Fathomless Sunset - Letramenia

DeletedUser28032

"No...He's a dead man" Kaiden replied in a low voice so as not to be overheard by the man in question "...either Red is going to kill him in this duel or I am going to put an arrow in him afterwards" he wouldn't interfere with the duel, he'd never really understood why people did it, why fight fairly? if you had to kick and scratch and bite in order to keep on breathing for one more day then that is what you did, all this...honour and politeness was just foolishness in his opinion "So what do we do if it does prove to be false? should we inform the others or leave them to it?" it had been their own decision to join this fools quest; no one had been coerced into doing it and yet the idea of leaving people as naive as Iatairris and Whisper to die for a lost cause seemed wrong to him even more so because they were undying. Mortals got themselves killed all the time, the very act of waking up in the morning was liable to spell there doom or so it seemed to Kaiden.
Listening to the clashing of blades for several moments though not really paying all that much attention to it Kaiden slowly thinks his way through the problem at hand before venturing an idea "Perhaps...perhaps we are looking at this wrong way around...maybe instead of trying to find the army we should try and work out where they are going" after all they must be headed somewhere else why invade?

 

DeletedUser

As they departed the Eternal Stairway, Whisper’s stomach growled again, reminding her of her hunger. She cut off a large portion of the kudzu vine, knowing the nutritional value, gathered it up, and made something of a scarf with it. As they moved down the path, and saw all the wonderful fruits and berries, she was glad she did. “Mmmmm…. good berries” Whisper mumbled as she immediately started two handed picking. This involved picking a berry and popping it into her mouth with one hand, as the other hand is picking one. She thought how convenient it was that she brought the vine with her, as they could use the broad leaves of the kudzu to wrap and help protect the berries from bruising during transport. The leaves would also help keep them fresh longer. That is…if any were left. Soon berry juice was all over her hands, and she was smacking her lips. After she had eaten her fill, she wrapped up a good supply for the travels ahead. Whisper plucked off more leaves and offered them to the others. The vine truly looked more like rope now, as she circled it, and tied it to her belt. It might still come in handy. While she waited for the others to eat their fill, she thought, like Gemina, she too was much happier with companions. But, she wasn’t sure how to put it into words without getting all emotional, so she remained silent for the moment. [FONT=&quot][/FONT]
 

DeletedUser

Arkadi grimaced before setting off after the Chosen One. He didn't like long distance running, he preferred stealth and sprinting. But he was sure he had the stamina to keep up, and he wasn't going to give the old man the satisfaction of getting lost.
For a brief moment as he ran he wondered what would happen should he suddenly stop and walk in the other direction.
But he kept running, through endless green sickness after the oh so divine master of nature. Arkadi ran and ran, until his muscles melted, until his lungs spontaneously combusted and his veins pumped corrosive acid.
 

DeletedUser31931

Kaiden dismissed his idea that the man would tell them, saying to him that the man would not live past the fight no matter what. As for informing the others, Jokir decided that if they were to believe the man and rush into what he said head first, then that was their decision, he was about to state as such when Kaiden suggested that they went for what the army was after rather than looking for the army, Jokir shook his head immediately and spoke. "No point, most likely from his description they'll be looking to ransack and conquer and if they're here to find a recover something, they'll do it under the cover of darkness, he wouldn't send an army, he'd send an advance force, unless it was a large thing, in which case we'd already be aware of it. No, I say our best bet is still to find an army, especially one of the size that Mezonas described, because you can't hide an army that large, that last part is just logic. My worry is that if they are all like us, then how will we stop them?"
 

Deleted User - 819397

Iatairris grinned happily as Gemina said she liked her idea for a nickname! "Awesome! Whisper, you're more than welcome to keep calling me Iatairris if you'd like…that's still my name, after all!" Her grin only widened as Gemina remarked that she was enjoying their company, something the younger girl agreed with entirely…so far this journey had been a lot of fun!

Their guide and tester then guided them outside to a giant orchard, saying that they needed to leave the area to continue. Whisper helped herself to some of the fruit, and Iatairris did the same, sampling each time. "Wow, this is all reallllly good!" she exclaimed, juice running down her chin. "I haven't had a lot of this before…this is great!" The question then went out if they had questions. "Nope! I'm having fun…I'm ready when you all are!" the energetic girl replied, continuing to feast on the delicious fruit.
 

