A Shared Feast [Hilana]

[Kala Leukos]

.

► Show Spoiler

12th of Searing, Year 123 of Steel

Kaus, Ceran, and Indric had only agreed to venture out of the Citadel once Asallon agreed to stay back with Kala. She and the sorcerer had agreed to sit at opposite sides of the small garden so they could each read their books, pretend to be alone, but still keep an eye on each other. The Avialae boys would be a novelty in Solunarium, but they had less to hide than Kala herself. Even so, they were accompanied by Sentinels, at least one of which was an Assessor who would prevent arcane delving into their thoughts. Asallon sat on a bench, purporting to read a book of Names supplied by their hosts, though Kala suspected between its leaves was some local pulp fiction. She was perusing the Radiant Chronicle, trying to better understand her desert cousins. That was, after all, the greatest reason she had come.

Of course, Phocion had invited her to his homeland when she had played the diplomat in Kalzasi. Of course, she wouldn't mind returning to Kalzasi with a trade deal negotiated and requiring only Kalzasern signatories. But to learn the logistics of godhead, to learn how elder Moritasi had attempted, succeeded, and failed at their divine paths—that would be invaluable to her.

She looked up, narrowed pale eyes against the glaring sunlight reflecting off the space between them. Asallon was dozing.

Kala smiled to herself, then let her gaze fall back to the holy scripture she was attempting to read in Vastian, though she had another copy translated into Common beside her. The Sentinels knew much about her, though they didn't know the half of it. To unknowing eyes, she looked like a demure, diminutive, and studious young lady with a strange, far northern complexion. Her Astralarian garb had given way to lighter, more local attire, though she was clearly not Vastian. Her wings were hidden by Torin's marvelous cloak.

All the same, even with that and her own Semblance tuned to show a relatively mundane human woman, she couldn't help but feel eyes upon her, real or imagined.

"‘No matter how great the Hunger, a shared feast better sates the soul.’"

.

[Hilana Chenzira]

It was early, but that was just how Hilana liked it. She was a sociable creature, but she had spent the pre-dawn time that morning on camelback with Juttia filling and packing her bags with plants that grew around the Mesa and the surrounding area. She appreciated that time to herself. There were a number of plants out this way that she could collect and bring back for work, and since she was here for the nights, well. She may as well get an early start on collecting. She had been out there for hours, and having slept for a few hours before feeling the need to get up and get to work. Taking these hours now meant she had time to come home and prepare breakfast for Lykos before she went to work for the day.

Multiple herbs and plants had been wrapped up and put into her saddlebags, and once she had gotten back to the Citadel, they were transferred from her saddlebags to her featherlight satchel, which hung over a rounded hip. She had her ever-present rucksack over her shoulders, and her younger python was snoozing in her cloth bag within it while Hilana worked. The steely female was adapting well to the task of being on the go, but she was having a rare fit of the squirmies for once, and so while she had been trying to carefully, carefully harvest the butterfly weed, Fiya was trying to get into it and explore. Tiaz was far too lazy for that, and he had stayed draped over Juttia’s saddle while Hilana worked away at filling her cotton bags with her harvest. There were the orange-gold star-shaped flowers that would be useful for her teas that, when dried, were incredibly helpful for the lungs and throat.

Hilana had filled two bags full of mesquite pods alone, and she could have filled more... but she’d be back another day. She’d had a good morning with yellow bells, desert lavender, and some catclaw acacia. The latter had merited another couple of filled sacks, all while her camel cow wanted to eat it, too. Another prize had been in the prickly pears. Cactus paddles and their bright red fruit had been trimmed and put into more bags, and so by the time Hilana made it back to the Citadel, she had a fully loaded camel. She was groomed down and turned loose in the small paddock with the other cows she had borrowed from the Chenzira estate to keep Juttia company, in case Lykos or Lia ever wanted to ride with her.

