Closed Wings of Nyka

[Imass]

Winter 54, 515 AV
Twas a cold and gray day in Nyka. The winds were blowing east and there was an air of melancholy. Life had seemed to slow down to a crawl as Morwen's icy tendrils enveloped the landscape. As far as the eye could see the cycle of the living had screeched to a halt, except for the wheat; a reminder that Morwen had no grasp over Skerr's reign.

It had been over twenty days since the kelvic Faradae had left for Syliras and Imass was beginning to get worried about her return. The Akalak knelt at the edge of the city's walls in optimistic lament, staring out into the wilderness.

"Yahal," he prayed out loud, "I have faith in your plan, I have faith you will protect Lady Faradae on her journey," He paused, "But I am but a mortal and I cannot come to any ease in this situation. Please, I implore thee, send me some sign to relax my soul. I am working hard to have faith, but it is tough for me in this situation, I am worried,"

The Knight paused and waited for a response from Yahal, but there was nothing. Imass knew why though; he was to have faith without proof. Wrestling with his thoughts, Imass pushed his brother's skepticism away with indomitable will.

"Forgive my doubt Yahal," Imass finally said out loud, "I have showed weakness, but I will not despair, I will bring my mind back on the straight and narrow," Bringing his thoughts to a quiet simmer, the Knight focused on the one singular thought: Faradae returning. Garron tried to be loud and angry simply out of spite, but Imass kept pushing him away until he finally he achieved a few moments of peaceful calm and utter faith.

Alas, the pure faithfulness lasted only a minute and again his mind began to race on the thought of Faradae and the letters. Standing up from his kneeling position he stood at the edge of Nyka's walls and stared into the Western Wilds.

[Faradae]

Faradae The day she finally reached Nyka was cold and sluggish, like her own wings, weighed down by weather and time. Her journey back had been less troublesome than her voyage to Syliras, but alas, still far from easy. She figured that travelling generally wasn’t a safe activity out in the world of Mizahar. The thick clouds covering the skies had been in place all day, not moving an inch. They weren’t the soft white cotton balls she liked to count in summer, but they reminded her of old, dusty carpets, but they made her sneeze for different reasons. Catching a cold was the last thing she needed at the moment, hopefully her current condition would pass as soon as she got out of the damp air and into a cosy taproom. She circled a little higher in what sparse updraft she could find when she spied the city walls in the distance, to a height that would hopefully get her into Nyka safely, well out of reach of over eagerly monks’ arrows. She simply didn’t have the nerve to go through another episode of “naked-in-front-of-the-city-guards”. She couldn’t count on the same flabbergast the guards in Syliras had shown, or another kind soul like Vivienne showing up to rescue her. On top of that, the thought of walking around without feathers or fur to keep the cold at bay was enough to give her chills. It equalled inviting the flu over for an afternoon tea party. As she came closer, she realized two things: Rest and a warm bed would have to wait a little longer. But at least she’d have money to pay for that bed. Up on the battlements stood the unmistakable form of her client, foot tapping restlessly as he stared into her general direction. Could he be waiting for her? The idea irritated her. It was the 54th. Her journey had begun 25 days ago. She was a little behind her estimated schedule, but she could hardly imagine the Akalak pacing the walls every day, looking for a tiny buzzard, hard to spot against the sky, that he might as well have missed, had she taken a slightly different route. The letters really had to be important to him. She felt a pang of guilt, knowing only one of them had ultimately made it. Hopefully she would still get paid. She came closer, and if the warrior showed any signs of recognizing her, she did not react to them, out of the simple inability to wave a wing or fly a loop, tired as she was from her restless pace. Instead, she landed up on the wall as gracefully as she could muster, hoping that Imass wouldn’t expect her to shift there and then.

[Imass]

Staring at the horizon for some chimes began to put strain on Imass' eyes, so he closed them once again in prayer. He repeated over and over the words of the Penita scrolls, with minimal interruptions from Garonn.

When the forest is dark, I will have faith, that if I follow Yahal's plan, the light to illuminate the darkness will follow...

When he opened his eyes the most incredible thing that he could have possibly prayed for occurred, a eagle was flying directly towards him. Great joy filled Imass and the Akalak began to jump and wave his arms, in faith, that it was Lady Faradae approaching him. When the eagle landed on the wall near him, the Knight had no doubts in his mind that it was her.

"Lady Faradae! Oh I have been praying very much for your return!" Imass exclaimed as he approached her, "Tell me of your journey," Imass said as he took a knee directly in front of her. The Knight was not very well versed with Kelvics and it did not come to his mind that they not only couldn't speak in animal form, but when they shifted they would be naked.

"Uh, Lady Faradae is everything okay?" Imass said with a confused look on his face, "My Lady, please tell me everything is alright? Why do you not speak?"

[Faradae]

Faradae It looked rather unladylike when the eagle rolled her eyes. With a reproachful croak, she fluttered off, presumably leaving a baffled Akalak behind. She left it to Imass to follow her or not, she was certain that she could find him later, for a blue man in a city of humans was hard to miss. She was too tired to figure out any creative solutions for communicational problems, this time, she was going to do it the easy way. And if Imass failed to grasp the obvious – oh well, she’d have to explain to him later. It wasn’t much later that Faradae – now in human shape, dressed appropriately and looking much better after splashing a bit of water onto her pale face, despite the bags under her eyes and the remaining knots in her hair – stepped out of the front door of the Safehaven hostel, the inn that had stowed her belongings quite reliably. She had gotten everything back in exchange for a few coins, and despite her eagle nature, she was happy to finally have ground beneath her feat, if it meant being safe for a night or two. As safe, she reminded herself, as one could be in a city filled with fanatics and governed by relentless monks. Whether or not he had followed her, it did not take her long to find Imass once again, and now she could communicate. She supposed that he had figured out his mistake by now, and decided that the message she had come to deliver was more important than lengthy descriptions of her journey, at least for now. “Greetings, Imass”,she said, “I’m doing relatively fine, considering the hardships of the last few days.” She couldn’t help reminding him that the task had not been easy. “But aren’t you more interested in the news I bring? I’ve met your squire, and he was…delighted to discover that you are still, or rather, once again, alive.” She decided not to give him too much detail on Ball’s initial reaction. She had to pluck up some courage to make a small confession next: “The other letters didn’t make the journey, if you care to know, I’ll tell you later what happened to them. But I believe that the tidings will reach the ears you intended them for, even without individual delivery.”

[Dove Brown]

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Imass

Skills

• XP

Lores

• Lore:

Miscellaneous

• Mizas (+/-) | Amount
  
• Item Purchased (+/-) | Amount
  
• Item Sold (+/-) | Amount

Withheld due to inactivity.

 

Faradae

Skills

• Endurance 1
• Planning 1
• Observation 1
• Logic 1
• Socialisation 1
• Subterfuge 1

Lores

• Imass: waiting on the wall
• Imass: easy to find in Nyka
• Confessing an unpleasant truth

Miscellaneous

• Mizas (+/-) | +40 gm, as previously agreed
  

Comments: Pity this was cut short. Enjoy your grades