Legend of Ransera

The witch hated the cold so, so much.

She'd long ago run out of the alchemist's draught she'd obtained during her first visit to Kalzasi, and she wasn't going to be in town that long... but the thought of buying another was still tempting. The Jeweled City was cold, and for all that it was early Ash it certainly felt like the depths of Frost. When the bay air rushed off Lake Udori, the frigid gales were simply unlivable. This whole land was obviously unfit for mortal habitation, for all that the avialae seemed to think otherwise.

Imogen had left early in the morning to find this village Jae had directed her two, and with keen senses and ample determination had managed to arrive only half an hour late which--in the absence of universal clocks--was practically timely. It was a real personal triumph, a monumental testament to the power of the Orkhan spirit.

When she did turn up, she was bundled in an obscene amount of outerwear. Coat, cloak, three scarfs... and even with all of that, the lavender eyes peering from the depths of her hood were clearly miserable. She approached at a fast trudge, or perhaps a moderate amble, kept going only by unrivalled tenacity of will.

"Jae," she said, when she reached complaint range, "This is impossible. Unfit for life. Lake Udori--and it's a bay, really, but I bow to the local custom--is clearly trying to drive everyone off. It is folly and hubris of the highest order that we do not heed the voice of Aedrin in this." Her voice was frozen, devoid of emotion, but her words were plainly exaggerated for effect.

She could have summoned her dagger and drawn on its warmth, of course, but the magmatyte produced heat in only two settings; "off" and "sets nearby trees ablaze". She'd judged the risk unacceptable, and so resigned herself to suffering in the hellish winter of the North. The only Pact weapon she had manifested at the moment was the staff which Jae had first seen her wayfaring with, the dawnstone at the top glowing a wan gold. As she drew close, she stopped and leaned against it. Between the walking stick, coats, cloak and her defeated gait, for a moment she could have been mistaken for an old man hobbling into town.

"Is this the mage who will grant us salvation, send us on to happier realms?" Her voice was plaintive.

The door was opened to reveal a pair of golden, lupine eyes staring at them, as a wave of heat washed over the lot from the interior. Narai was already dressed and readied for travel, but unlike Imogen or Toru, her garb was suited for the lands she aspired to return. A plan breast wrap and a sheer ankle length wrap around skirt covered her, with a pair of knives carved from bone hung on her hips and a longbow to match strapped to her back. With her terribly swollen belly and much more skin showing, her vast collection of Ecithian tattoos stood prominent. They were indecipherable to those not well versed in Ecithian customs, but for those that could read the swirls and whorls and the intricate art, they spoke of the story of her life from the moment she entered adulthood until she departed the Commonwealth.

"Come in, come in, I'm nearly ready."

She looked at Imogen, smiling brightly, somehow recognizing kinship beneath the many layers, "Going home too?" She presented her forearm for the traditional clasp, and then moved on to greet the other woman. Assuming this woman was not Ecithian, a hand was offered, "Hello, I'm Narai." Once the greetings were given, she turned, finishing packing some things into her travel sack, "There's tea on the kettle there." The house was barren now, much of her things presumably sold off, given away, or packed away. It lost some of the coziness it held on Jae-Seong's previous visit, and yet still carried a welcoming warmth, though perhaps that was due to the fire roaring in the hearth.

Once her pack was finished, she hefted it up on the table, next to some paperwork. She grabbed a quill, "Will one of you be witness? I'm giving my home back to the wilderness. It is to be torn down, the materials reused, and allowed to return to nature." She quickly signed it and offered the ink and well to another.

She stood up, a hand supporting her low back, "By the Three, this one's heavy. And won't sit still. He won't be in there much longer." She wiped a bit of sweat from her brow, "So how are we going about this then?"

"Just visiting." Imogen replied, clasping the pregnant ork's forearm, "Always wanted to see Isle of Dawn, so I offered to go along with Jae."

The witch's own tattoos were hard to make out beneath the staggering layers of fur coat, but one could still catch glimpses of them as she moved about. She clutched the little Lodestone Jae had handed her, savoring the pure, elemental warmth of the hot rock. It was almost enough to make her wish she'd learned Elementalism herself, but- only almost. Three initiations was probably enough for any soul to bear in life.

