In Preparation

[L'orlei]

Timestamp: 15th of Spring, 514 AV L'orlei awoke in a cold sweat, her scales glistening with moisture. Her heart was beating rapidly, as if she'd just swam a mile. She'd dreamed a nightmare, a dream of danger and faraway places. Clyde was in that dream, and a myriad of other faces whose names she did not know, and that too was frightening. L'orlei knew everybody's name, if she could only look on their face. Was this dream a vision? L'orlei was not blessed with the Seer's Lilly, but the young healer had heard stories of other Konti whom Avalis had sent visions too, with or without the gnosis mark. When her beating heart finally slowed to a normal place, she slowly sat up and looked about. Was it a vision, or just a nervous nightmare? It would make sense if it were nerves, because L'orlei really was nervous. She'd been nervous ever since she'd made her decision to leave, but she felt that it was time. It could have been her call, or it could have just been a desire to see more, but L'orlei was leaving the island that had been her home all of her life. Maybe one day she would come back, but with the things that had happened over the past few years, L'orlei had come to realize that she wanted more. She wanted to see the world, learn from it, and see all that there was to see. She intended to seek out Clyde Sullins, eventually, though she had no idea where he might be. Clyde was part of the reason she was leaving. He'd been a small part of her life, and a huge part. He'd initiated her into reimancy, but that was the small part. He'd birthed in her a curiosity she never knew she had, and only the world would sate her curiosity. She didn't know if Clyde would play a part in her future, but she at least wanted to see him one more time.

[L'orlei]

There was a lot to do over the next several days. L'orlei needed to gather all the supplies she would need for her journey, book passage on a ship, and finally set out on the voyage itself. Her plan was to sail to Nyka on a trade vessel. She would visit the city for a time, but doubted that she would stay there for any long duration. L'orlei wanted to see the world, not just one city. It would be dangerous, she knew, but it was something she felt she had to do. Rak'keli had given her the gift of healing, but on Mura, there were enough healers that L'orlei did not really have a chance to use it. She also loved to create things with her herbs, and was a practitioner of magic. Nothing that she did truly contributed to the island, but away from Mura, away from all the other healers, her skills would truly be of use. Many konti left the island at some point in their lives, whether due to the call or some other reason. L'orlei wondered how many shared the same reasons as she did. She got out of bed and looked around her small home. It was not lavish, but had a simple elegance to it. L'orlei would miss it. The konti walked over to a table and set her waterskin down on it. Closing her eyes, she began to concentrate. It took a while, as it always did. L'orlei took deep, slow breaths, focusing her mind on one goal. She sought something within herself, something that she knew was there though it was hard to find. Calmly, she breathed in, and turned her mind inward. When she exhaled she imagined herself sinking deeper within herself. The meditation process was necessary at her current skill level, though she was not particularly good at meditating either. Luckily, L'orlei was alone, and there was nobody around to distract her. It was still early in the morning, and the city had not begun to wake. All was calm, all was quiet, and L'orlei continued to breathe.

[L'orlei]

It was several chimes later when she felt the strange tingling sensation that she always felt when her inner conscience made contact with her djed. She did not know if this was what was actually happening, not likely, but that was what it felt like to her. She tugged at that sensation, pulled at it with her mind, and slowly it began to respond to her command. She felt it traveling from her core up into her chest and down her right arm. She felt it pool there, building pressure against the back of her skin on her fingertips. L'orlei let out a slow breath, steadying her mind and mentally pushing her djed against the inside tips of her fingers. Slowly, with great effort, a trickle of seafoam green liquid dripped from her outstretched fingertips to hover inches in front of her. L'orlei watched with wonder as it slowly pooled in the air before her. She could feel it, her res. It was a part of her, and would remain so until it decayed away or she transmuted it into something else. L'orlei continued to push out the djed until she had a decent sized blob of the strange green substance floating in front of her. It was a slow process, and she knew it was likely that some of it had already been wasted, but L'orlei was determined to finish. She felt she had enough, and with a deep breath, she followed the strange tingling connection down to the blob of res and commanded it to move. The response was sluggish, but the res did move at her mental command. It did not have to go far, but some manipulation would be required. The blob slowly sank into the air until it hovered just above the waterskin L'orlei had previously placed on the table. That was its ultimate destination, but first L'orlei had to reshape the blob so that it would fit inside without spilling out all over the place.