DeletedUser

Following Gemina through the mysterious door Wallace sets eyes on a wonderful small path full or wonderful fruit of all sizes and shapes. The sight makes Wallace hungry so while Gemina continues telling them about what is going to happen next Wallace takes off his helmet and munches on an apple. They were going traveling so they would need to fill their sacks with food for the trip. Wallace takes his time gathering and taste fruits many of them he hadn't seen before though all of them tasty. After returning to Gemina she asks if there are any questions prompting Wallace to remember he had left his travel equipment back in his room. "Oh, yes, how long will this trip take. I left my traveling equipment in one of your rooms and if we are going to be gone for a while there are somethings I would like to get."
 
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Apelatia

Well-Known Member
Tretana Village

The hooded man let out a sly laugh as Akana wished him well in the duel. As he circled around to the right, he spoke again in his slippery voice, "Disturb the forest you did, and now you will pay for your deed foul Ancslá. Our lands do not need the turbulence that you bring..." As soon as he had finished talking, the man jumped backwards, before throwing his weapon towards Akana in a boomerang-like movement. It appeared that the man was not one to toy with... and he seemed to possess certain abilities which a normal human being would not...


As the fight continued, a middle-aged couple appeared from the interior of the village... Their hut was the last one in the row of small dwellings. Noticing the fight between the two warriors, the woman was just about to shout in alarm, when the man gently placed his hand over her mouth, before releasing it again, and saying a few unnoticeable words to the woman. One side of the duelling arena's perimeter extended along the length of the side of their relatively large hut. The two eyed the duelling pair suspiciously for a few moments, before the man caught sight of Kaiden and Jokir sitting a way off conversing... Holding his wife's hand, the couple walked over towards the two young-looking men, before the woman addressed Kaiden, "What is going on here? That hooded figure is errrr ...dangerous... What does your friend hope to achieve by duelling him?" The dark-haired woman seemed agitated by the duel's proximity to her house, and both of the villagers seemed also to show a reverent fear of the hooded man.


Arkadi

After a few hours of running, to circumnavigate the dense section of forest, Mezonas eventually stopped in a small clearing, not five feet across. The older man seemed almost as fresh as he done been before the run. It was clear that Mezonas was built for long-distance running, rather than sprinting. Turning to face Arkadi, he spoke again, "We not get along Arkadi, but I still intend to see how...capable you are... If you are willing, tonight, we will ambush the rest of our group. I have an idea of where they will camp for the night, so we will have the advantage. Now, this might seem a bit aggressive for a training exercise, but it will test both your skills of stealth, and will also tell myself how apt the rest of the group are at defending from an ambush..." Drawing in a deep breath, Mezonas asked, "What do you think?"


Gemina


Gemina groaned as Wallace noted that he'd left his travelling gear in his room. A moment of indecision seemed to flicker inside the woman, before she stood up, and spoke quickly, "I will retrieve your gear for you Wallace. Though, what would have prompted you to leave it in your room I do not know..." Once she had finished, Gemina disappeared once more inside the tree trunk stairwell, reappearing a few minutes later with Wallace's travelling equipment, before handing it to him. "We will be gone for more than a while Wallace. This journey will be a long one..." Now that the group had collected provisions, Gemina picked up her own provision bag, and once again slung it over her right shoulder. With the others following behind her, Gemina walked along the path through the fruit grove, pausing every now and then to pluck a berry from a bush. As she walked, she talked eagerly about their journey ahead, "We're going to have a lot to do on our journey. It's not going to be as simple as just travelling to Cecia Town, and slaying Yeltzoa. No, we will have to train the four of you first, to allow you to develop strength that neither of you currently carry, and when you are each ready, Mezonas will initiate a ceremony that Arínaleca for centuries past in Cecia Town have used to dedicate the lives those who have completed their training, and are ready to become true Arína in themselves. This has a side effect which will make each of you much more powerful than any of your compatriots who abandoned us in search of the army..." Taking in a deep breath, Gemina continued, "The problem is that we lack a key part of the ceremony, that being the flowers of the Onlongá plant that grew outside of the walls of the town... We will need to retrieve that species from another location before we are to dedicate each of you... We have long to go before that day though. Keep in your minds the glowing warmth of the fact that each of you will one day be true Arína. You were all wise to respond to my call." While Gemina talked, they emerged from the path into a more open section of a forest, where the woods were less dense, leaving room to walk between the trees and bushes. Gemina came to an abrupt stop, before addressing the group. "Whisper, Irris, Wallace, what would you all like to do now? We will camp here when the night comes, so that we can rise early tomorrow morn... I'm happy to lead you somewhere for a test of your abilities, or we can sit here, light a fire, and you can ask questions of me and of each other as you so desire..."
 

DeletedUser13682

What did he mean, disturb the forest? Akana had lived in the forest for two centuries. She wouldn't disturb it; this place was her home. But, at least according to him, the forest was being disturbed. He thought it was them, Akana knew it wasn't. But if they weren't disturbing the forest, then... Akana's thoughts were interrupted when the man threw his viciously curved knife at her. Why would he do that, she thought to herself as she jumped away from the knife. A moment later, she was rewarded with an answer, when the knife curved back and returned to its owner. That was a risky move. What if the opponent blocked instead of jumped out of the way, as Akana usually did? And how much would you have to train to be able to catch that thing without injuring yourself? She wanted to know; therefore, she decided to end the battle quickly. Also, she was sure Kaiden and Jokir had more questions for him. Akana leaped into the air, the wind propelling her nearly over the treetops. She then redirected the air to propel herself downward, right toward the man. She would slash at him, not to kill, but to incapacitate. She wanted him defeated but alive so he could answer her questions.
 

DeletedUser

Although he would never admit it, and especially not to Mezonas, he was glad when they eventually stopped running and ended up inside a small clearing. The old man seemed like the run hadn't affected him at all. Arkadi tried his best to make it look like he wasn't inhaling like he was dying for air, which he was.
Mezonas then turned to face the mercenary. He correctly said that the two wouldn't get along, but he say something interesting.
"If you are willing, tonight, we will ambush the rest of our group. I have an idea of where they will camp for the night, so we will have the advantage. Now, this might seem a bit aggressive for a training exercise, but it will test both your skills of stealth, and will also tell myself how apt the rest of the group are at defending from an ambush... What do you think?"
Arkadi let out a hollow, bitter kind of laugh, racked with exhausted inhalations. "Yeah..." He breathed. "Oh yes, I'm willing to do that. Sounds fun." He smirked. Taking out his waterskin he closed his eyes as the blissful salt water flowed into his mouth. Stealth was good, that was his style; quiet, slick and severely damaging. After swallowing the salt water he threw a bit from the waterskin onto his face to wash it.
With his face and eyes wet from the sharp, stinging salt, he looked straight at Mezonas. "Yes. Let's do this tree man."
 

DeletedUser

Gemina asked whether we wanted her to test us, or to rest. Whisper didn’t really care. She was fine with either. She cocked her head as she heard the trill of a goldfinch. Whisper walked a short distance away from the others as she gave an answering trill, and before long she had a half dozen of them fluttering about. She pulled out one of her leaf wrapped packages, and produced some berries, and started feeding them from her hand. “I guess would rather stay here for the evening….and play.” Whisper so loved playing with the only friends she had ever known. She enjoyed her new human company too, but nature was still what she was most comfortable with.[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
 

DeletedUser28032

"You may be right, so we search for the army then" Kaiden replied as Jokir pointed out that they had no idea what the armies target would be.
It was by this point that a middle aged couple approached in order to speak with them "Truth be told I am not sure, the idea was hers and I am not familiar with the custom" he replied with a shrug as the girl in question began to perform some perform of acrobatics "Do not worry I will see to it that no harm befalls you or your home, you have y word on that however it would perhaps be prudent if you was to go inside" he continued in a calm voice. They right about one thing though...he is dangerous he thought to himself; gently running his hand along the shaft of his longbow, if Red didn't put him down then he certainly would.
 

DeletedUser31931

The man insulted Red, displayed his prowess and then continued the duel. There was something about the insult though. Jokir sat there, musing it. He was so in his trance he didn't even hear the conversation between the woman and Kaiden. Then he realised exactly what it had been the man had said and he jumped up and shouted for the first time in four years. "Stop!" He commanded. "We are not the ones you seek." He placed a hand on Kaiden's shoulder, he didn't need to say anything, the gesture said all it needed to. Let me deal with this. He looked between Red and the Hooded man. "Both of you sheath your swords and hear me out and what I have to say may interest you and call off this fight in exchange for a larger one. Do I have both of your word that neither will take advantage of the other in this situation?" He looked between them and waited. He'd solved the mystery, he didn't know who the man was, but he knew who the man thought he was, and this may well be proof that the old man was right.
 

Deleted User - 819397

It was so tempting not to eat the fruit she'd collected for later right on the spot…it was so good! However, Iatairris knew that she'd regret it down the road if she guzzled them all right now, and with that thought in mind she forced herself to ignore the tantalizing treats. Gemina talked about how the quest they were on wasn't going to just be finding this Yeltzoa and killing him, that it would take a while. She then mentioned something about a ceremony that they needed a flower for, but they couldn't get it from the usual place. She wrapped it up by saying they could either ask questions or go for another test before resting for the night. Whisper called a bird over and began playing with it, saying that she'd rather stay here. Iatairris shrugged. "I'll do whatever you want to do, Gemina!" She smiled, then looked thoughtful. "Although, I'd like to know more about the ceremony you were talking about…it sounds complicated…and I thought you said we were Arína already, so why do we need a ceremony to become what we already are?"
 

Apelatia

Well-Known Member
Gemina

Upon seeing Whisper run off to play with the birds which had suddenly flocked to her, Gemina laughed. It was a joyous laugh, and one that seemed to ring pleasantly in the ears of the travellers. It was clear the sight amused her, and that she took much delight in watching all the same. The chestnut-haired woman watched Whisper silently for a few moments afterwards, before turning back to Iatairris, and giving her a wide smile. "I give you three the choice, and then you throw it all back onto my shoulders! How amusing..." Hearing Iatairris's request to hear about the ceremony in question, Gemina motioned to her right, where a small grassy patch grew upon the ground, moving over to sit down with her legs folded under her, and expecting Iatairris to follow suit. Once the girl had seated herself, Gemina began to describe the ceremony... "The Ceremony of the Arínaleca is both beautiful and haunting... I have been Mezonas's only pupil, and as such have been the only one to have the honour of being granted my true power by his hand... We travelled far to obtain the Onlongá plant, and upon doing so, Mezonas took me to a small clearing in the centre of this vast forest..." Pausing to take a deep breath, she then continued, "The sun was low in the southern sky, and its reddish light shone down on the land, bathing it in a blissful warmth... I was dressed in white robes, and upon my forehead I had painted a white star. We used one flower of the Onlongá plant to imprint on my forehead the star shape which is the emblem of that plant. I had never felt so happy in my life... Mezonas had me lift my hands out palms facing upwards, and said many words in the ancient language of the Arínaleca... Spells and words of unlocking, and blessings over me as one to take up the mantle of the Arína...." Tears filled the woman's eyes as she recounted the experience - it was clearly quite dear to her. "After Mezonas had finished, I felt a warmth inside of me... It was as if I had changed...that I had discovered my true self... All my qualities and downfalls revealed to me... I shall never forget that day... It will stay dear to me for as long as I dwell in this land." Having finished recounting her tale, Gemina gave Iatairris another radiant smile, "Male Arína wear different attire to the females, but they are blessed in the same way nonetheless. Do you have anything that you wish to ask of me Irris?"


Arkadi

Mezonas appeared almost relieved when Arkadi agreed to the plan of action. Perhaps he been expecting a different answer from the 'salt-man'. Shifting in discomfort at being called 'tree man', Mezonas nodded. "Good. We will need to make our way to the location first. It's not far from here, and then we will wait until they have lit their campfire. The only boundaries are... Don't set fire to the forest, and do not under any circumstances try to kill any of your comrades. I would not wish for accidents to occur... Yes, you may drain them of energy, but nothing... drastic please..." His piece said, Mezonas sighed, before asking, "How can you abide to drink salt water? Does it not sicken your insides?"


Tretana Village

Sensing that the woman that he was pitted against was about to try something, he tensed, before realising that she was heading straight for him from above. He felt tired, and therefore made a poorly-judged block attempt, allowing Akana to incapacitate him. As the flow of energy left to sustain that particular part of his body was driven beyond its limit, he collapsed to the ground, having not heard what Jokir had said. Still conscious, though too weak to be able to do anything other than speak, he dropped his weapon, before croaking to Akana, still in his sly voice, "I was wrong to choose to...duel you... You have overcome my strength... I have failed my duty as one of the four Wardens of the Forest..."

-------------

The young woman appeared apprehensive as Kaiden explained the situation to her, before tugging at her husband's arm, pulling him in the direction of the house. At this point, the duel was still ongoing, though it was about to reach an abrupt end...
 

DeletedUser

Arkadi casually nodded as Mezonas laid down the two rules; no setting fire to the forest. Fine. He didn't like fire anyway. Secondly there was don't actually kill any other members of the group. Fine, but if the tree-hugging chosen one was going to throw the book at him and enforce petty rules like that, this could be a very boring righteous crusade.
The plan was to move to their current location, after they lit their campfire the two would move in. Sounded good and simple. Personally Arkadi would have preferred to draw them out and pick them off using surrounding terrain but the woods were not suitable for that.
Suddenly Mezonas asked a question. First decent one actually.
"How can you abide to drink salt water? Does it not sicken your insides?"
Arkadi looked at him "To the contrary it replenishes them. It is the only water that contains base matter; salt. Therefore it is purer. To you maybe it is toxic, but not to me."
 

Deleted User - 819397

Iatairris sat enraptured as Gemina told her about the ceremony she'd mentioned. "That sounds AMAZING!" she gasped upon the conclusion. She thought for a moment after being prompted as to if she had more questions. "What do we need to prove or do before we're allowed to undergo that…and aside from knowing everything about ourselves, which seems WEIRD that I don't already know everything about me, how else are we changed after the ceremony?" She stopped speaking, but it was clear that she was considering saying something else. Quietly, as though she was ashamed to be asking, she added, "Are you all really telling the truth about being old? You seem to be taking it a bit far to be a joke, but you all look like teenagers like me! I can't believe it…why do you look so young if you're not?" Confusion was clear in her eyes…she'd been trying to reconcile the information and couldn't…and she needed to know now, before they went any further…
 

DeletedUser31931

Jokir swore as Akana knocked the man to the ground, the man couldn't die, or they would never know the truth, and therefore, Jokir took an usually rash decision. He charged at the man and Akana, knocking the Akana off of the man. "Leave him! This has been a misunderstanding from the start, and one that I intend to clear up." He turned round to the man and spoke again. "We mean you no harm here. In fact, I'm pretty certain we have the same goals in mind, will you promise to hear us out? I think you may find our story different to what you believe."
 

DeletedUser13682

This man wasn't as good as she thought. He was making a horrible block attempt, leaving his legs wide open for attack. Akana metered her strength; she only wanted to render him unable to fight, not dead. As she struck the man's legs, her sword shuddered with the energy escaping the man's body, forcing his legs to collapse. As he fell to the ground, Akana floated down, landing next to the man's head. Looking at him, she saw that he was trying to say something. Akana knelt next to him, to hear what he said. He did regret fighting her, which was sad really. Nobody should regret dueling, even if they lose. But he wasn't a true dueler. He also mentioned being a guardian of the forest. That was odd. If he was a guardian of the forest, then why would he think that they were bad people? She didn't know about Kaiden and Jokir, but she knew that she herself attempted to live in conjunction with the forest, giving as much as she took. But, all her thoughts were driven from her head when it suddenly was introduced to a tree.

Waking up a moment later, sword conspicuously absent, Akana blinked the wanderers from her eyes, and looked up. Jokir was next to the man; something was going on between them. It didn't matter, however; he had interrupted the duel, and that was bad. Very bad indeed. Akana entered a rage, and leapt off the nearest tree, catapulting herself right at Jokir. As the wind propelled her forward, she let forth a yell at him. "Tame katse lut! Ekke tame töten!*"

*Translator's note: Here, Akana is expressing rage at Jokir, exclaiming that she will kill him for interrupting the duel. Note the use of very short words, and the use of tame, the informal version of you, used only with people you are very familiar with or people you intend to insult.
 

DeletedUser

When Whisper saw Gemina and Irris separate themselves, she admitted to herself she was curious. She didn’t want to interrupt or ease drop on a private conversation, but didn’t want to miss out on anything that she should learn either. It didn’t seem like it was private, so she moved within listening distance. Oh! Gemina was describing her ceremony! And…she was talking about a flower that she had never seen. No seeds from an Onlonga plant were in her seed sack. And…she wanted one. Whisper felt the emotion in Gemina’s voice, as Gemina recounted that day, and she was so happy that Gemina was able to experience that new heightened awareness of herself. Whisper wanted that too, and was doubly glad she had decided to come on this trip. When Irris asked Gemina whether we had been telling the truth about our age, Whisper decided to edge back away out of hearing distance.
 

DeletedUser28032

As the man and his wife retreated to the safety of their home Kaiden watched as the duel came to an abrupt end as Red first bested the man and was then knocked flying by Jokir in a bid to end the duel early having hit upon some unknown epiphany.
Entering a rage the woman screams at Jokir in an unintelligible language before then launching herself at him; the look in her eye betraying her intent to kill him. Normally Kaiden would have been content to let them fight one another after all who was he to interfere? However in this instance he needed them both alive and preferably intact. Raising his hand in the same manner as he had done to stop the fleeing man Kaiden watches as a root as thick as a mans arm bursts from out of the ground to intercept Red; snagging her ankle and pulling her down onto the ground "Enough! you can kill each other once we've sorted out this business of the army but until then you behave understood?" he shouted striding over to where the pair of them and the prisoner were currently gathered sounding just a touch out of breath "Now Red...I need to sit down so if I release you do I have your word that you won't try and kill Jokir?" he asked hoping that she would say yes so he could stop exerting so much energy...alternatively he could just stick an arrow in her leg.
 
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