Crying Lightning (Yuralria)

[Cheshire]

50th of Autumn, 511 AV "Your past times consisted of the strange The twisted and deranged I hate that little game you had called Cryin' Lighting…" -The Arctic Monkeys While Yuralria slept, a visitor was finding his way to her, at least in her dreams. The visit was one long overdue. He had craved to see her but he was told to wait. It was not the right time yet. It took nearly sixteen years for it to be the right time but now he was finally going to see her, his beautiful daughter. Yuralria would find herself in a place far from Avanthal, or at least it would seem. There was no trace of the snow that the girl had grown up in, no polar bears to protect her. She was in a place with tunnel walls and warm dirt. The land was not frozen. In fact, it was quite the opposite, it seemed to be alive with heat. "Explore Yuralria… He is coming… He is just not here yet…" It was time for Yuralria to make a decision. Behind her there was a tunnel leading out into the snow, back to Avanthal. If she wanted, she had the chance to go home. To leave this strange place behind. Before her there were four tunnels, branching out like a fork. Each tunnel seemed to lead to a different life, showing them like a movie screen. The first tunnel, all the way on the left, there was a man standing next to a large preening eagle. They flew together, hunted together, and were like brothers. The man was happy, but at the cost of many others. He hurt the people below him and used women like objects. The man seemed to glow with pride but everyone around him seemed to shrink away when they saw him coming. The second tunnel, straight ahead on the left, there was a woman working at a hole in one of the tunnel walls. She had a long rod with a glob of color on the end. She worked night and day with these rods, making wonderful works of art. She was happy when they were completed and was respected for them. The problem was, at all other times she was unhappy. The work was hard and left little time for a social or love life. It was a life spend toiling away for only moments of happiness but she was treated well. The third tunnel, straight ahead on the right, there was a man who worked in a kitchen. His job was not particularly hard but he enjoyed it. He was not treated as well as the first man with the eagle but the kitchen could not work without him, even if his job was trivial. There was a woman he visited often. She was not the most beautiful but they enjoyed each other. They found happiness with one another even though their jobs were less than favorable. The last and right most tunnel showed a woman. She dressed in rags and worked cleaning and doing the jobs no one else wanted to do. She was miserable until a man appeared. He cared for her and while many other men enjoyed her company long before him, he was the one she fell for. He made her miserable work bearable and in the night she was happier than any of the previous people in the tunnels. The days were horrid. She was beaten and treated light dirt but the nights when she was in the man's arms were the happiest she had seen. From behind Yuralria a wind blew, making her stumble forward. "Choose… You need to choose a path…"

[Yuralria]

Stumbling forward Yura heard a voice as if from a breath of wind telling her to choose. She gazed silently into the four paths before her. Four people from four different walks of life. Four different amounts of success. No, Not different amounts, but different kinds. The woman on the far right was just as successful as the man on the left, albeit in different ways.

Yura contemplated the choices in front of her. Her first though was to go to the left, where the man was with his mighty eagle, surely he would wield a lot of power, but then, he just sort of walked through life... where was the joy? Yura turned and looked at the next tunnel. there was a woman making gorgeous works of art, using her creative abilities to make money, could there be a happier life? but again. there was no joy. She glanced briefly into the third tunnel then looked away. A man cooking didn't really interested her, and his simple job reminded her of an equally simple bartender. She glaced to her right and found herself staring with rapt attention into the fourth tunnel. There was a woman in there, treated like trash, covered in dirt and grime, laboring away, yet, underneath the filth was a measure of beauty, carefully hidden. She walked away from her work and into the arms of a man who loved her. There was pure joy. But why? And how? With the thirst for answers parching her mind, she started shakily down the forth tunnel.

[Cheshire]

When Yuralria had chosen her path, the others seemed to flicker out, leaving dark and vacant tunnels. Behind her, the frozen tundra roared one final howl before the tunnel closed off. The wind still was blowing, although it was hard to tell from where. The outside world was completely blocked off now. The wind was soft, blowing gingerly at Yuralia's back. It did not push or shove. It simply guided now that the girl had chosen her path. The further the girl walked, the warmer the tunnel seemed to become. It was not uncomfortably hot, or even hot at all. It was just warm. Warmer than Avanthal could ever be. There was music too, although nothing like the music Vantha made. It was more excited and fiery. One might even say a bit flightily. It was beautiful in an almost reminiscent way. Yuralria had never heard it before but she would know it. It was in her blood. It was the music of her mother's people. When Yuralria had made it a good way down the tunnel, the scene with the woman would start up once again. She was sitting on the edge of a bed with her eyes closed. A warm smile was upon her lips and her hand laid lovingly upon her slightly distended stomach. "My beautiful baby. I cannot wait until I see your face." She whispered the words quietly as she held her stomach. Behind her, a dark haired man stood. The same man as before. Unlike her, he seemed worried and was muttering under his breath. "Please Gods. Let my baby have a good life. I love … but I cannot let my child live her life." The name of the woman seemed to fizzle out when he spoke her name. "I'll do anything." With those words, a great wind blew, blowing away the scene before Yuralira and replacing it with a much different one. Yuralia stood before the body of the dark haired man, broken and bloody on the floor of the tunnel. Another man stood beside the man on the floor. He was somewhat tall with pale skin and red hair. In his hands he held a hammer, usually used for blacksmithing. He glared at Yuralria. "It's your fault. You're the reason … was taken from us." Once again, the woman's name was fizzled out. "You are too late though. You just missed your poor little daddy. He should have known better than to mess with the Inarta." The man kicked the man on the ground, Yuralria's father, making him sputter and cough. Blood trickled from his lips as he looked up at Yuralria, his daughter. He did not see her though. He looked right through her. "He was nothing more than Talderian trash, coming here and taking our women. He should have know better than to pollenate what was not his."

[Yuralria]

Yura watched the scene unfolding, tears in her eyes. She drank in the warmth that she was unaccustomed to, she felt the wind blow through her hair. everything was so vivid, so real. it was so beautiful .For the first time she began to wonder if this was more than just a dream. She knew her mother was Inarta, Zulrav had told her that much. was this the story of her parents? The scene shifted, the beauty was swept away. An accusation was hurled at her, the name of a woman mentioned, but not clear, Yura couldn't understand the sudden change of events. there was a Vantha man from the scene beore on the ground, bludgeoned to death by a hammer. Was this her father? the moment of his murder? Where did this dream come from? was it just her subconscious trying to forge memory? Or was it something more? and more, if this wasn't from her own mind what would motivate somebody to send her such an apparition? Yura ripped out one of her dao, swinging it at the man with the hammer, she knew it wouldn't have any effect, she knew she was dreaming, but there was a certain satisfaction in swinging a sword.