Legend of Ransera

Posted: **Thu Mar 24, 2022 8:04 pm**

Timestamp: Glade 25, 122

For the first time this season, the sun broke through the thick blanket of clouds that had covered much of the continent for the last season and a half. This ray of sunshine grew and grew, banishing the clouds away as stiff winds formed and blew them to the south. And in the span of one morning, there were clear, blue skies over Drathera. The first day of clear skies was always considered a blessing in Ecith, and the citizens were all in a particularly good mood.

And with the empowered winds that blew the clouds away, ships that were sailing southward across the Crystal Sea would find themselves traveling at a much quicker clip, and many were coming. Fishing vessels were coming in, with or without their catches, merchant ships racing to hit land so they could dry out, and naval boats were escorting them all, heading in for there were about to be very few ships needing their protection.

The first day of the Hot Season was a holiday in Ecith, and work was about to cease for anyone. Today was a day of rest, of leisure, and enjoying the returning sun. For the ships coming in, Drathera jutted out from the continent long before the coast line did. It was shaped like a single fang of a dragon too large to possibly exist. As the ships grew closer, they would see the Emerald Ridge, a distant and green backdrop to the south of Drathera, a phrase that was often sung about, written about, spoken about when Ecith entered into an artist's mind. As the coast came into view, hundreds of ships, large and small could be seen heading toward Drathera.

As the details of the mountain became visible, it would reveal great, marble temples and structures built within the faces of the mountains, waterfalls pouring off of cliffs into pools below, and a few small dragons flying about. The port of Drathera was quickly approaching, despite not yet being close to the city. Unlike many ports, the docks of Ecith were not built from wood. Rather, they were a soft beige color, a cement formed by the local sands, sea shells, and ground bones of the many creatures and monster of Ecith. The port fanned out for miles away from the coast, was outfitted with walls, forts, gatehouses, and siege weapons. And while these structures were built from the same material as the docks themselves, they were dyed in deep, vibrant hues of blues, reds, greens, purples, golds, and blacks. Each structure housed a different design and yet they all seemed to flow together in a beautiful fashion.

The ships were all escorted through massive gates in the sea walls, and lead into the harbor. A few miles later, people could be seen moving around the mountain on external stairwells, others milling about the portion of the city built at the base of mountain. The Emerald Ridge was still hundreds of miles away, but it was a particularly clear day and it could be seen for what it truly was. It was no mountain, no. It was the jungle, whose trees grew so tall, their canopies were above the clouds. The city was built both on and into this massive mountain. There was one huge set of stairs that wrapped around the mountain like a serpentine tail.

Eventually the Whistling Squid sailed up to an available spot in the docks. Down on the dock were a number of impatient dockhands, ready to unload this ship and take the rest of the day off. Most of them were Orks, in the same colorings that seemed to be common in the artwork here. Men and women alike, intermingled, dressed in thin togas, dresses, and open robes, their bodies strong and adorned with a wide variety of tattoos. The gangplank was lowered, and two women were there, one in silvery robes, the other in jewelry and nothing else. They stood tall, proud, and were smiling as people disembarked.

The nude woman asked the name and citizenship of each person that disembarked with a friendly and warm demeanor, and wrote the answers upon a parchment she held against a stone tablet. At the sight of red curls, the woman in silver smiled, "Welcome to Ecith, Yeva Bleu. We've been looking forward to your arrival." She was a cerulean skinned Ork, her black hair in tight braids that hung past her waste, her tusks six inches long, and she stood almost three heads taller than Yeva. "I hope your journey was a pleasurable one. Your coming has been heralded by the arrival of the sun this year. This is a wonderful sign." There was no offer to Yeva, or any of the passengers, for their belongings to be carried. And for the Orks disembarking, none asked. Trunks were hefted onto shoulders, packs larger than Yeva carried with ease. The silvery woman gestured to her naked companion, "Full name and country of citizenship."