[L'orlei]

L'orlei paused for a moment to calm herself. Small beads of sweat had formed on her forehead and were traveling irritatingly down her cheek. Her thin shirt was plastered to her body due to the sweat, but L'orlei continued the effort. Reaching across that tingly connection, she slowly let out another breath and sent a mental command to the awaiting res. Again the response was sluggish, and L'orlei had to push at it hard. She raised her hands to the substance, using them to help with the change. The res began to elongate, turning into something akin to a watery tube, still hovering above the open waterskin. L'orlei smiled, and prepared her mind for the final step. Her element was water, and it was no surprise to her that it was so. L'orlei was a konti, and had a deep connection with water to begin with, so it was only to be expected that her first element would be water.

[L'orlei]

She started at the bottom of the tube, sending a mental command across the tingling connection and telling it to become water. It was not something she could truly describe. It wasn't as if she just said, "Hey you, green stuff. Become water." It was a manifestation of her will, of her imagination, of.. something that she couldn't really explain. Maybe Clyde could explain it, but L'orlei certainly could not. However it actually worked, the basic idea was that if she willed it hard enough, the res would turn itself into water. She did will it, very hard. The sweat continued to bead down her face, but L'orlei ignored it. Her heart beat just a little faster, and she grew light of breath, but L'orlei did not let that bother her. It was as if the res was completely ignoring her. "Change, damnit!" Suddenly the bottom of the tube changed and fell. The water splashed down, some of it through the opening of the waterskin, but much of it missed the mark and fell to the table instead. L'orlei was surprised. Clyde had informed her that incantations and gestures could help with the process, but she had never imagined cursing at the djed could be considered an incantation. After a moment she just shrugged, and continued.

[L'orlei]

L'orlei did not curse at the rest of the res, that would just be rude. Besides, it was changing for her readily once she had gotten over the initial hump. She made simple motions with her hands, while willing it with her mind, to direct the rest of the res turned water down into the waterskin. It was a slow process, but eventually the last drop of res found its way into the container with only minimal spillage. L'orlei smiled, feeling very proud of herself. Clyde probably would have frowned at her rather trivial use of the magic, but how else was she supposed to practice!? It was true, she had probably expended far more energy creating the water from thin air than it would have taken to just walk down to the well and fill it, and drinking it would probably not benefit her enough to truly justify the usage of the res. L'orlei felt like she had just run a mile, she was covered in sweat, and her heart was beating rapidly. But it was not as if she were in a life or death situation, she could easily rest up and no harm would be done. More importantly, she'd managed to practice several very important things. First, and this was true with every usage of her magic, she had practiced actually calling out the res. She was still slow, and could not even come close to the speed at which Clyde could draw out his res, but one day she would get there. Second, she'd practiced maneuvering it and reshaping it, and third, she had practiced transmuting it. So what if she had not actually needed to do any of it. What she needed was practice. At least she had not flooded the city, or caused herself due harm. Satisfied with the results of her efforts, L'orlei stoppered the container and went about the rest of her morning. She sat down to a quick breakfast of fruit, cheese, and bread, hopefully replenishing the djed she'd just spent making the water, and had herself a glass of milk to accompany it all. Then she changed out of her sweat soaked night shirt and into her customary outfit of white robes, black bodysuit, and leather boots. Lastly, she grabbed her empty backpack, a pouch of mizas, and set out to begin the rest of her day.

[L'orlei]

There were a number of things L'orlei needed to do to prepare for her upcoming journey. Technically there was no rush, as she intended to leave near the end of Spring, but she wanted to get things taken care of early. If she got it all done early, she wouldn't have to worry about it when she was paralyzed from nerves the day before the trip. It was all trivial stuff, really. She needed travel supplies, supplies for her shop, something more secure to keep her shop stored in. Perhaps it would be wise to explain just what her shop was. L'orlei was the proud owner of L'orlei's Herbs and Remedies, a portable shop consisting of whatever she could fit inside her backpack and spread out on a blanket. She could set it out anywhere, and kept most of her extra supplies at home. That had to change, of course, as once she was off the island she would not be able to just go home any time she needed to restock. Something a bit larger, and preferably more secure than a backpack, would have to be acquired if she intended to bring work with her on her journey, which she did. If there was one place that she could find what she needed, it would be the Silver Velispar Emporium. The emporium was a rather famous general store, specializing in both the odd and the mundane. On any given day one might find rare treasures from far away lands sitting next to common household items one could buy anywhere in Mura. While there were certainly other general stores on the island, the Silver Velispar Emporium was certainly the most popular.

