wished his friend luck as he watched him ride off into the tall grass with the rest of the hunting party. The transition between sleeping and waking did not come easily. Lingering images from a fading fream pursued Lian into the waking world, haunting him with the painful reminder of a memory he would rather forget. "Meric, you idiot." Lian murmured softly. The younger man had always been cocky, and over confident, but never to this extent. There had to have been something else driving his friend to go on that hunt besides the need to constantly challenge himself. Lian struggled to think of something...anything that could have been driving his friend. But try as he might, nothing came to mind. And now he would never know. Meric wasn't coming home. As with many of the deaths out in the Sea of Grass, there was no body. The hunting party had run into a pair of glassbeaks. The deadly predators had been stalking the same herd of deer the hunters had, and running into them had come as a nasty surprise. Of the five hunters that had gone out, only two had returned. One of them succumbed to his injuries a few hours later. It was from the survivor that Lian had learned of Meric's fate; the reckless fool had charged the pair of glassbeaks in an attempt to give the others time to escape. His desperate attempt worked...but Meric's bravery had cost him his life.

[Lian Windrunner]

Knowing that the world wasn't going to stop while Lian dealt with his grief over the loss of his friend, he got up and began getting ready to face the day. Breakfast was a quick handful of berries, a roll, and a cup of water. Then Lian grabbed his riding gear, and headed out of his tent. He had a very busy day ahead of him, and he wanted to take a long ride to settle his mind. He would need to be calm before he entered the web. To be anything less was to invite disaster. When Lian reached the edge of the city, he whistled sharply. Talise galloped up to him a few moments later, almost as if she was expecting his call. Putting on the riding pad was simple enough. Talise knew the routine well, and held still for him. Pulling the strap tight enough that it wouldn't fall off while making sure it wasn't too tight, and then buckling it was a simple task. The yvas was another matter, however. Lian managed to tangle the breast collar somehow during his first attempt. Embarrassed, he looked around to see if anyone had seen his rookie mistake. But he didn't see anyone that looked as though they might have noticed, so Lian breathed a sigh of relief. /A man my age really should know better than to make such a stupid mistake./ he grumbled to himself. /You'd think I was an outsider who had just come to Endrykas and married one of its people rather than a Drykas born and bred./ The second attempt was successful, much to Lian's relief. Having to try again a third time would have humiliated him more than he could handle, and ruined what was going to be a difficult day as it was even further. Not to mention the fact that it would have been more likely for someone to notice his failure had he fumbled again. While Lian's level of riding ability might be perfectly acceptable elsewhere, it was a constant source of shame to him. He was a member of a society of horse nomads, after all. And yet there were children...young children who could ride better than he could. As if sensing her partner's mood, Talise moved off into a gentle walk. Strider and rider quickly fell into a soothing rhythm. Lian shifted his weight in response to Talise's movements. For her part, Talise kept herself to a nice, steady walk. The two of them kept within sight of the tent city. Lian wanted to ride to soothe his roiling thoughts, and calm him before he began work, not to have to worry about being eaten by one of the many predators that lived in the Sea of Grass. Since predators rarely came this close to the city, Lian felt it was reasonably safe to let his mind wander a bit. Lian's thoughts drifted to his friend. He and Meric had been very close friends ever since they were children. Meric had been three years younger than he was, but age had never seemed to matter where they were concerned. They had had so much in common that they would have been friends even if they had been twenty years a part. Of the two, Meric had been the more confident one. The cocky one who could do no wrong. As they had matured into adulthood, Lian had always been convinced that his friend's overconfidence would get him killed one day...and it had. /Damned stubborn fool...why did you have to go on that hunt? You had to have known that your leg injury would be a hinderance at best. There was plenty of time for you to go hunting after your leg healed./ Lian took a deep breath, and forced himself to push his anger and grief away. Instead, he chose to focus on memories of them growing up. Before long, Lian found himself laughing out loud at some of the antics they had gotten themselves into. Finally feeling relaxed, Lian used his knees to send Talise into a brisk trot. The wind whipped through his hair, as they flew along. Lian had to focus completely on what he was doing, or risk falling, but he still had a feeling of being one with Talise. That alone helped to calm him. After several minutes, they slowed, and walked back to the city. Lian dismounted at the edge of the tent city, and removed his gear. He stroked her mane for a few moments, then patted her flank. "Thanks, girl. I really needed that." Talise snorted, as if in agreement, then raced off. Lian slowly made his way back to his tent.

