Solo Finding Finix

On duty Vypec is asked to help find an Akalak child.

(This is a thread from Mizahar's fantasy roleplay forum. Why don't you register today? This message is not shown when you are logged in. Come roleplay with us, it's fun!)

Built into the cliffs overlooking the Suvan Sea, Riverfall resides on the edge of grasslands of Cyphrus where the Bluevein River plunges off the plain and cascades down to the inland sea below. Home of the Akalak, Riverfall is a self-supporting city populated by devoted warriors. [Riverfall Codex]

Finding Finix

Postby Vypec on February 14th, 2016, 8:10 am

33rd of Winter, 515 A.V.
Streets of Riverfall

Vypec had spent the majority of his shift walking about the city. The only real problem he had had to deal with was the boredom of an eight hour shift alone with no interruptions or breaks in the monotony. But Vypec was a disciplined warrior, or at least he aimed to be. He stepped his path smartly and did not allow complacency into his mind. Vypal helped in that. The Dark Brother had taken it upon himself to disallow Vypec a moment of quiet since he had first complained about the lack of excitement.

Vypal had ranted at length about his various annoyances with the government in Riverfall. When that seemed to lose its edge with Vypec he shifted his focus to the many benefits of serving the Night Mother. This, of course, Vypec agreed with. That did not make it easier to listen to for three hours, however. The day was winding into its busiest, noontime rush. People were out and about, buying things and racing off the find lunch. Vypec set his thumbs in the leather belt about his Kuvay'Nas tunic. He certainly hoped life as a branch Kuvay'Nas was more exciting.

Oh the life of service too boring for you, Vypec? Vypal's judging voice was masked with honeyed irony, but Vypec could hear the real judgement behind it. Not enough glory out here, keeping the peace?

Vypec chose his words carefully. He didn't want to feed his brother more fuel for the torment. I simply meant that it would be nice to service with more variety.

Liar. Vypal said with glee. The Dark Brother seemed not at all concerned with his brother's shallow attempt to hide his true ambition, but rather enjoyed the fact that his intentions were less than pure. Continue on your selfless journey through the streets of Riverfall, hero. He jested.

Vypec ignored that last, falling into a dark mood. His brother had succeeded in his torment. It was as though a storm cloud had descended upon his mind and filled it with self-doubt. He often wondered what was his brother's motivation in life. He would torment him seemingly at random, and expertly so. But then, when he least expected it, Vypal would show a caring side and bring his brother up when he fell too far into dark thoughts. It was like he wanted Vypec to maintain a specific level of suffering.

Vypec was pulled from his revere by the sound of a woman yelling at him. She was human and greying at the temples. Her dress was brown and cotton. The casual walkers on the street gave her a berth as she trotted her sandaled feet towards him. "Kuvay'Nas! Luvay'Nas! I need your help, sir!" She was yelling tiredly. Vypec saw that she was nearly fifty and had apparently ran all the way from the end of the street to him. She held in her hand a half-stitched length of green cotton that was apparently going to be some sort of cloak.

"What do you need ma'am?" Vypec said in Tukant, for she seemed to speak the language well enough. He peered down the street, immediately looking for some thief or brigand to chase. Her worried look seemed to be tied back to the heavy wooden door she had left open to the street. He watched her glance back at it multiple times as she sprinted towards him. Sprint was a strong word, her older body did not allow her to run faster than his brisk walk. Vypec hurried to close the distance between them.

593 words
User avatar
Vypec
Night Stalker
 
Posts: 122
Words: 156592
Joined roleplay: January 21st, 2016, 6:49 pm
Location: Riverfall
Race: Akalak
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes

Finding Finix

Postby Vypec on February 14th, 2016, 8:13 am

"My boy, he's gone. He's gone and I can't find him anywhere!" Her fear was apparent. It quickly became clear that Vypec had to calm her down before doing anything else. He set his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes, making sure she was looking back at him before he continued to speak calmly.

"We will find your son. Lets just get back to your house and we will figure out where to start." Vypec said, pointing back down the street towards her house.

When they entered Vypec saw she lived in a small two bedroom house with a modest garden behind it. Every door had been thrown open and the winter's cool air was dancing through the home. Vypec and the old woman paid it no mind, both with more serious concerns weighing on their mind. Vypec decided he needed to find out what the situation was. His grandfather had always said with someone in a state of worry like this it was best to ask very direct questions.

"Ma'am, what is your name, and your son's name?" Vypec asked, turning from the mantle of drying herbs.

"I am Vivian Sevren, and my son's name is Finix." She said, sounding as though just saying his name was going to bring sobs.

"And what does Finix look like ma'am?" Vypec said as his eyes wandered around the room. He noticed a worn long sword in the corner and a few smith's hammers laid neatly next to it.

She rubbed a shaking hand through her hair. "I...I." She began, tears welling up in her eyes. Stress was shaking her voice and she sat at one of the three small chairs around her dinner table. Vypec smiled at her and placed his hand over hers on the table. He knelt beside her.