Posted: **Fri Mar 25, 2022 1:27 pm**

Glade 25, 122

The wind slipped under the collar of her shirt and rustled her carmine-curled hair. Yeva gripped the books in her lap to stop their pages from fluttering and scooted to the left in hopes to avoid the still damp spots on the deck. Rain had graced the skies for most of the trip since leaving Sangen and while such weather rarely bothered her, the stale musk of bodies and foreign scents dizzied her. Yeva had emerged from beneath the deck at the rumors of a promising day and lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the sun as the clouds parted and warm sunlight kissed her freckled skin. She smiled, tilted her head back and inhaled the salty breeze before she found a dry spot away from the sailors and settled down for a bit of outdoor reading. With ever hour, they grew closer to their destination and the mystic grew more restless.

She tried to settle down and recharge her mind, cracking open the spin of the phrase book she had purchased with money Franky had given her, reading over some common greetings and the sounds of Ecitharese, but her usual focus eluded her. Men and women patrolled the deck, checking knots and sails and a number of things Yeva knew nothing about. Many were Orkan, as was to be expected, and their attire had changed since leaving the last stop. More than once, the young woman's eyes wandered from the words she needed to learn to the people she wanted to learn about.

Focus, she chastised herself, hearing her older sister's voice in the confines of her mind, I swear, the more orks you see, the more distracted you become. You're not on vacation.

Or was she?

Before she could contemplate such questions or allow herself to feel guilt for travelling on Franky's dime, movement on the ship picked up along with a cacophony of ships approaching from the side. They were close, she realized, and Yeva jumped to her feet, swiping at the vibrant skirt she wore and tearing towards the side of the ship. Shorter than the average passenger, she could barely see over the bone railing. She shoved the thin booklet in her pocket and reached up to grip the edge and heft herself up and gasp at the view. Her feet dangled, the tips of her sandals barely brushing the floor as the jutting structure of Drathera came into view, grounded shortly after by a sweeping swash of emerald green stark again the crystal water.

The wind picked up and so did the speed of their vessel, granting Yeva a better view of the continent with every wave passed. Along the coast, the buildings were like gems sitting in the sand, their vibrant colors singing against the cream colored dock. By the time they were near enough to hear the sounds of the dock, the young woman was sprinting down below the deck to grab her things, eager to disembark and get a closer view of the city. And a close up is what she got.

Yeva had not expected anyone to be awaiting her and more than once stumbled from a failure to watch where she was going. She had known the Orkan to be a large people, but seeing so many in such numbers, with buildings and structures to match their size, Yeva did her best to not get stepped upon. She tugged her single suitcase of luggage behind her; although, seeing the visible musculature and decorated bodies around her, she wasn't so sure if that was a bad thing anymore.

"Welcome to Ecith, Yeva Bleu. We've been looking forward to your arrival."

She spun, mouth dropped at the exposed woman before her and her silvered companion. Yeva didn't know where to look. At her face, her body? The intricate ink that stamped rich skin, occasionally broken up by the jewelry she wore and rich scars, "Hi," she choked, already feeling her face heating and not from the bright sun. The redhead had to crane her next back to see past the slope of the woman's breasts.

"I hope your journey was a pleasurable one. Your coming has been heralded by the arrival of the sun this year. This is a wonderful sign."

Pleasurable?

"It was... uh," her throat felt tight, her ears burning as she answered the one in the silver attire, "It was nice. T-thanks. I've not travelled much, so lots of things to see."

From the corner of her eye, another walked by - a purple figure in nothing more than a loin cloth, covered head to toe in tattoos - threatened to pull away her attention. Yeva covered her mouth and held her breath, barely able to contain the girlish giggling that nearly burst from her lips at impulse. Was this the afterlife? Had she died? She bit her tongue, readjusted her grip on her suitcase, and tried desperately to maintain control. Someone could have warned her! "You have great skin," she blurted, internally screaming even as she said it, "Cerulean is like, my all time favorite color."

Yeva stared at the woman, palms sweating.

She felt herself die a little on the inside, promptly berating herself, SHUT UP. SHUT UP. SHUT UP.