With over half a dozen sacks in her satchel, Fiya was released from her bag to coil on her arm while Tiaz was draped lazily around her shoulders, plenty of his weight resting on her rucksack. She heard the words from the Chronicle in Common as she came up towards the garden, and that made her smile. “Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are,” the girl smiled in greeting, her verbal offering in Common. She could see that there was another sleeping, and so she spoke quietly, as she took in the sight of the pale, diminutive human woman. She’d never seen one like her, but with her hair and markings, she was striking. The tall Vastiana looked like a vision out of the wilderness, with her colourful patchwork skirt that was an amount of fabric that might have been expected out in north with how much of it there was, but the cotton was light enough, hanging off of the girl’s hips. Her sleeveless short shirt covered her chest, but left her abdomen bare. Ebon hair was bound in a wild bun atop of her head, and Kala could see oddities like fangs, claws, beads of stone and glass strung into it. Dangling from the bun, however, were two brown-gold feathers that might have looked familiar to the Demigoddess, as they matched Raithen’s own colouring.

All the same, Hilana knew she likely should not have interrupted the pale woman. Red Rock Citadel was the holding place for those of considerable power and those that the Umbrian Crown and the Sentinels did not want the Luxian Crown of Sol’Avaerys having access to. Like Lykos, like Lia, and quite possibly like the woman who she had just interrupted. Tiaz’ tongue flickered, the black, white, and grey python shifting over her shoulder as if to get a better look and scent of the Peregrina. “Salve, good morning. I’m sorry to interrupt you. I am Hilana, Matsi Chenzira Hilana,” she bowed to her, sweeping out those skirts before she straightened. “I’m not used to seeing others up and about at this time, too. I don’t suppose I could interest you in some tea and treats?” Her own Symphony and Aura were warded and muted, much the way Kala might have found those of the Sentinel guards around them. This girl, however, did not look anything like one.

[Kala Leukos]

.

Though many things were muted to her senses arcane, she was still open to the world around her and could feel muted shapes moving around her. When one approached, she looked up without alarm. This place was nigh as safe as Varvara's bosom, though she supposed that could be a dangerous place as well if the Lady of Chains so desired. The woman who approached seemed friendly enough, and Kala had learned the ways of the court; she could read people without sembling. Her garb reminded her of home, albeit the colors and cuts were clearly those of the nomads she had studied before arriving. But there was a wildness still to her mountain folk as there seemed to be to those desert folk who largely abstained from city life.

There was a charming lack of decorum that reminded her of home as well. Her family was respected, but only stood on ceremony when it was necessary.

Kala smiled.

"Kala Mizal of House Leukos," she replied with a gracious nod. Marking her place, she closed the book in her lap. "Salve. My Vastian is a work in progress, but I would be happy for some tea."

Without glancing at Asallon across the garden, she insinuated her thoughts into his somnamulant ones, assuring him that she would be fine and close at hand. In any case, he had expressed a desire to meditate upon the sands to treat with desert spirits and it were best he did so before the heat of day reached its peak. She didn't fear for her Siltori sorcerer; he could dowse for water, conjure clouds, and call breezes to cool him should the need arise. It was strange how his summoning and her mastery of the elements overlapped.

She stood, smoothing her skirts behind her. Though self-possessed, she didn't look like much beyond a quiet young noblewoman from far away. Her coloring, were she Re'hyæan, would have trended toward that platinum ideal, but her ears didn't peek out from her hair.

"Lead on, please."

.

[Hilana Chenzira]

‘Leukos’ Hilana certainly recognized - Finn had mentioned that name last season, when the two of them had been talking about her Rathari friend, Lykos. So that meant that she was from Kalzasi, surely, or at least related to the name. She offered her a small, proper polite bow anyway, sweeping out her colourful skirts. The python that was hanging over her shoulder didn’t seem to care one way or another about the movement, as he just hung on and settled. Still, it pleased her that Kala neither took offense to being interrupted as she had been, and that she had further taken her up on her offer. And one didn’t need to be a Sembler to see it, because the Vastiana beamed as bright as the Sceptre of Avaerys and nimbly stepped to the side to give the blonde woman room to get up, and started off into the depths of the Citadel. “This is Tiaz, by the way,” she introduced the strangely-coloured snake that was now working his way out from her bag to move onto her bare shoulders.  

“Have you been enjoying the Chronicle?” Hilana asked her, looking over her shoulder at her. It was curious to her that a stranger would want to read it, but nothing out of the ordinary. She knew that Athalia had read and translated their own version to Lykos from time to time during the lessons, but they also didn’t push it too hard on him for the time being. He was learning the stories and history, and the Chronicle did play its part with that, and so when it was relevant, it was included.

