A New Direction [Ash'ney + Satu]

[Satu]

30th of Winter 510 A.V. Satu stood on the small side street, looking out at the busy market. Scores of people, all shapes and sizes walked past her vantage point as her eyes studied them. Nothing was lost, she studied everything she could, and even their emotions touched her sensitive Heart Vessel. How Satu hated this city! Always it was the constant reminder of the weak girl she had once been, scared of the noise and the crush of filthy emotions upon her delicate HeartSense. But after her stay with the aggressive Myrians, Satu was indifferent to it now, and the Konti also understood now what must be done to silence these human’s violent tendencies. So she reveled in their dark emotions, for soon they would pay a price for carrying them. Sagallius had made that plain, and she and Mao would see it through, though Mao was outside the city gates. Satu did not trust these humans with her precious Kelvic, so she forbade her to follow inside the walls. Sagallius! She thought and a smile brightened her face. He was why she was here in this horrid city. Those foolish warmongering humans would never understand the Gift he had given her, and just what it meant to the Konti. People would judge him as they had always judged her and Satu refused to show the Weak her secrets! Sagallius’ mark was intimate and personal, and it was why she had some here, to buy the gloves, and protect Sagallius and herself from judgments. And the gloves had fit well, open as they were at the fingers, allowing Satu the sense of touch to lay Cordas upon the unsuspecting. Satu wished to leave the city quickly, but first she wanted to help someone on their path with her own gift of Cordas. Surely there was someone in this market who was badly in need of correction, and worthy of her loving attentions. Someone she could help set upon a new path. And so quickly she found him, with her HeartSense! And her own Heart leapt to feel the Hatred and Violence that swirled in him as he approached. This man would be changed! Satu’s sapphire eyes lit up, and she straightened then. She was Sagallius’ sage, carrying beauty and regal form in her movements, and she was very willing to spread the god’s message of peace! The man approached and walked past her little side street. Satu moved so quickly after him, that when she stepped out into the foot traffic of the more congested street she collided forcefully with another. The person’s face was hidden from her, and she had to work to extract herself from this road block. It was then that she realized her target had disappeared into the crowd. Her face dropped, disappointment evident in her features, and in her lovely musical voice Satu said, “He has gotten away.” And she turned then to see the man who had impeded the good works she had planned to do this day.

[Ash'eny]

