A Knight To Be And A Blind Beauty (Nealle)

[Geoffrey]

The 6th Day Of Summer, 510 AV It was a busy day in Syliras. Some people rushed around to do their business, some others enjoyed the day. The weather was great. Geoffrey was doing the latter. He got some time off from serving Sir Tenner and he was making the best of it. He got about an hour a day to do whatever he wished. Geoffrey did numerous things. Sometimes he just rested up, sometimes he wrote poetry and today he was just relaxing and enjoying the day. Geoffrey always dreamed of being a knight, he was so close to grasping his dream and living it. But for now he just relaxed instead of being so uptight about his duties. He began to love the time he had to himself. He looked at the sky, the sun was began to sit and the sky looked absolutely beautiful. The sky seemed to be some amazing piece of art whose artists never made the same painting again. He left his armor and sword in the castle, he didn't want the citizens of Syliras to seem as some knight to be aware of. He wanted them to see them as a fellow citizen. His clothes were one of a commoner, not some fancy one of a noble. He walked slowly down the street, taking in the beauty of the city. He turned the corner going down just another street.

[Nealle]

OOCThe date would actually be '510 AV', unless it was a flashback to the previous year, just so you know.

The sun was bright, and though many Vantha humans would argue that this weather was miserably hot, Nealle had found it quite the opposite. Not only was it tolerable, but it was cool, peaceful, calm, and uneventful. Nealle had been in Syliras for two days now, and this was the first time she had stepped outside of her Stormhold Apartment, which had too little warmth of sunlight to please her. Today, however, was her first appearance, excluding her arrival, in the public of Syliras. And what an appearance she was. Sitting on the side of the ever-known 'Wishing Fountain', one of the Eypharian womans six hands gracefully glided through the surface of the water, causing a faint ripple effect to disperse from where her delicate fingers split the cool water. Her mind was wandering though, a firm frown was locked on her face as he blind eyes stared into the sky, neither wincing nor suffering from the sun's glare. That, and the obvious pupil-lacking eyeball itself, were two large indicators that she was in fact, sightless. As one free hand massaged the water, taking in the refreshing coolness of the water, another hand was lifted to her face, idly running a single finger across the large scar that began at the bridge of the nose, and curled down below her eye, and down her cheek. It was the constant reminder to herself that she was not the beautiful creature she once was, and it was the reminder that she had done the right thing by fleeing her homeland. She was blind, and the scar made her foul in the eyes of the other Eypharian people. If she wasn't beautiful, it would be difficult for her to fit in, which was already a large obstacle due to her born illness of blindness.

[Geoffrey]

Geoffrey wandered the city enjoying the view when he found himself at the famous wishing fountain. He sighed and tossed in a gold mizza, and made a wish. He had made many wishes. He usually would wish for him to become a great knight someday. But he had made that wish so many times. This time he wished for something else. He had always believed in love at first sight. Today he wished that would happen to him. Hopefully, it would come true some day. He had prayed to Cheva for this many times, maybe this well would grant him some extra chances. He looked around as many people glared at him, like he was insane for using the wishing well. He knew there was a chance his wish would not come true, but part of him liked to believe in things like the wishing well. He put his hand in the water and moved his hand around in the water, watching ripples come. He watched as they soon started to consume the well, one of his ripples touched one coming from the other end of the pool. He looked up to see the creator of the other ripples was an Eyphrian woman. Geoffrey walked over to her. She looked lonely, maybe she needed some company. He walked along the side of the well, hanging his hand so it was touching the water, creating more ripples. Geoffrey sat down beside her. He looked at her and said "What are you doing here all alone?" He didn't see her eyes, he didn't know she was blind. He waited for her response.