WHO SAYS THAT?

What was wrong with her? Unable to decide what she should do next, it was the silvery figure that inquired on formalities. Directed at her or not, the redhead clung to the distraction, "Yeva Bleu, but... Yeva's fine. I'm from Sol'Valen... Nice to meet you," she had travelled from Zaichaer, but that was not where she held citizenship so she answered honestly. She wiped her hand on the skirt of her dress, pulling her suitcase closer in a nervous fashion, "You knew I was on my way?"

Had they received a vision or... did Franky's wife reach out to an old contact? "I wasn't really told what to expect. I," her warm eyes began to wander but she redirected her attention to the two, In the duration of their interaction, the mystic had turned rather pink, "-have a lot to learn."

Posted: **Sat Mar 26, 2022 1:18 pm**

At the compliment on her skin color, the woman smiled broadly, "Thank you, I am a descendent of the Sapphire Flight. I'm quite fond of your fiery hair, quite warming and wild in the best of ways." Then an obvious glance from Yeva's face to her upper chest, "Your freckles are quite pleasing to me as well. I hope to see more of them one day."

"It's nice to meet you as well. My name is Xidia Q'uhi Nokra, I'm a scholar at the Unseeing Temple." She gestured to her nude, emerald friend, "This is Raura Chovu, a scribe for the city." The woman nodded but remained silent. A playful smirk crossed her face, "Yes, we know all, and see all." But the woman couldn't contain her joke for longer than a half instance, and was laughing as she spoke now. "While I'm sure one of the many Seers and Mystics saw the signs of your coming, we received word from Dalma of your pilgrimage."

"Thank you for your work, Raura, please go enjoy the holiday."

The woman nodded and left.

"Shall we walk and talk?"

The woman gestured down the mile long stone pathway to the shore, as Raura took to the air with a flick of the wrist, flying on the winds of her Elementalism, heading back to her office. "I've been to Sol'Valen during my Och'uvnai, I can imagine you have much to learn here, as I did there."

A grin, "I can see you're eager to learn much in the way of love here, you're blushing so much above, I can only imagine the below." She held a fond look on her own face, "Those who I loved in Sol'Valen were quite gentle and attentive. A bit skinny for my taste these days, but I learned so much from them."

Her arms went wide before them, "Ah, the sun feels so good upon my skin this day." She looked over at Yeva, "If you would like, we provide housing for those on their Pilgrimage. A small cottage near to the temple. If you would like to lay your head elsewhere, by all means. This is your Pilgrimage, you may get out of it whatever you desire."

As the walked the massive docks, more ships were being unloaded, and many an Ork and other were stripping down nude and diving into the crystal clear waters of the protected bay. The men and women, of many ages, wrestled and played as though they were children. "If you would find it pleasing to do so, perhaps I could teach you of our Tenets here. They serve as the guiding stars for our laws and way of life, and I believe they would be beneficial for you to learn sooner than later."

Posted: **Sun Mar 27, 2022 9:32 pm**

Yeva wasn't fully sure what the Sapphire Flight was, but the compliment that followed the statement distracted her from any further questions, "Oh," her eyes flickered downward in an attempt to follow Raura Chovu's gaze, "T-Thank you."

Yeva turned over the words, trying desperately to decipher whether or not she had simply been starved of compliments in Zaichaer or if she understood the full meaning. Xidia proceeded with her joke and she laughed in unison, if largely because she had been ready to believe every word. Of course it was Dalma.

"Dalma and her husband have been good to me. They have been greatly supportive of my pursuits and," Yeva beamed a smile, "I have been blessed to have such support, so far from home."

"Thank you for your work, Raura, please go enjoy the holiday."

Raura turned around to leave giving full view of her backside, and Yeva gave a distracted wave as blue woman rose to skies. Magic!

"Shall we walk and talk?"

The redhead blinked away her stunned expression, refocusing on the topic at hand, "Yes, please."