Tiaz completed his climb by the time they’d gotten into the enormous kitchen, and the girl seemed perfectly at home in it. Maybe she was an employee here, or a guest for some other reason, but she indicated the large wooden table for Kala to have a seat at while she put the kettle on the stovetop to start the water to boiling. “Do you have any preferences for flavours? I’ve got black tea with cinnamon and cardamom, bush tea with caramel, ginger, blackberry leaf and some other spices, another one with yams, marshmallow, pecans, and squash, one with blueberries, elderberries, and black currants, hibiscus blossom... or if you might like a taste of home, I’ve been working on a Kalzasern Rose Milk Tea,” she offered. She kept the ingredients at the Citadel and at home, since Daemon had enjoyed it, and Hilana was absolutely bound and determined to get it perfect. “If you’ve got a taste for something g else, I can try to make it when I get to work and bring it back.”

Each of these jars and packets was produced and offered to Kala to smell, too, to see if any of them in particular tickled her fancy.

[Kala Leukos]

.

"Salve, Tiaz," she said softly, bending slightly toward him but not so quick nor so close as to alarm Hilana's reptilian adornment. With a little smile, she followed the strange woman - of course, almost everything about Solunarium was strange even after spending time entertaining their delegation when it came to Kalzasi.

The book in question remained in her hands. She considered.

"Sacred texts... require time and meditation," she said. "'Tis easy to make academic decisions about them, but the meaning only comes clear after allowing them to bloom like flowers. Hm. Parts are poetic, parts patriotic, and parts quite dense. I do enjoy the challenge of empathizing with cultures that aren't my own."

In the kitchens, she sat as the brightly-plumaged woman rattled off combinations of teas and tisanes, dutifully taking the scent of each. They all charmed.

"I would be best pleased with whichever you most desire yourself. 'Tis an unhelpful answer, I know, but my movements here are circumscribed, so I would prefer to learn as much of Solunarium and its people as possible from this position."

Of course, she had been to the Palatium Umbarum, but only via portal. Kaus was able to walk the streets with Sentinels following, but Kala's wings and her unfurling soul had to be ... contained. There were games of politics being played between Luxium and Umbrium, as well as games between the Divine Twins and the draconic dynasty. She was a stranger in a strange land, being careful as possible not to make a faux pas that would endanger her relationship with Avaerys and Varvara, her friendship with Phocion, nor her nation-state's standing with the desert power.

.

[Hilana Chenzira]

Hilana rather liked the way Kala used language as she spoke of her thoughts on the Chronicle. While she was a true believer in Varvaerynism, and quite proud of it, she had also met a number of deities outside her own religion: Talon and Lykos. Talon, the present incarnation of the literal devil of the religion, who had proven to be a wonderful friend, teacher, and ally, and Lykos, who she had become quite close with over the last month and some. She didn’t know if Kala was another demigod, or perhaps she was a person of interest like Lia was, she had no way of knowing. It might reveal itself, it might not. She wasn’t about to even attempt to Semble her and try to figure her out: if she was at the Citadel, she was here for a reason.

“Not at all unhelpful,” the Vastiana was cheerful with that reply, and it seemed that she was going to go with the fruity and floral hibiscus blossom. If she wanted a taste of the region, well, Hilana was all too happy to provide it. “I can understand that, and maybe I can help with the experience and learning. Let’s go with the hibiscus, then. This tea is traditional to the nomadic clans of the Atraxian Expanse. We enjoy it hot or cold, and each family and each clan tends to have their own different recipe for it. This is my mother’s family’s recipe. We add a bit of mint and raspberry to it. Hibiscus has a tarter flavour to it than most, but with the raspberry I find it helps and I can always add a bit of honey to it if it tastes a bit too sharp to you. My grandmother always liked to add lemon juice to it.” Despite the hour and the fact that she had clearly come from a longer ride out somewhere in the Sands, she was full of energy and it showed in the way she moved as she got out a clay teapot and filled the fine mesh strainer with a few spoonfuls of the hibiscus blossom tea while the kettle got closer to boiling.

