Tables Turned (Shiress)

by **Sayana** on July 10th, 2017, 11:11 pm

Summer 68, 517 AV

It started off like any other morning. Sayana rose early, just before dawn, and readied herself with her ravosala. Even though she was still slow and awkward in the craft, it certainly beat walking about the city on foot. Dark clouds hung over the city, but Syna was just beginning to peek out for the day. The Eypharian kept her cloak around her shoulders as she picked a bite to eat at the market stalls.

Suddenly, from behind her there was a loud smash and the cracking of wood. Turning around sharply, she saw that her ravasola tied up to the wharf, her ravosala, was under assault by a group of burly young men. Dashing quickly towards them she shouted, “Hey stop that! That’s my ravo--"

WHAM!

As if it had been staged, she felt the wind get knocked out from her and she landed sprawling onto the wooden dock. Groggily she tried to get back up. It must have come from the side, someone from the crowd. If she could just reach her daggers… Another heavy fist slammed up into her jaw and she found herself laying on the ground once more.

She was distantly aware of laughter, as well as the looming figures of the other men as they appeared to lose interest in her boat. Her cloak was yanked from her and when she was about to use her arms, a few of them were grabbed while others were stepped upon with heavy boots. Her right mid wrist, in particular, was stomped on and she let out a cry in pain only to taste blood in her mouth from the earlier punch.

“So you think you can call yourself a ravosalaman while hiding your mutant arms??” Someone jeered while he yanked her high arms behind her back. Someone else ripped her sheathed daggers from her hip and tossed them into the ravosala. It was only then that she realized there was water starting to pool at the bottom.

People were starting to gather to watch, and in the distance there was an ominous crack of thunder. “You’re not one of us. No matter who you think you are.”

Disarmed and restrained, Sayana was getting nervous and reached out instinctively for her magic. Channeling her djed, she concentrated it in her eyes, and shot out at the two men in front of her, staring hard into their vicious gaze. She poured fear into that look. Fear and the flash of Ebonstryfe coming to the scene.

Yet it was sloppy. A blunt emotion with an equally blunt visual stimulus. To her credit, the two men took a couple steps back, surprised at the mental onslaught and glancing around at the marketplace. But one of them was not to be so easily intimidated. “Petch! That bitch has the eyes of a monster.”

Sayana felt the wind knocked out of her for a second time as a heavy kick landed upon her stomach. “And what do we do with monsters? We break its arms!”

Before the Eypharian had time to recover from the last strike, she felt a wrenching, a tearing of her upper arms. Her shoulders were on fire as another yank thrust them further behind her back. She let out a muffled scream, her eyes watering and her brain furiously trying to think of some escape. She was going to die. Was she really going to die at the hands of some Ravokian thugs? She felt one of her low arms get twisted painfully high. Far higher than it ought to. There was another boom of thunder. This time much louder, and much closer.

It felt like time was slowing down. It was as if she had chimes, almost bells to think, but her mind was so groggy that she couldn’t put two and two together. It was all she could do keep conscious against the pain, and keep her eyes open in the face of the five Ravokians. Plus the sixth behind her.

She made a half-hearted attempt of a kick, but it made little effect. She was at their mercy. She tried to make another try at magic, but her head was spinning with the intense pain in her shoulders and arms. All she could do was concentrate on the faces of her assaulters. And then, it started to rain.

It came down slowly at first, and she could hear the scrambling sounds of people in the market dispersing or covering up their wares. And then it was as if the sky opened up.

“Bloody petcher. I don’t want to stick around in this. What do you want to do with her?”

“Throw her in the boat. Serves her right for pretending to be a ravosalaman.”

There were some sniggers and movement in which two of the men untied the ravosala and lined it up with the edge of the dock. The rain was beginning to come down in buckets and the crowd that had been watching was now thoroughly dispersed.

If Sayana had thought she had seen the end of the pain, she had certainly miscalculated. While one man in front grabbed her legs, the man behind her by the high arms, still twisted behind her back, and lifted her up. For what felt like an eternity of excruciating pain, they swung her once, twice, and tossed her into the ravosala.

She landed in a crumpled heap, the boat rocking side to side from the landing, and the other men dispersed as the rain came down harder. One remained for a chime longer, squinting against the downpour, and tossed what seemed to be a small metal cup in after her.

“Have fun bailing yourself out of that, monster!”

