Closed She Came from the World Below (Solstice)

[Iolara Lyada]

3 Summer 518, 10th bell Iolara loved summertime in the Suvan, the water was just the right shade of crystal-clear blue as Syna shed her mighty light upon the world. Combined with the ever-shifting waves that served as the boundary between Laviku’s domain and the world above, Syna’s light formed dancing patterns along the sandy sea floor. For herself, Iolara made a luxurious approach towards the beach settlement ahead, lounging on her back to gaze at the natural light show as her webbed feet propelled her at a languid pace. She had spent the last several days observing the settlement, not even large enough to be called a village, from the safety of the sea. She had been so long for the company of others; Iolara scarcely remembered the last conversation she’d had in any language but Nura. Grateful as she was for Caiyha’s gift, fish and seaweed rarely made for riveting conversation partners. Despite her excitement, Io had to suppress the trepidation she felt deep in her heart. Every human settlement she’d associated with in her short life had thus far met with danger. This conflict had waged in her heart as she watched from beneath the waves, but before long, her loneliness had won out, driving her to the shore. As the rocky outcrops of coral gave way to sandy seabed that sloped gently upward, Iolara was forced to transition from swimming to standing, breaching the surface with her turquoise figure. Her dorsal fin extended then retracted several times, her tentacles probing the salty air with caution. Syna’s heat was more noticeable above the waves. Much more noticeable. A spark of doubt flashed through the young Charoda’s mind as she trudged out of the surf, dry sand crunching beneath her webbed feet. “Lady Caiyha, guide and direct me!” came the now-familiar prayer. As if on cue, the gentle breeze strengthened just for a moment, blowing in from the sea as if urging the young sea-dweller further onto the shore. Iolara breathed a sigh of relief, and steeped herself as she made her way into the village proper. The gawking stares as she approached were hardly new to Iolara; she knew her kind were far from common on the surface. After observing the settlement, she knew that apparent newcomers appeared to follow a path deeper into the forest, and Iolara saw no reason not to follow their example. Once shaded from Syna’s light, Iolara found the humid jungle air much more palatable than she had on the shore. Making her way up the path, the young girl found herself face-to-stilt with an elevated wooden structure, the likes of which she had never seen. “H-hello?” came her inquiry, her voice cracking slightly from disuse. “I’m looking for...the...leader? Yes, the leader of this place? Am here?”

[Solstice]

Summer in Syka had arrived in full swing. For the tropical land that saw little change in scenery from season to season, this mostly meant that the temperatures were nearing their peak for the year. The humidity in the jungle was stifling, and many of the residents of Syka were rushing to finish morning tasks before taking a traditional midday snooze during the worst heat of the day.

Randal, the primary carpenter and one of the three Founders of the settlement, did not have the luxury of a nap for the moment. He had too many carpentry projects in motion, and he had to survey a few more areas before he could settle down for a meal and a nap. He had only briefly swung by his bungalow to gather a forgotten hammer and was nearly in his way out when a half melodic, half crackly voice met his ears.

The carpenter peered off the edge of the deck if his lofted bungalow, and felt his eyebrows raise in surprise at the vision that greeted him. Charoda, despite being beautifully adapted for life in Syka, were not terribly common here. In addition the girl before him appeared to be but an adolescent. The third and final tick of unusualality was the telltale mark of Caihya decorating the girl’s upper arm, a bright depiction of a lively coral reef.

Curiosity fiercely piqued, Randal quickly headed down the spiral staircase leading to the jungle floor and halted in front of the young charoda lady.

“Good morning!” he greeted her, a warm and relaxed smile touching his face. “My name is Randal Zor. I’m one of the three Founders of this settlement, Syka.”

After a moment more of an inquiring observation of the girl, Randal offered her another smile. “Are you here to live here?”

