Open [Heat Is On] Gemstones and Jewels

[Anibesa]

51st Summer, 517
"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

The moon was beginning to set and the Ethaefal smiled up at it lightly, before running a hand through her black hair. She tentatively touched her green horns, aware that they would be disappearing soon, once the sun rose. But she was determined to enjoy these last few moments of moonlight, basking in the cool and weak light of the moon and replenishing herself.

Smiling lightly, she rolled up her pants and began to wade into the water, until the water reached the middle of her calves, and she was grinning at the feeling of the water splashing her and moving the sand around her, before looking around.

It was fairly quiet, save for a few people picking things up from the beach and squealing at whatever they'd picked up, but Anibesa passed it off as childish games and continued to just splash about in the water on her own to try and cool down.
They weren't close enough for her to worry about interfering, and they were too far for her to have tried interacting with.

It wasn't long before she found herself looking up to the sky again, her eyes fixing on a cloud as she watched it float around gently, before she opted to back out of the water and sit on the shore to contemplate what she should do.

Sighing, she leant back and stared upwards through blue eyes, focussing all of her attention on the sky and letting a slight smile spread across her face.

"One day I'll be back up there! It's just destiny that I'm down here!" she said determinedly. "I'll find a way to prove myself!" she declared, bracing herself for the horrible fate of returning to the body of a Svefra woman that she knew so little about.

Sighing, she looked at her hands seeing the opalescent sheen where the moonlight hit her skin. She had heard people before claim that her skin was like moonlight itself, but she was certain that that was only because they hadn't learnt to appreciate the true beauty of the moonlight.
Even now, looking at the sea with the moonlight reflecting off it, she was taken aback by its beauty, and she started to feel incredibly mournful of the life with the gods that she had been torn from.

Before she had the time to dwell in her own her thoughts, the moon began to set and the sky in the distance turned orange, a sign of the Sun surely rising.

And as expected her skin began to ripple with a cool toned white light, like the moonlight reflecting off a lake after a stone had been thrown into it. Soon, the white light had engulfed her, and her horns disappeared.

Once the light dissipated she was left in her Svefra form and she felt a tear roll down her cheek.
She wished to stay in her beautiful shining form, but now she was stuck in a plain form. A form where she couldn't feed from the moonlight and a form that was as mortal and plain as most other creatures.

Sighing, she turned away from the rising sun, resenting it slightly for pulling her back into her mortal seeming, though as the day went on, she knew she'd come to appreciate the sun and its warm rays.

It wasn't long before that happened today.

As the rays of sunlight gradually lit the beach, a few things began to shine and glimmer and Anibesa was curious.
She waded out of the water, placing one foot in front of the other carefully until she came to one of the glinting objects.

It was a green stone, small but beautifully formed and something much more than just a lump of green rock.

"Gemstones?" she questioned aloud and she now realised why people had been squealing with joy earlier. Had she been less composed, she'd be squealing with joy herself.

She walked through the beach a bit more and managed to find another gemstone, this one a light purple colour and just as beautiful as the last.

Grinning widely she tried to remember the name of the deity that resided over gems, though the name escaped her.
"Thank you for the gift of these gemstones!" she whispered the prayer, slightly ashamed that she didn't know who she was praying to, before she started towards the squealing people she'd noticed earlier, only to see them running back towards the main part of Syka, presumably to tell everyone, or to hide the stones they'd found somewhere, to stash them away where nobody would find them.

Her grin growing wider, she ran to stand in the water again, to see that the tide gradually pushing a few more gemstones to the beach and Anibesa instantly wondered whether Laviku was playing a part in the discovery of these gemstones.

Either way, Anibesa was beyond excited, and she instantly moved to kneel in the water, leaning forwards slightly as she prayed to Laviku this time.

"Lord of the seas, if you intended to play a part in bringing these gemstones here or not, I thank you!" she said this prayer a bit louder, before a wave hit her, soaking her hair and chest completely, though she didn't mind. She was too happy to bothered by water.

Grinning, she stood up and pushed her hair out of her face, before attempting to walk at a fast pace to try and collect a few more gemstones, though her clothes were weighing her down and she found herself tripping over every so often.
She wasn't moving any faster than she would normally moving at that speed wasn't worth the slight burning in her lungs.
Word Count948
Seasonal Total: 2698

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

The sun hadn't yet risen, but Merevaika couldn't really care. Her heart ached, furious at her mind for throwing those dreams at her again. Dreams that were so perfect in their entirety, with Syna smiling at the just the right heat, Zulrav racing at just the right speed, Merevaika feeling full of life and strength, Eryunt with her like he always was in perfect dreams like that. Those perfect dreams would have, once, been the best thing to wake up with. She would have woken up happy, smile on her face, ready to meet the day. Those perfect dreams were like knives, now. Every waking moment remembering them was another stab, even though she was already full of holes.

Why? Because before, she could leave a perfect dream to live that perfect dream. Now, everything perfect from it all had been snatched from her life.

Barefoot, the sand felt different. Merevaika hated it. Her toes tried to grip, but only buried themselves further. Each step, no matter how careful, toppled her, as sand banks shifted beneath her weight and collapsed. The feeling of something other than air beneath her feet was horrible enough, but with it trickling above too, burying her in its grasp, she felt sickened.

She would have almost broken into a run, if it hadn't been so hard to do that. But she managed to hobble to the water, where the sand was firmer, where it wasn't a million tiny pieces but one, still malleable, but more predictable mass. Feet sinking, she let the water lick at her feet. It flowed up and around her body, into the footprints she left behind in the sand. The sea. She hated that too. Seas were meant to be green, with rolling hills and grass that moved of its own accord. Not blue, wet, flat and still. Not like this at all.

Giving a low whistle, her eyes moved across the water and back onto the beach. There was someone in the distance. Moving into the water.

Merevaika didn't care.

She reached down, brushing the dog that moved to her feet with the tip of her finger. Beast was learning, slowly. Much faster than any other dog, but still slowly. That thing was half wild. Made the process harder.

"What do you think? This place... is it the paradise they call it, or a place full of pain?" she mumbled beneath her breath, continuing to stroll along the water's edge. The shadow kept close, but further out from the water than Merevaika. Barking, she moved away from the woman, spotting something - probably a gull or piece of driftwood. "Would you really know either?" the woman continued to muse, moving out from the tide to follow her dog.

Her toe stubbed into something, and she let out a grunt, glancing down ready to chuck the offending rock straight back into the ocean. Instead, she gave a gasp. An excited squeal. Then she ducked down, picked it up, rubbed it, blinked a few times, and couldn't believe she was seeing what she was seeing.

