The Long Road to a New Life [Sasin, Stag, Emmagane, Nihvane]

[Iasc]

Early morning, 21st of Winter 510 AV

The cold winter wind stung Iasc's face as he left the castle behind. He pulled up his woolen scarf so it came up above his nose in order to keep in as much warmth as possible. Despite the low sun in the sky, that gave off little heat, he was feeling warm since he was wearing a coat the came all the way down to his ankles. He looked back at the city many times as he made his way into the wildlands to the east of Syliras and not once did he feel any regret for leaving. Although he had lived in it for twenty years he rarely felt he'd belonged there, always out of place, never fitting in with anything or anyone. He wanted to start somewhere new, away from the small streets and the cramped rooms. He wanted to go somewhere he could look at the stars shining in the night sky and hear the birds sing outside his window. The only people he had ever cared for all left and now it was his turn to do the same, his only companion a ghostly representation of one of those that had left. The frustration and anger of losing the people he loved had plagued his mind for the whole of fall and he knew he couldn't continue in such a state. He had to leave. It was the only option left to him.

Iasc thought of what awaited him on the other end of his journey, for he refused to let his past destroy his mind, to wallow in self pity. That would be a lonely, painful road to go down, a road he never wanted to see again.
He turned his attention to Zeltiva. All the wondrous things he could learn there. To get taught by the greatest minds Mizahar had ever seen. He always relished the idea of learning new things, especially learning from great minds. As he walked he sung a song to himself that his uncle used to sing. A travelling song, as befitted the occasion.

It's time to move on, time to get going What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing But under my feet, the grass is growing It's time to move on, it's time to get going.

Iasc readjusted his bag to make himself more comfortable. He had filled it mainly with food and water, hoping he would be able to rely on his archery skills and streams for additional sustenance. He had his tent tied, rather poorly, to the top of his bag so it rested against his neck. This arrangement wasn't working very well as it was quite uncomfortable which meant he had to keep stopping to readjust. The lack of room also meant he was forced to carry his mandolin and bow. He was not happy with this situation but he was never going to leave them behind.

Iasc looked at the ghostly figure that floated beside him. This invisible being, his guardian, would protect him on this journey; he knew she would. He hummed the melody of the song to himself as he walked down the road to his new life.

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Time To Move On - Tom Petty

[Nyahna Sasin]

He was bored. Very, very bored. There was nothing to do in the city except for what he had been doing for the past year, and that was only slightly less boring. He had decided to go out for a walk instead, think about just what the heck he was going to do. He had taken his water skin, a dagger, and a bit of money. Just in case.

Out on the road, he raised an eyebrow as he saw a man walking along the road, singing a song to himself. The man appeared to be carrying an instrument of sort. A musician? Hardly the kind of person you'd expect to be wandering around alone.

He sped up, until he was right besides the man. "Nice song. " He remarked. "Whereabouts are you headed? It's pretty dangerous out here, you know. Bandits and suchlike, you know." He was feeling chatty today, he decided. And if he was going to a new place, he might as well have some company.

[Iasc]

The man's voice made Iasc stop. He turned and, for a moment, he thought he had heard the voice in his head. That was until he looked down to see the man who had spoken. He was at least a foot shorter than Iasc with brown hair, looking very enthusiastic. He smiled politely as the man was talking. He was hoping to run into a person or two to share the road with. It would take about five weeks to make the journey and, while he didn't usually enjoy the company of other people, he knew it would be hard not to slip further in the jaws of insanity. Maybe this man might join him and aid him along the way.

“I'm off to Zeltiva”, Iasc answered. “And I know it's a dangerous road, but anyone who tries to harm me will feel the sting of my bow.” He gave a smile and lifted his bow to show it to the man.
“The name's Iasc, by the way”, he said, dropping his bow and offering a hand. He looked at the man curiously. “Say, would you be up for coming along?” He asked, trying to be as polite as possible. It felt strange but he thought he was doing a good job. “Two would have a better chance than one.”

[Nyahna Sasin]

He grinned as the man looked around. He was used to the hight difference, but other's reaction to it was always amusing. "Down here." He said again, eyes glittering with amusement. He eyed the bow the man held in his hand with interest. He hadn't noticed that at first. Of course, there was the little problem of people like Sasin sneaking up on them. Not that he would do that. But people like him, anyways.

He thought for a second. Zeltiva, he supposed, was as good a place as any. He had heard of it occasionally. A port city, they said it was. Even better, a city of knowledge. They said there was a university there, whatever that was, and that they taught magic. He smiled a little to himself. Yes, that would do. That would do nicely.