Clockwork. Clockwork Ash'eny. He may have known nothing of clocks or how they worked, but Ash'eny was very much on a schedule. His mind and body seemed locked in some abstract timeframe that wasn't unrelated to the world of Mizahar, but ran parallel with it. Where the world of Mizahar passed in a series of days, seasons, years, he himself did the same, except by different means. He counted not his birthdays, despite having another in twenty or so more days, but his emotional downfalls. Each season had a new surprise, and each surprise punched a hole through his chest as violently as any sword. He thought he was doing better, it had been so long since Ash'eny felt any true distress that he felt himself cured of his past, but today, yesterday, and even three days before it rushed back to him. He wasn't sure the cause, why he couldn't shake it, but everyone he had loved and lost seemed to vivid in his thought that it was like losing them all over again. It was something about this city. It didn't accept him. He was a thief, a beggar, and though he had become something more within the shadows, a reluctant agent, or slave, to the knights. He felt trapped, slowly suffocating within the stone walls that once became his refuge. Choking, dying from the inside. Ash'eny might as well have been a child, lost and afraid. Miserable in being truly alone, misunderstood, abandoned. The clock had stricken twelve again, and it was time to be swallowed in misery. The world seemed fake, a haze, no more than shifting and swirling colors of mist flashing before him. He walked slowly but with the accuracy of a man taken by alcohol. He wasn't sure where he was going. Perhaps the Stone Gardens. He had gone there often only for the sake of being able to see the sky. Sometimes he went several days without any more than a peek of blue from a distant window or a ray of sunshine from some opening somewhere. If he had been more brave, less of a coward, he would travel again, and this time with a destination in mind, a purpose. Where would he go? He couldn't say. Syliras was originally a mythical city of wonder. He heard about how everything was wonderful, it was safe, but it didn't take him long to understand that 'safe' wasn't a word someone like him could truly ever feel. Once you've been betrayed, killed, harassed, you seem lose that ability to ever feel safe. Once you try to make a life you loved, and you had it snatched away from you, then you truly feel dead. Ash'eny looked down at his hand, the hand that was stained by the corruption of Sunberth. The finger was missing, long ago he lost the pinkie, and not long after that even the phantom symptoms had departed from him, yet there was a new burden with it that had yet to lift from him. It was a plague of doubt, of memory, triggering a recollection of everything he endured. He remembered he was a fatherless bastard, a boy forced into a gang of young men that banded together for survival on those streets, the gambling and repercussions, the gaining and losing of a true honest and wonderful friend, the adopting of a daughter and giving her his heart, and then losing her to violence. There were times when he imagined returning to Sunberth, a new man, more violent than he was raised to be, and burning that city to the ground. Each and every man that had haunted his footsteps or so much had any relations to those that ruined him, and return the favor. These thoughts were foolish though, he had no power in Sunberth, many of them gained it through fear and blood. Ash'eny was no assassin, he was a beggar and a thief, nothing more. Ash'eny should have seen this coming, zoning out while walking down the fortress-city street. The heavy traffic had been fairly easily navigated thus far, despite not truly seeing or hearing the people around him. A brief soft collision here to shift his direction, another to turn him back. He was wandering, but getting nowhere, and until a rather hurried and large man practically plowed him over, he hadn't realized it. Ash'eny had turned to glare at the man, only moments from exploding in a sudden rage that had been dwelling in him, along with that twisted sorrow, a common concoction for him, but his backward stumbling only caused him another collision, and another. Moments later Ash'eny found himself staring at the ground at some young girl he had knocked to the ground and a Konti than rammed into his spine (or at least it felt like it). She muttered something, but Ash'eny didn't catch it. His first instinct was to help the child on the ground, but she had already picked herself up and fled as if Ash'eny was a murderer in Syliras. He groaned, muttering profanities to himself as he turned to face Satu, foreseeing some sort of scolding. From some woman he'd probably never see again. "Petch. You hurt?"

[Satu]

The man was gone, lost among the crowd, and though her eyes searched the bobbing heads in the market, the Konti could not spot him. Slowly she turned to the dark headed man she had collided with, her eyes cold and hard. “You can not hurt me,” Satu stated. It was not a boast, only a truth spoken honestly. She held no fear of him. “You do not know what you have just done… who it was that you let slip away.” she told him in heavily accented common. But she stopped, suddenly unwilling to continue. Her Gift of HeartSense saw beyond his physical form with Avalis’ otherworldly sight. And his Heart was so active, full of movement. The HeartSeer tried to follow its twists and turns of emotion. There were so many. Rage not fully formed was there, though it threatened from deep inside. His spirit seemed unhappy, even Miserable perhaps…? The Konti’s eyes rose slowly to rest upon his and hold them, and her thoughts changed, maybe this man needed saving more than the other? Sagallius had warned Satu that she would need to be smart, and an inner intuition told her that the moment was at hand. It was with renewed interest that the Konti looked upon the man and forgot the one that got away. The hardness left her eyes as her face softened. Satu smiled shyly, the coldness transformed like the evening tide into a smooth and gentle surface. Her newly gloved hand reached out to touch his skin, as lovingly Sagallius’ Cordas strings were put into place. She watched fascinated as they settled about him, he would not know or feel what she had just done, but he would feel the care and concern in her touch. “You are alone,” the Konti said, her eyes sparkling with feeling. “I can feel it in you. Is there not one who understands you?” Below the other emotions was also Doubt, though she didn’t know why. Searching for words, she asked as she tried to understand, “You question... And there is Sorrow within you too?” Still her hand was upon him, she had not yet removed it. The pressure was gentle, yet emotionally heavy as the webbed fingers offered understanding. She was not human, but one of the magical, insightful creatures that the Konti were whispered to be. And Satu’s actions did little to suggest otherwise as an air of mystery surrounded her, yet she also appeared peaceful and caring, almost harmless. How did one such as this make it in a cruel world? Or so it might seem to the man, as she weaved her words around him, unwilling to let this one disappear into the crowd as the other had done. “I was like you once. Alone and lost,” With a downward glance, she added, “tortured…” But she did not explain further just what she meant. Her face stayed smooth, but for the little frown that formed on the last word. And Satu believed her own words, though they were manipulative. She believed with all her Heart! Only she could offer him help and assistance! Only she could show him the true path! Her fingers pressed lightly onto his skin and her eyes the color of the sea held his, “Would you walk with me?”

[Ash'eny]

"What?" Ash'eny was thoroughly shocked as this blond woman, rather than simply apologizing, accepting his own flimsy attempt to make up for his mistake (if it was in fact his fault for the collision), or even just ignoring him, she actually stared him down. She claimed, not with aggression or hostility, but with the honest lips that priests spoke to their dieties, that Ash'eny could not harm her. Ash'eny only heard a subtle threat lingering somewhere in those words, and he wasn't particularly fond on being threatened or harassed. He'd done many violent things in the past, seen the best and worst of life he thought, except for kill a woman for losing her temper. His teeth tightened together, gritting and grinding as if it would squeeze the life out of her beautiful thankless inconsiderate body. He turned his head, looking back into the crowd, busy as usual, always unaware of his presence until he did something stupid (such as getting caught doing something illegal), but nobody that stood out. A sigh pushed forth from his lips, making a soft, faint whistling sound of despair. Maybe he really did do something bad here. He faced Satu again, now making sure to force himself to be kind, perhaps even genuine. "Look, I'm sorry. I'll help you find whoever it is you're looking for. I know this place well enough." Ash'eny blinked several times in rapid succession. He wasn't sure if what he saw was his imagination or for real, but the woman, who he could of sworn was about to attack him in some sort of crazed rage moments before, now looked up at him as if he was a child, lost and crying for help. Well, he was definitely lost in confusion now. Ash'eny found himself too shocked to even respond as her hand slowly moved towards his face, gently caressing the cheek, the slightly haired skin. "Alone?" Ash'eny's voice whispered in a monotone pitch. He knew he was alone, life had a tendency to make absolutely certain he remained that way too. Born alone, no father to teach him, no mother that truly cared for him, even his sister fled that life, leaving him behind. He grew up with other boys, ruffians, bandits-in-training, thugs and thieves and muggers and rapists and fighters and gamblers and drunkards and... Ash'eny had always been alone. He might have become one of them, but one never one with them. Always separated, segregated, lost. He found love in a child, cared for her like a daughter, and lost her. Again he was alone. Only two seasons ago, in this very city he met a woman that he connected with, even trusted, and then he vanished, disappeared. Again he was alone. Ash'eny bit down on his lip. He didn't need to verbally confirm that statement. He was alone. "Who could ever truly understand me? After everything I've seen, I've done. Nobody." Ash'eny closed his eyes, the softness against his cheek was still there, almost visible behind the darkness. He could almost see her fingers on his face through that temporary blindness. Ash'eny opened his eyes suddenly, fearing what he was doing, or even more what she might be doing. "Everyone feels sorrow. I am no different than any other that walks this city." Ash'eny was shutting down, trying to keep himself alert, defensive. He was determined not to be pulled into some longing where she could throttle him, he was convinced that this was, in some way, a trap. He was determined to force himself to be skeptic, but it was difficult, too difficult even. There was something about the way she spoke, he felt their truth. "How do you know me? How can you know we are the same?" Ash'eny wasn't sure he wanted to hear this, as if afraid to hear a mirrored version of the very life he lived, only with different faces and situations. He stood there a long moment, his own dancing brown eyes that had been avoiding the grasping stare of her own, giving in, staring back at her. A nod, weak, hardly felt, let alone seen, moved him, it grew slightly, becoming known. "Of course. Lead the way."

[Satu]

Satu watched the man out of the corner of her eye. Did he try to hide his true self from her? She was certain he wanted to! But there was no hiding the Heart’s emotions, not from her. Her sapphire eyes saw him for what he truly felt each moment in time. And many of those feelings she understood. This understanding was reflected in her eyes as she turned to face him fully. “I am a Konti,” said the HeartSeer simply, her scales reflecting opulently in the changing light. “Your emotions are laid out for me to see, one after the next. There is nothing you feel that does not also touch me.” “…there is such need in you.” She said, heavy with her own emotion and accent, and she took his arm, guiding him away into the crowd of people. The Konti walked tall and beautiful among them, unaffected by the sudden press of bodies, as if untouched by their petty and selfish behaviors. Her hand, so delicate, held a surprising strength that was also belied by the softness in her voice. “Loneliness consumes you. Alone and Alone. And Alone. It calls me to your side.” She offered, her face filled with both innocence and wisdom. “I was once the same, and crushed under the evils of men.” How confusion filled him! She felt its swirls and offered hope. “Who could understand you?” she smiled sadly, repeating his words. “We do what is necessary to survive. After that we must find purpose. A purpose that fills us… to make up for the dark that was done.” The Konti’s words were strange, but it was her truth. It was easy to see that she had vision. She believed! And she wanted him to believe too, so she manipulated her words to have the most meaning to his Heart. “There is purpose in the world… after many trials I have found mine. Do you have such a purpose and value? Here is this city?” It was easy to see Satu held no regard for this place, the city where her own horrors truly began… An invisible shiver ran down her spine. “There is great need in the world… and much suffering. I would end this. I would change the Hearts of Men.” Her eyes shone and her webbed fingers were soft upon his arm still. Her words weaved a picture of innocence ready to fight against terrible odds. She was an exotic beauty, her white hair caressed her shoulders softly, and her dress hugged her curves like as any other woman. But she was not human, and there was not a sliver of self-consciousness about her. She had purpose. “You are different. Sorrow? Others feel it… but not as deeply as us.” Already she included him, already she began the embrace of words around him. Was he as alone if a peaceful Konti could take such an interest in him? Her words suggested it, suggested that it might be possible to be understood. “You and I, we feel! So strongly does the world touch us. Can you deny this? That you hurt for the wrongs of the world?” She let her desire to follow Sagallius’ vision fill her. And this man could help further that magnificent plan, and heal himself in the process. If she could convince him… “I know you,” Satu said and her tone held more than normal observation, as if she saw more in him than others ever could. Though who could say what she truly witnessed in him? She continued, “It is true, Mizahar is in turmoil, though I try to help in a small way. It is my small purpose. It saves my life… Perhaps you only require a little guidance? To help your world?” “Please?” she asked, “Tell me your name. And what it is you wish for…” It was an odd request, the two questions together, and yet how intimate Satu’s words had already become.

[Ash'eny]

Konti... It was a familiar word. Ash'eny had met several in the past many seasons. Just recently he got to know a whore at the Golden Dragon fairly well, a Konti. It was ironic that they ended up leaving without so much as touching one another, something Ash'eny didn't particularly regret. Ash'eny wasn't fond of prostitution. It was one of the few business that was legal in so many places, but he felt was cruel or unreasonable. Yes, a thief, of all people, thought something deserved to be outlawed. "Konti..." The word rolled off his tongue as if it was as unfamiliar to him as the first time he heard it. A few glances at Satu and he understood why. There was something majestic about that race that he just didn't understand. He had no idea as to why they were so attractive, and it wasn't even particularly in a sensual way, almost just like they were shrouded in radiance. Once she mentioned his feelings, and how she could read them as easily as words on paper. This made him uneasy. It sounded almost mythological, almost God-like to be able to read his emotions like this. Ash'eny had never been close with the idea of worshiping the gods, his knowledge of them was so poor, yet now he began to question. How could she know? Who was she? Why was he such an important person to her when she knew nothing of him? It was surreal, exotic, and almost comfortable. He felt a light squeeze against his arm as she latched onto him, pulling him through the crowds, weaving with excellent precision and grace. Ash'eny wasn't graceful, perhaps sly at times, but not graceful. The words from her lips coiled around Ash'eny as he moved almost mechanically, subconsciously. Despite being large and surely capable of tearing himself from Satu's gentle grasp, he felt that such an action was in fact impossible. Even considering it felt wrong. Again Ash'eny tried to avoid the truth. He was lonely, but didn't that make him weak? He was a man, proud, and didn't want to feel so vulnerable. "Everyone needs something. When I am upset I need a strong drink. When I am poor I need to steal to reclaim wealth. We humans, I mean, humans like me, we always need, or feel like we need, something. Sometimes that something is everything." Ash'eny continued to listen, she went on, pointing ouch such acute details of his anguish that he was unable to deny it. Loneliness, it was true. One of his greatest adversaries. It was not the knights who battled him at every corner or pressured him into situations and ideals that he did not fully believe in. It was not the difficult childhood he suffered in Sunberth. He felt a need to do good, a need that was rare amongst his kind, but he was still an infant learning what was good, and what was not. Loneliness often clouded his need for doing good, convincing him that he needed to find love or companionship, whichever was more rewarding of a title at the moment, but in the end, he always wanted more, and to do better. "How?" Ash'eny whispered to himself. He was caught in some wheel, pushing his mind to think in ways he rarely attempted before. Often it was, 'what am I going to eat', 'who has the fattest pockets', or 'how am I going to escape this'. Now, though, he caught himself question just how to do what was right. Satu's desire to do good was like Ash'eny's, but her motivation seemed clear, her path almost laid out already, where Ash'eny was only looking at a small, more self-centered picture as he wandered without insight. "I... I believe I had found my purpose in these very walls, with the knights. Fighting crime, it gave me strength and joy. Yet, I am a man of great weakness, great temptation. My own actions were worse than the few I helped bring to justice. I am not meant to be here, but I am unsure of where I am needed. If... if needed I am at all." Guilt, anguish, and there is was again, the sense of being lonely that hovered over every word. He knew he didn't have to admit it, he believed now, fully, she truly did know everything about him, how he felt. He almost wanted to believe she knew every detail of his past, each fond and devastating memory he had. He'd expect nothing less of a true Goddess. "Ash'eny." Ash'eny whispered his name. It was rare he offered the name given to him by that bitch called a mother, rather than the name he envied, his only true Sunberth Friend's name, Tolby. Ash'eny wished he was Tolby, no often he did. Adopting his name, sometimes it helped. "I don't know what I want. I have often gone and wished at the Well, the Spirit spoke to me, twice now. Once, I thought I was dreaming, but twice I am not to believe so. I think, she mentioned somebody, a person that would come here, to Syliras, in need of my help. A shameless rogue as myself, and that I would leave this place. She said I would return, changed for the better, and I still believe her." Ash'eny felt an intensity in his own eyes as he glanced down at the Konti. It was like he felt something fit into place. Since that day, there wasn't a single soul in town, despite his active searching of them, that convinced him they were the one foretold to him. Yet this one, rather than he seeking her, stumbled over him in what seemed to be an accident, if that's what it was. Perhaps the spirits were at work, guiding him, or her, to something.

[Satu]

The crowd surrounded them, and as it moved about them she was reminded of the currents of the sea. It had been so long since she had swum in Laviku’s depths! Abruptly Satu stopped and turned in front of the man. “Do you have a place that is special to you?” Like the blessed sea, she thought, with its ever moving tides. “This city is not for me… nor it seems for you. The Knights-” she shook her head, and her white locks bounced at the gesture. It was easy to read her hatred for them, even without Avalis’ Gift of Sight. His Guilt and Anguish at the mention of the city’s keepers caused her to continue, as she began to lay a path of Freedom before him. Her voice lowered, “The Knights are men, like any other, with the same failings. Do not ask me to tell you the horrors I have seen within their Hearts.” He was taller than her, and larger, but though she was smaller and slighter, inner strength was easy to see in her as they were pushed together by the crowd. Satu ignored the chaos around them, as if the comings and goings of people meant nothing to one such as her. She only focused upon the man, holding his gaze by will of strength alone. “You are needed. So greatly needed, never doubt that… Ash’anay.” She used his name for the first time, and her musical accent caused the name to ring differently in the air between them. Ash'anay not Ash'ney. It was a name spoken differently than others had spoken it before; a name with new meaning. Ash’anay. It was a magical word upon her lips. But it fit the solid, handsome man before her. Satu began to turn away once more, but his words made her stop. “This has been foretold to you? This telling?” She looked at him closely, her face filled with honest assessment. “Who else would you go with? Who else carries such a purpose as I?” She had no doubt of her own worth; she been chosen by a god! The Konti’s hand still lay upon his arm, she had not removed it. He needed to trust her. Whispering she said, “Would you join me?” And she didn’t say yet… and my companions. He would meet Mao and the Golem later. Right now, it must be very, very simple. “The emptiness must be filled, let me lighten your burden. There is no reason to be alone... any longer.” And Satu smiled beautifully, “All you have lived through is not in vain, your trials have lead you to me. Do you doubt this?” She did not question it, for she believed, and if it was so in her mind, then it must be truth. He needed her guidance and he required her purpose. Offering one more step in the seductive path she laid, Satu added, “I need you… Ash’anay.”

[Ash'eny]

Ash'eny was slightly startled as the Konti moved in front of him, and just stopped. She looked up at him, and he again got that odd feeling of her digging into his soul, prying out secrets, emotions, memories, everything. He shook his head. A special place? Syliras was only special because it wasn't the shyke hole he grew up in, survived in, gained and lost everything in. Syliras was a calm break from a raging sea, but it had started to tire him out. Even calm waters eventually became too much for the body to swim in. He needed to find land, sand in his hands, dirt under his feet, a special place, wherever it was. "No, I don't really have one. I've only seen Sunberth and Syliras though, and it's not like Syliras is a terrible place to live." Ash'eny explained, offering excuses and trying to pass it off as no big deal, and he already had the inkling that it was foolish to try it. He was lost, they already established that. A child without a mother's embrace, a soldier without a city to defend, a father without a child, a man without a home. Ash'eny hated to think of the knights as corrupt, but he had seen them. They may not be thieves like he was, but they made deals in the shadows, they held views which couldn't be thought as noble. No, Ash'eny couldn't be around these people, he shouldn't have been around them this long. "It's not for me, perhaps, at the moment. Syliras needs me no more than I need it. Separate entities, and we could live without each other, never would we consider the other's well being." "Ash'anay." The Sunberth-bred rogue toyed with the name for a moment, trying to decide if it was an accent, a slip of the tongue in intentional. He almost wanted to ask, but what good would it do. It was similar to his name, yet different. Something, new. Perhaps a sign that he was something different along with his name. Something different would be better. He wasn't fond of who he was, but could he be happy being someone new? Ash'eny face slowly inched up into a smile. He would accept the name. He was so distracted by the name that he didn't even notice the crowd forcing them closer. Typically Ash'eny would have felt weird, like Satu was going to pick his pockets or drive a knife into his ribs, and she could have done that with ease. She disarmed his paranoia, weaseled through his defenses, she had his trust, and Ash'eny didn't even know why. It was like some greater power pushed him to believe her, but it felt right, natural. "I've always wanted to be needed." And that was the story of his life. It explained everything, made sense of every situation, each and every heartbreak, the need to single one person out and attach himself to them, and why it always drove him mad when they left him. Tolby was his friend, then died. Manilla looked to him as a father, but was killed. Avalona treated him like a lover, then vanished. Tucesi enlisted him into the knights as a secret, a man never to be spoken of, and now felt he was used to do crime in the name of the law, like he was betrayed. It made this now, the urge to fall into that comfortable feeling once again, so damn scary, yet he was willing to try it. One. Last. Time. Ash'eny smirked. She was certain that it was she that was spoken of at Kova's Well. Ash'eny nodded. It made sense. Who else would be so eccentric, find Ash'eny, and need his assistance? She asked what Ash'eny knew: Nobody. "There are none, at least, not in Syliras who need me. I don't know what use you see in me, but I am ready to help. I will join you." Ash'eny felt a knot in his stomach, hesitation, anxiety. He didn't know what she had in mind, but he knew what he wanted. He wanted to leave, he wanted a companion, he wanted to be valuable. She offered him all of it. "No, I'm the one that needs you." Ash'eny's reasons were selfish, mostly, yet in a way, his needs were to help the needs of another. Was that truly selfish or selfless? Both? Neither? Regardless, Ash'eny had accepted this, to an unknown end, he would follow Satu.