"It will be alright, Vivian. I promise you I will find Finix." He swore, trying to convey to her the serious of his oath. Sevren was, after all, an Akalak family name.

"Finix is about seven, a young Akalak. My husband, he is a smith over on the other side of the city. He's usually here to care for the boy, but he had to finish some work and I was left to tend to him alone. I don't know what happened..." Vivian said, her face falling and tears streaming down her nose. She began to shake with her crying.

"So he is an Akalak." Vypec said, reaffirming what he suspected. He glanced over at the sword and hammers in the corner. Vypec stood and stepped outside, into the garden behind their house. The plants lined an open space in the middle. Vypec knelt and looked at the ground. It was odd to have so much open space in a garden, when Riverfall was so adamant about having plant life everywhere it could possibly grow. Vypec noticed the soil had been turned up chaotically in the patch. "Ma'am, do your husband and son wrestle here?" He said, running his hand across the surface of the ground lightly. It was a relatively easy assumption to make. Most Akalak were well into their training by the age of seven.

"What?" Vivian came to the door. "Oh no, they practice with those wooden swords. My husband gave one to Finix on his last birthday." She said, the dampness from her tears smeared across her gentle, lined face.

567 words
User avatar
Vypec
Night Stalker
 
Posts: 122
Words: 156592
Joined roleplay: January 21st, 2016, 6:49 pm
Location: Riverfall
Race: Akalak
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes

Finding Finix

Postby Vypec on February 14th, 2016, 8:15 am

Vypec slid past her back into the house and glanced from the two bedrooms. "Which of these is Finixes room?" He asked, gesturing between the two. Looking confused Vivian pointed at the left door. Finixes room was simply furnished with a bed, small table, and a crate filled with carved wooden warriors, all painted blue purple and green. Vypec smiled, as he remembered a time when he had had toys much the same as these. That was even before his aspirations as a warrior began. It was simply how Akalak children were raised.

He turned to the table, noticing for the first time something odd. Like many young boys, Finix did not properly dusty his room. Upon the tabletop there was a strip of cleanliness surrounded by a thin layer of dust. Vypec crouched before it and frowned. He tried to make out what it could have been. "Vivian, ma'am." Vypec said, turning back to the woman who was not mumbling about her lost son. "What usually sits here?" Vypec indicated the table.

She looked from him to the table, confused. Then she raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "The wooded practice sword Finix got for his birthday. That boy nearly sleeps with it. He and the boy across the street are always slapping each other with those things. Why?"

Vypec finally thought that he might know what had happened. He stood and brushed his tunic off. "Okay I think I have what I need. I'll be sure to bring your son back here when I find him. When will your husband be home?" Vypec asked as he stepped past the woman and out of her front door. Turning back to her he saw her following him to the door.

"He should be back by sundown. What do you think happened to my son?" She asked again, her face looking mildly irritated that he wasn't telling her.

"Oh, I have some ideas. Don't worry, I don't think he is in any danger. Rest assured, I'll find the Akalak boy." Vypec assured her before turning and walking briskly down the street.

Serves her right for misplacing an Akalak child. We should wait until her husband is home and reprimand him for leaving his son in her care alone. A frail human could not care for one of the warriors of Riverfall! Vypal said, the disgust evident in his words.

After a pause, Vypec said back. My thoughts exactly. He had been furious at the woman for letting one of his precious race wander unattended. She had failed in her duty and he would not relinquish the boy back into her care.

But where is he? Do you really know? Vypal asked. He seemed pleased that Vypec agreed with his scorn for her.

Vypec pointed straight ahead of them, grinning. He had been proud of his deduction. His grandfather's training in the arts of gathering information and observing occurrences was paying off. Where better to practice your swordplay when your mother doesn't want you to than there. In front of them stood the flowered gates to the Knirin Gardens. They were wrought iron and inviting in a beautifully artistic way. He knew from experience that there were at least a few secluded areas that two boys who cared nothing for the beauty of flowers could beat each other senseless without being caught.

559 words
User avatar
Vypec
Night Stalker
 
Posts: 122
Words: 156592
Joined roleplay: January 21st, 2016, 6:49 pm
Location: Riverfall
Race: Akalak
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes

Finding Finix

Postby Vypec on February 14th, 2016, 8:17 am

Vypec smiled, remembering his own youth. He had spent many a day pretending at glory with his own variety of stick and practice blade in alleyways and hidden corners of the city, only to be thrashed once found by an irate father or grandfather.

Upon entering the Gardens he was accosted with an instantaneous aroma of wild flowers. The gardens had a heavily manicured feel to them, and yet were arranged with a wildlife brilliance that made one feel as though they were inside a cavern of color and brightness. Vypec had grown to enjoy the occasional visit in his later years of adulthood. It helped to have some calming time in a life spent pursuing the warrior way.