Credit: Shimoje

by **Sayana** on July 10th, 2017, 11:13 pm

She was dazed, in pain, and not even sure if all her arms worked. For a chime or two, Sayana just lay there, rain coming down fast and hard. It was a blessing, a true blessing. The water seemed to almost numb the pain, but she wasn’t sure if that was just because she was hanging on the edge of consciousness. That is, until she realized that her saviour might soon be the cause of her demise.

There was a steady wetness growing against her back and on her legs. It was only as she struggled to sit up, and painfully too, did she realize there were several inches of water in her ravosala. Was she sinking? How was she going to…? In her dazed state, her left mid hand (one of the few still uninjured) found the cup that had been thrown in. Hardly knowing what she was doing, she started scooping out cup after cup of water.

Her high arms were still on fire, or her shoulders rather. She tried not to move them and all she could think of was bailing. Had she the foresight of knowing the condition of her boat, it would have only been a small leak, but the rain seemed to intensify her plight. Yet after several chimes, it clicked in her numbed mind that she was getting nowhere. She was still afloat, but also still at the marketplace.

With a shaky hand, and gritting her teeth, she propped herself up even more and reached for the pole to take in her only two good hands. Her left mid and left low. She bumped her right mid in the process, and yelped as her hand flopped over at a grotesque angle. Fighting to gain a grip over herself, she laid it back down flat to avoid putting pressure on it.

Then little bit, by little bit, she began to pole herself along the canal. Thunder boomed from overhead and lightning lit up the sky. She had to get home. She had to. She couldn’t just die in this boat.

It was filling up with water again, yet she could hardly imagine navigating with her pole using only one hand. She wanted to cry and scream at Rhysol. His city, his cursed people, his storm… Despite her exhausted state, a sudden idea came to her. It wouldn’t do anything good for her energy but it would keep her afloat. She focused on the djed inside her and concentrated it near one of her good hands. Slowly she forced it to seep out in the form of res and hover just outside the boat. With a mental tug, a pull, she gave the floating scarlet res the ability to attract.

“For petch’s sake,” she muttered as the res attracted water from both within the boat and the canal itself. Yet it still seemed to be working, despite being half as effective as she had originally thought.

Pushing through the pain and the storm, she kept poling. Poling, poling, as if her life depended on it. And there was some very real evidence that it did. Block by agonizing block passed and soon she found herself quivering and trembling from the exertion. Her breath started to grow laboured. Would she ever make it back to the Sullin’s Residence? Lightning cracked around her and the water swelled within her ravosala. With renewed effort, she pulled with her res, trying to free the water from the boat. But it was diminishing, disappearing. There was less than a fist full now and only a weakened stream of water flowed up from inside the boat.

Though the sheets of rain, a marvelous sight caught her eye. It was the blurry outline of the Sullin’s Residence. Wet and shivering, Sayana gave one big shove with her pole to propel the boat towards the sanctuary that lay ahead. But in that moment of glorious hope, she misjudged how laden with water her ravosala had become. The strength and power of the thrust tipped the boat just enough to let in wave upon wave of water.

“Help!” She cried and summoned every ounce of magic she had left in her. Concentrating on the boat, the storm, and most importantly the water, she forged the image in her mind and latched djed all over it. The image of her mind, would soon be a flash to anyone close enough to hear her. “Help me!”

OOCIt seems I needed two posts to properly cover the intro. Hope you don't mind.

Credit: Shimoje

by **Shiress** on July 12th, 2017, 10:33 pm

Shiress stood at the window of the Sullin's cottage, watching Syna disappear beneath a veil of dark storm clouds, and Lake Ravok grow dark, shadowed, by the promise of a good downpour.

The slaves thoughts, albeit distant, were calm, idle, in stark contrast to the storm brewing outside the window. Thoughts and images blurred across the back of the slaves eyes, staggering back and forth between reality and fantasy, memory and the present. But, mostly of the present, and the man Karyk and the news he had shared. This man was Shiress' family, now. Not blood, but family all the same. Karyk reminded Shiress of home; the way he talked, the way he acted, it was Zeltiva in a way she had long missed. Although, loath to admit it, Shiress missed him, too.

The sound of thunder cracking through the air returned Shiress from her revery. For the first time, since losing herself in thought, Shiress' gaze really studied the clouds. Eyebrows arched over that scrutinizing gaze, as Shiress realized this storm may be a bit more than a downpour. Lightening flicked across the bottom of the clouds, as another crack of thunder, once again, assaulted the silence. Thinking the oncoming tempest would bring her Mistress home early, the slave scanned the water outside the cottage for the familiar ravosala. Just as the clouds opened, spilling down their wet fury, Shiress spotted the boat, lumbering toward shore, but still a good distance away.

