Return to the Forsaken Halls (Solstice)

[Turrin]

Timestamp: 30th of Summer, 519AV

Once the former endal stepped off the ship and onto the dock of Thunder Bay, the sound of creaking wood of the dock made the half breed heart sink in his chest. Finally, Turrin returned to the city that he forsaken years back after the death of Aponivi, and he was dreading journey with every step. The young man kept to himself on the ship, so the sailors said no good byes to him as he silently walked off the dock to the familiar land of the Unforgiving. Looking up at Mount Skyinarta, he could see the massive volcano towering to the heavens as dots of black flying around it. Those dots were most likely wind eagles, and the city's courageous, yet arrogant, lords and defenders on their backs. All sorts of memories of the past started to flood his mind: from dear friends, family,enemies, first loves, and the horrors of living in a city on the edge of destruction all came rushing back to the him. It almost brought him to tears, but he was jarred from thoughts when a sailor bumped into him and said harshly, “If your going stand there gawk! Get out of the way! People are working here!”

Turrin turned to the man with the same endal glare that he was used too, but as he stared at the man in silence, he just remembered that he had no power here anymore. He was just another simpleton gawking at the massive volcano. The sailor noticed that he was being glared at, so he stopped, still holding the basket in his arms, and spat, “Do you have a problem?”

The half breed face softened and said with a nod, “No, I should probably get out of your way.” He moved out the way of the sailor, and the man muttered something under his breath and continued walked away.

Stowing all his gear on his back, Turrin made his way up the long road to the gates of the city. It was a long and slow journey up the mountain road, and he wished that he either got a horse or rented space on the wagon. Since his mind was elsewhere, he just decided to walk. As he walked up the mountain road, he often had to take water breaks, food breaks, or find shade under a lone tree, so he didn't over heat in the summer heat at the base of the volcano. However, as he ascended into high elevations up the road. The air started to get colder, and he had to stop to put on his katinu to keep warm as the wind picked up in the higher elevations the mountain pass. He put up his hood to protect his face from the wind. Also the problem with the increased wind speed, he had to put more effort into walking with the heavy load on his back. The breaks started to become more frequent as the hours passed. He hoped that he would be aloud to get admittance before night fall otherwise he would have to camp outside and try to get into the city in the morning.

The half breed picked up his pace because he didn't want to be camping outside in the cold didn't appeal to him with the warmth of the city just a hundred feet away. When he made it to the entrance to the city, Syna was close to the horizon and Leth was getting brighter in the sky. Walking up the stairs to the platform, he walked over the chain, reached a hand to it, and stopped right before he was about to grab it.

Holding his hand in the air, he heard Aponivi voice in his head or more like a memory float in to his mind, “If you accept my bond, you aren't only bonded to me, but to all the people of Wind Reach?”

Turrin memory continued, and he heard a younger self answer, “My father's blood didn't accept the blood of my mother, but you accepted me as your rider, I will put my blood before their blood.”

Aponivi nodded and said in his mind, “One day our bond might end, but you must have the strength to uphold the bond with Wind Reach and protect them from outsiders and themselves. Promise me Turrin.”

Turrin said without hesitation, “I promise Aponivi!”

Aponivi nodded, accepted his promise, and said, “You are young and impulsive young man. I am sure with a few gray feathers a time will come when you understand the promise that you made to me...”

Turrin bit his lip to the point where it started to bleed. He knew pulling this chain will bring more pain than happiness, but he made a promise to Aponivi. Pulling the chain, he set down his over-stuff backpack as heard the bells echo through the stone halls. He heard a well familiar voice ask, “How can I be of assistance?” The wanderer wiped the blood from his lip and answer with full conviction, “Val, it is me, Turrin Apon...” He stopped and continued, “ ...It's Turrin, I would like to speak with Valintar.”

[Solstice]

The sweltering heat had only been growing more intense as the season lagged on. The previous day's storm had given a momentary respite, but the relief had been achingly brief. Eventually the cool had faded and the heat had returned to its full strength, with the added torture of lingering humidity that made the heat stick like a wet sponge. The Endals were miserable. The eagles were miserable. Val knew this because it was all that Imsun had been talking about since the early hours of the morning. Val had attempted to invite his elderly eagle companion to come perch on the gatehouse and cool himself in the strong wind blowing up from Thunder Bay, but Imsun had stubbornly refused, citing aching joints and overheavy feathers. Val was half convinced his eagle just liked to complain about being miserable. It was the only conclusion the gatekeeper could come to as to why the bird would have cooped himself up inside his stuffy nest while grumping about the weather. A part of Val was glad he didn't talk to younger Endals and their eagles more often. If his own elderly eagle was this much of a drama queen, he couldn't imagine how insufferable the entitled younger crowd would be in the heat of this weather.

Val himself was resting in the relative comfort of a giant block of ice that one of the nice reimancer girls had brought down for him early in the day. It was one of the many benefits of being an elderly Endal; performing one's job in relative comfort. Val had just started on a book he had been brought from the Enclave, a journal written by a traveler journeying through Taldera, when the familiar chime of a new arrival pierced the man's thoughts. Arrivals had been few and far between through the course of the long and hot day, with most being overheated and unhappy young hunters who weren't much inclined to chat. Therefore, the bell announcement was a welcome change of pace, and Val looked out from his alcove, calling out his usual greeting with a smile.

