Legend of Ransera

Posted: **Fri Dec 08, 2023 2:17 pm**

35th Ash

It had been months since Raithen had stumbled in upon the conversation between Hilana and Finn that had led to his learning of the untimely end of a friend. There was very little of temper or hotheadedness in him, so he had not raged, though anger had swelled in him. He had sought first the only living participant of the exchange that he had easy access to, His Divine Radiance, Raithen's master, the God Avaerys. His Radiance had not been a little annoyed that the undead creature was causing additional chaos, but had, in His wisdom, conjured a recreation of the scene in aether for Raithen to observe for himself what had occurred.

The observation had not assuaged the Dux's displeasure, yet still, he did not rage. His anger was a quiet thing, and patient, so he bode his time while he considered what it was that would satisfy his sense of wrong. To mete the correct punishment, if there need be any, was not his purview. What Raithen wanted was what Khyan wanted, and nothing in his background or upbringing informed him that there was any reason not to seek what was wanted, in fact, quite the opposite. Had the creature involved (undead were not people anymore) come to him, or some member of his family, and sought to rectify the situation it might have been different. Mistakes and poor choices could be accounted for, even egregious ones; penance could be paid, apologies made, but, according to what the ghost himself had said, he felt he had done nothing wrong and thus he need make no such atonement. Most likely none of the family even knew that the events had happened, but that was no concern of Raithen's and the time in which he would have accepted such had passed.

After seeking clarification from his God the Searing season had been a busy one, and it was not as if there was a need to rush. It was a shadow on his mind, but not one that obscured the sun. He needed to seek counsel, both about the situation specifically and the law generally. Raithen was not involved personally, but Hilana had been. He was no scholar, but Phocion was a master of the law. He did not own Khyan's loyalty or his soul, but Finn did. The the latter two he sent servi with messages requesting a few hours of their time whenever they could easily spare it, to the former, he went without the need.

It was not as simple as it once might have been to find the Vastiana, but Raithen now had the benefit of being able to Traverse instantly between the places she now lived so it did not take long to locate her.

Posted: **Fri Jan 26, 2024 10:51 am**

For a number of people, Hilana was impossible to nail down. She had taken to carrying a small compact mirror in her rucksack in the event she heard from Raithen or Finn and one of them wanted to find her, but she was regularly on the go. The Vastiana kept herself busy, and she took full advantage of her Mask of Midnight's Mother, and her Ring of Traversion that she had gotten from Talon, to explore areas that might have been exceedingly dangerous. Without the proper preparations, they still were. She had taken the Ring and Mask to get herself, Lia, and Hayima'el up into the mountains where the wild wyverns made their nests, and spent the better part of the early morning, when most of them would be out hunting, to collect the valuable star thistle that she needed and made a lot of use of in her potions and remedies.

It was just on this side of tricky to get, unless you had Traversion and Mesmer or flew a wyvern of your own. Hilana lacked Mesmer, but the Ring helped, and the Mask made her and her ever-present camel of little interest and all but invisible to what beautiful creatures remained up in the rocky ledges. She had considered leaving her sister and Hayima'el stay down below, but that was even less safe, and her sister was not the rider that she was. She couldn't keep her protected from the distance, and so the two of them were just going to have to come with her. Lia hung onto Hayima'el's reins, staying close to her sister with more than a lot of concern for the three of them. Hilana, largely, was completely unbothered. She didn't like dousing her big piebald bull camel with calming clover, but as bombproof as he was, as sturdy and reliable and well-trained and experienced as he was, there was always the fact that a massive wyvern might scare the hell out of him and put the three of them in danger, even with two master elementalist mages to protect them. Instinct was instinct, and so Hayima'el had had a nice snack that morning with his breakfast that took all of the edge off now, and he stayed by Lia, who stayed close to Hilana.

Lia could only watch as Hilana carefully, carefully wrapped a spiny thistle bush as tall as she was, covered in tiny, beautiful purple star-shaped flowers, before using Elementalism to urge the dirt away from the roots and bring the whole thing out. The roots were thick and deep, extending quite a ways down into the packed soil, and once that was lifted out, she wrapped that too. All of it was tied carefully with a rope to secure it, and make sure that the inch-long spines didn't stab any of them, and to protect the leaves, flowers, ribs, stems, and roots from damage. Hilana wanted the whole thing intact, and damaging it was wasteful.

She collected another one that was a bit smaller, taking the whole plant again and putting it in a bag, before collecting flowers from a third. "How much of this do you need?" Lia was curious as she hung onto the reins, clutching an empty sack with her free hand to prepare to hand it off to her sister when she was ready for it. There was something truly wild about her up there, and the way she was so at home in such a surroundings... she understood more about her baby sister right then than she ever had years ago. Maturity, for both of them, had brought about an appreciation for their differences and their experiences. Beyond that, she was seeing how and where that valuable restorative came from, and the lengths her sister went to get it to make sure that they had what they needed, no matter where they went.

"We'll take a third of the flowers off of this one," Hilana explained. "The rule of thirds for foraging is that you never want to take more than a third of the plant. While we did take a few whole ones, there's more there, there, and there," she pointed off in the different directions. "So we're under a third, really, by quite a bit. Not a lot of people are willing to make the effort to come all this way for these, and would rather buy them. Others don't know how to do it properly or where to go... we all have our different hiding spots where we find our plants. Some share, some don't, some won't. In general, I don't really share because the last time I did, it got emptied out completely to the point where there were no roots left at all. No regrowth yet, either... so the last time I was there, I took some rootstock from somewhere else and planted it, so I'm hoping that it can recover. People who do that give foragers a bad name. Even desperate clans know better than to take it all." She shook her head, the sunlight catching on her earrings as she worked.

"I see," Lia had enough experience to know that giving some people information was just asking for trouble, and apparently, that was a lesson Hilana had learned the hard way. But sometimes, that was the way Hilana had to learn things. She'd always been like that, the elder sister reflected, and the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. She did put the newly-filled bag inside one of the saddlebags, though she would leave the bigger wraps for the other woman to secure herself in the ways that best suited the camel. But it wasn't a terrible way to pass the early morning, even if she would have preferred to be in bed. All the same, this went towards funds that Hilana had, and funds that Lia could put towards building a business of her own, and if that was what it took, then so be it.

Once the girl had collected what she wanted, she activated the elegant ring with the pink stone that the Crown Prince of Kalzasi had given her, and formed the portal to get them back home. Hilana took her gatherings to Sweet Remedies, greeting Vasilei when she came in. Hayima'el had been secured in the shady areas of the back of the building, and Hilana would likely take him home at lunchtime and give him a good grooming. The biggest thistle plant was kept in the back while the Vastiana started the preparation of the smaller bags and pieces, and when Raithen appeared and her shadow stretched towards his, she smiled up at him. Purple flowers were being arranged single-layer on fine mesh screens, ready for another screen over the top to keep them from going anywhere. "Salve, Lux," she came around the table, her long burgundy and black skirts hanging off of her hips. Tiaz was on his branch, and the smaller female, Fiya, was draped around her neck as she stretched her arms out towards him for a hug. "How have you been?"

Posted: **Fri Jan 26, 2024 10:15 pm**

"Salve, Umbra." The Dux greeted, stepping close to hug the Vastiana, kissing her cheek in an affectionate but perfunctory manner. Today, he was focused.

"I am well, thank you. I hope you and yours are also." He glanced a greeting to the snakes, though the younger did not know him well yet, and then said,

"I need your help. I have questions, about the one that killed Khyan."

Seeing that she was working and what she was about he watched for a moment before activating his Kinetics to take each set of flowers and lay them out evenly over the mesh screens and laying the upper ones on them so that, in a moment, it was done. Briefly he explained going to His Divine Radiance and being shown the end of his friend's life entirely.

"I know the end now. If you are willing, I'd like to know any of the rest of it that you know. Tell me of the quest, and of what you know of them before it. Please, Umbra." The last was meant to soften his words, in case they came off imperiously. It was not his way to use his position to get what he wanted, particularly not with friends.

If she moved elsewhere he would follow and sit or stand where she went, continuing to aid in her work in payment for her time as he was able, but if she did not, he would remain standing on the spot, listening with the curiosity and intensity of a bird of prey. She was not his prey, and his expression was still that of her Lux, but his eyes had gone from their normal sky-about-to-rain grey to a steely color, sharp somehow.

Posted: **Wed Jan 31, 2024 10:19 pm**

Hilana smiled at the kiss on her cheek, returning the gesture to lightly kiss his jaw. "About as well as we can be," she squeezed his hand gently, leading him back to the table. When he explained the purpose for his visit, Hilana nodded in understanding. She would answer him as best as she could It was always a delight to see his Kinetics in play, and he made fast work of what she had been doing, "Gratias," she was appreciative. She also had a feeling that of Raithen's friends, she likely had the distinction of knowing more about Æros than the rest of them... and she was also the one who had brought him to Tertium, and then gone to check out the Crystal Tree of the North with him.

She encouraged her lover to take a seat in his usual spot, and she put the kettle to boil on the hot plate for tea while she pulled out a plate of fluffy pillows of fried dough that had been dusted with powdered sugar from the wicker basket, along with a cloth napkin for him. "They've got different jams inside of them," she advised. Hilana didn't, of course, tell him which had which - she would rather surprise him and let him enjoy the treat. There four different flavours - date, plum, blueberry, and cherry. Tea was placed in the pot when the kettle whistled, and she set that to steeping before returning to the table. With the lovely purple flowers on their mesh drying trays, she could start breaking down the leaves and stems of the next part of the plant. Deft fingers worked with a well-used, but wickedly sharp paring knife, to peel and split and break. Scissors were used to trim off the rigid, painful-looking spines and those went into a bowl - Founders only knew why - and the leaves were easily removed with the knife. Those went into yet another bowl, and the thicker middle rib of the leaf was cut down into half-inch sized pieces into yet another bowl. Chances were, every bit of the plant would be used.

When he told her he had the end of it, as far as His Divine Radiance's involvement, Hilana's head tilted and she nodded. She may have had a question or six of her own about that, but she could save those and answer Raithen's first. And as she worked on her thistles, she began the story. "I took Æros with me to Tertium to watch the derby and enjoy the parties and events there that come around with it. After that - you'll be happy to know Hayima'el and I placed well, though my father was very angry about my participating... but no shame on the family name with that win - he wanted to see the effects of the Eclipse for himself. Since he was busy with Arvaelyn when I took Finn and Khyan to Ecith to look for clues with regards to my quest from His Divine Radiance and Her Argent Luminescence... he was pretty livid with me over Khyan's getting injured there, and that took months to get him to warm back up... So we took a boat from the harbour and set off with it out into the Crystal Sea."

The Vastiana was well-aware of how stupid such a thing sounded. But she was a master Elementalist, Æros had his own mastered runes, and she knew where they were going. "When we got to the edge of the eclipse, we spotted this Crystal tree in the distance, directly due north. I also spotted a tower to the west... which is part of why I ended up going there with Sentinel Valaera... and when we got to the shores of where the tree was, we started to inspect it. I think Lykos was there when we arrived, but thanks to the powers of Myshala... I can't remember for certain. Anyway, the land around us did this strange flash-freezing and we went inside of the tree for shelter... as there was a cave inside of it. There was an obelisk in there with a poem on it as well," she sipped her tea before beginning to recite it. It may have been a few seasons since, but Hilana had made herself remember. Sometimes she looked back over her notebooks in which she had written down everything so that she could come back to it, and had she had those on hand, she might have given them to Raithen to read through. But they were safely ensconced at the Citadel.

“Upon my stone, a hand be placed
To the Void, intent given free
A realm of the lost and erased,
A gate opened for three.

But Void is for forgotten and lost
Discarded, hidden and scrapped
Entry comes with a severe cost
Beware, ahead lies an eternity trapped.

To enter, give as the gods have given,
Pay not in blood, not in tears, or empty hope,
Turn back now, so as not to be riven,
Give that which without one cannot cope.

For as those that came before,
Gave everything they had
And so much terribly more
With a heart ironclad.

Or turn back now, no blood spilled
Go home to your those you love
A destiny left unfulfilled
Or transcend the mortal and stand above.”

She looked down at the thistles she was working on. "And I, I was an idiot and went ahead and slapped my hand on it. But so did they. I expected we'd all be together, and that we would be able to handle whatever came forward between the three of us. I think that's why I'm so sure I knew who Lykos was before Myshala took the memory of him from everyone... that we were going to be able to take such a thing on, if we stayed together. It turns out that we were separated. I was brought to one area, Æros to another, and I don't know about Lykos, because he, himself, does not remember. Before I was pulled from there, I saw a vision of myself in the monolith, and my Elementalism Rune had been ripped away from me, and some mockery of me wearing my face had it instead. Where I landed was like the sands, but it was a city of spires and buildings. That was where I met Lia. She came to help me. We faced off against a demon with a chain whip that I need to get back from your older brother... all while the void-version of me toyed with us. Many people and animals tried to flee and asked us for help, but I didn't have the supplies to do it."

She continued to work on the thistle, finding comfort in it. "The Void-shade told me that Æros cut his throat, and when I tried to question her... she tried to bargain. I refused her and tried to buy time so that we could take her out... and when we were going to attack her... she lost all control and attacked me. But she went right into the strongest Negation I've ever come across... Lykos' spell from the normal world was able to find me, and he was able to protect me. She dropped four crystals that were Runes... Runes they'd stolen from us. My Elementalism, Æros' Semblance, and two more that belonged to Lykos, we think: Traversion and Masquerade. I decided to try to put my Elementalism back in place... which may have been a mistake. But Lia was able to take on her Prescient form and rebalance the elements with my aether before I was ripped apart by them."

No matter how fantastical it sounded, the girl just kept going. She wasn't just telling him the story to hear herself talk; he had asked for it, and so she would continue to give it to him. "Æros appeared then, as a Ghost. He was panicking and upset, pleading with me to salvage the Semblance Rune because he wanted it back... so he lost that one to the Void-shade as well. There was a pathway of chittering.... creatures. The only way to get out was through there, so Lia, Æros, and I... we went through it. I hid us under my Mask and when we emerged... there was Lykos there, unconscious, with spider webs... and we came face to face with Myshala, the Stitchweaver." Her always-busy hands slowed, almost hesitated there. "She told us that a bargain had been struck for our lives, that Lykos had paid with that which was most dear to him... and that we were responsible for helping him build new bonds, new relationships, a new life, really. And if we failed... she would see us punished for eons untold for it. That was why I chose to bring him here, back to Solunarium. Sentinel Phocion came and found us in Tertium, though how he did... I was still hiding us all under the Mask... But the Vigila has their ways." She wasn't about to question them. She knew better than that.

"Sentinel Phocion questioned us on what happened. Lykos remembered nothing. Lia and I gave him our summary. Æros... He said that when he woke up it was without his Semblance, and everyone there wore similar faces and he knew it was a false reality. That they wore a familiar skin... and snared him with it. I think that that might have been Khyan's face, but I don't know. He didn't say as much in that regard, though when it took Varvara's face, and asked him to sacrifice himself to Her... he did. So the Void-shade who had taken my face was right, Æros cut his own throat. If His Divine Radiance showed you all of it, then you know that he was presented with an offer. To sacrifice Khyan to the Void to save himself. And I guess he took it, then backtracked and tried to bargain. In any event, he ended up anchored to me to prevent him from falling apart as ghosts do." That ended with a shrug, and her hands stilled at last as she looked up from the rib to gauge Raithen's reaction to all of this. He'd heard bits and pieces of it, some of which had been alluded to, but now he had a far more in-depth version of it to try to sort through. She knew there was more he wanted to know, but she stopped there to see if he had any questions before she continued on.

Legend of Ransera

No Trait More Justified [Hilana, Phocion, Finn]

No Trait More Justified [Hilana, Phocion, Finn]

Re: No Trait More Justified [Hilana, Phocion, Finn]

Re: No Trait More Justified [Hilana, Phocion, Finn]

Re: No Trait More Justified [Hilana, Phocion, Finn]