[Lian Windrunner]

/Time to get to work./ he thought as he took a moment to straighten up his belongings. Lian sat on his bedroll, and made himself comfortable. When he was ready, he closed his eyes, and began meditating, allowing himself to fall into a light trance. As the world fell away from him, he began to see the strands of glowing light that formed the web. It was a beautiful sight, and one that he would never grow tired of seeing. Each strand gave off a different musical note. One that would tell a skilled webber if the strand was healthy, or needed to be repaired. The end result was an intense, beautiful song of life. It was heady, and addicting. Lian could easily see how some of the most powerful webbers got lost in the web. They probably fell in love with what they were seeing and hearing, and didn't want to return to the physical world. The first message that Lian had been asked to relay was a wedding announcement. A young couple had come to him a few days ago, asking him to tell their families of their intention to marry, and ask them to come to Endrykas to attend the wedding. The young man was a skilled hunter from the Emerald Clan, and the girl was a weaver from the Amethyst Clan. The two had come to Endrykas earn some money and a name for themselves before returning to their Clans to settle down and start a family. Instead, they had met at the market, and become close friends, before falling in love. Now the couple hoped to make a life for themselves here in Endrykas. Lian sent his mind out, following the familiar strands of light as he searched for clusters of people that would indicate the Clans. As he flew through the web, he saw a few caravans moving through the Sea of Grass towards the city. These he ignored. They would reach Endrykas when they got there...or not. There was always the chance that something would happen, and they would never reach the tent city. Focusing on the task at hand once more, Lian continued to follow the strands of the web. Finally, he found what he was seeking - the Emerald Clan. Once he found the location of the Clan, Lian searched through the glowing spots that represented the people of the Clan until he found the one he was looking for. One of the young man's family, an older brother, was a webber. Lian tugged gently on the web strands nearest the other man, getting his attention. He felt the startlement as the other noticed him. It was followed closely by a query as he too entered the web. Lian relayed his message. Words did not exist in the web, so the message was translated into a concentrated burst of impressions, images, and feelings. The other webber acknowledged the message, and promised to tell the rest of his family. He also "told" Lian that they would be there for the wedding. With the first part of his task done, Lian flew back into the web. This time, he followed different strands, these ones leading to the Amethyst Clan. None of the girl's family were webbers, so it took Lian longer to relay the message to them. While it was possible to communicate to someone who wasn't a webber through the web, it was more difficult to do so. Finally, his task done, Lian flew back through the web, and returned to his own body. /That's one done./ he thought as he jotted the replied down. Lian would relay the families' responses to the couple later. For now, he had other messages to deliver. Lian stood, and stretched for several minutes. Then he sat and made himself comfortable once again. The next message he'd been asked to relay was to inform a young healer's family that she had successfully given birth to a baby boy. Once again, Lian raced out among the glowing strands of light. This time he weaved his way among them until he found the Topaz Clan. There were several more messages. Good news. Bad news. Important news. Trivial gossip. It was all the same to Lian as he flew out among the strands in search of the recipiant of each message. He rested briefly between each message so that he didn't risk overextending himself. Finally, as the sun was setting, bathing the sky in glorious reds and purples, it was time for the final message. The most important one. This time it seemed as though Meric himself was traveling with Lian as he flew through the web along the familiar path to the Sapphire Clan. Lian imagined that he could see his friend's ghostly smile as he laughed at him. But all too soon, he was there, and Lian began seeking out his friend's family members. There were five in all. His parents, an older brother, and two younger sisters were all among the living. Six if you counted his fiancee. None of them had any real skill in webbing. One by one, Lian reached out to them all in order to relay the news of Meric's death, and his final words. Lian felt their grief and dismay. He shared it, and shared his own with them. Lian lingered, joined with them until he felt a deep weariness begining to strain the bond connecting him to his own body. Reluctantly, Lian made his farewells, and flew back towards his own body. This time, the journey seemed to take longer than it had to reach any of his other destinations. But he reached his body safely, and dove into it. For a few moments, Lian felt as though his body was too tight, too restrictive. It was only to be expected after spending as long as he had in the web. After a while, the feeling faded. When it did, Lian opened his eyes, and looked around his tent. His muscles were stiff and aching despite having taken several breaks throughout the day. But he ignored his discomfort as he finally gave in to his grief and cried for the loss of his friend.

[Taylani]

XP Award!

Lian Windrunner:

XP Award:

• +1 Horsmanship
• +1 riding
• +1 meditation
• +1 webbing

Lore:

• Dreams can be expressions of guilt or grief
• Webbing: A message sent

Notes:

Comments :

Nice little solo. Excellent job at rping to your skill level, especially with the horsemanship. Many just assume their characters should know all that stuff being Drykas but its part of the Horsmanship skill. Great job. Please feel free to PM me any concerns about the grade and don’t forget to edit your grade request, keep the part about the challenge though So Prae can note it..

TAYLANI