“Do you like to have dessert for breakfast?” the ebon-haired young woman inquired once the kettle was poured into the teapot and covered in order to get it to steeping. Apparently, ‘tea’ also meant breakfast as well. “Or do you prefer less sweet, more savoury foods?” Hilana could pivot for either one, and now she was able to set her rucksack down out of the way. She could get everything else out of it later, but for now, everything that she had picked was safe in her featherlight satchel. The oven was turned on, and she opened a waxed bag to take out a number of fresh pitas and set them to warming up.

[Kala Leukos]

.

"I suppose I should taste it without accouterments first," she ventured, "and then decide whether I would prefer it adulterated." She smiled. Even back home, people were particular about their tea. "You remind me of a Hytori man who lives in Kalzasi, the apprentice of a learned alchemist who blends teas on the side. He is also... the apprentice, I mean... a skilled summoner, and he brews with a bit of magical panache. Water elementals pull pure water out of the air. Fire elementals heat it to a rolling boil. Air elementals keep the whole show aloft."

As for breaking her fast, she considered.

"I don't tend to eat a great deal until luncheon, but I generally try to balance a bit of sweet with a bit of savory. Sometimes a bit of umami, as well."

She wondered whether Master Len'Myren didn't have the better idea, mastering the elements through wild spirits, but also being able to commune with other spirits as well. She had opted for direct access to those elements, which she supposed was better in some ways, though there was a charm to summoning.

Her nostrils flared as she took in the scents emanating from Hilana's stores. Some were familiar, some foreign. The cooks at the Citadel were adept indeed, and if she was uncomfortable with the idea of slavery, she was also slowly coming to terms with the idea that she was more than human, more than Avialae even. Soon enough there would be less difference between slave and Shokaze than between any mortal and her.

That was something to digest.

.

[Hilana Chenzira]

"Do I?" Hilana listened to Kala's words, considering. She loved teas, loved what the plants could do in combinations that were as countless as the stars in the sky. "If you ever get a chance to come to the Luxium, I would be happy to show you where I work. We make a lot of tea blends and custom teas help with healing or just to enjoy." The girl leaned against the counter, definitely interested in her talk of someone who used Summoning to put on such a show while he was preparing something. "I only just got my first Rune... Elementalism... not quite a year ago. Well behind the curve for my homeland, but better late than never, surely," she held up her right hand. A stylized, intricate flower-like sun that seemed to be made of molten gold was in her right palm. "One day, I will see about acquiring Summoning in order to build on it. There's a number of places that do that here, though, dinner and a show, so to speak... I was just taught to do it the old-fashioned, mundane way," her lips quirked into a smile. This was an odd duck for a Solunarian, clearly.

She wasn't sure that it was good to be compared to an Hytori, considering how they weren't exactly friendly with the Re'hyaeans, but Hilana figured it was better to just accept it as what was clearly a compliment.

"That makes sense," the girl nodded. A bit of everything, then, but that left the door open to whatever the heck Hilana wanted to make. All the same, the Vastiana chose to go with something local, reaching into the jar to get a few dates to start with. These went into a dish before Kala. "I imagine you've gotten to try dates?" she wanted to know before she was getting a cutting board, a knife, and a bowl of tomatoes. "How are you enjoying the Citadel so far? Have you been here a while?" That, she wasn't entirely certain of, but considering there were areas here in the Citadel that even she didn't go into... maybe she was just in another area. Lia and Lykos hadn't mentioned meeting anyone either, so perhaps she was a newer arrival.

She situated herself so that the tomatoes, or any mess she made with them, would not so much as stain the demigoddess sitting there, but she was close enough to enjoy the conversation. With the kettle whistling, she paused in her quick chopping to add the hot water to the teapot, coming back to Kala with bright and inquisitive eyes. Tiaz, at least, was perfectly content to hang onto the girl and was unbothered by the movements that she made. He was clearly one thoroughly spoiled serpent, but as one might expect in Solunarium... His tongue flickered in Kala's direction, though his head rested on the grey and white scales. His head did move up towards the feathers in Hilana's hair, scenting Raithen on them.

[Kala Leukos]

.

"We have the elements in common, then," she offered. That Rune had come to her early, as well as Semblance. But Kala had been lucky, primed, educated, and initiated with care. But, "I wonder, though. Runic initiation is dangerous. Statistically speaking, not everyone can survive it. But Solunarium... well, I am only exposed to a selection of its citizens: Sentinels and the like. Perhaps it only seems more widespread here."