Knowing her Mistress as she did, the slave immediately turned from the window, aiming for dry clothes and warm tea to be laid out, before Sayana made it to the door. Half way across the room, Shiress stopped, feeling as if something buzzed through her mind. Had she just heard something? Shaking her head, dismissing the thought, she continued her task, reaching for the tea strainer and cup.

"Help me!"

Shiress spun around, startled by the desperate call. "Sayana?" She had heard something! Flinging the cup and filter from her hands, She ran for the door, flung it open, and darted into the rain, eyes straining to see through the sheets of water. "Sayana!" she called, but the rain did more than just impede vision. All she could hear was heavy raindrops pounding down around her. With careful, hurried steps, Shiress made her way to where the ground gave way to a rocky hill, that lead down to the edge of the water. "Sayana, what's wrong?!" she yelled, again. Hearing no reply, Shiress began scrambling, tripping, and slipping down the rock strewn slope, halting with a jolt at the waters edge, eyes straining to make out her Mistress' form.

Something was wrong. Very wrong. Even through the wall of rain, Shiress could see that her Mistress was struggling, her body angled oddly, as if forcing herself to stay upright. Her gaze fell to the vessel, in which Sayana stood. A small gasp left Shiress' mouth, seeing that the boat listed dangerously; Sayana was in serious trouble.

Contemplating her options, Shiress glanced frantically behind her (to what, or who, she looked for - she didn't know) then slid her eyes down the simple shift covering her form, back to the boat, her Mistress, to her left, then the right, then her gaze planted squarely on the water before her feet. "Do people forget how to swim?" she ask it, expecting no answer. With a bit of an annoyed squirm, Shiress began to slip out of her sandals, deciding to remain clothed, and resigned herself to no other options, but swim to the aid of her Mistress.

As the cool water gathered around her hips, Shiress let out a long breath of swearing, before diving head first into Lake Ravok. Her feet beat against the water, as arms pushed downward, propelling her toward the ravosala. After several ticks, she surfaced, panting, beside the boat. "Sayana, what's wro..." The words cut off in her throat, seeing Sayana's condition. Green eyes trailed from the smear of blood seeping from her Mistress' lips, to the rips and tears of her dress, to the odd way she held her arms. Her many arms. One of which, was very obviously broken. She then noted the large pool of water collecting in the bottom of the boat.

It took time for Shiress to find her voice, again. "God's be damned" she swore. "Sit down, be still. You're going to be okay." She had to get the boat back to shore, but how? Shiress gave an experimental pull from the side, careful not to tip the boat further, but the combined weight of the vessel, and her Mistress, proved too heavy to glide along side. She paddled to the front and gave a tug, still too heavy. The effort pulled her beneath the surface. She came up spluttering and cursing, before swimming toward the back of the ravosala. Pushing seemed an easier feat, although, a slow one.

Halfway back to shore, Shiress' arms and stomach muscles suddenly spasmed, causing her to go rigid in the water. Once the cramp subsided, and her breathing slowed, she began again, feet paddling behind her, one hand guiding the back of the ravosala, the other pushing against the water. Finally, after several more ticks, the slaves feet met with the rocky bottom of the lake. One hand glided along the edge of the boat, as she made her way around to the front. Glancing back to her Mistress, she offered the woman a pitying smile. "Almost there, okay?"

Shiress pulled the boat the rest of the way to shore, sliding it up on a rock, before going to Sayana's side. She wrapped both arms around the woman, helping her down to the rocky path. "I'll come back for the ravosala, but first, lets get you inside. Walk slow and lean on me." Shiress more pulled the woman up the treacherous slope. The two slipped once, landing hard, resulting in a slashed knee for Shiress, who apologized profusely the rest of the way up.

Finally, they staggered through the doorway of the cottage and Shiress set quickly to undressing the Eypharian, mindful of the arms. From the other room, she yanked free a blanket from a bed, using it to dry Sayana. Once dry, Shiress led the woman to her bedroom and lowered her to the bed, eyes scanning every inch of ebony skin, noting every injury, as she spoke. "Rhysol's sagging balls, Sayana, what the petch happened to you?"

by **Sayana** on July 16th, 2017, 11:56 pm

There was water flooding the boat. She was weakening. It took all her strength even just to stay seated, and with the water rushing in, soon her legs and skirt were submerged. As the canal waters reached her injured arms, she gasped at the sting of pain. Could she swim? What if she couldn’t swim? Sheets of rain clouded her vision as she saw a vague figure on the dock ahead. Was that…? The world suddenly spun before her and she swayed heavily to one side. With a clunk, she hit her head hard against the side of the boat and in ticks, blackness engulfed her.

It was only after several chimes that she came to with an acid hot pain shooting through her shoulders as Shiress tried to help her out of the boat, now on the shore or ‘dock’.

“No no no…” she whimpered when one of her arms was pulled, and she stumbled forwards favoring her left side to use her two remaining good arms: her left mid and left low. She was breathing heavily, trying to keep her strength and make the final leg of the trip back. Her right mid, she held close to her body trying to keep the pain in her wrist at bay. But her two highs seemed helpless, with her shoulders at a strange angle. Sayana leaned heavily on Shiress. The tumble caused the Eypharian to cry out as her injuries were jostled and it seemed nearly impossible to climb the marginal slope that was there.

Finally inside and able to have a seat, Sayana shrugged painfully out of the dress she wore. She had almost drawn a dagger to slash it open, but Shiress had deft fingers already working at it, and the aid made it far easier as she simply focused on staying conscious. Winces and groans escaped her lips when her arms and shoulders were touched or moved, but for the most part she was compliant. Conversely, she had an utter lack of modesty by the time she was stripped down and dried. Yet there was no way of positioning her arms to give her proper relief. It took nearly all her mental energy to keep pushing through.

Teeth chattering from the damp, despite the warm air, Sayana wobbled slightly trying to keep her seated position. When Shiress finally asked her question, the absurdity of the situation not to mention the question itself, suddenly flooded Sayana’s mind.

“What the petch happened? What do you think the petch happened?” Except instead of anger, laughter bubbled forth. As if using it as a coping mechanism for the pain, Sayana burst into a series of giggles and full-fledged laughter. In between the outbursts, she attempted to verbalize it, but her words were nearly as disjointed as her actions.

“Have you ever, have you ever been beaten up by mere strangers on the street? Twisted and punched and kicked…” She paused as another wave of laughter struck her. “All the while being in possession of daggers that could rip out their throats?” The strange hilarity continued. “But me, an Eypharian, not even a real citizen… what could I do in the face of these humans? But mark my words, I remember their faces. I will never forget those faces…”

She teetered precariously in her seat, the movement causing her to wince at the pain it invoked. Her right mid wrist was still clutched near her stomach and the world seemed to spin around her for a moment.

“My daggers. My daggers are in the boat. Don’t let that thing sink. It cost a petching fortune. More than your food for the season and…”

This time she swayed much more dangerously. Her attempts to remain conscious were failing her. Soon she would be falling to blackness, in addition to falling forwards in her seat.

Summary of InjuriesSince I didn't quite elaborate ICly her main injuries are:
dislocated shoulders (both high arms), broken right-mid wrist, and something wrong with her right low arm. You can be creative on her right low.

Credit: Shimoje

by **Shiress** on August 11th, 2017, 8:22 pm

The slave stared at her laughing Mistress, a ready hand outstretched, prepared to catch Sayana if she passed out, bewilderment and concern warring for possession of her expression. To anyone else, this display of amusement may have been a person's way of belittling the situation, brushing off a rather embarrassing beating, but Shiress knew better. Shiress knew well that this display could very well be a sign of a serious injury.

She listened intently to Sayana's story, her concern for the Eypharian growing the more she understood what had happened. Shiress also studied Sayana, her movements, watching every wince, taking note of every limb pulled close and protected. The Eypharian's two top arms, Shiress had no idea of the proper terms, were obviously broken or dislocated, and there was an obvious break in the middle hand, as it lay against the woman at an odd angle. Sayana also protected her bottom, right arm, but Shiress could see no obvious injury.

The slave's attention was pulled back to her Mistress' face, as Sayana's story lost it's mirth, and a seriousness entered her tone. Sayana's dagger's. Shiress had completely forgotten about the many blades the Eypharian wore on her person. The slave nodded her acknowledgement with a soft spoken "I will." and "I'll see to it."

Then, Sayana was falling forward.

Shiress was ready for it and darted toward the woman, catching her, unfortunately, under her wounded, upper arms, in a bear hug. She used Sayana's forward momentum to scoop the woman from the chair. In doing so, Shiress heard the woman's left arm give an audible pop. She winced, as she felt the woman's joint realign.

Shiress unceremoniously dumped the unconscious Sayana sideways across the bed, then gently moved her top half to the pillows, then her legs. She straightened, peering down at her Mistress. She had never seen the woman in such a state before. Seeing her like this, seeing her so...vulnerable made Shiress, oddly, uneasy. She stood frozen, staring down at the still form in the bed, unsure of what to do next. After some time, Shiress finally broke the gaze and backed away from the bed. She felt the chair hit the back of her knees, and lowered herself down, scrubbing a hand across her face.

The slave sat silent for sometime, gathering herself, forcing her thoughts back through her childhood and adolescents, to the many bells upon bells of lessons from her mother in Zeltiva's infirmary. She knew that she knew what to do, but her thoughts..her mind was just so..Shiress didn't know what was wrong with her mind, but it was very difficult for her to focus on her past, to push herself back to the memory there and the thought process of that time.

Shaking her head, she slid her hand up to her hair, curling her fingers into fists around the long locks, speaking aloud to herself "Okay, first thing I need to do is to find all the injuries, so I know what I'm facing."

With growing determination, she forced herself up and crossed the room. She filled a basin with warm water, and dragged a cloth from the counter, as she turned back toward the bed. With gentle, careful strokes, Shiress began cleaning the blood from Sayana's face, then moved to her arms, elbows, and knees, cleaning every cut and abrasion she found. There wasn't many, thankfully, and none required more than a thorough cleaning. Satisfied, Shiress placed the basin of pink tinged water on the floor, then lowered herself to sit on the bed next to Sayana, her green eyes studying the woman.

Shiress wondered if a Eypharian's bones and joints were the same as a human's. Did they have more ribs? Sayana's torso did seem longer than her own, what with all the extra arms coming from it. Taking the woman's middle, right arm, the girl stretched the wounded hand out as far as it would go, which wasn't far. She would have to realign the bone before wrapping it. Shiress stood and rounded the bed to a chest, grabbed a white sheet and pulled a knife free from a nearby table, before returning to the bedside. Taking the knife, she cut several long, thin strips from the sheet and one long, thick strip, paused, looking over to the Eypharian, counted, then cut two more long, thick strips.

With the strips laid out within reach, Shiress positioned herself, and lifted the injured arm, laying the hand and wrist in her upturned palm. It was a bad break and it made Shiress' stomach churn to look at it. With her other hand, she ran deft fingers along Sayana's skin, feeling for any protruding bones along her wrist. Bones at the joint were broken, letting the hand lay, rather sickeningly, against the side of the arm, but thankfully the skin remained intact. Shiress would have to pull the hand around to realign the bones, then wrap it tightly.

The slave licked her lips, grimacing, hoping the woman was truly and completely out. This would be painful if she wasn't. In this moment, Shiress only then appreciated Orion Michaels knock to her head, when she was in a similar state. She steadied her grasp, and gently pulled the hand around. It made a crackling sound, like parchment being balled up in a fist. Sayana moaned, re-positioning her head, but made no attempt of awakening. Still holding onto the arm, Shiress wrapped the wrist several times, pulling the bandage across her hand, around her thumb, then back up, and around her wrist twice more, before knotting it off. Taking another, longer strip of cloth, Shiress ran it beneath Sayana, then placed the newly wrapped hand across the woman's chest, brought both ends of the cloth around, and tied it, immobilizing the broken wrist.

Moving further up the bed, Shiress made another sling and immobilized the inadvertently aligned arm, tying the sling in place around the Eypharian's neck. Next, came the still dislocated arm. Shiress guessed this injury, but the odd way the shoulder looked, she was confident she was right, not to mention the adjacent injury; it didn't take a lot of thought to determine someone had pulled Sayana by her arms. Hard.

Knowing how to do something is not the same as doing it. Shiress knew how to realign a dislocated shoulder, she had seen it done many times by her Mother -dock workers were constantly breaking and dislocating things- but she had never attempted the procedure. She ran the steps through her head several times until confident she could manage it.

Standing, Shiress kicked the slipper from her foot, frowned, then reluctantly sat back down on the bed beside Sayana. She had a big problem, two of them, actually. Shiress needed to sit close to Sayana, facing her dislocated shoulder, then she needed to place her leg along Sayana's side and position her foot into the woman's arm pit. However, there were two other shoulders and two other arms in the way of this procedure. Shiress' lips puckered and twisted to the side, as she contemplated this problem. After a tick, her eyebrows arched. She had an idea.

Shiress slowly turned Sayana to her side, then, pulled her top half back down, until both top shoulders were against the bed, again. The Eypharian looked as if she were lying on her side, but twisted around to see behind herself. This put both arms out of the way. Shiress nodded, satisfied, then lowered herself, once again, beside Sayana, positioned her foot, and blew out a deep, steadying breath. In one fluid motion, Shiress pulled on the Eypharian's arm, as her foot pushed into the shoulder. Instantly, the joint gave a satisfying, deep clunk and Shiress loosened the pressure.