A gemstone, a fairly large one at that, glimmering and glinting and beautiful. And she had just stubbed her toe on it. Holding it in an outstretched arm, she spun it round and round in her hand, before breaking into a run, forgetting her hatred for sand, forgetting that perfect dream. "Beast! Beast, look! A gemstone! We're going to be rich! Rich!" The dog gave a bark, and Merevaika looked down towards her too. She was digging in the sand, sending up streaks behind her, and amidst the paws and dirt, something else seemed to be glinting.

With a growl, Merevaika dropped the first gemstone to the side and pounced on Beast, determined to get her out of the way before she buried this. The much larger woman pushed at the dog with both hands and feet, growling strongly. One hand moved up to grasp her muzzle, fighting at first to avoid the snapping jaws, then squeezing tight when she could. Her other hand, eventually, moved down to hold both of Beast's front legs. Eyes met each other, and Merevaika growled again, rolling so Beast was definitely under her. "Mine. That gemstone, that is mine."

The dog froze, before giving a low whine and pushing away. Merevaika let her go, realising she might have been a bit rough in her attack. Beast was her ally, as wild as she was. And hurting her over this gem...

But it was there, glimmering, beautiful. Expensive. Licking her lips as she rubbed this one clean of the sand too, she grasped both in one hand. Where there were two, there had to be more.

With the initial excitement fading, and the whole squabble with the dog over, she started to notice the rest of the beach more. The people leaving to hide their treasures. And that woman, praying in the water. To the god of the sea, for gemstones? Merevaika couldn't be certain if she had heard right. That was stupid.

But it made her think. Surely, Semele was responsible - the earth and everything in it was her domain. And Semele... Semele meant something to the Drykas that she doubted meant much to the people here. Semele had given her song to help form the first Strider. Semele had taken the Drykas into their belly when the Valterrian had come. Merevaika had fought in her belly, been trapped there, gained her sight there, found Beast there. Beast was as much as a gift from Semele as these gemstones were.

Did that mean she had been spared by this goddess? Were these gemstones a gift to her, as an apology for all the pain she had gone through? They had to have been placed there for her. She couldn't think of any other reason.

Without a second thought, she marched towards the woman who had emerged from the water and searched for gemstones among the sand. Whether they were for her or not, this woman, whoever she was, wouldn't know any different.

"Please." Yes, that was good. Start polite, civil. "The gems - they are mine. Semele gave them - to me. Will you...?" The woman extended a hand - her empty one - and gestured towards the gems she held. "I am sorry but... my goddess... her gift to me... She did not think you find them too."

When had Semele been her goddess, though, really? Well, now she was. At the moment, she was the only goddess that could ever have mattered.

Of course, just stating that wouldn't work on the soaked woman, would it?

"Pavi"
Grassland sign
"Common"

wordcount :

+1107
=8748

[Eamon]

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51st of Summer 517 AV

It perhaps shouldn’t be surprising, given that he turned into a human during the day, that Eamon was alternatively either a night owl or a very early riser. He loved Leth, dearly, although there was a bittersweet nature to their relationship. The Ethaefal had fallen, after all, been cast out by accident or design from Leth’s realm. Still, Eamon didn’t blame his god; after all, if someone was at fault, it was likely to be the Eamon himself, for not being worthy of Leth’s love. Still, he was determined to get back in the God’s good graces, and if that meant losing a little sleep to bask in the moonlight, well, it was a price worth paying.

There was, however, an actual purpose to his early morning meanderings this time around. Syka was bustling, even at this early hour in the morning, as people got ready for their days and mingled, enjoying the slightly cooler air that would quickly heat up as soon as Syna poked her head over the horizon. Eamon had rolled up his sleeves to expose himself to the last rays from Leth. It was both a spiritual and a practical decision; for some reason he didn’t quite understand, being under the moonlight gave him a feeling of fullness and satiety. He wasn’t going to question this blessing from Leth, though, just accepting it as a fact of life. His arms were shimmering in the moonlight, for a few more chimes at least, and their long length was weighed down by the two buckets he held. It would be especially bad considering he was wearing his pack with his potter’s kit inside it strapped to his back.

Eamon was on a mission: he had to see if there were more clay deposits around the area. He’d been searching for a while now. There was one that he knew of, but it was a bit remote, and he didn't know how deep it was. If he was going to seriously make an effort at being a potter he had to secure a steady supply of clay, which meant he had to go around the entire area and see what he could find when it came to clay. It wasn't an easy job, for Eamon at least, since he didn't really know the terrain or how to get around yet. So he might be at this for quite a while. If he did actually find some useful materials, he'd bring them back to his tent. That's what the buckets were for, unwieldy as they were. On the off chance he actually found what he was looking for, Eamon wasn't looking forward to lugging them back when they were full and incredibly heavy. It would probably be an all day trip, after which his arms and whole body would probably be aching terribly.

Luckily, he'd had the foresight to page through his book on pottery to see if it had a section on locating clay. It had, and Eamon had been pleased. It wasn't necessarily an easy task, but the book hasn't made it seem impossible. The Ethaefal tried to recall what the exact wording of the passage was. ‘Clay is found in many different places around the world. It can be found in its dry form, where it resembles brown rocks. Scrape a bit off. If it crumbles into a powder, add water to see if it dissolves. If it does, it's likely it's clay. Wet clay is found near sources of water, but not typically near beaches. It looks like mud; you may have to dig for a while to actually find it. If you do think something looks likely, take a bit, wrap it around your finger, and see if it maintains its shape. If it does, it's likely to be clay. Keep in mind that these tests are not infallible and you might have to run further experiments before you verify that it's indeed the proper substance.’ That last part didn't exactly fill him with a great degree of confidence, but at least he had a starting off point.

By the time he reached river where his search would really begin, the sun had risen and he'd reverted back to his Svefra form, with a rush of loss. Eamon sighed. He already missed Leth, but didn't begrudge Syna her time to shine. There were more people than he'd expected out here this morning, and they seemed both excited and agitated, but he ignored them, focused completely on his task. He began walking upstream, towards the jungle. He had to find the point where the sand became soil, which hopefully wouldn't take him too far into the canopy. Even short excursions into the jungle could be fraught with danger.

Eventually, he'd walked far enough that the footing didn't shift treacherously underneath his feet and there were even some fallen leaves. Eamon stopped, kneeling down and brushing off a large patch to expose the mud beneath. Realizing at that point that he'd forgotten to bring anything that would help him dig a deep hole, Eamon shrugged off his pack and starting rummaging through his kit. He eventually pulled out a trowel, which was probably better than trying to use the buckets somehow, or worse, his bare hands. He inserted it into the ground, and tossed a clump of mud to one side. He kept at it for who knows how long, making an ever wider and ever deeper hole, before he finally reached a spot that looked discolored compared to its surroundings.

Setting the trowel aside, Eamon reached down and pinched off a chunk. Rolling it between his palms until he had a cylindrical shape, he wrapped it around his index finger and waited to see what the result was. When it stayed exactly where he’d put it, he whooped with joy and even pumped a fist in the air for good measure. This was an excellent sign. Not bothering to pick up the trowel again, Eamon plunged his hand into mud and picked up a handful.