Val thought at first that his hearing was failing him when the voice of the traveller called out from the road. Val squinted, for his eyesight was not what it once had been, but it was impossible to mistake Turrin for anyone else out of the many Endal the old keeper had seen born, thrive, and die in his many years standing vigil over the city. "Turrin?" Val said. "Truly?"

It wasn't unusual to lose former Endal, by nature and by sorrow. Often, they ventured off into the wilds of Kaela never to return. The loss of a beloved companion, in addition to the ridicule of former colleagues to one who couldn't save their companion, along with the loss of status and accommodations… for a prideful former Endal, it was often too much to bear. Val had assumed Turrin to be another one of those loses. A clipped child so overcome by the whims of fate as to lose themselves to death. This was not strange. What was strange was for one to return. Especially not after so many years.

"Come in Turrin," Val called to the man. "Where have you been for so many years?" Val had not missed Turrin's request for the Valintar, and privately the man cringed. A former Endal, lost for years only to return. The gatekeeper had no illusions on how that would go. The Inarta sighed, for already Imsun had began whispering to his fellow birds about the returning ex-Endal. It was a distraction from the heat, and it wouldn't take long to spread. The Valintar would likely know Turrin was on his way long before Val had a chance to send him there. Perhaps it would be better than the surprise, but Val really couldn't be certain.

[Turrin]

When Turrin heard Val respond to him, the wanderer felt less like a wanderer. He felt more like a ungrateful child. He opened the door, and he felt a blast of the all familiar summer heat hit him as he walked into the corridors of the city. As soon as he saw the old man, he immediately set down his heavy back and took off his katinu and placed it in his backpack. Looking around the office, Turrin saw the old man was sitting on a block of ice. He smirked at the absurdity of it, but it must be refreshing to the elderly man. The half-breed wished that he could of requested something like ice from a reimancer in the city. It would have made the hot nights in his aeries much better. Still standing by his gear, he looked at the friendly old endal and answered his question in common, “Everywhere I shouldn't have been...”

The simple answer said everything about his travels after Aponivi death. The outside world served it's purpose. It made him realized that Wind Reach was his home, and he committed a crime against it by abandoning the city. He knew the Valintar would judge his fate, and he hoped the man will not be to hard on him. However, if he was allowed back into the city, he will be facing much scrutiny from the endal along with the people that he once called friends. Looking at the old man, Val, Turrin never really talk to him much when he lived in the city, but the old man seemed to know him. He figured if he was going to live in the city without a wind eagle. He should get to know him. The man spoke pretty good common, so he decided to make small talk common, “Val, I have to say that you have a pretty good memory to remember me. The last time that we spoke. I was high strung young pup eager to prove myself, so I had to apologize if I was ever rude to you.”

Lingering in the back of his mind, Turrin had a simple question that he wanted to ask the gatekeeper. He wanted to know the current state of city while he was away. He knew that he wasn't going to be welcomed with open arms, but he didn't want to walk into a angry bee hive without being prepared too. If the city been experiencing hardships or low on resources, he will probably relying on himself to survive. From the years before he left the city. The city was faced hardships after hardships, and he actually thought the city was cursed. He hoped this wasn't the case now. Looking at the old man, he sat down on his backpack, looked into the eyes of the old man, and asked bluntly with a nod, “You are the first Inarta that I seen in years. What is happening in Wind Reach at this moment? I am curious to know if I am walking into a angry bee hive...”

[Solstice]

Val had been alive for many years and through those many years he had seen a great deal of things. In spite of the sheer magnitude of the experiences he had been through as well as his age, the Inarta's mind remembered people and faces with all the strength of a steel trap. He knew the names of every member of the city who passed through his gate on a regular basis, and he remembered their stories, even if they did not remember him. It was part of being a Gatekeeper, keeping all those many faces in check so one could recognize the possibility of danger should danger choose to strike.

The Endal chuckled at Turrin's comment, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a smile. "You and everyone other Endal," he chortled. "I don't hold grudges, son. I'm too old for that. If you get to be as old as I am, you'll understand too."

When Turrin spoke of the goings on in the city, a shadow passed across Val's face and his brow furrowed. "It has been a dark few seasons," Val said. "There's some monster in the Unforgiving that has been murdering our people who venture beyond our city. Not just the Inarta. We have lost even Wind Eagles to this monster." The expression on the Gatekeeper's face was grave and worried. There was no soul in this city who wasn't concerned about the situation involving the Beast. "The city had been whipped up into a frenzy to try and hunt down the Beast and slay it," Val added. "With luck we won't have to deal with this monster for another season."

Val leaned back in his seat and tented his hands and his studied Turrin gravely. "We certainly need a fighter's arm in these dark times," the Endal said thoughtfully. "Perhaps the Valintar will not judge your return so harshly." The Endal's reassurances were half-hearted at best. It was unlikely that a former Endal who abandoned the city would be given a break. But it was clear to Val that now, more than ever, the talent of the former Endal would be needed, regardless of how the Valintar might choose to treat him.