"Actually, I just came from the Commonwealth. All manner of excitement, when I left but- that's a story for some other time, I think. I'm Imogen. I'll let Jae sign for you; his name's worth more than mine in Kalzasi, I'll wager."

It was, perhaps, a mite strange to go back south so quickly after coming north, but she didn't mind. She hadn't yet mastered Carina's gift to the point that she could step between continents on a whim, but the witch had become increasingly inured to the travails of travel, and the thought of spending a few days or weeks flying from place to place no longer daunted her like it had a year past. Anyway, she'd hardly taken a moment for herself since Norani had appeared in her hut all those months ago; why not take a few weeks to sightsee?

And she wasn't lying about wanting to see Ailos. Who wouldn't want to see it? It was the center of a hundred stories about the old Dawnmartyrs, and while the witch had mixed feelings about the Kalzasern youth she'd observed training to be the new Knights, she'd always loved the stories about the Order in Ailos. She'd heard that the Imperium hadn't left much standing, but that was OK. A few days or weeks spent wandering the rubble and telling Jae the old stories would be a good time, as far as she was concerned. Plus, who knew? Maybe those remaining on the isle knew some myths her uncle had never gotten around to.

"I've heard rumors that the eclipse monsters won't go near the isle, still, because of the amount of Illuminite left, but that could have just been sailor's talk. There's not really that much, is there?"

"It's so interesting, we have just as many dragonshards down south as are available here in the north, yet up here, they seem to pop up into daily conversations far more. I wonder why that is."

With that, Narai stood back, cradling her belly, watching as the portal was opened. As she saw the ruined marble stairs of the Temple of Light, her throat grew tight. With a deep sigh and a curt nod, Narai stepped through with all the confidence that came with an Ecithian returning home.

On the other side of the portal, she was rigid, paled, silent, a hand over her mouth. Tears were already streaming down her face at the state of the destroyed and dilapidated temple. What used to be one of the pinnacles of Ecithian civilization and collaboration was nothing but painful reminders that all good things come to an end. The war ended fifteen years ago and yet barely anything had been rebuilt. Plants hadn't even seemed able to encroach on the abandoned dirt paths, for the magic and chemicals that the Imperium had used in their attacks.

Narai fell to her knees, tears flowing heavily as she screamed her pain to the world, her head thrown back in defiance of these scars. As she unleashed her raw emotion into the world, her Orkhan scales manifested, forming to heavily protect her pregnant belly, her throat, her chest, as her claws and tusks extended. And then it slowed and stopped, as she knelt there, panting and heaving. She did not wipe away her tears, as she looked up, as an Orkhan man in white robes approached.

His face was soft, kind, and he looked to be middle aged. He saw the scene for what it was, a portal, an Ecithian returned home in anguish, other travelers. He approached Narai, reading the tattoos upon her body with a quick scan. A hand was offered to her and he helped her to stand. "Welcome home." Narai nodded in thanks, "I am Noda Lightrender. Do you all need shelter and food for the night? We can provide that within the Temple."

Narai nodded once more, "Do you know Kela Searunner? She is a mate-sister, and lived here when I left."

He smiled, a hand on her shoulder, "She will be happy to see you again. She's been hoping you'd return home since your mate passed." Narai smiled, finally wiping away the tears. "She lives in Drathera now, but comes by to visit, to help us rebuild, helps replenish our food stores."

Narai turned, "This is Moon Jae-Seong of Kalzasi. A warrior of great renown helped to save the village I have called home for the past several years. This is Toru of Kalzasi, a mage among their highest of honors who facilitated the journey." She did not introduce Imogen, for Imogen was Ecithian, bore the Citizenship Marks, and could certainly introduce herself.

"Welcome to Ailos, the Isle of Light. Come, let us break bread and you can tell me your stories."

He turned on heel, and began the walk to the Temple. It led past many a dilapidated marble and granite building. A few people were now venturing out in curiosity. Still several hundred meters away from the temple, the old broken stone path gave way to newer pavers of stone, and upon each paver a name. The road was wide, long, hundreds of thousands of pavers.