However, his hand didn’t close on pliable mud like he’d expected, but rather on a hard object. Thinking he’d uncovered a rock, Eamon was about to throw it away when he noticed that one of the exposed edges glimmered. Walking over to the stream, the Ethaefal washed his discovery in the water and was shocked to discover he’d found a beautiful gem, one that shimmered with every color in the rainbow, similarly to his own skin at night when struck by a moonbeam. That’s incredible. Although it was small, fitting easily into the center of Eamon’s palm, it was beautiful, and he sat there mesmerized for Leth knew how long.

The sound of voices drew him out of his reverie, and he glanced around. Most people in the area had scattered, and Eamon had a sneaking suspicion he knew why. He could see glints of color that hinted at other treasures just waiting to be uncovered. There were, however, two women left in the area, and their voices had been what distracted him. One, he was surprised to see, he recognized. Her shock of red hair briefly transported him to a few bells on the beach closer to the beginning of the Summer. Anibesa, or Ani as she preferred, had been a great help in a not great situation. The other was unfamiliar to him, with dark and wild brown hair and bright eyes that he could tell were green even from far away, with a dark dog by her side. Anibesa was praying, it looked like, but the other woman was approaching fast. Eamon grabbed his buckets, threw on his pack, and then broke into an ungainly jog the odd weights and objects making it hard. He wasn’t a good runner at the best of times and this was a particular difficult task, but luckily it was only a short distance away. He wanted to discuss his discovery, which he’d slipped in his bag, with the women.

That plan might not be the best course of action, though, because just as he was getting close, he could here the unknown woman demand that Anibesa hand over whatever gem the redhead might have grabbed. At least, that was what Eamon was assuming. He’d never heard of this Semele, but apparently she was a goddess of some kind, one related to gemstones. He stopped, having to take at least a chime to catch his breath, but he nodded first at Ani and then at the other woman, watching the dog warily out of the corner of his eye. Now that he was closer, the hairs on his arms were prickling every time the animal moved.

The other woman’s request was quite polite, but also rather insistent, even delivered in a slightly unpolished Common as it was. Finally able to speak, Eamon decided to keep quiet about the rock he’d already stashed away. Still, it was obvious there was more than one precious stone here, although how many there were he couldn’t say. “Hello, you two.” Eamon set his buckets down before turning to the woman who wasn’t Ani. “Who can say where these rocks came from? Sky, sea, or earth, a goddess or magic or simply nature, does it matter?” He tried to keep his voice as calm and as reasonable as possible, not sure what the other woman’s motivations were. “Wherever they’re from, shouldn’t we share this gift, with each other at least?” That only made sense to the Ethaefal but perhaps the others had differing opinions. “I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement,” he finished amiably.

word count1609 + 5296 = 6905

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[Jaylani Rae]

The girl was running. Far and fast her feet carried her. Her cheeks were flushed a rosy red and her bronzed legs were speckled with flecks of the sand. She was exuberant in her delight. The world was a grand place full of beauty and life. Beside her there were all sorts of animals of the land running with her. Even creatures of the sea followed her as best as they were able to while staying within their watery home. The girl laughed with them, played with them. The animals were not hostile or aggressive, but instead playful and loving. It was as though they were enjoying this as much as she was. Their running was easy, their breath even, and the sand propelled them rather than hindered them.

Jaylani flew her arms wide, soaking up the light of the moon. The night did not frequently bring her such pleasure, but this night did. What was different? She had no idea. Her laughter simply rose and her smile filled her cheeks. One of the animals beside her -a canine of some sort- howled in echo of her laughter which only caused more to bubble up from somewhere within her chest. One of her arms came down and her hand reached down to stroke the fur of the beast. The canine’s fur was soft to the touch. Jaylani smiled and then she raised her head to the moon. Both beast and mixed blood let out their calls.

Something else rose with the sound of all the animals big and small. It was nothing like the calls these creatures made. More of a squeal. A high pitched sound of excitement. Jaylani’s call shrunk and the rest were soon drowned out as well. The mixed blood looked around her in search of the one who made such a sound. The only left with her, however, was the canine. He looked at her with large, smokey, eyes before he too began to fade. Light began to surround him and as he let out one last, mournful call, he disappeared along with the night.

~

Golden light was pouring in through the canvas of the tent. Molten caramel eyes blinked once.. twice.. three times before the mixed blood realized it was morning that had come. The whispers of the dream faded from her mind as arms stretched high above her head. A yawn stretched out her jaw and a twist popped the lower bones of her back. Fingers collided with her mess of waves and curls before hands came to rub clean her tired eyes. She had slept in so much later than what was normal for her. It was rare for her to miss Syna’s rise.

Jaylani brought herself up to her feet and made her way tiredly around her tent to fetch her things. Though she did not have much, she managed to make a mess of the few possessions she did own. Her shirt was in one corner, her pants draped lazily over her quarterstaff, one boot in the middle of the room while the other was tipped on its side by the wall. What exactly had she been doing the night before? One might have thought something exciting had been going on, but no. Nothing like that. She had just lazily thrown her stuff around before slumping onto her bedroll like a sack of potatoes.

Loose pants were being pulled on and cinched at the waist when another one of those squeals pierced the air. Muscles tightened as Jaylani cringed away from the noise. She had thought that it had just been another part of her dream, but it appeared that was not so. Something was out there. Something that caused some of the others to make such horrid sounds. Was that excitement on their lips? Terror perhaps? Jaylani was uncertain and though she was hesitant to try and find out, she decided it was in her best interest to know what was going on with the rest of the settlement. It might effect her in some way after all. So the mixed blood hastily grabbed her olive colored shirt and yanked it over her head before making her way out of her home.

Jaylani was half way down the beach and tucking her shirt into the waistband of her pants before she even realized that her boots had been left behind. She contemplated heading back to grab them, but then decided against it. She hated wearing them anyway and they did nothing to protect against the invasive particles of sand that worked their way into literately everything. It was a good thing the half Eypharian did not mind the sand. She actually liked it and felt at home here on the beach. She enjoyed the feeling of wet sand between her toes and did not mind the specs of dry sand that seemed to follow her wherever she went.

It was along the edge of the ocean that the mixed blood found her first gemstone. She stubbed her toe up against it first, actually. It was rare for her to look where she was going by looking down to the ground beneath her. She might have usually kept moving, but the feeling of something hard and jagged piercing her big toe was enough to get her to take pause. A frown took over her features before she realized what she had stumbled upon. It had hurt, but not enough to cause a yelp of pain or surprise. Instead she simply looked down to inspect what had assaulted her. She expected a sharp rock or the forgotten claw of some long dead crab, but that was not what she found. Instead she was met with the sight of a half a palm sized, glistening, yellow stone. It was surprise that took over her features then and all thought of finding the origin of the squealing was forgotten.

The curious girl picked up the stone and dusted the sand off from it. It was a raw stone, free from polish or sculpting. Its edges were jagged and rough, but it was beautiful. Syna's light captured it so beautifully. Jaylani stared at it with pure amazement written across her face. She did not know the worth of what she held, but she saw it as beautiful. More so than the shells she often picked up along the beach. Excitement at the find lit her eyes as she slipped it into her pocket. It was so pretty, a glorious find to add to her collection.

After the stone had been placed in her pocket, Jaylani kept moving. She was just walking along the beach, but her eyes were trained on the sand below her now. what if there were more? More pretties for her collection! The mixed blood was hopeful that she might find some, but she was not expecting that she would. A find like that… it had to be rare. Right? She had never found anything like it before. She thought that perhaps the gods had shined down on her. Perhaps thought her in need of something beautiful. She was not really sure. It was rare for her to dwell long on the why of any matter. It was more common for her to simply discover something, marvel at it, perhaps try to understand it, and then just simply move on.

One other stone was found by the girl before she ran across three others who were out finding the pretty objects in the early light of Syna. The second one shined white like moonlight with streaks of pink and blue throughout it. It was no bigger than Jaylani’s thumb print and was much smoother than the first stone she had found. It was added to her pocket and she had kept moving for a little while longer before the sounds of others caused her to take pause. She saw them standing there, discussing… something. The glint of pretty stones, the waiting hand of one, another talking.. A troubled look fell over the mixed blood’s face. What was going on?

It was against her better judgement to move closer, but Jaylani very rarely listened to her better judgement. She drew closer to the group of three, her feet taking her hesitant step by hesitant step over to them. She did not know what she was going to say to them, what she was going to do. What did she care what they did with the pretties they had found? What did she care if they got into some sort of argument over the strange things? Everything in her bones screamed at her to turn around and go the other direction. This did not need to involve her. Yet, Jaylani kept moving. Closer and closer. Something had caught her eye.

There was a blue hued stone just beyond the three of them, peaking just out of the sand behind the one farthest from the mixed blood. They did not seem to have seen it yet and she wanted it. The ache in her heart for that stone was stronger than anything else. Just having to have it, the mixed blood surged forward towards it with the beat of her own heart thundering in her ears.

Jaylani was not very graceful as she messily wove her way through the group of three and dove for that unseen gem. Though she fell, her hands grabbed hold of the pretty. Fingers held it above her head in triumph as a smile spread once more over her face. Her eyes shined bright and her cheeks became rosy with pride.

“Mine!” she shouted triumphant, paying probably too little attention to the other three who stood there beside her.

Common | 'Thoughts'

Word CountPost Total: 1,619
Overall Total: 3,927/50,000

[Caele Smokesend]

51st of Summer 517

It had been three busy days since Caele arrived in Syka but he hadn’t managed to get as far as he would like with setting up the forge. There was so much else to do and he wanted to explore the area as well. He hadn’t dared walking too far into the jungle yet, not without someone with more knowledge about the surroundings at least. He had stayed along the beach when on his own and his tent was set up on a cleared area only a few yards from where the sand started.

The tent had been a pain to set up. He had bought it from a Drykan tentmaker only the day before leaving Riverfall for Syka. James had told him that he could rent a bungalow or a house built over the water, but the blacksmith for some reason he now had forgotten had thought it seemed more fun or interesting to live in a tent on the beach. He had never slept in a tent and much less put one up, so the first night he had been forced to ask a neighbor for a place to spend the night. Then the second day he had got some help putting up the tent.

It was a big one, a pavilion suitable for a large family. There was room for all his belongings and a lot more even if the items for the smithy were rather bulky. The corner where he had his personal belongings and where his bedroll was rolled out was pathetically sparse. Caele thought he needed to decorate it, maybe put up some nice shells, flowers and leaves or whatever. He would have loved some sculptures or carvings. Maybe someone here could help him with that but he hadn’t really got to know that many of the inhabitants yet. They were all friendly and helpful, but they were also busy with their own projects, building, hunting, fishing, swimming. At this place people needed to work physically to actually get their food and shelter, but perhaps it wasn’t that much different from when he was a slave. If he hadn’t worked then he wouldn’t have had got any food or a place to sleep. Well, no this was A LOT different. He was free to do what he wanted.

Then the damn mosquitos and flies. He had cursed the first night in his own tent that he had forgotten to buy an insect netting to cover his sleeping area at least. He should have known coming from the motherland of all mosquitos in the swamps of Kenash but somehow he thought paradise didn’t have those kinds of pests. Well it had turned out that paradise wasn’t perfect after all. It was close to perfect, but there were a few issues. Nothing to complain about though. He loved it and once the forge was up everything would be great. He had worked on it most of last day until late night, clearing an area not too far from his tent but enough not to risk it catching fire. Then he had gathered stones to build the forge, which had proved a lot more difficult than he had thought. There wasn’t that much big rocks near the beach. He was going to ask Randal or someone knowing the place better where he could gather rocks more easily today.

Caele hadn’t slept very deep any of the three nights he had spent in Syka so far. Too much unfamiliar noises, so he woke up easily when he heard the shouts and splashing in the water not too far from where his tent was located. He got up and pulled on a pair of pants that ended just above his knees. It was too hot to sleep in anything at all and if it had been appropriate he wouldn’t wear anything at any time here, at least now in summer. He loved the heat though. Going south was definitely the right choice.

He went out and looked around at the beach. The sky was just about to turn clear blue in the east above the tree canopy while it was darker in the west. On the beach maybe a hundred yards to his left he could see some people gathered. They seemed to debate over something they had found and one of them suddenly jumped down on the sand and grabbed something. Then she shouted triumphantly that whatever she had found was hers. Caele thought it was a bit weird. There were plenty of seashells and similar objects floating in from the water and even if they were very beautiful he hadn’t seen or heard any of the inhabitants react like this when they saw one. He started to approach the group.

Half-way he saw something glimmering in the sand in front of him after a wave pulled back. Caele walked towards it and bent down to look closer at the object. Was this what the people had found? It was light red, almost pink, rough by nature but still smooth at the edges from the erosion of water and sand. The mixed blood picked up the stone, it was a little smaller than half his palm and one side was completely flat. As he held it up in the light of the sun it glimmered brightly, refracting the light in different reddish colors. The ex-slave had only seen gemstones and jewels on rich people before, either as accessory jewelry or as decoration on weapons or other items. That was his first thought what this stone might be used for, as decoration on some metalwork. Maybe on the hilt of a sword or just a metal bracelet. But it had to be cut and worked a bit. He had never done something like that before, but he knew it could be done. He just had to learn how to do it.

Caele looked up and continued moving towards the other people. “Hey! Good morning!” He started when he was just a few steps away from them. “Have you also seen these.” He looked in the hands of the man and the three women and saw they all held similar beautiful gemstones of different colors. He recognized them all. They had met briefly once or twice during the short time he had been here but he had never had a chance to speak with them properly. One of the girls he thought was called Lani and the guy’s name was Eamon, but he was uncertain about the other two. “Is this a regular happening here? Shiny stones floating up on the beach?” He asked with no hint of joking as he held up the stone he had found.

WordcountWords: 1118
Running Total: 3276 words

[Anibesa]

"Common" | "Fratava" | "Tukant"

Anibesa didn't see the dark haired woman approach until she spoke, asking her to hand over the gemstones, saying that they were gifts to her from her goddess, and Anibesa smirked slightly.

Surely the woman didn't expect her to believe her? If it had been a gift solely from her goddess, then they would not be being pushed to the shore by the sea, which meant that it was Laviku's doing as well as Semele's!

About to open her mouth to speak, Anibesa noticed somebody else approaching and she couldn't help but grin and nod at Eamon in return, before listening to him reason with the woman, a slightly triumphant smile on her face before she started to speak herself.

"There are plenty of gems to go around, by the looks of things, and far more than one can carry. Plus, don't you think it's a joint effort by Semele and Laviku. Semele making the gems, and Laviku helping them to get here?" she questioned, before gesturing towards the sea. "Tide's what brought them in, so Laviku helped to bring them 'ere." she said, her voice still calm as she glanced around. "Though if you like, you can any of the stones I get, as long as their all the same colour, so which colour would you like?" she offered, attempting to be helpful towards the woman, though she hoped that the woman wouldn't choose Blue or white. Somehow those colours made her think of both Laviku and Leth, and those colours were important to her.

Then Anibesa turned to Eamon fully and held out her empty hand in a friendly gesture.
"How are you today then?" she asked with a wide smile on her face, glad to see the man again, before she turned to the dark haired woman with a smile. "We haven't met, I don't think. I'm Ani!" she offered her name as an attempt at friendship, but she wasn't sure how the woman would react.

As she waited for a response, she was suddenly aware of another woman, this one with dark curly hair, running towards them, then weaving her way through the group, before pouncing onto a blue coloured gem with a loud shout and Anibesa couldn't help but chuckle slightly.
The woman seemed slightly over enthusiastic for the gem, and Anibesa couldn't see why she'd been so eager for that particular gemstone. There were many others around, and surely there'd be more blue gemstones lying around, maybe there'd be even more than she could see now, with some scattered even further.

"Are ya alright? Didn't 'urt yourself there did ya?" she called out to the woman once she'd managed to stop chuckling, though she didn't want to get too close to the woman in case she was overly protective of the gemstone she'd just retrieved, though after a few moments passed Anibesa took a step towards the girl and offered her a hand, hoping that the girl would take it and allow herself to be helped up, rather than seeing it as a threat.

And then another person joined them, this one a somewhat attractive and tall man with long blonde hair and some fairly impressive muscles. Anibesa felt slightly wary of the man, never having met someone with the combination of height and muscles before.
Everybody she's met that was tall had been fairly frail in stature, while those that were muscular weren't particularly short, but they weren't as tall as the man.

As he spoke though, Anibesa felt the apprehensiveness disappear from her thoughts, as the man seemed friendly enough with his words and tone of voice.
He asked if the current occurrence was a regular happening and Anibesa shrugged her shoulders, having not been in Syka for long she wasn't sure whether this was a yearly occurrence or something that was completely new compared to everything else.

"Mornin'. I 'aven't been here too long, so I ain't sure whether it's a thing that happens a lot or whether it's super unusual." she answered the man, before turning to look at the other three, wondering if they could shed some light on the situation. "Either way, it's weird to me, but also kind of awesome. I'm gonna go check out where else these stones have appeared, if any of you'd like to join? I mean, there could be the source of them somewhere along the coast, or it could be in land, or out to sea, but I doubt that they're only washing up here, and I'd quite like to see the other places they've appeared."

She offered the invite to everyone that was there, before standing and glancing around, unsure as to which way to head, before opting to walk further from the center of the settlement, her eyes glancing around as she attempting to gage what was actually happening.
She didn't know where the stones were gifts from the gods, or whether something manmade had caused it, though it was a mystery she was keen to work out.

It wasn't long before she kicked the sand and managed to reveal another stone, this one a milky white colour with an opalescent sheen to it, reminding her of her skin at night, and she couldn't help but smile at the stone, wondering what it was called, and determining that it should be named after Leth somehow, if the stone wasn't already named of course.

Sighing, she turned to look at the others before shouting back to them.
"Do any of you know the names of different gemstones? And do you think they all 'ave names already? Or are some new ones that nobody 'as managed to name yet?" she voiced her thoughts to the group, wondering whether any of them had any knowledge of gemstones before, other than the common or famous ones.

Seeing how beautiful they all were, Anibesa was interested in learning more about the stones. She wanted to have the knowledge needed to work out how valuable they were, and whether their names had any history.
Word Count1008
Seasonal total: 3706

[Merevaika]

Merevaika

A man turned up. She didn't like him, immediately. He was there, questioning where the gems had come from. That wasn't the worst though. Even if he refused to believe that the gemstones had to be from Semele, it wasn't her problem. The goddess could deal with that part. It was the second thing he said that bothered her more. He spoke about sharing the gift. Agreements. Merevaika wanted to laugh, but stopped herself before she could. It wouldn't help the discussion. Wouldn't help at all with helping her figure out how to get all the gems that she could.

Her chest puffed out. She tried to gain height, but found herself lacking still. But she couldn't do anything about that. She had to make him realise who he was messing with, even if she didn't have that advantage. Her eyes narrowed, hoping that the green would shrink away, and she focused on watching him. Eyes locked with each other. The woman watched them carefully, staring at every slight dip in colour in those eyes. Blue, like the sea, like the sky. Blue, blue... blue like his path, that she was determined to see.

Letting her breaths become heavier, obvious that she was focusing heavily on something, she closed her eyes for a second, feeling the magic rush to them. When she opened her eyes up, there they were, the paths. Dotted around her, there were several - her own, her dogs, this woman's, this man's. His path, as she had expected was a bright, light blue, trailing off. He had come from the jungle - near the jungle that was. She couldn't tell where it was exactly - the path went patchy there.

What was she doing? She hadn't looked at the paths to actually see the paths - she had looked so the sunbursts around her eyes, blood red, would glow brightly. It had an unsettling look, the stains of red. When they glowed with her use of the magic, it could be even more intimidating.

As she blinked the magic away, letting her focus dropped, she only hoped the strange sight would prove as some sort of warning, although she would never claim it was the most direct one.

