At the flip of a coin (Sama'el and Open)

[Ragnor Matlian]

The 30th of Spring, 511 AV

Ragnor felt ok on this day, a unusal thing for such a melancholy ghost. Over the past few days he had come to more realizations about his nature, and grown to grudgingly accept his limitations. He moved around now, patroling along the outside of the magnificant city of Riverfall, and had chosen to manifest himself at this present moment to more train himself in the hopes he could substain it longer. Even though being dead had its weaknesses, it also had its perks as well, and he sought more than anything to develop these skills. Only possesion would prove hard to work at, because of course not many would care to be taken control of, and it just didn't feel right to him taking over a unwilling person. For now though he was content to just work on pushing the boundaries of his materialization practices. It was quite essential, so he could enjoy more lengthy conversations with those residing in the realm of the living.

Often times now he felt very emotional, for infact, emotion was all that he could feel now, that and pain, two things he'd give up in a heartbeat in favor of the sense of touch he now no longer possessed anymore. It was so odd to be in the world, and yet not be among people at the same time. He felt like the very structure of reality itself was bent to a edge, and spun like a child's spinning toy. The spirit felt so out of place, and yet felt so attached that he could not leave just yet, and the contradictions only further served to confuse him. Still he felt alright today, and tried to keep such thoughts from his mind, thinking only of maintaining his form that he needed a fair amount of concentration to do.

To anyone looking on they would have just noticed a man walking around, nothing to unusual for those only willing to spare a glance his way. Upon further study one might realize something was amiss about him, but yet not able to quite put a finger on it. Either way Ragnor figured he'd be safe from a bombarding of questions from any passerby as he just looked like any old traveler venturing these roads, seeking respite as most seem to do.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

The horse and her boy came pelting up to the city, a black speck against the verdant green of spring that gradually grew into a centaur rider, horse and boy moving as one, the golden mare tapping into the Web that reached even here. But even with the constant influx of energy, it was clear that the magnificent beast was wearying of racing the wind, and she slowed through her gaits until she was walking up to the bridge that led to the city gates with Akalak guards clearly visible even from that vantage. "Ho, stranger!" he called, exhausted but friendly enough. He hoped Common would pass, as he did not speak Tukant. Surely a few of them spoke Pavi. If he was going to take more courier assignments, he was going to have to learn the local language and culture, he supposed. "Riverfall at last, eh?"

[Ragnor Matlian]

Lost in though, Ragnor was startled by the stranger whom was suddenly ever so close to him. He wasn't suprised enough however to lose his concentration on his form, but still his face looked like it was very shocked. Slowly though he shook away the unease, and studied the man, saying "Hello" almost as a afterthought in a effort to keep things cordial. Observing him carefully, he appearead to be human, or more likely since he was indeed alone, a Drykas. That didn't really matter however, but what did matter was what was this man's morals, and would he be any trouble. He didn't worry about his own saftey of course, he was dead, and there wasn't much the living could still do to him. However, if this man worked for the men he owed money to, possibly pursuing rumors of him in the Riverfall area, then they would indeed have a problem on there hands, and Ragnor wasn't sure yet if he wasn't above trying to possess someone in order to keep them quiet for a time. He sighed and decided it was best not to act before he knew more, it my cause him to make some rash mistakes. "What brings you to this parts, traveler?"

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

The closer he got, the more obvious it became that what he saw was not a man any longer. He blinked, surprised to find the gates of Riverfall guarded by an unquiet spirit. Part of him wanted to beg news of the family that had preceded him into death and reincarnation some ten years previous, but he caught himself. He knew better. Souls were hammered upon the anvil of Lhex into new forms for new bodies, but there was comfort in the fact of knowing that nothing was destroyed. Only shapes were changed. "Drykas business," he said, and it might have come off as arrogant, though it wasn't meant to be. He couldn't help but stare at the remains of a man, losing his train of thought. "I, um..." At least the ghost spoke Common. "I'll not be here long... Ah, what brings you here?"

[Ragnor Matlian]

He didn't much like cryptic responses, but there wasn't much he could do about it. "I am here to meet a friend" he said while watching the man, but doing more thinking than watching. He had only recently left the Sanctuary a day or before, on a errand to Riverfall. Ragnor also left as well to more practice his powers, the harder he worked, the sooner he could find peace, was his most common mantra these days. "Ah yes, and where do you hail from?" He asked.