[Nealle]

Nealle heard the coin hit the water on the opposite side of the fountain, she heard something, much like her own hand, playing in the water, and she heard as his footsteps, much like a man's steps, rough, even, long and strong, as they approached and stopped at her side. She did not turn her head to face him, but instead her blind gaze remained locked on the golden blue horizon that was partially hidden by the great Syliras Walls. She, of course, did not actually see it, but it was in the direction of the sun which poured its rays upon her, she enjoyed that. Nealle listened to Geoffrey's words and smiled, breaking the solid grim expression caved on her face. Her mind drifted far from her miserable memories. "Nobody is ever truly alone. There are people all around me. There's one over there, two more talking over there. Rak'keli is with me, Syna is blessing me with warmth. And now I have you at my side." Nealle slowly drew her hand from the water and rested it, along with the other five arms, across her lap. She was dressed in a fairly beautiful dress. Nealle was far from rich, or even well-off, but she absolutely adored beautiful clothing, though she had to accept whatever the store owners, or whoever may be with her, told her what was beautiful or not. "What did you wish for sir, if you don't mind my intrusion. I come here often, but few people part from their coin to make a wish. It leads me to believe you are a man of interest. Are you interesting?" Nealle smiled to herself again as she continued to face the sun. She had already decided she wouldn't tell her name until she got his. It felt right that a male should give away his own name first, at least that's how she felt like believing today. "Syna is beautiful today."

[Geoffrey]

Geoffrey listened as the girl explained that people were never alone, and she was with Rak'keli and Syna was with her. It was always nice to know other people believed in the gods. Even though almost everyone in Mizahar believed in some god, Geoffrey always found it comforting someone did believe in them, like they should be. Geoffrey smiled as she said this, making it clear that he liked what she had said. " I suppose Rak'keli and Syna are with us when you think about it." Geoffrey then just thought about what she said and how she was right, they were with them. He then listened to her asking if he was interesting. "Well I guess that depends on what your opinion of interesting is miss. I like to believe I am. Being a squire to a Syliran Knight is very interesting. Do you think that's interesting?" He replied. He sat up, and moved to the other side of her so he could see her face. "Excuse me please, I like to talk to people's faces." He heard her say how Syna was beautiful. "Always beautiful the sky is, don't you agree?" He asked. he quickly remembered that she didn't know his name, and talking to a girl without her knowing your name is rude. "Oh I'm sorry, the name's Geoffrey." He put out his hand for a handshake.

[Nealle]

Nealle felt like she was in a dreamy moment. She rarely talked about her preferred Gods. She rarely had a chance or desire to, but at that moment, she spoke, she was, in her own way, worshiping Syna at that very moment. She couldn't help but giggle at the fact that Geoffrey answered her questions, except for his wish. It was alright though. It was his business, and there was always the fear some people had that an exposed wish is destined to remain unfulfilled. "I'd like to believe Rak'keli and Syna are always with me. But I've walked under clouded skies, and I have wounds that cannot be healed. I know that comfort isn't and shouldn't be constant though. Faith would become fickle, watered down, and fruitless for them, and for what? Devoting their time and powers blessing those of us who could not or would not give in return? I love them both, unquestionably, but there are times it feels they are trying to push me away." Nealle smiled again as Geoffrey began to talk about his life as a Squire and tried to find out if he was 'interesting' by her standards. "It doesn't matter what a lone Eypharian Woman thinks is exciting Sir Squire. If you should gain happiness from believing something, then you would be foolish to not believe it. If you believe it, it becomes real, like Syna herself, or Rak'keli herself. If you want to believe it, then believe it and love it, and if you love it, you make it real, and if it is real, how could a lone Eypharian woman deny the obvious existence?" Nealle was teasing of course, though she did also believe in the very thing she mentioned. Believe in what makes you happy as it makes it real. It may be a flawed ideal, but it made her happy, so she believed in it. It wasn't until Geoffrey mentioned her face that she slowly became introverted. One of her right hands moved to hide as much of her scar, which was on the right side of her face mostly, to the best of her ability, but she turned her face towards the young man, and tried her best to give a convincing smile. "Some people's faces are not worth looking towards." Nealle nodded solemnly as she ignored his handshake, though not intentionally, she simply could not see. Perhaps by now, since he could see her face, he saw that she had no pupils in her eyes, just as the iris that should surround them did not exist. She was blind, not by violent action, but from birth. Perhaps a defect, perhaps destiny. "Nealle."

[Geoffrey]

Geoffrey again reflected on what she had said. He replied "Sometimes I feel the same, that the god's are just pushing their followers away. But when I think that, I think about everything the god's have done for us. Every god has done something for us, we cannot forget what they did, their gifts must never be forgotten, we cannot push those away. Maybe they feel the same, that we are just pushing them away. That's why I do my best to honor and worship the gods." This truly what Geoffrey believed and did. He would not lie about his faith, he just couldn't lie about the important things to him. He then listened to the girl talk about it didn't matter what she thought, it's what he thought. Her thoughts were very comforting to Geoffrey. "Thanks, that's very comforting." He replied "But I do think your opinion matters. The world should always welcome other's opinions. Those who don't welcome others opinions are arrogant, and I hardly want to be arrogant." Geoffrey felt good talking about his opinions with someone else, even if they were just some stranger. He watched as the girl blocked the right side of her face from him and saying how some people's faces weren't worth looking at it. He disagreed, but before he could respond he notice something with the girl. She had no pupils or irises. She was a blind woman. Geoffrey felt pity for this poor girl. He could not imagine how it would be to never see, to never enjoy the sights that are so beautiful. This girl said her name, Nealle. "Nealle, I would like to see your face. Please, may I see it?" He begged. He didn't want the girl to feel ashamed because of her looks, he wanted to make her feel good.

[Nealle]

"Yes, the gods do plenty for us, but I would not say that every god cares for us. The gods are much like us beings here on Mizahar. They hunger for power, and they thrive on their own strength. The only difference is that their powers far exceed our own, thus we depend on them to be safe from them... some of them. I feel I may have gone too far there, I apologies. Let me restate that. Some gods care only for power, and which ones I believe this to be true, I will not say for fear of my own safety. Rak'keli and Syna, I truly believe... I believe they care for me, and not because I believe in them. No, I believe in them because I trust that they care for me, genuinely so. Nealle smiled faintly as the two of them continued to talk. It was probably a rare sight, a six-armed woman clothed in a fine dress sitting on the side of the fountain, discussing the gods with a young man, hardly the age of a man, a squire, yet dressed as a commoner. In reality, she was probably the poorer of the two. She almost moved onto a few other gods she favored, Leth and Cheva, but she decided that would be for another time. Healing and Sight, Rak'keli and Syna, they probably made great sense as to why she would worship them. She desired healing from her blindness, she desired the sight Syna stood for. Leth and Cheva were for drastically different reasons. "My opinion matters? I hardly know you Sir Knight... I mean Squire Geoffrey." Nealle giggled softly, it was an obvious jab at his title, but a playful one, no more than a jest. "Why should a stranger hold such a strength over you that her opinion intrigues you so much? I find the Syliran Knighthood noble, honorable, courageous. It's what any young girl would dream of having for a husband. But I am not Human, the Syliran code of Honor differs greatly to the ways of my homeland." It was like a shifting balance, half of her words were playful mockery, innocent jabs at humor, while others were serious and had distinct meaning to her life, bits and pieces of her past. "But interesting? I don't think so. I find an interesting man to be one that is convinced he is interesting. One who truly believes he is, to me, is interesting. So, tell me Geoffrey, should I think you are interesting?" Nealle was not going to let this game go. She was going to force Geoffrey to be 'arrogant' or 'pathetic'. Not that either was bad, since arrogance could be swapped for confidence, and pathetic, in this case, could be switched for humility. It was a trick question, it was, to her, a way to find out if he was aggressive or defensive, brave or stable. It didn't mean she would be able to sum his entire self in one word, that was absurd, but it would give the faintest of insight. After a few moments, he asked to see her face, and that's when she fell completely silent. Her smile faded within seconds, and the hand that rested on her cheek, hiding the scar, trembled faintly. What could she say? She knew how it effected her back then, and she only just arrived here, not to mention here brother was gone now, heading back home. She would never be able to find him and have him escort her once again to a newer place to live. She wouldn't beg him for that again anyway. He gave up so much of his life protecting her already, she would feel terrible to depend on him farther. No, she didn't want to show her face. Nealle was, however, used to the Eypharian way of things. Beauty was so important that it often overshadowed what the person was like inside, and even their skills on occasion. She tried to think, how could she get out of this, what could she say to avoid this without appearing racist? Racist, it was the stereotypical Eypharian, ironic, but true. She wasn't, in fact, she detested the 'stereotypical' Eypharian simply because of how they were. She was completely altered from that way of life. "I... I don't... want to." Regardless, her trembling hand grew weak and slowly dropped to her chest, clenching at the air as if her heart was right there, and it was beating heavily enough to convince her of that. Her head lowered slightly, yet not so much that every single feature couldn't be examined. Nealle waited, she didn't want him to say anything, not a word, good nor bad. It was all conflicting emotion in her life. Her people saying one thing, her brother saying another. Her people unwilling to help her, her brother risking everything and more just to give her a chance at an almost-bearable life. What would Seshem do now? From her right eye, a single tear dropped, rolling down until it was caught perfectly in the groove of the scar, and flowed downwards like a small bubbling brook. Without realizing it, she slipped into her native tongue, muttering some phrase over and over, hysterically repeating herself, yet still sat there, patient, awaiting Geoffrey's judgement. It was bound to come and strike her chest like a warhammer, crushing the ribs, breaking the heart. The Arumenic language poured from her lips. "Brother, where are you? Brother, where are you? Brother, where are you?"