Without slowing, "Those who were taken by the Imperials in their quest to eradicate our Order from existence. Who still hunt down many of our brothers and sisters that are hiding in the northlands. These are the names of whose remains we still have not found. Those we find are cremated, their ashes given to the land, the wind, and the sea, and their stone placed to rest within the Temple's catacombs."

He climbed the steps to the Temple, where a few scaffolds of bamboo were installed as a couple of masons were working on the entry facade. Through the entryway the found that the temple appeared to be more of a village inside the massive structure. Huts were built inside, it was busier with people, largely Orkhan, of all age, gender. Children were running around, people were sharing meals, and smiles could be had. "Most of the island tends to live here in the Temple now as we try to recover the land. Poison and magic is still wild from the attacks, traps and bombs remain. It is a slow and laborious process, but we make progress every day."

He gestured to a fire over which a stew pot hung, "Crystal Sea Chowder, one of Ailos' finest delicacies." The chef over the fire was quick to pour bowls and hand them out, generous portions of the mixed seafood stew. Narai grabbed one and sat down next to a few other women around the fire.

"So please, tell me your stories and why you come to visit us."

The witch couldn't help but feel a bit jealous as Toru worked, watching the Briathos mage carefully. The House's reputation for wizardry par excellance was legendary throughout the North, but Imogen tended to share the disdain of the covens of Zaichaer for the fame of the noble magi. She preferred the loose-cut rough-and-tumble approach favored by the southern witches, and it was easiest to feel smug and self-satisfied about that when a Tower-trained magus wasn't blowing your own spellwork out of the water.

Still, she'd begrudgingly admit that the woman was good. Even though her former clients, the Railrunners, had practiced Traversion almost to the exclusion of all else, only a handful of them could have woven a door spanning the length of the continent like this.

As the masterwork of Traversion concluded--and the witch shuddered to think how much she'd have had to pay a mage to get one to agree to do this--ruined marble steps appeared beyond. The environment of Ailos was... well, it wasn't much to look at, frankly. Even in ruins, marble had a tendency towards the austere and awe-inspiring, but Imogen had seen the temples of the Three in Drathera, and a broken counterpart seemed more sad than anything else.

Nari did not take it well, barely managing to step through the portal before collapsing into paroxysms of anguish. The witch hung back to give her space, but eventually had to sidle through; you could only hold these things open for so long, and she didn't intend to try impose on Toru's kindness again. She wondered if that was right. Maybe a real Ecithian would have tried to hug Nari? Well, one could only ever act like themselves in times like this.

It was, then, something of a relief when an Orkhan man quickly appeared. She spoke up only once introductions had been made:

"Oh, I'm Imogen Ward." she said, in her politest tone, "I just travel around and do odd jobs when people need 'em."

The group started down the road, with Noda drawing her attention to the pavers. She craned her neck and peered at them as they went by, wondering if she could catch a glimpse of any familiar names- but nothing stood out to her. She listened attentively as Noda described the situation on the Isle of Light, her frown growing imperceptibly deeper as he went on. Something about the account was not right.

As they sat down and were given stew--clearly they weren't far out from Ecith, as this was just how a guest in Drathera might have been met--the witch pondered the strange state of affairs on the isle. That the place lay in ruins made sense, she supposed; the rebuilding had focused down south in the wake of the war, and it would have been difficult to ship much to Ailos with the Fleetbreaker riled as it had been for the past decades. But the corrupted magic? Surely even a few remaining Dawnmartyrs could have remediated that.

"Moon said he was taking someone back home here, and I wanted to tag along, really." she volunteered at Noda's inquiry, "I do mercenary work back in Zaichaer... or used to, anyway. All over the place, lately. My clients haven't let me alone for long the past year, and I figured, well, Ailos, Isle of Light, that's far enough away from the lot of 'em. And my uncle always used to tell my brothers and I stories about the Order and the valiant battles, so on, so I thought it might be a nice chance to see it with my own eyes." Certainly they were now far enough away from the shores of Southern Ecith that she wasn't likely to be rudely awakened by some new insane request from her shiny friends.

"But while I linger, perhaps I can aid you somewhat in cleansing your surrounds? I've had much experience removing many kinds of corruption and so forth." A note of pride was evident in Imogen's voice for the first time. She was quite good at cleaning things up.