[L'orlei]

As soon as she arrived L'orlei set to gathering up a few basic necessities for travel. She knew they were necessities because that's what everybody told her. She found a tent, probably a bit larger than she needed, but it would do. She grabbed some rope, some torches, some tinder, she already had flint and steel though she'd never actually put it to use. She found a nice looking bedroll, and a curious substance called a water additive that supposedly made brackish water drinkable. L'orlei would have to look into how to make that, as it sounded rather useful. All of these things were for traveling in the wilderness. In truth, L'orlei did not really plan to do much of that, but it was possible she might hook up with a caravan, and then she would likely need her own tent and supplies. Initially she would just be on a boat, but L'orlei wanted to make sure she purchased things that she might need while she was still in the comforts of Mura, rather than trying to find it later in some unknown city. The only thing left to get was something to put everything in. There were various containers that she could buy, but all of them were large and bulky, and she doubted she could carry them herself. L'orlei did not want to buy a horse while on the island, she could only imagine the trouble it would be to transport it on a boat. She wanted something that she could manage herself, without the need for a pack animal. That was when she came across it. An average sized chest, but this one had a rope attached to it, and a pair of large, sturdy wheels. L'orlei eyed the chest curiously before calling on the vendor. "Excuse me. What can you tell me about this chest?" "Oh that," Ra'mari was her name, L'orlei knew instantly as the name sounded in the back of her mind, "My daughter picked that up in Sylira. A traveler's chest, it is. Useful thing if you're going to be lugging around your own baggage. I wish I'd had one some years ago, it would have made things a lot easier. See the ornate carving on the lid. That's the crest of the Syliran Knights. My daughter bought it off one for a good price, she says. I'll sell it to you for a hundred and fifty mizas, and that's a bargain, I'd say."

[L'orlei]

L'orlei considered. The chest was perfect for what she needed, in truth, but a hundred and fifty mizas seemed a bit much, in her opinion. She could buy a chest without wheels for a fraction of the price. "I'll give you seventy-five for it," the healer offered, the lack of confidence in her voice evident. L'orlei knew nothing about haggling, but she did not want to pay the asking price. "Seventy-five? Why, that'd be a steal. Did I tell you that this was once owned by a Syliran Knight?" L'orlei paused, then shook her head. She wasn't going to pay that price. "A hundred then. And that's a steal. I could buy a chest twice that size and find a carpenter to fashion me some wheels for half that, but I don't have the time." Ra'mari considered L'orlei's offer. She was right, of course. One hundred mizas was not a bad price, but Ra'mari hadn't gotten where she was without knowing how to play the game. She laughed happily, and made a counter offer. "How about one-twenty." L'orlei considered, and then nodded, having a feeling that she had still paid too much, but without anything to compare the chest to, she had to accept the deal. It was a nice chest, at least, and the tree carved into the lid that was supposedly the crest of the Syliran Knights was rather pretty. She purchased a lock and key to go with it, loaded all her items into the chest, and then rolled it out of the shop feeling rather satisfied. Purchases : 1 Four Person Tent - 10gm 50ft Hemp Rope - 1gm 2 Torches - 2cm Bedroll - 1sm 4 Tinders - 4cm Water Additive - 3gm Average Lock - 40gm Average Key - 20gm Traveler's Chest - 120gm*I know the price list says only 100gm.. but I wanted to practice haggling and get ripped off, so I'm willingly paying the extra 20gm. I think saying it has a tree carved on the lid is only fair for paying so much, lol. Total Cost: 194gm, 1sm, 6cm

[L'orlei]

The next destination L'orlei had in mind was a place she had never been to before, and in truth, had never really considered entering before. As a healer, she generally shunned violence, and things that lead to violence, like weapons. She owned a dagger out of necessity, sometimes you just needed to cut things. But beyond that, she had never owned a weapon, so when she found herself entering the Heart of Steel, it was with a bit of apprehension. Almost immediately she was approached by the shop owner. K'Sein, the name rang in the back of her mind, and L'orlei turned to meet her. "High.. um, I wanted to purchase a weapon, but I don't really know anything about weapons." L'orlei glanced around the shop at all the beautifully designed, or at least she assumed they were beautiful, weapons. There were swords, daggers, suvai, bladed fans, and all manner of other instruments used for killing. The entire place gave L'orlei the shivers, but she tried her best not to show it. She did not want to offend the woman, and technically speaking, it wasn't as if she was actually planning to kill anyone. She just wanted something for self defense, just in case. The world outside Mura was a dangerous place, and L'orlei would be foolish to face it unarmed. "Hmm.. I'll be honest with you, miss. You don't seem like the type to carry a weapon. Are you sure you want one?" L'orlei was surprised at this. Most merchants she knew would have immediately started showing her all sorts of things, trying to convince her to buy the most expensive one and that she could not survive without it. K'Sein was questioning if she even wanted one.