Of Gifts and Guardians

[Oralie]

14th winter, 521

The sun had not long risen over Syka, Syna’s light bathing the settlement in a warm golden glow. Oralie was out walking, meandering slowly along the Cobbled Pathway towards the Syka Commons. She was feeling a little braver these days, not quite so afraid to walk by herself within the settlement, though she was hyper alert, her gaze darting all over the place as she went.

She did not have a particular destination in mind, and she pondered on the places that she knew of. Perhaps she would simply sit in the Commons for a while and watch the people of Syka rise and go about their business. Or maybe she would find a seat on Swing Beach and watch the morning unfold. Both sounded nice. She then remembered the shrine Tazrae had showed her on her first day in the settlement. Kihala’s Shrine. She had found it beautiful. That was where she would go.

As soon as Oralie decided, picturing the glorious living bust of the Goddess, a peculiar sensation came into her mind. She knew, somehow, exactly which direction it lay in. Of course, she had been there before and so there was that memory there, but it was more than that. If she stood still, she knew she would be able to orient herself, to turn her body to face the Shrine exactly even though she could not see it.

Oralie paused in her walking, puzzled by the strange knowledge. She had no idea where it had come from, and the Kelvic was definitely not learned enough to be able to work those things out in her mind. She wondered if she might have overheard Tazrae talking about it at some point. As soon as her thoughts drifted back to the Protea Inn, once again she knew that she could turn where she was and face the Inn exactly. She roughly shook her head. What on Mizahar was going on with her today?

The Kelvic rubbed her arms, her fingers brushing over the gold cuff that she now wore on her upper left arm, just above her elbow. Her hand stilled, feeling the textured metal. Could it be? She had chosen the hammered cuff at the first Tenday celebration when the founders had presented a chest filled with treasure to the denizens of Syka. They had told them all that the items were magical, but of course they were not to know the individual nature of each one. Oralie had yet to discover what her item did. She wore it every day, but so far nothing had happened. It was as good an explanation as anything else she might think of at the moment.

Oralie dropped her hand and continued on her way, heading towards the Dock and then onwards through the Commons. Many people seemed to start their days early in Syka, and she offered small, polite smiles to the few she passed but chose not to engage in conversation. She was not feeling quite that brave just yet. The Shrine lay just past the Commons proper, and it did not take her long to reach it.


+521

[Oralie]

It was as beautiful as Oralie remembered it being. The living statue of the Goddess Kihala stood tall, her hair trailing with flowering plants, even in the winter. The Kelvic headed for the seats, casting a cautionary gaze over them before settling herself cross legged upon the stone bench. Tazrae’s voice cautioned in the back of her mind, reminding her of the Innkeepers story of being bitten by a snake here.

She rested her elbows on her knees, and then her chin in her hands. Her gaze drifted down to the pools, and she watched the colourful fish that swam in them for a time. Her thoughts wandered as she watched, mulling over the whirlwind that had been the last season of her life.

Oralie was not the same person that she had been. But she was not an entirely new person yet either. She was somewhere in between, like a clay vase that only just begun to be shaped. There were still fears and dark thoughts clinging to her, like speckles in the clay, but with time they were slowly starting to fade. Everything about Syka was a healing balm to her, even the scary parts.

The island was rife with possibility. She had the impression that she could do anything that she wanted to here. The people were generous and welcoming, and even though it had been obvious that Oralie had been bringing baggage with her, nobody minded. They had simply shown her in and asked her what she wanted to do. She would be forever grateful to them for it. The founders had been careful to make sure she had what she needed while trying not to overwhelm her. Tazrae had opened her home to her and immediately cared for her as if she was a long lost friend. Even Juli at the Mercantile had been thrilled to equip her so that she would have the best chance at being comfortable here. Oralie wondered how she was ever going to be able to repay their kindness, and made a vow to herself then and there that she would find a way, that she would be a useful part of the settlement one day.