Kalzasi welcomed magic, hosted the Circle of Spells, and generally anyone in power there had magic at their beck and call. In Solunarium, from what she gathered, it was necessary for some types of standing within the culture.

While she felt the urge to help, she schooled herself to stillness, allowing the Vastian woman to do what she had offered to do. Kala would certainly show her appreciation.

"Yes," she answered, smiling. "I do enjoy dates. And we arrived on the 8th, dined in the Palatium Umbarum on the 9th, and have been given rooms there, as well. But I do enjoy the monastic quiet of the Citadel. It is a refuge from the city proper, much as home is a refuge from Kalzasi proper. The space and the quiet afford the opportunity to reflect. Everything is perfectly splendid and, even if it weren't, would be an entirely new experience for us. I do enjoy learning.

"My brother has more access to the Luxium, though even he is escorted by Sentinels. I do hope eventually to see it, but secrecy remains paramount." She hadn't yet the wisdom or the power of the Divine Twins, and so the control of information about her was necessary, as well as the ruse of remaining entirely mortal. At least here, far from most Avialae, her wings were no more exciting than a Rathari's.

"If... Daemon returns," she mused aloud, "perhaps we both might visit his realm and attune to the Light."

.

[Hilana Chenzira]

The girl was delighted to hear that they had a common Rune. It didn't surprise her, really: Daemon and Aoren possessed it, though Finn and Arvaelyn did not, and neither had Laebirius. Lykos hailed from Kalzasi, and he certainly possessed it and elemental power to spare as a demigod. "Solunarium views magic as a divine gift," Hilana nodded at her book. "It is expected of Varvaeryn devout to possess at least one Rune to a high degree of proficiency, especially anyone that belongs to the castes above Plebeian. The more, the better... but having more Runes does not always mean they are skilled at their utilization. There are the craftfallen, who fail in their initiations... but the Sentinels do assess every citizen here for arcane aptitude. In doing so, they are able to best judge who might fit a particular sort of magic and who might have difficulty with another... so all of this is kept in mind when Runes are being conferred upon an aspirant."

She nodded as she listened, gathering tomatoes, onion, and a zucchini, lining them up before grabbing the knife. She wasn't loud with her work, as the knife neatly cut through the paper of the onion's skin and she twisted it off, setting it aside in a bowl so that it could be turned into compost later on. She started to chop, her gaze on the demigoddess across from her while she worked. So she had not been here long, but a few days. With how busy she kept herself, that made sense, but she was rather pleased to have made her acquaintance, though it was still early in the day. Hilana always loved meeting new people, and she was a sociable creature. Now was no different. By the time she had the onion chopped and in a bowl, the tea was done steeping and she brought the cups and pot over, pouring the ruby-red hibiscus tea neatly into it. Keeping in mind what she had said about the Hytori who brought a show, she went with a longer pour than she might normally have, filling one cup and then the second, positioning it just so in front of the petite blonde.

That she was also given rooms at the Palatium Umbrarum suggested she was definitely a very, very, very important person, but her brother had more freedom to explore the Luxium? That gave her something to chew on. "There are eyes everywhere," she admitted. "Which is part of the benefit, I guess one could say, of so many being skilled in magic... and its downside. It can be difficult to keep the things you want to hidden." She would let Kala try the tea first, and see what she thought of it as the fragrant steam wafted out of the crystalline teacups. "Is it just you and your brother? Or do you have more siblings?" the Vastiana was curious. "Bigger families tend to be the norm in Kalzasi, what with the family dynamics, no?"

At the suggestion of visiting the Plane of Light, the girl's eyes brightened up even more, and she silently clapped her hands together. That clearly excited her, and she was all but dancing in place. This was a girl that possessed all of the energy of a horde of sugar-spiked toddlers, and the idea of visiting Daemon's divine Plane caused her to forget to restrain herself a bit. "I would love to go there. One of my friends from Kalzasi has been... Finn, you might know him? He is His Exalted Highness Arvaelyn Princeps' Amatus." If she had dined at the Palace, then there was a chance she knew him or at the very least had met him. "I was hoping that he would take me, what with all the demands on Daemon's time... but I want to visit each of the Elemental Planes. Have you chosen your Arche?"