After placing the arm in a sling, Shiress stood over Sayana, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest with her breaths. The Eypharian lay with two arms slinged and criss-crossed over her chest, another arm bandaged and secured against her belly, and another slinged and lying across her hips. This arm Shiress suspected some brutally torn muscles. Sayana would be in a lot of pain for the next few days, but Shiress felt confident that she had done all she could for her.

Turning, Shiress pulled her cloak from the wall, and crossed the floor to the door. She would let Sayana rest a while. She had daggers and a boat to see to.
OOCSorry for the wait and long post!

by **Sayana** on August 22nd, 2017, 2:03 am

When the Eypharian’s strength and mental fortitude had finally failed her, she was out like a rock. The physical injuries were one thing, pressing through it was another, but the onslaught of her mind had driven her to the edge. But worst of all, she hadn’t even known it, hadn’t detected the intense overgiving she was being subject to.

The funny thing with your mind, is that it’s all in your mind…

From the subtly planted chaon curse that had started it all, a curse that would intensify any overgiving she experienced. Then to the hypnotism, the overgiving, the delusions. She had needed a distraction, any distraction, and so much that she made herself believe that the thunder was real. That the rain was real. That the torrents of water were real… And the only way to truly believe, was to make others around her believe in the delusion too.

Yet Rhysol protects. Protects his people, his city, his…

Sayana let out a groan as dreams of lightning and thunder racked her sleep. During Shiress’s administrations, the Eypharian remained unconscious, exhausted by the recent events. There would be the occasional murmur, but she did not wake. Outside, the storm would slowly gather, yet under Rhysol’s protection, the winds and rain would not strike the city. The Eypharian remained asleep for an inordinate amount of time. A typical doctor might begin to worry, but would have to weigh the pros and cons to a good long sleep.

When the next day began to dawn and then when Syna reached her pinnacle and carried on past it, Sayana finally began to stir. There had been brief moments where she was nearly conscious, but still subject to her dreams. Moments where she might have been able to hear something, but in which she would try to translate it into the current vision she was experiencing. However, as the storm began to grow beyond Ravok’s boundary, it seemed to stir up her delusions rain and thunder. Water was gushing in. Covering her mouth. She couldn’t breathe. She--

Sayana gave a muffled splutter as she finally regained consciousness. Her first, and mistaken movement was to try to move her arms. They were bandaged tight but the attempt brought pain shooting through her limbs. There was less of it in her high arms, but her wrist felt like she had shoved it in fire.

She tried to keep calm, despite the restraining bandages, and looked around for something recognizable. Preferably a familiar face. Outside, the full force of Rhysol’s protection was in action and many Ravokians were out reveling in such a blessed event.

OOC Comments :

Credit: Shimoje

by **Shiress** on September 12th, 2017, 7:05 pm

Shiress set to her duties, quickly, wanting to get back inside to keep a watchful eye on the Eypharian. Several times, as she worked, she thought of fetching a healer, but something in her thought Sayana would prefer her injuries to remain private. Besides, Shiress didn’t want to run into the ruffians herself. Was Sayana targeted because of her race? Had she been harassed before or was she just a victim of drunken circumstance? The girl shrugged of the contemplation and focused on the task at hand.

The ravosala had drifted away from shore, obliging Shiress to wade through waist deep water to get to it and pull it across the water to the dock. After securing it with several knots, she pulled the bow up onto the rocky land and stepped into the boat. Six knives lay in the bottom of the ravosala, submerged in a puddle of water. Scooping the front of her skirt into a bowl, Shiress carefully retrieved each blade, securing them within her makeshift container, and made her way back to the cabin.

Sayana slept fitfully as Shiress laid out a towel across the table and placed the knives out to dry. Crossing the floor to her room, Shiress quickly shed her wet garments, slipping into a simple shift, before stoking the fire to heat water. As she waited for the caldron to heat, the slave glanced over to her now still and silent Mistress. A pang of fear swept through her at the suddenly still form. She crossed the floor in a flash, clamping a hand across the woman’s forehead. ”Sayana?” Remembering the many times her mother worried over an unconscious body, Shiress curled her fingers into a fist and rubbed her knuckles hard against the woman’s chest, feeling the ridges of the breastbone slide uncomfortably against the back of her fingers. The Eypharian gave a grunt of discomfort, swiveling her head back and forth, and Shiress gave a sigh of relief. Not completely unconscious, just a deep, healing sleep. For now.