"Alright then." He said cheerfully. "I'll come along. Not really sure where else I want to go, really." He shook Iasc's hand. "You can just call me Sasin."

A few seconds later, making an attempt at conversation, he asked "So why are you leaving Syliras? You don't exactly seem like the type of person who would ever want to leave the safety of the city walls, if you don't mind me saying so."

[Iasc]

Iasc thought on Sasin’s question for a moment, not even considering to answer it truthfully. Even in his own mind he had trouble coming to terms with it. He could not bare to think about it, not now. He had to force his mind elsewhere. He suddenly realised that he taken a suspiciously long time in answering the question. He quickly looked at Sasin and then back onto the road ahead. “Eh...”, he stammered. “Just fed up of the city. Sure, you know yourself.” He did not wish to discuss his reasons for leaving with someone he had just met and knew very little of. In truth he would have trouble discussing it with someone he had known for a long time. He decided the best thing to do was to slide over the question.

“Why do you say I don’t seem like the kind of person to leave the city?” Iasc inquired with an awkward smile, trying to move on as quickly as possible. “Merely because I have a musical instrument you assume I do not belong out here? That, in less than a bell, I shall turn tail and scamper back to the big city.” He eyed Sasin questioningly. “What you perceive is not always the case. I could be a master of martial arts for all you know. Or could have a concealed dagger which could mean your life in less than a second. Don’t jump to conclusions so quickly, my friend. You must come to them through looking at the situation logically.”
Iasc laughed, clearly enjoying the conversation, the first one he had enjoyed in a while.

“But I digress. I am done with the city now as I have already mentioned. I have lived there for so many years and now it is time to move on... as the song says.”
He did not mean to offend Sasin through anything he said, however, if he did, it was the other man’s fault for taking it so.

By this stage he had let the conversation drift into silence, being unsure of what to talk about.

[Stag Fern]

Stag Had been on the road for some time now but he never really had any direction in which way to go. Today was no different than the rest and again he pondered on which way to go. Lets see I went left over the hill...well time for a break he thought. Stag dismounted from his horse, reached for his bag and pulled out his waterskin. Odd it seems a little lighter than usual At the same time as the thought came in the sudden urge for water came. He raised it up and waited for some water but just about a few drops of water fell. It didn't quench his thirst at all only making it worse. Sudden bursts of dryness went through his throat, it's asi if he swallowed hot sand again and again. The last time he had some water from his waterskin was maybe, last night, or maybe it's been two days already. it didn't matter he would have to killed for water. He would often survive by finding a stream and drink until he was satisfied, even the blood of animals would suffice but he never refilled his waterskin simply because the water wouldn't have reached the top. His horse on the other hand was in much better shape than his rider. For some reason his horse was never really thirsty, if theres water in front of him he would have sipped a bit then walk off or maybe he finds unknown water supplies. As Stag watched his horse happily grazing on the grass when some light quickly shined on the surrounding grass and where there was grass there was dew. Quickly Stag kneeled down and started munching on the grass but as quickly as it went in, he spat it out. It tasted like wet earth with undercooked greens (which techniquely is) but water is water so he continued his munching and spitting. As more light was shone he saw through the corner of his eye two figures. They looked human enough and they seemed friendly too. Why not if their human maybe they have water anyway it beats eating grass, as he thought while he mounted his horse. THe closer he got the more human they got. Making his way towards the the figures he shouted "Anyone have water"

[Nyahna Sasin]

He raised an eyebrow at Iasc's tone, but let it go. It wasn't his place to pry, really. The man was entitled to his privacy.

He smirked at the Iasc's retort. It was, he considered, at least partially true. The instrument did make it look like he was a city person. Although that wasn't quite it. "Perhaps. I merely meant that most of your kind tend to stay in whatever city they're in, and the one's that don't tend to be mercenaries. Now, you could be a master of martial arts, but that does seem rather unlikely, you have to admit." He smirked again. "Ah, but suppose I was a bandit intent on killing you. The logical thing to do would be to react the minute I drew a weapon, like this." he said, pulling the dagger from his belt. "If you insist on looking at the situation absolutely logically, however, you may conclude that there was some other explanation, and be promptly gutted."

He glanced up as he heard a voice. A young man was yelling at them, asking if they had water. He turned back to Iasc "See, he could be a bandit for all we know."

Pulling the waterskin from his pack, he waited for the man to stumble to them before handing it to him.

"Have you been eating grass?" He asked, amused as he saw the grass stains on the man's mouth. How odd.