[Geoffrey]

Geoffrey listened as the girl explained she believed in Rak'keli and Syna because she felt they cared for her. He stayed and silent and reflected on this. He had believed in so many gods, but did they care for him? Was he some petty human they paid no attention to? He was deep in thought. Maybe he was just another person, another being in a land of thousands. Did they really care for him? He once again listen to the girl talk about how every young girl dreamed about marrying some Knight, he never thought about that but, it was true. Did he really have to look around for love? Would it just come to him? His mind shifted from his previous thoughts to new ones regarding love. This time he thought of something. What if love was out there and they never found him? No, he would find love himself. The girl asked if he thought she would find himself interesting. The answer almost seemed obvious but before he could say it, another thought came into his mind. Was his life interesting? He thought and then replied "Now that I think about it...I guess not. There are a ton of other knights with more interesting tales and lives they lead than me." He then watched as the girl was hesitant to show her face.She said she didn't want to, but her body thought other wise. She removed her hand and put it on her chest like her heart was beating. He looked at the girl and saw a scar on her face. He looked at it, then looked in the girls eyes, even though she wouldn't see it he stared into them. "Don't worry, I think you look beautiful." He complimented. Then the girl started to talk in her own language. Geoffrey didn't understand. He looked at her, waiting for what her reaction would be.

[Nealle]

Nealle was always told that human were ugly creatures, and because of that they believed in an invisible, inner beauty. Nealle's mother, a viper of a woman she was, had always said this was their way to deal with their lack of beauty, a false sense of inner beauty that made them who they were. Nealle was raised to believe it was false, but she saw now with her own blinded eyes that there was inner beauty, and perhaps nobody could see it, but she could feel his. Then, without warning, Nealle stood up from the fountain, her voice raised as she panicked, the hammer had struck her just as she expect, but her own reaction was a marvel to her, an embarrassment she would be ashamed of for seasons to come. "Don't say that! You Humans don't believe in beauty! Mother told me so! You don't believe in beauty because you can't understand it!" Five hands all clenched into fists of rage as the six hand moved from her chest to he mouth, trying to hide it from view, as if it would make it cease to exist and her words to never have come. It was too late, there were already people watching, and several of them scowling, murmuring crude things, and she heard them, she accepted them, it was what she deserved, she had committed a sin against innocent people, cursing them in a fit of emotion. Nealle's eyes closed as she stood there, frozen as a statue, her eye lids squeezed tight as they fought back the swelling of tears. 'Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he's right. Maybe I am all alone.' Nealle's body trembled as she fought, tears were building up stronger, slipping through the ever tightening closed eyes. Down her right cheek, every tear slid down the scar, and her left, they flowed naturally, not manipulated by the groove in her skin. It was now that she felt very lost, very scared. She wanted to go back to Eyktol, she wanted to be with her brother, no matter where he was or what he was doing. She wanted to go back to her crummy little apartment in the keep, and just hide until she withered away into nothing, surely that's what she was meant to do, she was worthless now. Beauty was ruined, no sight, couldn't learn anything of use. It wasn't often that her blindness actually felt like complete darkness, but in this case, that's exactly what it was. No walls, no people, no gods, no Geoffrey. She was alone.