"I can say where rocks - gemstones! - from. Semele. They are from Semele. All gemstones are from Semele." Her words were firm, warning him not to challenge her. More importantly, they stood as a warning for the other part of what he said. After all, if she was right about this, she was right about who they were for.

At least, she hoped the man would get that impression.

Turning to the blond woman who had then spoken, she tried to figure out an answer to her too. Laviku gave them the gems? What was she on about? Tide had nothing to do with it - the tide was probably trying to steal the gems. But she offered to share one colour with her. It was something. And Merevaika didn't need to consider it at all to know what colour she was going to go for.

"Amethyst," she muttered under her breath, before adding, "Purple." What a stupid idea. By accepting this, it suggested that others could too. That they could demand it off her, too. She'd have to fight her case, claim Semele had sent them - surely her knowledge of the goddess, compared to everyone else, had to be enough to convince them, right?

But before she could say anything else to back herself up, someone dove. At their feet. Yelling, "mine!", with a triumphant look in her eyes. In shock, Merevaika stepped back, ready to hit or kick whatever it was. A woman, clutching another gem. Her face was covered in ringlets, and her body in sand from the way she had fallen. And she didn't seem to care at all that they were standing there, that those gems were Merevaika's (or claimed by her, at the very least).

Without thinking about it for another second, Merevaika's fingers were out, darting towards the outstretched gem in her hand. Unable to believe she had missed it, a distinct blue as the light rippled across the surface, she knew she was going to try get it now, at the very least. After all, the woman had extended it up into a position so fitting, as if she was trying to give it to Merevaika herself.

"No, mine!" she said back, her voice lifting with that childish tone before falling sharply to a more commanding place. Commanding. That was what she was doing here.

Then another man came, with yet another stone.

It was going to take her a long time to convince them all to hand over the gems. Especially when they seemed to be so ignorant - shiny stones? A regular occurrence? Seriously? And with someone of his size and strength, she wouldn't be able to just pick it out of his hand, like she had attempted with the woman on the floor.

But she had to try. Or, at the very least, she had to try and pick up as many stones as she could before the others got to them. So seizing the invite, as horrid as it sounded, probably was the right idea. She'd get more gemstones, and learn a little more about the people she was fighting against.

And so she followed. Reluctantly, at first, them confidently, deciding to stick to her decisions and show everyone how much claim she felt over them all. Her eyes peeled against the ground, and she began to wonder whether there was a better way to do this. Perhaps Beast? But Beast was roaming near her, uninterested in all that - hoping for food, no doubt. Perhaps her magic? No, the paths of objects weren't strong enough to be seen clearly, and the beach was already coated with much stronger paths that would obscure them from view.

She was restricted to walked and searching the sand with her eyes, hoping something would appear before the others caught sight of it.

There was a shout - from the woman who called herself Ani. Something about names. The names of the gemstones.

Really, these people were useless if they couldn't name a few.
"Amethyst, diamond, emerald, opal." There were more, she ran through the clans again. She had never really thought about the fact they were named after gems before, but now that she thought about it, of course they would be. Their way of giving thanks to the goddess who had given them half of the only thing that mattered - the thing that had been torn from her - she couldn't think about it even more. Through a half-spat, more bitter tone, she continued, filling in the missing names. "Ruby. Topaz. Sapphire." They were all in Pavi. But those were the names. If these people didn't know anything about gems, it would be likely they wouldn't even realise it was a different language to the one they spoke in.

She knew all the gems - the important ones, anyway. Surely, that was another indicator that she was the real receiver of them - that they had to give her the "shiny stones".

Another plan started to form in her head. Perhaps she could just steal them. And, if she claimed that hers were disappearing too, no one could suspect her.

Then again, she had shown how much she wanted the gemstones far too much for suspicion to skip her.


"Pavi"
Grassland sign
"Common"

wordcount :

+1254
=13733

[Eamon]

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.

51st of Summer 517 AV

Whatever was going on with the gemstones, it seemed to be quite popular, as more and more people were showing up unexpectedly. Eamon couldn’t say he was surprised given that they were quite pretty and presumably quite valuable. Still, before they all seemed to converge into a small group, Eamon had to deal with the two women, one redheaded and one brunette, one known and one unknown. A blonde, a brunette, and a redhead; we make quite the trio. It was a funny but fleeting though and the Ethaefal wisely chose not to speak it out loud. The brunette, who hadn’t seen fit to provide a name, seemed quite adamant that these gems not only were from this Semele, but that the Goddess apparently intended them for her and her alone. Eamon returned Anibesa’s nod to buy himself some time to think of all the ways he could pokes holes in her logic without actually making her angry.

He was just about to make his points in what he hoped was a coherent manner when something odd happened. Then something quite odd happened. The brunette was glaring at them in turn, as well as trying to make herself look larger, not doubt trying to intimidate them, and as the woman’s focus grew more intent, the small red in her eyes grew more brilliant, taking over almost entirely. Eamon blinked, shocked and more than a little creeped out, but still quite willing to stand his ground. Whatever this woman had done, it had been meant to be unsettling but seeing as it didn’t appear to be dangerous, he chose to ignore it as best he could. Still, he tried not to look directly into her eyes, as it was freaking him out a bit.

Still, he wasn’t one to back down easily, and this woman couldn’t lay claim to the riches of the ground or the sea. “It’s true, there are quite a few of them, and they seem to be growing more numerous as time passes. They’re coming from all over too. And, as my friend here said, far too many for one person to carry.” Eamon made sure this last sentence was quite pointed and hopefully the brunette would get the hint that this couldn’t possibly be for her alone. Still, sometimes people had to be hit over the head with the argument before they accepted it. “How are you planning to gather all these together and then carry them, all by yourself?” Hopefully the brunette could see that he was offering help and simply speaking with common sense. “Ify this Semele meant for these to be for you and you alone don’t you feel that she would’ve perhaps sent them to a less public place?” He didn’t know enough about Semele to make this judgment, but it seemed to be a reasonable assumption. At Anibesa’s offer, Eamon shot her a sharp glance. Only collecting a single color was an odd way to divide the stones, and although the brunette accepted, it was clear she wasn’t happy about it. Maybe the woman would be more receptive to his suggestion. “I too offer my aid in exchange for a small share for the total.” He didn’t want to get into a fight or an argument but he wasn’t going to do all that work for nothing either.

Anibesa finally turned to Eamon, and he smiled at her. “I’m doing well, thanks for asking. It’s good to see you again, and in…slightly calmer circumstances I suppose. How’re you holding up?” It was true this wasn’t quite as crazy as that day by the sea, but this situation certainly didn’t seem all that normal. Eamon glanced at the brunette. “I’m Eamon. Pleased to meet you, and hopefully we can come to some sort of arrangement.” The woman hadn’t been all that receptive to it before but maybe he could still change her mind.

Before the brunette could answer any of that, though, a shape darted through their midst and dove to the ground, or the base of the water, shouting as it went. The three of them all turned to watch this development, startled. After the shape stopped moving, Eamon could see that it was another woman, and another brunette. This new woman had tanned hazel skin, beautiful golden eyes, and wild hair, but different than the other brunette, as the new arrivals hair was curled and had caramel highlights where the sun struck it. The kneeling woman was holding up a gemstone triumphantly, apparently having claimed it for herself. Eamon sighed. After all that work they’d done calming down the first brunette, this new one had probably ruined all of it. Leth save me from crazy brunettes, Eamon prayed fervently, although it was probably sacrilegious to speak to the God for such a trivial matter.

Anibesa asked if the woman was safe and Eamon eyed her carefully, trying to check for any obvious injuries. More subtle ones wouldn’t be apparent to him, as he knew next to nothing of medicine, but the new woman seemed to be fine, with no blood or bruising from her wild dive. Eamon eyed the first brunette warily, trying to gauge her reaction. Of course, he didn’t need to be subtle about his regard, since she had quite a strong response, contradicting the new brunette forcefully. Eamon turned to the new arrival slightly more calmly. “Perhaps we should talk about all this before we start making claims to anything?” The community spirit of Syka, of everyone coming together for the common good of the settlement was apparently falling apart slightly in the face of the precious stones. Eamon hadn’t though his neighbors were a particularly greedy lot but apparently he was wrong on that count.

Yet another person showed up and Eamon found himself slightly overwhelmed by all the people. He enjoyed crowds, enjoyed being in other’s company – craved it sometimes, in fact – but everything was happening rather quickly and he preferred a much more slower, measured response, which allowed him time to think and reflect upon his responses to the situation. Still, he could and would adapt to such a crowd as this. The new man was also blond, but with much wilder and and longer hair, and that was where the resemblance to Eamon ended. This man was tall, perhaps even taller than Eamon was in Ethaefal form, minus the horns, which added a few inches. The other man also had a much larger and more muscled build and while Eamon wasn’t upset about his body, in the face of the other man it was hard not to feel inadequate. Luckily, the Ethaefal had much more important issues to worry about.

“Good morning all. Yes we know about the stone, no we don’t know why they’re here or if this is a regular occurrence. We were actually just talking about that, to be honest, before you two showed up.” Of course, they’d probably have to start all over again now that two more people were here, especially given the green-eyed brunette’s attitude about all this. Anibesa, though, seemed to want to get moving and her and the first woman started off. Eamon wasn’t quite ready to move on though, and so he shouted after them. “Wait! We should discuss this first, and come up with some sort of plan.”

It was too late, and the Ethaefal had to grab his buckets and break into an awkward shuffling run again. I’m getting really tired of this. Perhaps he should take up running more regularly if he was going to have to keep doing this. He did catch up to the two women in time to hear Anibesa’s questions, especially as the redhead had knelt down to grab a stone like the one Eamon had found earlier. He slowed to a walk so he’d have the breath to answer. “I don’t know enough to know. Perhaps someone back at Syka would, though.” The brunette, though, started muttering, and remembering that she seemed to have more knowledge about gems and this Semele from their conversation earlier, Eamon turned to her curiously. “Do you know more than we do? Than you’ve already told us? We’d love to know what you do. Perhaps then we can show Semele the proper respect, as she seems to have been partially or even mostly responsible for this blessing.” His questions were gentle and he hoped that she would lose a bit of the hostility if she felt they were trying to honor Semele as she clearly was.

Raising his voice so that everyone could hear him, Eamon tried to corral the group into a more useful direction than simply aimless wandering. “I have several containers here and an idea about how we can more efficiently explore this phenomenon, the arrival of the gems, and even cover more ground.” Hopefully that would get everyone to gather around him and calm down enough to listen to what he had to say. “I think we should think about splitting up into smaller groups, each taking a bucket, and fill them up as best we can. Then we can meet up again somewhere and figure out a way to divide them up in a way that seems fair to us all. How does that sound to everyone?” Based on the cagey way the green-eyed brunette was acting, Eamon would make sure he went along with her. Besides, he was curious as to why she was so adamant that this Semele had sent these gemstones to her.
word count1590 + 17582 = 19172

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[Jaylani Rae]

First there was one who offered her help, then another who made a grab for her pretty stone, and then even another who was asking questions she did not know the answers too. It was a lot happening at once and Jaylani struggled to gauge what exactly was going on. The first, most noticeable, reaction to her finding the stone was the hand that so quickly made to grab it from her fingertips. Jaylani clenched her fist shut tight around the blue stone and drew it in towards her chest. A glare set in her eyes and a growl like sound rumbled up from her chest. She was not willing to give up the pretty stone she had found. Not after the dive she had made for it. It did not matter to her the tone the other woman took, the mixed blood had never really been much of a listener. Especially not to those trying to make her do one thing or another.

“No,” was all Jaylani said, her voice carrying over that rumble that had previously echoed from her chest.

Keeping one eye on the other brunette with the strange green and red eyes, Jaylani allowed herself to take in the rest of those who stood around her. There were two males, both blonde that looked nothing alike. The one with shorter hair was making a suggestion about not claiming things. Jaylani found that she did not like his words very much. She had found the stones in her pocket and the stone in her hand. By her warped view of the way things worked, that made the pretty stones hers. She was not going to give them up easily. Though, she did not mind what the others did. If they wished to share their stones than they may. She just was not giving up hers.

The other girl, not the one who had tried to take the blue stone from the mixed blood, was the last thing Jaylani focused on. Her hair was red and blue eyes beautiful, but the thing that stuck out most was the way she spoke. Jaylani had the hardest time understanding pretty much all the words that came from the woman's mouth. Had it not been for the way she had let time pass before stepping forward and reaching out, the half Myrian would have thought her a threat. Because she had taken her time though and not made a grab for the stone in Jaylani’s hand, the mixed blood decided that she was just offering help. Slipping the stone into her pocket with the other two pretties, she simply took the woman’s offer of help by taking her hand. Soon enough after she was on her feet once more, her hand dropping back to her side before she wiped her hands down her pants to shake the sand from them. She did not say anything in reply to the red-headed’s questions simply because she had not understood them well enough to give an answer.

From what Jaylani could see, there was no blood seeping through the fabric of her pants so all seemed to be well. Her hands were a little scratched up, but again, no blood. Just some tearing of the top layers of skin along where callouses had already formed. The molten gaze lifted up from her inspection to again look at the others. They seemed to have moved on from her now. The other blonde male, the one with longer hair who had joined the group last after Jaylani, caught her attention for a few ticks. He was rather tall and his body was built like a fortress. She might have been scared of him, but so little scared her. Plus, she had seen most who lived in the settlement around. Maybe not met them, but she had seen them in passing. It was so hard to not in a place with so few people after time passed. Especially since she spent many of her mornings walking along the beach and exploring.