She had been so deep in her own thoughts, that she had failed to notice the approach of another. As a shadow fell across the fish pools, Oralie looked up to see Mathias smiling down at her.
“Good morning Oralie.” She sat up straighter, though still kept her legs crossed. “Hello.” Mathias came around the pools and took a seat near to her on the stone bench. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Something seemed to have bothered you a short while ago – you were stood not too far from my home for quite a while earlier.”

Oralie blinked before realising she must have experience the odd directional sense in view of the founders house. “Oh, no I’m alright. I just…” She trailed off, wondering how to word her explanation. “I think I might have figured out my trinket’s magic.” Mathias nodded, watching her expectantly. “I think, somehow I can tell the direction of things. Places, that is. When I stopped near your house, I was thinking about the Shrine, and even though I couldn’t see it I knew exactly which direction it was in. Like… not just because I had been there before, I would have known even if I had been blindfolded and spun around several times.”

“That sounds very useful. I wonder, does it only work on places you know?” Mathias looked pensive. “If I told you to tell me which direction the ‘Reclaimed Knowledge’ lay in, could you tell me?”
Oralie tilted her head at the curious name before thinking on the place. There was no surety of direction in her mind at all. She peered at Mathias. “Are you sure that’s a real place?”

The founder laughed. “I am quite sure. It seems your trinket gift only works if you know the place you want to go.” He considered her again for a moment. “I suppose we shall have to get you exploring soon, then you can be our compass.” He smiled at Oralie’s confused expression. “Syka is a very extraordinary place, Oralie. It is much more than meets the eye.”


+715

[Gossamer]

Mathias took a deep breath, seemed to think about something deeply, then continued. “When we settled Syka, we didn’t know we were starting a new Settlement on the ruins of an old city. The longer we’ve been here, the more we’ve learned. Syka is the location of an ancient pre-valterrian outpost called Pavena. It was a science center full of researchers that studied off world. There’s a place here that takes people to other worlds. It was ran by a woman called Myrna Kelvic. Her twin brother was Marcus Kelvic, the founder of your race, Oralie. Marcus used to live in a stronghold in Kalea called Ironrock. It was there he took a sentient creature that was from offworld and combined it somehow with animals and people so that the people could assume animal shapes. Hence the Kelvic Race was born.” Mathias said, studying Oralie.

“There are Kelvics here, especially in the wild, that aren’t like any Kelvics we know about in this modern day. For example, we know reptiles aren’t Kelvics, yet there’s a crocodile Kelvic woman named Sawtooth that guards the Syka River. She’s old… some day hundreds of years. The stories go that Myrna disappeared on one of her research expeditions. And Marcus was frantic to find her. He developed the Kelvic race to have creatures that could search further and faster than he could personally… and that’s how the Kelvics came to be. And that’s why Kelvics are here. We don’t know what happened to Ironrock during the Valterrian. We don’t know where Marcus is now or if he’s even alive. There’s rumors that he still exists, but nothing substantiated.” The oldest Founder said.

“It’s a lot to take in. I know. But tell me, Oralie… why are you interested? Are you looking into getting involved in the community somehow? Are you planning on staying a while?” He asked. “Tazrae told me that you are an escaped slave. Will you tell me a little bit about your history and what happened? We need to know about who owned you. Your old owner might show up one of these days and want to reclaim someone they think are their property.” He said, not wanting to frighten her, but wanted to explain why he was asking such personal questions.

“I don’t believe in slavery. You are safe here. Syka was a good choice for a place to run too. We need settlers, people willing to put down roots, and we will defend people like you. One of the ways we will do that is by teaching you to defend yourself.” He said firmly. “Buraga is in charge of security. He’ll give lessons to anyone that wants them.” Mathias explained. “You shouldn’t hesitate to talk to him if you want to learn a weapon or even just how to fight with your fists.” The Founder continued.

“Tazrae is also good with the jungle… very good. She’ll teach you things if you want… or Uta, Randal, any of us really that you are comfortable with. That’s really important. If something happens and you need to head straight into the jungle, you’ll be able to survive and those pursuing you will not.” He added, not wanting her to think that way but knowing she needed too.

