Great Expectations (Solo)

[Talya]

Timestamp: Spring 69, 515 AV Every place within the world was just a spot that took up another larger space. It was just one place; and yet all of them were different. Every house, every building, every temple, every city and every region within Mizahar. They all had their own themes, their own feel, their own personality. Their own food and their own people. They all looked different, endured different types of weather, and different climes, dressing accordingly for each. They held different values and ideals, they all saw things different ways, as their upbringing had taught them to perceive and interpret whatever stimulus they faced in alternating ways. They all had their own god, or group of gods, and beliefs. This, was all Talya cared about at the moment- the gods, and what sort of folk believed in them. As belief, she felt, is what shaped a person as a whole. For example, if they thought that stealing from their fellows was what was to perceived as good, then perhaps they would be drawn to a life of larceny. Or, if nurturing was seen as good, perhaps they would cook far more often than others, and share whatever it was that they had to give. Whatever the case, Talya couldn't help but wonder what drew each region to a specific god or goddess, each city. She couldn't help but wonder what drew people to them either. Was it simply where they grew up? Was it a racial thing? Something passed on from parent to the next generation, or was it something else, something left unseen within a person's core, their very soul, that led them into a life of devotion for a specific deity or group of deities? Talya couldn't be certain, but she knew, that she wanted to do her best to get to the bottom of the dilemma. Most specifically, when it came to the case of two very different cities: Ravok, and Zeltiva. This, she supposed, began to arise when she first began speaking with Reik, all those years ago, when she began to question her faith in Rhysol. When she began to wonder why he was seen as evil by the majority, and Priskil kind. Of course then, she supposed it had more to do with Syliras and Ravok, but all the same, Zeltiva didn't seem much of a stretch, and it seemed all the more important now that she had decided to leave her birth city, (if you could call it that), and explore. Heading first to the city with the grand college, and then off to Syliras, if she thought she could so much as make it through the gates without getting herself killed. (Not that she knew how to determine that either, she supposed, in that case, she could just figure it out when the time came after all). Anyway, Talya wondered how the two great cities would differ- both in appearance, and feel, and of course, faith. She knew Rhysol to be the greatest power in Ravok, with the Voice having a lesser, secondary sort of influence, but Zeltiva was an entirely different story. Which meant that it ought to have a different sort of religious field- with varying influences, and religious factions vying for power, if not coexisting in a sort of tolerable harmony. Or something of that sort. But what would those factions be? Who would be the major players? And who was but a pawn, as they say? How many of the gods would be represented? And how many would find no followers in the city by the sea? These were only some of the questions Talya wished to answer.

[Talya]