[Stag Fern]

He honestly cant remember how he got off his horse or why he was walking but a headache and sore leg told eveything. He must've fallen down from his horse hitting his head and leg on the ground. Stag panicked his horse got spooked but then where was his horse?, he quickly turned around but he couldn't see however he did hear whinny's and neighs. A sigh of relief escaped his breath now he could concentrate, he'd be back now where exactly was I going? he thought. He looked up and saw two human figures one he guessed was taller than him the other was significantly smaller however the little one did have a waterskin. A sudden urge for water surged through his throat, this time it was more intense than before, but also he felt relief. All Stag wanted to was to run, grab the skin and drink to his hearts content although a nagging feeling told him not to. So instead he walked his awkward walk till he was finally in reach of the skin. The little one gave Stag his skin. Stag grabbed the skin, with incredible speed, he would have wolfed down the entire skin including the skin itself if it was drinkable...although it did start to look edible in his eyes. The little one's voice took him by surprise "Have you been eating grass" he said. The very thought almost made him throw up all the water back. Smiling awkwardly at the little one "Uh...yes little one...oh yes how rude of me thanks"'as he tossed the waterskin back. "Oh yes I'm Stag. Stag Fern. Don't worry I left some water now excuse me while I thank your father" He turned towards the larger of the two again he thanked then asked where they were going.

[Iasc]

“Most of your kind”, Sasin had said. Iasc was sure he had heard it right and wondered what the small man meant by it. He could feel the paranoia he had left behind starting to come back again. He had no idea who, or what for that matter, this man was. Just a lonely traveller, perhaps, but more likely it was more sinister than that. When Sasin drew his dagger Iasc’s grip on his bow tightened considerably. He was ready to put it in the way of himself and the the man if it came to that. He wasn’t quite sure if he was being threatened or not, though he felt he could safely assume that he wasn’t as neither Sasin’s enthusiasm nor energy level had diminished.

Their conversation was cut short by a man running towards them. Iasc took his attention away from Sasin for the moment and turned to face the oncoming stranger. “He could be a bandit”, Iasc muttered, echoing Sasin’s comment. The man walked up awkwardly and slowly, grabbed his companion’s waterskin and drank it down as though he hadn’t had a drink in years. While he was quenching his thirst, Iasc took an arrow out of his quiver and held it in the same hand as he had his bow. There was no way he could fire it, however, if one of them decided to attack him in any way he could use it to stab them. It wasn’t the ideal situation but it would have to do.

When Iasc had time to look at the man, he realised that Sasin was right. He did have grass stains on his mouth. Iasc let out a smile at the thought of the man getting down on his hands and knees to eat the grass. He had never heard of anyone doing such a thing before. He momentarily forgot his paranoia because of the grass stains and the man’s next comment. “I’m not his father”, Iasc smiled. He looked to Sasin, and then back to Stag Fern. “I don’t look that old, do I?” He asked. He decided to wave it away. Iasc clearly didn’t look like a father. He wasn’t even out of his teens yet. “We’re off to Zeltiva”, he answered in response to the man. “You’re welcome to come along if you wish.”
Iasc didn’t trust Stag at all, nor did he trust Sasin, but that didn’t really matter. He would need help on this journey, and besides, neither man looked as though they were going to try and kill him. Although, he would have to watch his back anyway.

[Stag Fern]

The first thing Stag saw when he turned was the larger man's bow and arrow suddenly he realized how dangerous a few strangers could be. Idiot you knew that it was bound to happen didn't Sunberth teach you anything. However the larger man didn't attack. Odd Stag thought but maybe this was a good thing he wasn't in immediate danger and he can still hear his horse's whinnying and neighing, Good he thought just good. He would have reached behind him and ripped out his axe or maybe his knife but just then he realized that there were not just one of them but two, he forgot about the one who just gave him the waterskin. "No I'm not his father" said the larger man. Stag looked at the man again no he isn't old at all almost my age then the man smiled. Just a few moments ago there was tension between Stag and him maybe even between all three of them but now it was as if they were old friends."Were of to Zeltiva" the man said. The very word put a smile on his face. Zeltiva afterall was his parent's home place and time and time again his father said that he would take him to Zeltiva in time, to show him the what Zeltiva is. His father told him that it was a port city with a university and that they teach magic there. Sadly that never happened they left a week before he left Sunberth to who knows where. Zeltiva huh well I do wish to find out more about it...now my horse Stag thought . Stag could still hear his horse, grazing, the munching of the grass. It also brought up the taste of grass almost making him throw up right in front of strangers but he kept in in.good he thought then he put his hands to his mouth and whistled. It wasn't long before his horse came. Grabbing the lead he looked towards the two and said "So which way is to Zeltiva, You already know I'm Stag so who are you?" he said gesturing towards the two