It would be a long, long night.

And a long night it was as every bell or so, Shiress checked on her Mistress, wiping her face with a warm cloth, re-securing her bandages, and offering a bit of water through chapped, slightly parted lips. When Sayana grew too still for Shiress’ liking, the pain test was administered and Shiress was visibly reassured each time the woman reacted to the pain.

As the night deepened, Shiress began pacing the cabin floor, fearing to sit still would see her fast asleep. She mumbled, at first, to herself, then as that grew repetitious, and the dawn grew closer, she began rambling to Sayana’s deaf ears. ”I don’t think I have ever been in love before.” she was saying, arms out stretched for balance as she made a game of trailing along one wooden floor plank. ”Can you love someone you just only met? I don’t think you can, but if I have never felt love how would I know?” she sighed. ”I just can’t stop thinking about him, though. Is that love?”

Back and forth her bare feed tread the board and she continued to ramble thoughtlessly. Did she love Karyk, or just love the news he shared? Was it him or Zeltiva she couldn’t stop thinking about? If she did love Karyk, was there a chance he would feel the same? ”Could he love a slave?” With that utterance she halted her pacing and turned to face the prone form. ”Your slave?” With a weery slump of her shoulders, Shiress made her way back to the bed, sitting beside her Mistress. ”Of course he wouldn’t, would he Sayana?” she brushed back the coal black hair from the Eypharian’s face. ”That’s what you would tell me, isn’t it? You are the only love in my life, aren’t you?”

Glancing around, Shiress only then became fully aware of her surroundings and of the light coming in from the window. ”Morning.” she noted. Leaning down, the slave placed a soft kiss on her Mistress’s forehead. ”You made it through the night.” Her voice revealing the hidden regret her mind refused to acknowledge.

Lifting herself from the bed, Shiress pulled out a chair from the table and sat, taking in the dire condition of Sayana’s muddy knives. One by one, the slave began cleaning the daggers, meticulously and precisely, just as a dutiful slave should. Just as she should- a slave. As she lifted the last dirt encrusted blade, she hovered it before her face, admiring the soiled, yet sharp edge. Green eyes suddenly focused just passed it, onto Sayana; her ebony face turned toward her. She rolled the blade slightly in her hand, seeing the razors edge against the Eypharian’s neck, imagining metal against flesh. She held it there, eyes vacant, until Sayana gave an audible groan. It took some time for Shiress to register her Mistress’s eyes were open. It took a tick longer for a genuine, relieved smile to cut through dark thoughts and appear across her thin lips. Laying the dagger back onto towel, Shiress moved, coming to her knees beside the bed, her hand playing gently in Sayana’s hair.

”How you feeling, Mistress?” Shiress glanced around, frowning. "Hold on, lets get some light and fresh air in here. Straightening, the slave crossed the room and opened the door, a gulf of wind blowing long, chestnut locks from her shoulders. Moving back to her Mistress' side, she sat, hand brushing back hair from the woman's face. "Now, are you in much pain? Do you feel like a bit of broth, maybe?"

by **Sayana** on September 18th, 2017, 1:12 am

Partway through the night, while Sayana was floating between consciousness and her sleeping state, she heard the soft words of Shiress’s reflection on love. They had a dreamlike quality to them, as if Sayana herself was speaking such words of indecision. But the more that Sayana heard the words seemingly leave her mouth, the more they sounded like a stranger’s voice.

Can you love someone you only just met? I just can’t stop thinking about him, though. Is that love? Could he love a slave?

Sayana shifted in her sleep. These were the words of someone new to love. These were not her words. Whose words were they? A slave?

Of course he wouldn’t, would he Sayana? That’s what you would tell me… You are the only love in my life…

The half-dream seemed to fade and was replaced with a deeper sleep. When Sayana finally awoke, only pieces of it would remain in her memory, and mostly the strange idea of someone being new to love. She loved Clyde, did she not? Was it not true love?

As she was stirred from her sleep and soon sat up with a start, she was glad to see Shiress, her slave, by her bedside. Her wrist, nonetheless burned, and she gritted her teeth and momentarily closed her eyes to suppress the pain.

“I’m… I will manage.” She answered slowly. “How long have I…?”

The words hung on her lips as she watched Shiress cross the room to open the door. Not only the door to the bedroom, but to the outside. Images of rain and thunder flashed through her mind, but as she tried to see outside, it was only dark clouds that gave any sign of the storm raging above the city. In the distance, Sayana thought she could make out vague chanting or even singing as if celebrations were being held throughout the city.