She hurried after Xidia, who began to speak of Sol'Valen. When the scholar grinned, Yeva froze.

"Oh, no, I, uh," she felt herself fumbling, nearly dropping her suitcase before tugging it along after her, "This just happens sometimes... er, often, but, I'm just surprised. Cultural... differences," she hurried to explain, dying inside at how her embarrassment was addressed. She briefly touched her cheeks, panicking at the idea of how many others in Drathera might think the same; and how many would be right. Fates, this was bad, "There's nothing... it's not... I-" Outside of fortune telling, the young woman hadn't found her confidence yet. She was still discovering who she was as a person, and woman. Love was certainly not the reason she had traveled so far, "Thank you for the offer of the cottage," she added, barely breathing, "-and for greeting me at the gate. I was planning on walking the city a bit more."

She wanted to express her gratitude, but the interaction was leaving her clumsy and - fates, why were so many people naked? The little clothing the residents did wear was stripped and tossed aside, strong bodies clashing into one another as they pinned each other into the sand. Granules stuck to their colored skin from sweat and sea, and despite keeping her eyes straight ahead as if her life depended on it, Yeva couldn't help but notice everyone seemed to sport tattoos, save for the younger generation. How delicious interesting.

"If you would find it pleasing to do so, perhaps I could teach you of our Tenets here. They serve as the guiding stars for our laws and way of life, and I believe they would be beneficial for you to learn sooner than later."

"That would be wonderful," Yeva paused in her walk to reposition her grip on her suitcase. That was the kind of cultural immersion she had been expecting. Yeva reached for the front pocket of her suitcase, where her new journal awaited, "Do you mind if I take notes?"

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2022 11:26 pm**

"You most certainly may take notes. Galetira, one of our patrons in the Triumvirate, brought the written word to our world. It is why we mark our bodies as we do." Xidia paused in her walking, turning to Yeva, sloughing her sheer robe off her body, letting it hang at her elbows. She pointed at what could only be describes as a whirlpool of letters, some Common, others foreign, disappearing into a single point between her breasts. The minute detail and craftsmanship was phenomenal, "This tells the story of when I began to pursue the teachings of Galetira." Her finger trailed down over her rigid abdominal, "When She blessed me with Foresight." Even lower now, toward her lower abdomen, "When I was blessed with my first child, born in Her temple." She led her way back upward, up to her breast, right above her heart. Her voice cracked and tears filled her eyes, "This is the prophecy I received, telling me that I would lose him." Then down to a tattooed scar upon her ribs, "The day the Unknown claimed him. His name was Kuchati. He was a beautiful boy, eyes and hair of his father, my skin and nose."

She wiped away her tears, "The Unknown claimed him a few years ago. Thanks to Galetira, I have journals and drawings and so many records of my boy that remind me of him, even when his memory was stolen from me."

A soft smile, "So please, write down anything you desire. Write as much as you can, while you can. It is how we honor those who are stolen from us."

A deep breath, "Shall we continue? I'm sure you've much excitement."

She placed her robes upon her shoulders, keeping it slightly opened as they walked, wiping away one last tear, kissing the finger it was on, before flicking into the bay with a whisper. "The 27 Tenets of Ecith were formed after thousands of years of suffering and fighting of our people. The history of Ecith is the history of us Orkhan, but we are no longer alone here. The Tenets were developed to help us survive, and to help guide us to a better type of self governance than any of the many types our people have tried in the past. I will go into more detail on them, but a quick summary we like to give foreigners is Service, Autonomy, and Pursuit, in balance. Balance in all things, truly. Here in Ecith, we all do our duties, as decided by ourselves, to better serve ourselves, our people, the land, the sky, and the seas. Each Ecithian's rights end where another's begins. And we all strive to become the best versions of ourselves. We no longer have kings, no longer have a government where the heirs of the previous government rule. Our Senators are elected into power by those they serve, they are bound to those they serve. Here, the power is in each and every individual, equally."

She proceeded to go over each tenet in detail, which lasted them long enough to finally exit the docks. They passed through the great, open gates in the walls of the city, heading into what Xydia called Lowtown, the portion of Drathera built upon the ground around the base of the mountain. Lowtown is largely inhabited by sailors, farmers, and those in related industries. She explained the basics of the meritocratic caste system as well.

"Pretty much everyone here also speaks Common, but I do recommend you learning Ecitharese. It's a beautiful, old language, one of the first on Ransera. Many facets of Common comes from our language. Common does not have the same nuance as our language. But I think you'll find plenty willing to teach you. Perhaps we should part ways. If you'd like to meet again, come up to the Unseeing Temple. I'm sure Galetira would love to meet you."

Posted: **Mon Apr 18, 2022 10:16 am**

Yeva was dating her page when Xidia started her education, sliding off her sheer robe to expose a collection of tattoos. She stared in awe, at the swirling of letters, some she recognized, many she did not, "Wow," she muttered under her breath, less surprised now by the exposure and more impressed by the art. The story of her pursuing of Galtiera's teachings. Yeva thought of herself; what would her story be?

She wrote quickly, switching to a personalized shorthand to keep up with the words.

Triumverate?
Galtiera
Brought the written word
Blessing of foresight - ??? Prophecy?

Xidia explained the life of her son, his arrival and vanishing, brought upon by something called, the Unknown.

Xidia Q'uhi Nokra, mother of Kuchati, and scholar at the Unseeing Temple, has greeted me today. Raura Chovu was with her, who I later learned possesses air magic, as she whisked into the sky and up the mountain shaped like a dragon's fang.

She paused in her own diary entry to listen, adding more to the notes:

27 Tenates. Service, Autonomy, and Pursuit, in balance. Balance in all things.

The government was explained, so unique and unfamiliar, the elf was fascinated. Orcs were an old race, and Yeva had heard of the foundation of such history. Mostly told in parallel to her race's own; having heard tales of when Sol'Valen was being built, the orcs were bathing in beast's blood. Now, looking around, she was humbled. These people were mighty, not just in their physiology, but in their sophistication and minds. It was fascinating.

She followed after Xidia as Lowtown was explained. A name easy enough to remember.

She had questions, mostly about the Unknown, but after Xidia shared the story of losing her son, Yeva held her tongue. There would be time to learn.

"Thank you for teaching me," Yeva said, once the conversation started to wrap up. Having learned about the reasoning and meaning behind some of her tattoos, all the bare skin around her did not see so vulgar. It was a way to honor their lives, each other; those loved and hated. Record keeping. Yeva bowed her head, less skittish than before, "I shall do my best to learn your language. I have a great respect for ancient language," She had spent years learning Vallenor in Sol'Valen, from elders and priests. A language considered dead by many, Yeva had known its value and refused to give up, even when obtaining it felt impossible. Doing so had been her greatest achievement, "It was an honor to meet you, and Raura. I will take your words to heart."

After all, Galtiera was waiting.

The next chapter had begun.

Posted: **Thu Jun 02, 2022 8:54 pm**

REVIEW TIME

Yeva

Lores:
Etiquette: The cultural norms of the Northlands are very different than those of Ecith
Etiquette: Ecithians are far more open and straight forward
Etiquette: The 27 Tenets of Ecith
Linguistics: The personalized pictographic tattoos of an Ecithian's life story
Linguistics: Common borrows many aspects from Ecitharese
Research: The basic fundamentals of Ecith society
Research: Galetira brought forth the written word
Research: Galetira brought forth Foresight and Prophecy
Intelligence - Contact: Xidia Q'uhi Nokra, mother of Kuchati, and scholar at the Unseeing Temple
Intelligence - Contact: Raura Chovu, city scribe and air mage

Loot: Standing offer of a free cottage and other services while on Pilgrimage
Injuries: N/A

Points: 15, may not be used for Magic

Comments:

Welcome to Ecith, Yeva. I greatly enjoyed this nice little introduction thread and I look forward to seeing Yeva's story continue here.

Legend of Ransera

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