Tal knew much of Ravok, seeing as she had lived there the entirety of her life. She knew it to be situated on a lake. An interweaving of canals and streets, if you could call them that, as they weren't exactly so in the traditional sense. She knew their god Rhysol, in some ways, feeling as though she did personally, although she had never met the guy. It simply felt as though he were so greatly immersed in the culture of his people, and in their lives, that she had developed a closer relationship with him than some other practitioners may have the gods in their own respective cities and regions. For she knew his hand stayed the rains, and maintained a balance of comfortable, often warm weather for the larger portion of the year. She knew his buildings were scattered across the city- in the Temple, the Vitrax, the Institute. She knew his people- a coupling of the Ebonstryfe and the fanatical Black Sun, to be scattered amongst the common folk; citizens, and travelers, now much like herself. People who both lived in the city, and came only for a visit, or were simply, just passing through. Tal knew that these buildings were grand. If not dark in color, stark, in their contrasting light. But all were large, and intricately made, at least, she felt, in comparison to way lay around them. She supposed this was an ode to him, Rhysol- a way of saying that he was the most important entity around them, and should always be perceived as such. His buildings being a mere extension of his body; his ideals, when he chose not to walk upon the earth amongst the mortals. The temple in particular, (as she had viewed it the most when going to pray to him as often as possible), a building of interwoven shadow. Lighter in appearance than some of the others, yet with a face marred by darkness. There were dozens of carved spires and domes upon the piece, of course, but also twisted carvings of humanoid figures, and even monsters resting on windows, or even inbetween them. Around doors, and in all of spaces deemed to empty to have been adorned with nothing at all. Left a clean slate. Tal vaguely remembered studying the figures a few times. She remembered seeing what looked to be men, with large boils and blisters covering their bodies, so that they looked like a bumpy, twisted, misshapen masses. Their bodies so deformed that one covered his face with his hands, and stood aside his brethren, which were carrying the weight of some sort of statue on their shoulders. This too, looked to be a man, but had a billowing, wispy quality about it, which made it appear as though it were a mixture of man and the sun's rays; although these, were dark as night. She remembered another carving, lain not to far from a window, of a monster. To her, it seemed a creature with pupil-less eyes from where she stood. A creature with several snake-like heads, with these eyes at the end, and a body massive, and monstrous, like that of a wolf. A painstaking amount of detail carved into its claws, and smooth coat, lending it a sort of beauty not found within the rest of the carving. As though Rhysol and his people wanted to remind onlookers, without bothering to tell them straight out, that Rhysol was a beautiful god, and treated all of his followers with a loving hand, which could only so easily be retracted if he were pissed off somehow. Allowing them to see his darker face, which so many outside of Ravok, and his vast sphere of influence, clearly recognized. And his people- they were darkest. Constantly cloaking themselves in shadow. Constantly dressing in darkness. Only the pale outlines of their bare skin within the clothes acting as anything pure. As humans seemed to be the only thing applauded within the city. Accepted into the ranks of the Black Sun and the Ebonstryfe. (Or at least, that was all that Tal had ever noticed, seeing as they made up most of the city anyway). They were people amongst people. Breeding into themselves and enslaving the others- Konti, Ethaefal like herself, (she had been lucky to avoid befalling this fate), and others less commonly. There was often a lightness to their skin, but a darkness to their hearts as they outwardly criticized anything that didn't appear as themselves, or act as themselves. In many ways, they seemed to band together to exclude those who weren't what they deemed perfect, or fitting to the eyes of Rhysol. Races impure; or races obscure; chaotic things, which ironically, might have been to much so for his tastes, or something like that. Talya had never understood. Perhaps the humans felt threatened by the others. There was no other conclusion she could come to. But all of the same, she found herself at constant ends with pointed fingers. Racial slurs; hateful words. And she was by no means the only one, as these branches worked not only to enslave her kind, (at times), and remove them, as much as those who spoke harshly, or outwardly against Rhysol, or in any way tried to undermine him and his power over the city and its many people. Yet, many seemed a group of the unseen, hidden within the Vitrax, while other footmen as it were, did all of the work. All of the cleaning up, to ensure that the city was constantly purified. Tal often wondered if this had anything to do with the hidden face of Rhysol- how he was rarely, if ever seen by anyone other than his lover, the Voice, and perhaps some of the higher ups within each of the factions that were loyal to him. It most commonly seemed to Tal at the end of the day, that Ravok presented itself as a beautiful city- one resting upon a lake. A floating city with majestic buildings, and comfortable enough looking apartments. A mask of canals filled with various boat men, and docks, some of which contained even more trade boats. Water, shadowed, but still somehow glossy and beautiful to the naked eye. And yet, if you looked more closely, if you looked more deeply, you began to see something else. A layer buried underneath. The darkness of the wood and stone that made the buildings. Pure darkness of the water- with its little fish swimming underneath; lost to the naked eye. The twisted carvings upon the buildings, intricate and gorgeous at a distance, but less so close up. A constant reminder of what could be glorious and protective to some, and treacherous to others. A reminder that Rhysol had two faces; the kind he showed his "family," if you could ever call him kind, no matter how much propoganda you were fed, or how much you tried to trick yourself, and the darker he showed his enemies. A constant contrast; even within the city of chaos. Light and dark. Confliction. Within ideals. Appearance, and heart. And then there was Zeltiva, a city yet unseen... A city Tal could only speculate about.

[Talya]

It was a city south of her home, as seen on maps, a city not to far from Syliras, (at least, relatively speaking, and to her they didn't seem to far apart on a map. But this, she knew not, had to do more with things conveniently not being drawn to scale than anything else). In any case, Talya often imagined that Syliras, the city within a castle, was far more open and accepting than her own home. That many people came and went on a regular basis, people of varying racial groups and backgrounds, who carried on their shoulders a plethora of culture unseen to the naked eye, and with that, an entire series of beliefs she had not so much as heard of during her relatively sheltered life in Ravok. Knowing that like Ravok, Syliras was bound to send out its own factions, Talya wondered how far they would get. How vast was the sphere of influence Syliras would hold over the rest of the region, and if it would effect Zeltiva at all. Zeltiva, she supposed, was a learned city, judging simply by how it was said to have a college, much like Ravok had the Institute, although she had heard it said that it taught far more than magic and whatever the Ebonstryfe would be interested in learning, and having their people know. Would they develop the strongest relations, (it could be argued), with the goddess Priskil, the god Sylir, and his like in Zeltiva, just as they would in Syliras, or would they incorporate other gods more prevalently in their practices based on where they were located? She knew Syliras was seated on the Suvan, (or was pretty darn close judging from the few maps she had seen before leaving Ravok), and she knew that Zeltiva was a bit of a port city, located on a bay. She wondered if this would have any influence on the gods they worshipped. Would it cause them to pray more often to Laviku perhaps, god of the sea, to help ensure safer travel for their merchant vessels, and the men who sailed them? Or would they pray more to other gods? Perhaps those associated closely with whatever clime they found down there. Someone warm she imagined, something warm. Tal mused on this awhile, before coming to think of the small Konti Isle not far off the coast. The pale, blonde-haired women that lived their- healers and seers. Revered a way, in Ravok, if you could call it such, as they were prized possessions, and valued highly on the slave market. Although she had seen a few during her days in the floating city, she knew little of them. Save that they worshipped Avalis and Rakkeli; as Reik had taught her. She imagined that to come to the mainland, for any reason, whether it be trade or for travel, (she knew not of the Call or whether or not the island was self-sufficient), they would have to make port in one of the eastern Syliran cities- perhaps Nyka, Lisnar, or even Zeltiva itself. She wondered then if they chose to make the trip to Zeltiva at all, it she supposed, being the most learned of the three choices. (Not that she really knew for sure), and as such, she began to contemplate whether or not the Konti women would have any sort of say in the religious field found within the port city of Zeltiva. If their beliefs would spread- allowing medicine and perhaps fortune telling to flourish within the city, as they shared what they knew, and gleaned what knowledge they could from the Zeltivan citizens as well. Perhaps, something in the way of fishing or sailing, judging simply on where it was situated, and what she imagined the majority of its people to be doing there.