“Some broth would… would be nice.” Sayana murmured as she tried to wet her parched lips.

She slowly leaned back onto the bed, but still craned her neck to look outside. The breeze was nice despite the dark skies. Hot humid air with a cool aftermath… A streak of lightning suddenly brightened the entire sky. Thunder boomed and a dazzling display of lights and colours filled the air above. Voices went silent and there were chimes of awed silence.

Even from her poor view of the city skyline, Sayana seemed to hold her breath. Other lights seemed to twinkle like slowly falling stars and suddenly a gust of wind blew in a flower, or maybe even two. However, her eyes were only on the rich magenta flower that, with another gust of wind flew towards her and landed on the bedsheets in her lap. The single flower had its petals closed, rather like a bud. Yet the sweet smells of the flowers drifting to the city pervaded the air. She wondered how it had flown in so well, and thought that maybe it had only closed when it had landed, too quick for her to have noticed.

Reaching out with one of her non-injured hands, she picked it up and inspected it. In the distance, she heard a couple devoted cries of ‘Rhysol!’ Of course the Ravokians would think of their god. But had Rhysol really been responsible for this? A shower of flowers? She closed her eyes for a moment trying to imagine Rhysol and what he would do with such a display of flowers. However, when she opened her eyes, the flower in her hand had peculiarly opened.

A sudden flash of imagery shot through her mind. It was a momentary scene of a woman tripping the man next to her so she might catch a falling flower. It was somewhere next to a canal, with a brick building and…

Just as suddenly, the vision was gone and as she tried to clear her head, she realized that the flower had closed once more. With all the strange things she had been seeing and experiencing lately, she wasn’t sure how well she could believe it. But it didn’t seem like something she would have thought of on her own, was it?

Nevertheless, she held the flower possessively against her chest wondering what it meant or what it would mean in the long run.

OOCMagenta flower of indecision approved by Prophet and included in my SS. Full description will be on my CS shortly.

Magenta Flower :

Credit: Shimoje

by **Shiress** on September 18th, 2017, 3:59 pm

The slave came to her feet to set to the task of warming the broth for her Mistress, emptying the contents of a jar into a cauldron and setting it over the fire, glancing up just as a roar of wind burst through the open cabin door.

A small purple flower wafted through the doorway and straight into Sayana's bed. Hiking a brow, Shiress smiled at the oddness. Turning away, She filled a cup with cool water and pulled a bowl from a cabinet, filling it with the now lukewarm broth. Having busied herself, the girl missed Sayana's interaction with the flower, had there been anything to see, but upon turning and crossing the room back to her Mistress, Shiress noticed the protective way the Eypharian held the flower against her chest, but said nothing, only noting it with a worried frown.

Shiress placed the water and broth on a table beside where Sayana rested, then lowered herself onto the bed, glancing down at the flower the woman held. "Pretty." She said, then smiled. "Seems even the Gods are glad you're awake."

OOCA simple, quick closing. Let me know if I need to add anything else

by **Alija** on December 23rd, 2017, 11:33 am

ENJOY YOUR GRADES

Sayana

Skill	XP
Endurance	2XP
Driving (Ravosala)	1XP
Reimancy	1XP
Hypnotism	1XP
Socialisation	1XP

The feeling of being beaten up
Reimancy: Attracting water
Magenta Flower: Gift from Rhysol
Magenta Flower: Gives strange visions

I gave you a point in Hypnotism for trying to do it over a large area, when she was calling for help. For the more simple flashes, it isn't enough for your skill level to get it.

Injuries gained: dislocated shoulders in both high arms, broken right mid-wrist, brutally torn muscles in lower right, various minor cuts and abrasions

Shiress

Skill	XP
Observation	2XP
Swimming	1XP
Socialisation	2XP
Endurance	1XP
Medicine	1XP

Medicine: Cleaning wombs
Swimming: Pushing a boat
Medicine: Checking for protruding bones
Medicine: Realigning a dislocated shoulder
Karyk: Maybe she loves him
Magenta Flower: Sayana's pretty flower

For someone who has no points in Swimming, Shiress was almost a little too good with saving Sayana. I gave you the point this time, but be aware she shouldn't really know how to swim. Also, you mentioned touching the bottom of the Lake - the lore states it's 500 feet deep, so I doubt Shiress would be that tall! The buildings are all on floating platforms, so they don't need to go all the way down.

I hope you two enjoy the grade - please let me know if you have any queries or issues with it!

Closed Tables Turned (Shiress)