Eventually Vypec came upon a small clearing. He had heard them before he saw them. Two boys, one a tall and lanky Akalak, the other a human, sparred with stick and practice sword. Vypec instantly shouted his presence.

"Finix Sevren!" His voice carried impressively, cold fury riding it's wake. Both boys instantly stopped and dropped their makeshift weapons. Vypec wasn't really angry at the boys, but he wanted to make sure they felt the fear of the gods as a result of their foolish actions. "Why did you run away from your mother without telling anyone?"

Vypec stormed across the clearing to where both boys stood frozen, like two rabbits caught in the open by a wolf. Neither one of them spoke, both had turned pale. Vypec stopped in front of them and bent to pick up their thrown away weapons. The practice sword and stick were both about three feet long.

"I asked you a question." Vypec said, giving Finix and his friend the coldest look he could muster.

"We were training, sir. My mother doesn't let us do it in the street, and Bivan can't come in my house with his stick." Finix answered. The boy's bright eyes stared up at Vypec, wondering what the Kuvay'Nas would do to him.

Vypec sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You can't run off like that. That is irresponsible and childish. Are you a baby?" Vypec asked them. Both shook their heads in earnest. They seemed to be resigned to their fates, both showing clear shame and anguish on their faces. Vypec waited for a moment, letting those horrible emotions sink in. It was a good lesson to learn.

"So why are you two practicing swordplay? You going to be warriors?" Vypec asked, knowing full well the answer. He folded his arms across his chest, the two wooden weapons still in hand.

They both nodded, and Finix said hesitantly. "My father used to train under the Riverfall champion, long ago. He says he is going to make me a great warrior someday." Pride broke through his shameful look, and Vypec saw bright teeth in the meek smile. He felt his mouth twitch.

479 words
User avatar
Vypec
Night Stalker
 
Posts: 122
Words: 156592
Joined roleplay: January 21st, 2016, 6:49 pm
Location: Riverfall
Race: Akalak
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes

Finding Finix

Postby Vypec on February 14th, 2016, 8:19 am

"Well if you are going to be warriors, you aren't going to learn much without at least a bit of instruction." Vypec handed the two boys back their perspective weapons. "You want to hold them likes this. In front of you. Always between you and the opponent."

Vypec spent the last half hour of his shift teaching the boys the rudiments of swordplay. As the sun descended he took great pleasure in watching them slash at the air. He even let them spar with each other for a few minutes before finally turning them towards home. Vypec walked back with them, making sure they were safely sent home. After the other boy had been given over to his parents Vypec walked Finix to his house. Before he knocked though, he bent down and looked the boy full in the face.

"You have a great responsibility, Finix Sevren." Vypec said, not knowing what he would say next, but knowing he felt the need to impress upon the boy the importance of safety. "Your actions not only affect you and your family, but our entire race. It is the Akalak future you represent. Do not forget the weight you carry. Pursue your training with as much vigor as you can muster, but do not wander from safety." Vypec could not tell if the boy understood the full meaning of his words, but there wasn't much else he could do.

The Akalak who answered the door had much the same face and coloring as Finix, and Vypec assumed this was his father. He knew it was when Finix immediately hugged the man and apologized. The Akalak grunted and shoved the boy through the door. Vypec did not envy Finix the walloping he would receive.

"Thank you for bringing my foolish son back to me." The Akalak said.

Vypec grinned. "He was training in the Gardens. He's got potential." He glanced back at the Gardens entrance. "I decided to watch him until I was sure you were home..."

The Akalak sighed and glanced over his shoulder. "A wise decision. Thank you again. This won't happen ever again." The man shut the door after Vypec gave his farewell. He turned and walked back to the Kuvay'Nas Lodge thinking of things much heavier than missing boys and incompetent mothers.

383 words
User avatar
Vypec
Night Stalker
 
Posts: 122
Words: 156592
Joined roleplay: January 21st, 2016, 6:49 pm
Location: Riverfall
Race: Akalak
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes

Finding Finix

Postby Theo Popcampio on June 27th, 2016, 11:09 pm

XP Award!

Name:Vypec
XP Award:
  • Philosophy 1
  • Socialization 1
  • Observation 4
  • Investigation 2
  • Logic 2
  • Interrogation 1
  • Intimidation 1
  • Teaching 1
  • Rhetoric 1
Lore:
  • Vivian Sevren: Riverian Woman
  • Finix: Vivian’s son
  • Vivian Sevren: Careless
  • Location: Kniron Gardens
  • Finix: Wants to be a warrior

Notes: I liked this thread the most of all your threads. Good plot and it shows a few different sides of your character. I would have liked to have seen some more description in some key spots, like where you deduce the location of the boy, Vypec’s philosophizing, etc. All in all, good read though.
All my templates were made by the grace of the enchanting Aislyn Leavold.
User avatar
Theo Popcampio
Fire Starter
 
Posts: 213
Words: 212275
Joined roleplay: May 31st, 2015, 4:25 pm
Location: Syka
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Medals: 1
Overlored (1)


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests