Quest Once upon a time there was you [Nya and Abashai]

[Tarot]

Timestamp: 6th of Spring, 510 AV Continued from here Back at their camp, there would be time for talking and sharing the overwhelming experiences of the day. Afterwards, there would be a deep slumber for Nya and Abashai alike - it was safe there and the breezes promised to rouse the Stormwarden should anything approach that warranted their attention. Their bodies, still adjusting to their new state, were simply too exhausted to do anything but lie down and rest. Nysel's realm welcomed them into its embrace, but refused to reward them with the oblivion they so desired. Dreams, there were dreams in store for them. Even while swimming in the sea of dreams, however, they were still linked; their visions were the same, though experienced from their own unique perspectives. What was a shadow or a blind spot in Nya's dreams stood may stand out with perfect clarity in Abashai's version of the dream, and the other way around. Nya dreamt of the hunt at first, the sights and smells of the forest, the rush of the chase and the sweet savor of the kill. She snapped a rabbit's neck between her jaws and tasted its blood in her mouth. Abashai dreamt of running behind Nya as she hunted prey. He had something important, terribly important to tell her, but he couldn't precisely remember what. He just knew that he couldn't keep up with her feline speed and agility - she was always ahead of him. She could do things he could only dream of; she knew things that were secret to him; she was a part of something that seemed to cut him off, or even place him in a vaguely antagonistic role. He knew, however, that Nya was in danger, and wished he could tell her. Nya dreamt of a sharp pain in her belly, of rolling over and seeing it pierced by an arrow, then another and another. One arrow for each life she had spent doing Zulrav's work, and failing. Only now did she realize she was not alone in the woods - something dark was watching her, somewhere beyond the far reaches of her vision. It possessed the worst kind of malevolence, the type that destroyed without a real reason, that hunted without the hunger. Just because it could, and there was nothing else it would rather do. Abashai dreamed of seeing Nya bleeding on a carpet of leaves, pierced by a dozen arrows. Hiding behind a great tree, he saw a man in the distance, drawing an arrow of bone and ash. He was hideous to behold, bald and with an elongated head and hooked nose that made him resemble an old vulture. He had a sadistic grin upon his face as he prepared to release the final arrow, but there was more to it. Abashai could feel with perfect certainty that the man could not actually shoot a longbow. Something else, standing in the shadows behind the man, was aiming in his stead. A presence that belonged everywhere and nowhere. Nya dreamed of the breezes crying around her wounded form. Their howls did little to comfort her - they truly felt more accusing than soothing. 'How could you not understand, Stormwarden? It was so simple! The truth was right in front of you! How come it took you so long to realize? Now it's too late. Hope is lost…' The Secret was clear in Nya's dream mind, though she later would have no recollection of it. The final arrowhead sought the Kelvic's heart to put an end to her. It found Abashai's chest instead. The man had shielded her with his body. Abashai dreamt of the sharp pain of the arrow embedded just below the heart. His body had not hesitated to perform the ultimate sacrifice for Nya's sake, for his duty was to protect Nya at all costs. Sometimes, that had meant killing her and allowing her a fresh start under more favorable conditions. As he collapsed on the grass, his head landed near hers. They would die here, together, and for the last time. The same words flashed simultaneously in their dreams. "AVOID THIS FUTURE. DISCOVER THE SECRET." And it was morning.

[Abashai]

Gasping, Abashai's eyes flashed open, his hand flying to his chest. In that moment of awakening, he hung between two worlds. Freed from the paralysis of sleep, he clutched for a shaft that did not protrude from his chest, panted to fill lungs that were not punctured by iron. A breath later the Benshiran was lucid and fully awake, coaxed to alertness by a rough, wet tongue on his bare torso. That is when he realized that the Talderian Forest Cat was sprawled across his legs, her massive weight pinning him down. He sighed in relief to see she was not shot through with arrows. Nya's moss green eyes shone through lids still slitted in semi-consciousness, she too, struggling to free herself from the unsettled sleep and the horrid dream, striving to clean blood she still believed he was shedding. Abashai new his mate experienced the same haunting nightmare he had, from her own perspective. The benshiran raised up to rest on his elbows. He could not shake the menacing sensation and his keen eyes scanned the surroundings as if expecting to spot the errie archer or the dark presence. But the forest revealed nothing unusual, only the two horses standing unperturbed nearby. Willing his breathing to relax, his hand pulled away from the khopesh, having unconsciously wrapped his hand around its hilt as it lay next to him. Shai reached out to stroke her head, helping to nudge her awake. In the few moments before his bondmate was fully alert, Abashai considered the dream. He truly did not want to remember, his heart still feeling the agony of seeing Nya bleeding and dying....again. It was devastating to recall. But it was no meer dream, he knew, for it was vivid and he sensed it was relevant to their quest. It was a message of sorts, from whom he could not discern. But the warning was very clear still in his mind. Find the Secret. Shai looked at Nya again as her feline eyes opened fully. His mate had become an incredible dilemma. The dream emphasized the changing dynamics between them. Though he was closer to the Kelvic than probably any two mortals have ever been, in some ways she seemed more of a stranger than ever. The day he first saw the girl crouching by the stream in the Bronze Wood seemed so long ago. Nya had grown so much since then. She had a past, many of them, that he knew nothing about, save she served Zulrav in each. Though her kelvic nature compelled her serve and protect him, Abashai knew well enough that their higher calling demanded he guard Nya with his life, that his service to the gods was to ensure that the forest cat fulfilled her epic task. If the events in the dream were to ever occur in reality, Shai knew he would jump in front of the arrow again. Once Nya was awake and realized they had no wounds, no blood on her mate's body, she ceased from her cleaning. The predator's tongue, designed to removed flesh from bone, left long, wet, red swathes on Abashai's body that stung slightly. He didn't mind. "Ny, the dream." Shai spoke out loud, still not used to the telepathic link they now shared. "Do you know what the Secret is?" So close to Nya, he had to concentrate to filter out the sensory information and mental noise between them. "Did you see the vulture-like man, there was something dark helping him, or controlling him?" Then the man closed his eyes and attempted to concentrate on the images he remembered from the dream, so Nya could see the nightmare from his point of view. He hated to relive the vision of Nya being mortally wounded, but there was something important they were to take from the dream, and Nya needed to see what he saw. A quiet stress was birthed deep within Shai, a concern that he would miss the secret, that they would have to live the dream. He needed to speak to Yahal, to intreat his god to help him. The Benshiran knew he would need divine help, and he knew Nya would look to her master as well. In fact, there were many gods and goddesses they could beseech. "I believe there is much we don't know about our enemy, and who that truly is. I still feel we haven't been told everything and I do not yet fully trust this Shaik." He remembered the divine warning that the goddess Eyris etched on the book compiled by Shaik, 'He lies yet he doesn't'. Abashai did not like puzzles. Unconsciously, his hand moved to touch the scar on his chest left by a crossbow bolt that should have killed him, just above the spot he was hit in the dream. "We can't afford to let down our guard, for anyone." With each chime that passed, the dream became more distant from reality, and Shai, though not forgetting the night vision's message, turned his thoughts to the previous day's events, and the journey they were to embark upon. After discussing the dream and their preparations, Abashai would find a secluded spot to pray before they prepared to leave.

[Nya Winters]

The talderian forest cat had tears in her eyes when she woke from Abashai's nudges. It was a startling thing for a predator to weep like a human, though the sadness in her was the sadness of mourning. She grieved for waste and life lost that shouldn't have been. She grieved for mistakes made and past stupidity that she silently vowed would not occur again. Stretching, she threw her forepaws over her mate, extended her claws careful not to pierce his skin, and claimed him with her tongue, washing blood she could still see and taste and smell from his flesh though it was only a dreamers reality.

Moss green eyes met his and she spoke softly in his mind, even as she reassured herself with her tongue that he was alright. "I remember some of it, Shai. Not the important parts, but enough to understand I made a choice. You did too. Always before I was weak, vulnerable, and fell to the darkness we've pursued through time with various lives. It does not seek us out, but we instead flush it out and it kills. I begged this time for a form of strength and power, one I could fight with. I know I did. It would be what I would want... a form that would not easily fall. I had no idea he'd make it kelvic. I had no idea that I would be trading a long life for a short one and a sharp human mind for a dimmer animal one. You can't know how hard it is to think things through like this. I am strength and power, but reasoning isn't so simple. He's trying to compensate. Perhaps Yahal is too by bonding us so tightly and lending us each other's strengths. But Shai you must think for us. You must reason as well. Otherwise you follow a cat and a cat's logic into battle. That is fine when hunting elk, but when hunting what we hunt, it is not so easy." Nya said gently into his mind, her voice at odds with her great feline head that was busy fussing over his wounds.

She shifted then, more comfortable in her humanity than she had been before. Sitting up she stretched, frowned, and thought about Shai's question. "Yes. I know what the secret is. It's buried in my mind. I remember putting the pieces together and understanding, so I must know what it is. I cannot remember though. I remember the breezes chastising me and crying out their disappointment at how long it took me to put everything together. There were facts upon facts. Like now. We know so much and yet know nothing. It's all here Shai. Somewhere. I just can't see it." Nya said again, sitting more fully up, crossing her legs to fold them neatly beneath her, and looking at her bondmate intently.

"Yes, there was something controlling him. Something dark. But it wasn't the darkness of true evil. It was the darkness of mindless killing... killing for killings sake, not for a purpose. It was malevolence. It was blood and death without hunger. It scares me more than vulture man. Why would he serve such a thing?" She asked, thoughtful.

"No Shai, you are wrong. We can trust. We have to trust. Each other, and there will be others along the path that have information we need. Life isn't worth living if there is no trust within it. Zulrav and Yahal know that. They are trusting us with this. We need to find a follower of Avalis. Someone who can see the past strongly. Someone like Matilda. I would like to talk to her again. We trusted her and she was not wrong." Nya was afraid then, suddenly, that all this information would change Abashai. It would turn him into something he was never meant to be. The forest cat shifted over, crawled onto her bondmate's lap, and wrapped her arms around him. She stroked his hair, looked into his eyes for a moment, and let the sheer power of how much she loved and trusted him fill the bond between them.

"We do not fight for a world we don't want to live in. We fight for a world that is - to preserve it. Hold onto the things you value, Shai. Love. Trust. Friendship. Loyalty. Obedience. Dedication. We fight so that others can have the children we cannot. We fight so that creatures like this black nothingness can't exist and rule others. I will die a hundred times and live a hundred wasted lives if it means it keeps these individuals from succeeding." The girl said.

She nuzzled him then, laid her head on his shoulder, and showed a moment of uncharacteristic tenderness. "Now... what do we exactly know?"

[Abashai]

Abashai held himself up on his elbows, looking over the large brindled cat sprawled over half his body. He settled his gaze on Nya's mossy, saturated green eyes as her voice filled his mind. It was both strange yet familiar. It almost seemed natural now to hear her speak of her past existences, lives that he believed they both knew about, somewhere hidden in their psyche. Now the man watched his bondmate begin to search within herself for that history that would help unfold the epic riddle of those past lives and how they entwined with their unfinished quest. In those past incarnations, had she not been Kelvic? Had Nya been human? For a moment, he wondered what she was like, how she thought, how she appeared. But those musings became unnerving, as if he were being unfaithful to the Nya he had married. "I can see the compliment of our strengths and weaknesses, as if by design. Before yesterday, I believed this task to be yours, one with which I swore to help you accomplish. Today, I know I have been made a part of it long before these eyes first saw Syna's glow. We have always known our lives were thrown together by the gods, now, I know why. I will think for us, Ny, as well as I can. But I rely on your perception to help frame those thoughts and decisions I make. I see it now more than ever, we have no chance of succeeding unless we work as one." As Nya shifted to her human guise, Abashai slid to a seated position across from her. He found it frustrating to know Nya had answers locked within her, important information that remained hidden away. "I agree that we need to discover what our soul's have forgotten, and I trust Matilda." Shai welcomed Nya into his lap, wrapping his arms around her protectively. The powerful bond revealed her fear for him, what all this would do to him. It also allowed her pervasive love to flood over him, a source of incredible strength that cemented his resolved. The Benshiran knew their lives were lost to this mission, there would be no family, he would never be her first love, and he learned yesterday, she could not be his. Their hearts had to be given to their gods, or they would fail. Dira has warned him that Ardrem's love for Nya had doomed them in the past. The painful thought only made him hold her tighter against him. Easing his embrace, Shai took a long moment to gather his thoughts. It was a rare commodity now, time, and with Nya on his lap, and a dangerous road ahead, the man stole a few moment like treasured drops of water among the burning dunes of Eyktol. Shai began to recite what he understood of their situation. He reached back, to the first conversations the two had shared over Nya's encounter with Aruin, and her commune with Zulrav. He wanted to build the frame of the facts, it would shape the paradigm he and the Kelvic would use to move forward. "Aleesa Tallshade of the original Seven Robes created several very powerful items. Six of these artifacts are known to exist somewhere. The Powercube, also created by Tallshade, can lead one to these artifacts. Apparently for years or centuries, Zulrav has lead efforts to find these dangerous items before they fall into the wrong hands and endanger Mizahar itself." "This Vulture man, claiming to be the modern Seven Robes, seeks these artifacts. He and whomever his allies may be are capable of directing a Relic. From our dream, we also can surmise there may be other forces behind him." "Aruin and Kiphos were part of a group to seek the Powercube."At this point Abashai paused, his hand unconsciously caressing Nya's bare shoulder. His face was thoughtful, as if searching. "Yesterday Kiphos said that only he and Aruin escaped the cave, and that the 'employer' caught Aruin after they exited. Aruin was a prisoner of the Vulture man, I am wondering if that meant that they were seeking the Powercube for the Seven Robes." At this point Shai was thinking out loud, his gaze unfocused as he stared out into the forest. "I know you say we have to trust Nya, but there is still questions I have for Kiphos. You said Aruin called him Hundred Faces and that he is a follower of Ionu. I will keep my eyes on him regardless.

[Nya Winters]

Nya tilted her head and looked thoughtful. She bent her head to one side, licked at her bare shoulder to relieve an itch, and listened carefully to what Abashai said. "Zulrav never said he was 'looking' for them as if he didn't know where they were. He said he wanted to gather them before others did." Nya said softly, thoughtfully, the beginnings of an idea lodging itself in her mind.

Shai kept speaking though and Nya frowned, following his course of thought. There were a lot of things Abashai said that were true but beyond her understanding. "Yes, I said he was Hundred Faces and a follower of Ionu, but I do not know what that means. I am not even sure who Ionu is. Does that mean he might not be telling the truth or showing us his true face? If that is the case, we cannot leave him alone or he could be anyone at all, not just who we think he is. We were even talking to the right person?" She asked, curious, then slowly rose.

"I forgot something important, Shai. I forgot that the wind touches everything and that breezes witness everything everywhere whether we want them too or not. They remember and they don't die. Ever." Nya's scarred body showed the stress of recent months as she rose and stepped away from Abashai. She had no excess softness left. Even living in Syliras where conditions were easy for someone like her, she'd gained a softness of padding around her middle and thighs that made her curved in places she'd only been a skinny child before. Now though, as she strode a few steps away, he could see the reserves were gone. Flesh stretched across ribs, strong, but still highlighting them. Her breasts were firm but smaller as well. Her body rippled with muscle, but it was lacking calories that she needed from frequent hunts and constant meals to flesh out the hollows. Her hair needed a trim, long and unruly, with a shaggy look that reflected all the mixed colors that tinted the strands. It hung past her waist and curled around her buttocks.

Her eyes were still haunted - by death, loss, and the gain of a semblance of Abashai's humanity. She wasn't hungry, he realized, in the back of his mind. Always before Nya had been hungry, to compensate for the shifting and energy she burned being a kelvic. She should be hungry. She always woke starved. The new sensation or lack thereof probably explained the weight loss. Without her kelvic instinct to eat, she wouldn't consume enough food to keep herself filled out and strong. They weren't people, after all, who ate for pleasure. She ate when hungry. And she wasn't now. Her thoughts echoed through his mind. An idea. A task. A decision. She stood still only for a moment as she gathered purpose like a storm gathered winds.

It was so easy to read her now. There were no barriers. He could feel her mind and body just as acutely as she could feel his. Nya's bondmate was much less confusing to her now. She felt his curiosity. His contemplation. She knew when he was tired, sick, hungry, aroused, scared, or worried. Often his emotions reflected hers and they experienced them together. Like now. She was excited. The edgy feel of a new idea coursed through her. It flooded Shai in a way that stimulated his mind and gave him a brief surge of hope. Action was always better than reaction.

The forest cat moved forward, off by herself, and raised her arms to tap her Gnosis. Calling the breezes and even bigger things in the area - winds of all sorts - she urged them to her until she stood in a swirling vortex of forceful air. Voices echoed in her mind, greeting her, demanding to know what the interruption was - all echoing back at Shai through their bond. She charged the things she'd summoned to a task. Look. Search the location they were about to explore. Was the power cube there? She didn't know what it looked like but she knew that it would be an artifact of great power, the same that a mage of old had crafted. She sent them forward to look, to explore, to see if they could penetrate the darkness while they waited for Kiphos to make an appearance.

She asked them too, about the other things, the other artifacts, and if any knew where Tallshade had hide them or if they'd seen anything unusual that might be one of them. Then, if there were still more left, she'd send them out into the world to seek as well. "Find it.. find theme. Leave no stone unturned and no hidden place unsearched. You can move faster than we can. A great deal faster. Please - our lord wills that we find these. That we control them. For if they are free in the world, they can end our existence - yours too." And with that, she sent that group off as well, not knowing if they'd answer her or if they'd do as she asked.

[Abashai]

Abashai leaned back a bit, propping himself on his arms and shifting to position Nya more comfortably on his lap. "All I know of Ionu is what I heard traders say by their fires as I traveled through Cyphrus with them. He is a god, or goddess, some divine being. But they did say he is a trickster, one who rules over mischief and even deception." Shai leaned forward, using Nya's scarred shoulder to brush a lock of stray hair from his face. "If Kiphos follows this...being, and Aruin called him Hundred Faces, and it appeared as if Eyris herself warned us about him, that is not a resounding endorsement for trustworthiness." Shai exhibited a rare expression of sarcasm. "Ny, we must keep a close eye in Shaik" Nya's brow furrowed slightly, but Shai didn't need to see her facial expression to know her kevlic mind had already jumped to another thought, one of significance. As he followed the brewing idea in Nya's mind, he watched Nya's physical form as she moved away. He loved Nya's form, scars and all. He had noticed the changes, but only this morning realizing the marked difference. It alarmed him to some extent. He leaned forward, studying the body he knew so well, taking the moment to gauge her health. Nya was strong, sinewy and corded, but there was no denying the depressions and concave surfaces in the contours of her frame. Balancing their two lives as one had been required even before the epic bonding that took place at the Keep. Now, their bodies seemed to feed off one another's persona. Shai obviously did not need the amount of food Nya required to feed the calorie-hungry muscles of her kelvic form. The Benshiran sighed, realizing it was his own metabolism dictating his bondmate's appetite. Shai made a mental note to ensure Nya ate more frequently, until the two of them could figure out how to manage the diversity of effects they had on one another. The man's musings were subtle, unable to rise about the churning concepts Nya pondered, which now drew Abashai to focus on his mate's excited scheming. She had ceased to explain to him her plans, she didn't have to. Shai perceived them within her, standing as he understood. There were few places in all of Mizahar a breeze could not penetrate, virtually no where there was not atmosphere to carry them. As the Stormwarden summoned her winds, channeling her lord's power, Abashai retrieved the heavy iron blade from beside his bedding, the oud from the pile of gear and slipped a short distance into the woods. Positioning himself to see both the camp and Nya's pale form in the distance, far enough so the bond grew quiet enough for him to concetrate, Shai communed with his own god. Strumming solemn chords on the stringed instrument, the Benshiran began to offer his worship, whispered words of thanks and adoration, gratitude for the purpose he had been given, for the blessing of Nya as his lifemate, and for the gift of gnosis bestowed on him. The marked follower then turned to supplication, beseeching the Holy One for the faithfulness to pursue this mission, to protect and support Nya, to have the strength to follow the god himself wherever he may lead. More specifically, Abashai asked for guidance on the next step of his journey.

[Tarot]

The air around the camp, previously still as if the breezes were holding their breath for the discussion to unfold, began to stir, caressing the Stormwarden and her human bondmate before encircling the favored of Zulrav in a protective embrace. The breezes were rejoicing, celebrating Nya's newfound existence, and her survival despite the overwhelming odds stacked against her. Those marked by the wind lord knew that even the most barren landscape held life and spirit in the form of these winds, sometimes merciful and sometimes fierce. Nya recognized several of the breezes that had assisted her the previous day in the fight against the Relic. This time, however, more of them answered her call, some of which she had never encountered. A couple among them were too strong and intense to be called breezes; they - one instance of the mistral and one of the zephyr - would have laughed at the notion. Still, the winds listened to everything Nya told and asked of them before sweeping a reply into her ears. "We know of Areesa Tallshade, Stormwarden, and we know of the place you seek, though we usually stay clear of the cave. For you, however, we shall venture into its depths and return with the answers you seek," said the zephyr. "That woman hid her treasures in such a way that even she would not know what went where. She did so in case someone would attempt to divine her Chavi and bypass her protections," added the mistral. "We know because…" The wind hesitated strangely, as if pondering whether it was supposed to share this piece of information. "She was a Stormwarden herself at the time. Our lord himself may have suggested that she do so, but I dare not fathom why." Nya would perhaps recall that Zulrav had once mentioned to her that he had marked Areesa Tallshade late in her life. It seemed like the winds had nothing more to offer for the time being. They scattered in unison, spreading in all directions and then blazing through space and height and making haste towards the Bloodsink area. Meanwhile, Abashai sought communion with Yahal through the playing of his Oud. Yahal was not a wordy god most of the time. He was cryptic, letting his followers piece the truth together on their own - in many ways, this was the real test for them. To believe first, and then to understand why they were asked to. Still, the Benshira felt a strange sense of calm washing over him as the notes slowly succeeded one another, the melody soon slipping out of his grasp and turning into one he had never heard before, let alone performed. And, as the chimes passed, even the sounds of the strings seemed to lose their significance, melting together with the sky and the earth. Were they even notes? Or rather syllables and words spoken by vocal chords not of this world? Was this Abashai's own imagination playing tricks on him, or was the Oud truly uttering vibrating words as he struck the strings? "Yours. Is. The. Road. Less. Traveled." And wasn't it true? It would be easier to just be Abashai the nomad without attachments, the owner of his fate. It would be easier to just serve Dira once more - a much more direct goddess than Yahal. "Without. You. It. All. Fails." The Oud sang again as Abashai's fingers moved driven by a will not his own. "Your. Redemp-tion. Lies. In. Hers." The melody came to its natural end, and his fingers found their rest. Pushing it would be fruitless, for the music had spoken once, and it would not grant an encore. Rather, the feeling was replaced with the sudden realization - simultaneous for the two of them - that they were being watched. Indeed, the interloper was making no attempt at staying hidden. It was a young woman, it seemed, not a day older than twenty. Her light blonde hair fell gently upon her shoulders as she leaned against a tree near the encampment. She was garbed in traveling clothes and carried a large pack. "I didn't mean to disturb," she said with a thin smile, "but, as far as I recall, we had an appointment. This is Kiphos, by the way." The woman passed a hand over her face and, for an instant, the middle-aged man from the previous day resurfaced. He was gone in the blink of an eye, though, and the young girl was firmly back in front of them. "What you saw yesterday was my real face… though, admittedly, you will have to take my word for it." He was probably honest about it, though - if anything, the face from yesterday was… bland, for want of a better term. One that would not be recognized; whereas this girl had a pretty oval but well-defined features that would be remembered months later. "I always travel incognito. I hope you will understand. I have made many enemies. Today's name is 'Maya', by the way." Kiphos' mannerisms as a woman were nothing short of the real thing - he must have been doing this for a long, long time.

[Nya Winters]

Nya let the winds wrap around her. She stretched her hands out embracing all of them, touching, caressing, knowing them as they whispered into her ears. Zulrav's children were unquestionably knowledgeable, and gifted with far more ability than most mundane people realized. They had personalities and were individuals, some fierce some gentle, and often transformative in an instant. Nya suspected breezes were only storm winds at rest, relaxing before their next bought of fierceness. And hurricanes were winds enraged, drunk on the joy of what their potential was. In many ways it was like loving a man, for sometimes one wanted to be gentle and only stroke the firmness of his skin and the next moment passion erupted and one only wanted to rage with desire to become a soul in a frenzy.

Nya smiled, listened, and instructed.

So Aressa was a Stormwarden acting on Zulrav's directive. It should have surprised her, though it didn't. Why else would Zulrav be taking such a direct interest and using yet another of his own to correct the mistakes of the past? Perhaps it wasn't all Aressa's fault. Perhaps some of the mistakes of hiding the cube and her relics away where Zulrav's own. Nya often thought such things, especially if they could cause incredible danger, should be removed from the world and destroyed. It wasn't a philosophy that most others would follow, but she'd seen the trouble power could cause and knew the world needed to move slower than it had in the past to really survive what it had not survived before. It was something she perhaps wouldn't have comprehended without her link to Abashai, but it was indeed something she knew now.

Her hands reached out and stroked through the essence of both the minstrel and the zephyr, thanking them for their knowledge. She knew they would go forth and seek more for her, and she appriciated their help more than she could convey to them. Nya wanted to survive to finish the quest. Shai and her had not so many times before. She hoped this time would be different.

When they were gone, Nya felt lesser but not alone. Her eyes turned to where Shai had disappeared. She couldn't see him. But she could hear the notes of his music and knew he was talking to Yahal. Nya smiled. She was glad her bondmate had a connection he could use, someone he could lean against, and a faith that rivaled her own.

A scent filled her nose suddenly, dulled by her human form, but sharper still than it should be. A stranger. Female. She moved to join Shai protectively, bridging the distance he was at in the woods to face whomever it was that had joined them. She stared, not understanding, until the face changed once then back again, clearing up the mystery for her. "Maya" it seemed was the man of yesterday, the one from the book they'd been seeking. Nya nodded, relaxing. She glanced once at her bondmate and then back to Kiphos. She would not tell him she'd sent the winds to scout. Instead she'd see what he had to say and follow where he wanted to lead today if that was Abashai's will as well. If... that is... their pathways went the same direction.

[Abashai]

Music had always been a part of Abashai's worship. It aided in creating an atmosphere where outside distractions would fade and his attentions could be narrowed to communing with his Lord. On this morning, the Benshiran found it even more important, for it served to help suppress the stream of sensations, thoughts and perceptions that the new bond with Nya fed his consciousness. His gaze turned in the direction that Nya had taken, noting that distance had the effect of dulling the clarity of the information within the channel. Inhaling a deep draft of damp forest air, Abashai allowed the sound of the oud and the comfort of its feel in his hands carrying him to a state of meditation where his devotion to Yahal could be expressed. He began to mutter Shiber words praising Yahal for his faithfulness, for the strength to do the things he had been asked to do, even the horrible act of killing Nya, which still crushed his heart and tightened his stomach at the remembrance. As Shai entered an almost trance-like state of awareness, he was compelled to hold his tongue. It would be difficult to describe the sensation of Yahal's presence, he was an elusive deity, but when he drew near, the Benshiran could feel the god resonating with his spirit, accompanied by a peace he did not fully understand. Yielding to the power of the Holy One, Shai acknowledged the new notes that he now felt channeled through his soul. Yahal did not force his servants, and Abashai could have resisted. But why would he? His fingers responded with a beautiful, haunting melody that he had never learned to play, let alone heard before. As the notes thrummed from the stringed instrument, the desert man heard the words without a voice speak...words of a god. Yours. Is. The. Road. Less. Traveled. Without.You. It. All. Fails. All Benshiran understood that Yahal spoke to his people rarely, the nature of his messages such that one must desire to know their meaning enough to fathom their intent. It was not meant to confuse or keep his followers ignorant, rather, it revealed who truly wished to learn the will of the god. So Abashai pondered the words, ominous and cryptic as they were. He felt the notes wane, the tune ending softly. Shai knew there was no more, and he dared not add anything of his own. The glade he sat in grew silent, and whether it was an unconsciously perceived sound, an echo of Nya's own awareness, or some primal sense, something urged Abashai to look up. He moved quickly to his feet at the sight of the girl, oud in one hand and the khopesh that had laid next to him in his other. Nya had moving swiftly to his side as the woman spoke. He was slightly startled at the transformation of Kiphos' face, at the same time relieved. He had suspected something like this, the clues where there. Having the man admit his talent for illusion up front restored some of Abashai's confidence in their guide. Caution was still his plan for dealing with Kiphos though. And it would take some adjustments for him to relate the apparition of the young woman to the man he...she truly was. "Ki....Maya" Abashai sighed. "Very well." Abashai still felt an uneasiness about their next step. It was clear that they had to find the Powercube. Bloodsink was the first real clue of a possible location that Nya and he had found. And it was obvious from what Kiphos told them that someone felt the place was worth guarding. The Benshiran stalked over to a pile of gear, set down the instrument and weapon, then took up a tunic and pulled it on over his bared chest. "But I will ask that you tell us all you know of this Bloodsink, and what you encountered there." He gave the woman a measured stare, sober and unyielding. A cotton vest was tugged onto his torso, followed by the chain mail shirt. "I will know everything I can about what lies in that cave before considering entering in." Abashai finally strapped on his battle harness, turning to look to Nya as he slid the various weapons into place. Nya still wore the weariness of the previous day's trauma in the features of her face. She was still naked, a state the Benshiran had finally accepted as part of bonding with a kelvic. As a husband, it had taken him longer to rise above the need to conceal Nya's nudity from other men. He still would not tolerate her strolling naked through the streets of Syliras, but after all the couple had lived through, and the depth of their relationship, Shai realized there was no shame in who Nya was, not one bit. If a man saw her and could not resist his urges, Nya would surely be able to deal with it. If not, Abashai felt no qualms about killing any man that dared touch her. But she needed to eat, it was obvious, and he would eat too, more than he should if it would compel the forest cat to eat what she needed to sustain herself. "It will take only a few chimes to pack the horses, but we must eat before we leave." Shai turned from Maya to Nya, his eyes catching her gaze. He spoke in his head to her. "We will follow him for the day and learn what we will learn."

[Tarot]

Kiphos' female form nodded slowly at Abashai's words. "It is clear," she said, "that you do not trust me yet, son of Biyram. Perhaps that is not without good reason. My quest has sometimes pushed me into questionable alliances and actions. All I can say is that there are forgotten things in this world and forces that would have them stay forgotten. Together with people like Konrad and Agethia, I want them remembered. Ionu is a great help with that, but it is by no means the only one. I am also an emissary of Qalaya, the goddess of memory, and even Tanroa has a vested interest in what I do. I am but a cog in a greater device; and I have been for a long time. For hundreds of years." Maya sat upon a large rock, allowing the duo to take their meal from a distance. The woman herself did not seem to want food for herself, and indeed would decline if such was offered to her. The demeanor was different from the last time they'd seen Kiphos. Each persona was carefully constructed, as expected of one of Ionu's. "My primary concern is with the literary works of Vuld Shaik. Vuld Shaik, a chronicler of the arcane, was my ancestor before the Valterrian, but that is not the truth. I am not actually related to Vuld Shaik. I am Vuld Shaik... or I was, some twenty lives ago." She let the thing sink in, but ironically her revelation did not seem that hard to believe anymore. Had Kiphos known that Nya and Abashai were also dealing with unfinished business from past lives, the explanation might have gone faster. "I am trying to recover pieces of what I was, what I did. All the works of Vuld's that were lost with the Valterrian, I wish to retrieve. Unfortunately, my memories of life as Vuld are blurry, and the gods will not help with that." That also sounded familiar. "Years ago, the quest for Vuld's manuscripts led me to the Bloodsink. Areesa Tallshade had made the huge cavern into the hiding place for her Powercube, or so I learned. Vuld wrote several books on Tallshade. Upon hearing that someone was organizing an expedition to recover the item, I volunteered to join. I was hoping to find a connection there, a trigger for some of the memories I am missing. You see, when you find yourself with partial memories of a past life, you can sometimes unlock them by living the moment once again. That is essential to my quest." Maya's words flowed on, calm and regular. "The person behind the expedition was a man I have only seen once. He has no name that I know of, and his followers just call him the Master. He stole the name of the Seven Robes, an ancient group of Alahean wizards, and uses magic to corrupt the hearts of young people. I was aware of that, and still joined. As I said, I have made questionable deals in the past." Maya stopped for a moment before continuing. "Bloodsink was killing grounds, no less and no more. Traps everywhere, all magical. To make things worse, there are huge holes throughout the cave, deeper than anyone can fathom. Thankfully, our party defused most of the traps, but some parts are especially treacherous to navigate. We lost five people out of ten just to get to the Door at the end of the cave. And there, we met the Guardian." The unease of the first tale showed up once more on Maya's face. "I know three forms of magic. I know my way around a sword. Not to brag, but I did not go unprepared and I was not even the strongest in the party. We didn't even see what butchered us. It was like it willed us dead, and we died just like that. It warned us once, we didn't pay heed, we started dropping down. If you go... don't try to fight that thing. You wouldn't stand a chance."