“I would look for a bondmate here too. Oralie, you will be happier as a Kelvic bonded to someone if you can find a good fit.” He added thoughtfully. “We don’t have a lot of people here, but the people here are really good people.” He added, smiling slightly. Then he switched topics carefully and looked at her thoughtfully.

“Oralie, do you have any questions or special needs being here now?” He asked.
.

[Oralie]

Mathias’s words sounded somewhat ominous, and Oralie watched him carefully as he paused to consider what to say next, her golden eyes rounded with anticipation. She blinked in surprise as he revealed that Syka had been founded on the bones of a pre-Valterrian city, Pavena. She hadn’t noticed anything that hinted at that fact, which she supposed was why they had not known either. Although… she cast her mind back to her first day here, and the overgrown playground that Tazrae had shown her. Was that…? It seemed likely, for there were certainly no children here now.

Her body stilled when the Founder moved on to speak of the Kelvic. Two people who bore the name of her race, Myrna and Marcus. The… founder of her race? She listened, a little confused, her brow pressing down over her eyes as the Founder’s words continued to sink in. Marcus Kelvic had invented her race from humans, animals and something else that was not part of Mizahar. He had invented them to find his sister.

Oralie suddenly remembered that she needed to breathe, and sucked air in through her mouth in a gulp. “Kelvic are… not of Mizahar? Not truly?” It was a lot to make sense of. She carefully stored the name of Sawtooth, the crocodile Kelvic away. She would like to meet her one day. Oralie wondered if she might know anything about Marcus Kelvic. She lightly shook her head to try and set her thoughts straight again. It seemed her list of things she didn’t know but wanted to know was growing longer day by day.

After a pause, she returned her attention fully to Mathias. “I… yes okay, you deserve to know for taking me in here.” She fiddled for a moment with the hem of her top. She had been through the details with Tazrae once, so she could do it again.

“His name is Marius Keane. He runs the biggest pottery in Syliras. But… I think he does something else too because he is a very rich man and he knows a lot of people. Um, he would have these big dinner parties where I think he did his other business. Something Mr Stalinsa would come to them and he was a Knight on the City Council.”

She paused, letting Mathias store the information away before going on to describe his appearance. “He’s easy to spot. He’s short, he has a square face that is quite sharp looking. He wears expensive fabrics and always has on big gold rings.” The Kelvic did not miss the feel of those hitting her skin at all.

Mathia’s sounded a lot like Tazrae with his choice of words. Oralie couldn’t help but let a little smile tug at the corners of her mouth as the man told her that she would be safe in Syka, that people would help her and look out for her.

“Roots… I would like some of those.” She looked at him properly, her smile widening to warm the gold in her eyes. “I’ve never had a home before, but I would very much like one here. I want to be involved, I want to help however I can. I have a lot to learn… a lot…” She emphasised the second repetition. “Tazrae has already been helping me.” She was growing a great affection for the Innkeeper - and her companions. “What can I do to help the community? Other than learn things to not be a burden, that is. I would like to stay here, maybe forever, if I can.”

A bondmate? She looked at the Founder with surprise. Her Kelvic nature had been supressed for so long she had almost forgotten the word. But of course, as she thought on it, she could feel it at the back of her mind. That niggle, the need for a person to fill the space she could sense. Oralie sighed involuntarily. It was difficult sometimes, to remember who – what – she really was. She hadn’t met many of the other Sykans yet – could one of them really be her potential bondmate?

“Um, I suppose… I want to be useful. Of course Tazrae has already offered me a job so I am useful in that way. I just want to learn as much as I can. It’s always been my dream to be a part of something, to have a family, even if they are not my blood family.” Did she have any special needs?
“I… I don’t really know what it is like to be a Kelvic…” She glanced at the kind-faced Founder. “I have been a cat only twice in my life, and I only remember one of the times.” She shook her head. “That is what I suppose I need really. To remember… or figure that out.” She smiled ruefully. “I guess I am in the right place if the ones who created the Kelvic were here once.”

+822