[Satu]

“I’m the one that needs you…” he said, and understanding shown in her blue eyes and through her delicate features. “…needed to be needed.” He had said that too, only a moment ago. Even as she felt his Anxiety she also felt his Trust. It built slowly and she urged it on silently. Trust! And it will be repaid with glorious Freedom, she thought! The Konti stood tall, her pretty face turned slightly up in response. Yet even though Satu could not see the future, she did not look surprised to hear of his need. The HeartSeer felt she knew all along; there was no place else for him, but at her side. In her mind, their destinies were intertwined and linked within the wondrous Chavi. “Yes, you do. And you shall not be disappointed.” A long fingered hand reached up to touch his face, but she stopped only centimeters from it. Following the strong contours, she hovered over the skin with her cool hand. Her intensity could be felt, as her eyes seemed to take in the world… Tears formed and filled her eyes as she thought about the multitudes that were lost, and in need of leadership, of direction. Just like Ash’ney. She would bring it to him, the things he needed. That they all needed! Sagallius’ bright vision would shine forth through her! Ash’ney would join her and learn. A peaceful contentment filled her, as one more soldier walked his first steps on the goodly path. Raising her tear-filled eyes, Satu was unashamed and unapologetic. Displays of emotion could not make Satu weak any longer, she was a HeartSeer and she bore emotions more proudly than she ever had before. Strangely, the Konti appeared all the stronger for it. Satu, perhaps because of all the tragedy and turmoil in her young life, had now fully accepted Avails’ gift of HeartSense. And now she knew how it must be used! To save the world! Her hand dropped down to at chest level between them. The gloves she wore only covered the palms and the back of her hands, hiding Sagallius’ mark from ignorant eyes. “Give me your hand Ash’anay… We will gather your belongings and be away from this place that is not special. Leave your loneliness here. You will no longer need it.” Compassion was in her gaze. She was with him, yet removed at the same time for her purpose was great, and her own vision large. The HeartSeer would show him and welcome him, and she opened the door to her world for him. Satu had not lied, Ash’ney was needed, but he was a tool for the Konti to use, and to cultivate. She believed in his worth wholeheartedly, even as she focused on the great quest before her. And it was clear, no matter what he thought of her, Satu was not like everyone else.

[Ash'eny]

It had been a while since somebody gave Ash'eny a sense of true worth. This konti, who he didn't even know the name of, was taking him in as he was, needy and helpless, ignorant and tainted by a past of deep struggle. Ash'eny wasn't sure what it was she saw in him, but he wanted to follow Satu regardless. He had formed a trust for her, a platonic love. He smiled genuinely as he peered into Satu's eyes. He had seen Konti before, Jischa being the most recent and noteworthy, but Satu far exceeded her. Jischa was, to be blunt and honest, a whore for money, Satu had something entirely different that made her interesting. The rogue peered down at Satu's gloved, bare hand, offered to her. To take it was, he knew, the ultimate commitment to this mysterious journey, the acceptance of the emotional yet outstandingly wise Konti woman, if he took her hand, which he knew he had no choice, he would be making her his leader, the one to decide his actions, pick his destiny, rule his actions. His opinions wouldn't matter unless she asked for them. If she would ask something of him, he would do it. Ash'eny's hand lifted as his fingers coiled gently around her hand, the blend of scaled flesh of the fingers and the oddly shaped gloves felt odd, but welcoming. He closed his eyes there a moment, his face took a faint pinkish tint as he swallowed nothing, swallowed nervousness perhaps and even then with difficulty, he opened his eyes again, nodding slowly. "I have nothing to bring, but I should purchase a horse. I'll not take long. I wish to leave this place as soon as our legs can manage. I wish it to be behind me already." Did Satu know her way to the Windmount Stables? Perhaps, at least for this moment, Ash'eny could guide her through Syliras, since he had been here many seasons. He wasn't sure about her, but he had a hunch that she didn't stay in one place long, and when she did go somewhere, she changed people. She made herself known, if she had been here long, Ash'eny would have noticed her long before. Yet, oddly enough, that was the thing. Earlier he had things to keep him almost tolerant and content with life, but it wasn't until this season he started to break down. It was odd to think that, it was now when he was truly about to fall apart when she came and promised to hold him together. "Thank you." Ash'eny whispered softly before moving towards the Stables, the unnamed Konti's hand still in his as they moved. He had a brand new smile of confident, and for once, it wasn't drenched in deceit or deception. He was truly feeling mighty. End