[Talya]

But what if the Konti kept to themselves? What if they did not visit, or kindly share their knowledge, or try to learn from the local people? What if there were no trade with the isle, but with other foreign lands? Who might the Zeltivans trade with? What would they even need? Surely they had enough fish and other sea animals to eat from the bay, and surely, they were wise enough to farm the land for more food? And surely, they took wood from the nearby wilds to build their houses and their other buildings, and stone from quarries to build whatever was left? Would the Zeltivans need to trade at all? Or was it simply something to do for fun? A way of exploring and seeing new places for the sailors. Getting away from nagging wives and girlfriends, and bringing in new knowledge in the process. Culture; new exotic foods and ways of thinking. Yes, perhaps that was it. In which case, the Zeltivans, (much like the Sylirans), she supposed, could be praying to just about anybody. God or goddess. With shrines in their homes, statues and temples out in the open. Cast in wood or stone, or even a mixture of mediums- iron, brass, clay, steel. Anything was a possibility in this place Tal did not know, and hoped only to grow to. Tal supposed they could be getting anything from anywhere too. Different types of wood- some sturdier than others, some more pliable, to be applied in different settings, in and on different types of buildings so that different sorts of architecture would now be possible. They could even sweep in different types of food- fruits and vegetables, fish and seafood not local to their own waters. Even textiles and dyed goods, other building materials, books in different languages, scrolls, art pieces. The possibilities were limitless when you had the ability to trade with the world, (or at least, the majority of it). Tal smiled. When the possibilities seemed endless. Everything just seemed to great; like the place was somehow, unreal. (And perhaps it was, she couldn't know for sure until she got there). But all the same, Tal liked to picture a place where perhaps, the buildings were not entirely uniform, as they didn't have to be. Perhaps one was made of oak, and another maple or teak, or even pine. While another was wood and stone. And another brick, and another daub and wattle, or a mixture of all of the above. Maybe they painted the buildings there- white, orange, red, pink, green, blue. Maybe they didn't. Maybe they only painted shutters or other adornments. Maybe each building was intricately carved, or maybe they were kept plain. Perhaps, only the most important buildings, like the college and other government facilities were highly adorned, like prizes much like the Institute or the Temple back in Ravok. Maybe they were domed, or had spires, or maybe they all had ivy spiraling down the sides. Flowering ivy. But most likely, Tal supposed, everything was a stark white. Pure as the outside of the city, sunny and warm, and kissed by the loving hand of many gods. Or maybe it was all a lie. Like how she was beginning to wonder if the grace and wonderment of Ravok had all been a lie. Was everything a lie? A mask to uncover, only to find another mask? Tal sighed. Her stomach rumbled. She hated how she could never be sure... OOCI would really like to stress that all of this is an opinion, and may not be entirely factual. Thank you. ^^

[Dravite]

Talya

XP Award:

• Logic: 2
• Philosophy: 3
• Politics: 1
• Reasoning: 1
• Intelligence: 1

Lore:

• Rhysol: The backbone of Ravok
• Ravok: The city on the lake
• Ravok: The layout of the city
• Ravok: Religious buildings
• Rhysol: The Defiler
• Rhysol: The beautiful god
• Followers of Rhysol are dark of heart
• Syliras: A castle behind walls
• Zeltiva: The port city in the bay
• Laviku: God of the sea
• Konti: Fair haired healers

Penalties:
None.

Loot:
None.

Notes: Hi, Talya. Interesting little thread, not the kind I am used to grading that’s for sure. Lots of thinking going on, I felt at one point you wanted to be awarded some observation but I cannot award observation for memories. Also noticed a lot of cases where you used the word ‘to’ instead of ‘too’. I am not trying to be the grammar police, but I know I appreciate learning the difference. I am going to the store. I bought too many bananas. Too means as well or conveys the idea of in excess. To is a preposition (e.g., Give it to her) or is used to show the infinitive form of a verb (e.g., I want to run). Talya seems like a very interesting character. I look forward to reading more about her adventures and musings, nicely done. Let me know if you think I have missed anything here and be sure to edit your grading request!

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