Taken a brief moment to examine himself, he noted that he appeared to wear the garb of a salior, and it it brought him back to the times when he truly enjoyed his work. With that bit of happiness surging through his mind, he felt very good briefly. It dissapeared a moment or two later when he realized he could never do it again, nor anything else physical, and worse of all sense nothing except what he could hear and see. At least he still had those senses, but he had lost so much in death. His materialization frowned as he realized he was becoming dour again, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately, despite his waning attempts at optimism.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"From Endrykas," he said carefully, his own would vaguely perturbed by this whole experience, but he remained outwardly calm and waited the ghost out. Perhaps one could never wait a ghost out, though, for they had eternity. A man had only the brief span of his life before he too was a ghost. The ghost seemed upset, which only made sense, he supposed. If it wasn't upset, it would have gone to its chosen deity, or to Lhex to be reborn. Whether it was wise to ask into the troubles of the dead, Sama'el was a compassionate soul and felt compelled to at least field the question. "Is something wrong, sir? Do you need help?"

[Ragnor Matlian]

"Well im dead, thats one thing for sure" he shot back with a bit more venom than he intended. Suriviving as a ghost challenged him in ways he had never experienced. He felt like he was in the middle of a storm swept ocean with no rock to hold on to. To him, that sea was his emotions, the rock was the fleeting stability, and control over them. "I'm sorry for that outburst, i've been a bit moody lately Ragnor quickly afterwards, more than a little bit embarrassed. He needed to watch his temper more and more lately it seemed, and it was a good thing he did not possess a physical form anymore, or those very same outburst might have just gotten violent.

The ever so calm nature of the man before him though, seemed to soothe him a little bit at least. His shape had begun to flicker in the slightest bit, but with a measure of control, he managed to steady his form, and look as real as he could get once more. "Well yes, I do seem to have a predicament or two, but none that should concern busy souls such as yourself" he said giving the man an awkward bow, before standing up straight and meeting his gaze again. "What sort of Drykas business did you say brings you here again?" He asked trying to catch him off gaurd, his ever busy mind picking back up on the broken topic as if they had been discussing it all along.

[Tetharion Alarias]

Tetharion had left the city early that morning to investigate a Zith sighting; it wasn't terribly close to the city, but where there was one Zith, there was always the chance their were more. Luckily for him there was only one, and the time of day was a tremendous asset as well. After checking to make sure that the one he'd found was the only one, he turned his faithful steed Morshall and headed for home.

The ride home was uneventful, but he kept them both entertained with a jaunty tune from his flute; it was a favorite of Morshall's, as was obvious by the flicking of his ears and his head seeming to bob to the tune. He continued playing until the city was in sight and as they neared he spotted two men conversing.

He'd seen enough Drykas in his day to know one from a glance when he saw one, although the other seemed odd; something was off about him, and that tingly feeling he got had never steered him wrong when he decided to listen to it. He slowed his horse to a trot and finally stopped near them; he hadn't meant to interrupt, but if they needed assistance or directions around the city, he was in a well enough mood to help. "Good day to you travelers, and welcome to the magnificent city of Riverfall. Would either of you require help?"

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Well, if I were dead and stuck in Riverfall, I suppose I would be upset as well," Sama'el offered generously. "Perhaps if you are still in a predicament when I complete my mission, I could be of some assistance?" But when the ghost pressed him for details, Sama'el could only shake his head and reply with, "I have a message from Endrykas for the Council. That is all I know." Before the ghost could reply, however, the sound of a flute and a man calling out in Common interrupted them. Sama'el turned to take in the red-skinned Akalak, while Dohaina, his golden mare, sized up his mount. With a weary smile and a Drykas salute, he greeted the man. "Ho, stranger! I come with word for the Council. I had stopped to talk for a moment."

[Ragnor Matlian]

"It is all well stranger" he replied in hushed tones that only Sama'el could hear after the Akalak introduced himself. He had noticed the stranger coming up lower on the rise, and so was not so surprised when he greeted them. Something about the man before him tempered his emotions for the moment, and his rendered him speechless for that matter for he said not a word in reply to the man. He did offer a nod, but other than that just stood there and studied him. To him the day just seemed to get more interesting by the passing moment, but also more likely that he was not going to accomplish anything today that went towards his goals.

Sighing and soon being filled with a sense of self-loathing, he met the eyes of the newest stranger and decided against his better judgment to open speech with him like the Drykas had done. “And I am just wandering through, although not quite sure where I’m at in comparison to the sanctuary” he said pretending to scratch his head. It struck him inwardly as odd that he should realize that he was quite lost at this present time.