They were all talking now, doing different things. Jaylani had a hard time keeping up. Groups of more than three people including herself were always difficult when the others did not speak slowly. Her eyes darted around as each said their piece. They were talking about sharing the gems. The short haired blonde was speaking about how they should perhaps come up with a plan. The other women were on the move. What had they said before beginning to move down the beach? Jaylani had not caught that. She found that fact to be frustrating. It was unpleasant to not know what all was going on. The short haired blonde began following the women shortly after that, chasing them really with his containers in hand. Jaylani pursed her lips, her cheeks tightening as she thought. Did she want to follow too or would it be best to move on?

The mixed blood looked to the tall, built, male who was left before she sighed and then nodded. She would follow. The tilt she gave with her head invited him to join her. Might as well all stay together. For the time being anyway. Unless one of them tried to grab one of her pretty stones again, then she might not stay long. Her eye was on the other dark haired female, the one who had made a grab for her blue stone when she found it. Jaylani had decided that she did not trust the woman. Not yet anyway.

Whether or not the second male came with, Jaylani did not wait around to find out. She caught up to the others, continuing to be rather silent. She found it so much easier to observe and listen than to try and interject. At least for now, when she was still unsure what was really going on. They looked like they were searching, but questions were being asked as well. The red-head wanted to know the names of the gems. The blonde did not know the answer. The dark haired woman was muttering something under her breath. Jaylani looked at them each in turn as words escaped there mouths. What in Mizahar was the dark haired one saying? The mixed blood was completely unsure. Common was hard enough for her to grasp, other languages were completely out of her current capabilities.

They were called to attention shortly after, the short haired male making a suggestion he wanted them all to hear. His words were clear enough that Jaylani captured many of them. More than she had been able to figure out during most of the rest of this morning with them. He was suggesting that they split in groups, share the containers he had brought, and then divide the stones they found. Shock widened Jaylani’s eyes. He wanted them to divide their findings?! Share even if they were the ones who discovered the stones?! She did not understand. Why were the stones she found not going to be for her? Why did she have to share? Why could they not find and keep there own stones? Jaylani crossed her arms and allowed frown lines to mar her face. She did not like this plan. She did not like it at all. Though, she did think that maybe she could find more pretty rocks this way. If they partnered up.. Maybe she could convince her partner to give her all of the ones she found and just not worry about sharing with the rest of the group.

A nod was given in response to the plan, but arms did not uncross. Jaylani was eyeing the other brunette wearyingly, hoping she was paired with anyone but her. The mixed blood was sure that her own plan was not going to work if she was paired with one such as the one who had already attempted to steal the pretty blue stone.

Common | 'Thoughts'

Word CountPost Total: 1,323
Overall Total: 8,507

[Caele Smokesend]

The tall, blonde man watched and listened to the others. It seemed they were arguing about who the stones belonged to. This confused Caele a bit since he had just heard how well the people here in Syka cooperated with each other, and shared everything with each other. In the three days he had been here he hadn’t seen any conflicts or arguments until now.

Two of the girls, both brunettes, were fighting physically over a blue stone that the curlier of the two had found and dived to the ground to get her hands on. Both of them had something wild in their eyes, almost like animals protecting their young. They were quite tall and strong. Their muscles were less exposed compared to his own, but he knew that true strength wasn’t what you saw. He had met several opponents in the Breaking Grounds that were a lot smaller and thinner than him, but they had beaten him to a bloody mess before the first round was over. He wasn’t sure about these women’s fighting abilities and he had no intention of finding out first hand either, but he could see their fierceness in body and eyes, especially the green-eyed one. She was beautiful despite her wild and rather disheveled look, a raw kind of beauty.

The blonde woman helped the one he thought was called Lani to her feet. The curly-haired still held the blue stone she had found in her grasp close to her chest, but the green-eyed girl looked like she would take a new jump at her when she saw an opportunity.
Then they all started moving away along the beach. The blonde one made the suggestion first that they should work together to try to gather as many of the shiny stones as possible and then decide what to do with them all. Even if it seemed that not all agreed with her they all joined her. Lani was the last one to follow, besides the half-dhani, and she looked up at him and tilted her head as if to urge him to join.

Caele had nothing better to do and he liked the idea of doing things together. If there was a big source of these gemstones he thought they could be used in different ways to make things more valuable and then sold to other places, like Kenash or Riverfall for example. That would make them all rich. He didn’t know that much about Riverfall since he hadn’t stayed there very long, but he knew that the rich and fancy people of Kenash often wore jewelry and had their clothes and weapons adorned with such stones. He had no idea how this could be done but he thought if they all helped each other then it might be a possibility. He would happily help searching for the stones for now, and then later perhaps he could learn how to make some fancy ornamented metal items that James could bring with him on his trips with Veronica. It seemed simple in his mind but already with the girls here fighting over a single stone he realized there might be some issues with the plan.

The muscular half-blood moved after the others although he didn’t care to run like some of the others. As long as they stayed on the beach he would be able to see them far ahead and given that they would stop every time they found a gemstone he would catch up rather quickly. That’s what happened when the blonde girl stopped to dig out another stone from the sand.
The others kept discussing who was responsible for these strange gifts. It seemed the green-eyed brunette with the strange accent may know something about it that she kept to herself. Why? Caele had no idea about.
“Who is Semele?” the blacksmith asked when he heard the man named Eamon say the name. The other guy was blonde like Caele but with shorter hair and with blue eyes and a build that suggested that he was of the Svefra people. There seemed to be quite a few of them here.
Caele had never heard of Semele but the way the others spoke of the name it may be some deity.

As they kept moving Eamon tried to rally the group of five people around him so he could speak to them all without shouting. He suggested they did this hunt for gemstones a bit more organized, splitting into smaller groups and collecting the stones they find in the buckets he had brought. Caele thought it sounded like a good plan but he wondered why the other man had brought the containers. It had seemed when they first met on the beach as if they all were surprised by the appearance of the gemstones but Eamon was prepared with buckets. Perhaps he was the first one to find them and then had gone home to fetch the buckets. When he got back the others had come out as well. Anyway his suggestion to split up and cover more ground was a good one.

“That’s a great idea! There are five of us so perhaps one group of three and one of two?” Caele suggested. “Maybe you two” he indicated the two brunettes “should be in different groups. I’ll go with whoever wants to join me but since I’m quite new here it might be good if I join someone more experienced with the place.”
He took a few steps towards the other guy and held out his hand with the red stone he had found earlier. He dropped it into one of the buckets Eamon held, then he backed off a step. “I can take the other bucket and whoever wants can join me.” He looked around at the others hoping that his show of selflessness would make some impression on them.

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Running Total: 4256 words