[Iolara Lyada]

Iolara waited with admittedly less patience than was befitting a devotee of Caiyha, rocking back and forth on her webbed feet as she felt the humid jungle air wrap her in a warm embrace. Where landbound creatures may have found the thick air uncomfortable, Iolara felt refreshed and alert as her skin was able to absorb much more oxygen than beneath the waves. After a few ticks, she noticed a human face peering over the railing above. A male, she thought, though it was difficult for her to discern such things. The man seemed to register surprise before descending the steps of his elevated home. Iolara returned his inquisitive gaze with her own unblinking eyes, her tentacles flaring out to flail in the wet air, betraying the excitement she felt at the prospect of real socialization after so many years of solitude. The man’s toothy grin was infectious, and Iolara was struck by how silly his twin rows of flat teeth appeared. The more she dwelled on the thought, the sillier it became. Surely no one could eat properly with such flat teeth! A girlish giggle bubbled from her throat, revealing her own set of razor-sharp teeth. When the man spoke, Io did her best to regain her composure. Nodding solemnly and barely suppressing further giggles, she spoke with more surety, easing the creaking from her voice. “I...no, not here? But close, yes.” She frowned, struggling to find the correct Common words. Her tentacles swirled in minor consternation before one swept down to indicate the mark of her goddess. “There!” Iolara declared, pointing proudly to her upper arm. “In the...the sea? Yes, in the sea. Close, but not….” she gestured upward to the wooden structure that seemed so grand and elegant. “Not here. Land I visit, do not live. Too...too dry.” She smiled and hopped from one foot to the other in a little dance of joy that she’d found the words. “Can live close. I can help? Maybe...yes! I can help you! Better swimmer. Better diver! Iolara,” she gestured to herself before continuing, “Iolara dives deep. I find many shiny things. Humans...you like shiny things, yes?” Iolara realized she was babbling, perhaps too late. She abruptly shut her mouth with an audible click! of her teeth. This man said he was one of three leaders, surely he had better things to do than listen to her rambling attempts at conversation. As Iolara listened for his reply, she cast a sheepish look to his face. This was an amazing place, truly! Iolara thought this forest must have as much green as her native ocean had blue, though she found the faint cacophony of living sounds slightly unnerving. The young Charoda went back to rocking on her webbed feet, wriggling her toes into the thick, loamy soil beneath. Such an alien place this was for someone so accustomed to life beneath the waves!

[Solstice]

The Charoda girl’s giggles were infectious, and Randal soon found himself chuckling along with him. It took him only a moment to realize there might be a bit of a communication problem between the two of them. Fortunately, she did seem to speak common some, so hopefully the pair of them would be able to come to an understanding together. The girl made it pretty clear that she was planning on living in the ocean nearby. Being a Witch would probably help her in those endeavors, at least.

“If you decide to live here Iolara,” Randal told her, speaking clearly so that there would be limited miscommunication. “You’ll need to be able to contribute to the settlement. If you’re good at diving for things, then you can sell those things and help contribute that way. If you live here, you’ll be able to use five acres of land to live on. That can be in the ocean if you want! And you can live and work here.”

Randal chuckled a little bit. “Normally, I’d offer to help you build a house, but I’m not sure how well that would work under water!”

[Iolara Lyada]

Iolara did her best to listen intently to Randal as he replied, though she found herself distracted by the many sights and sounds of the jungle. Bonded to the sea as she was, Iolara didn’t have as detailed an intuition as to the rhythm and flow of the dense tropical forest’s ecosystem, but a mark of Caiyha was hardly required to see that the verdant canopy spread over life as vastly varied as did the azure canopy of Laviku’s waves. The scarlet and green feathered forms darting through the branches beyond reminded Iolara of the bright colored fish that swam to and fro within the reefs, flitting from shelter to shelter, feeding spot to feeding spot. All was hustle and bustle with life in the jungle or beneath the waves. Snapped out of her reverie as Randal finished speaking, she offered him another toothy Charoda grin. Nodding in reaffirmation, Io repeated with her basic understanding of Common! “Yes, Iolara swims, dives. Trades with humans!” There was one thing the human had said that the young girl had trouble processing, however. “Five...acres? Is...is that a lot? Iolara, not own land before. Land belongs to Caiyha,” she nodded with certainty, her tentacles swaying in gentle contentment at her simple statement of faith. At the awkward pause that followed, realization slowly dawned across Iolara’s face, her pupilless eyes widening. “Ohh, you humans, rent land from Caiyha, yes? Use it for good and for living?” She thought she understood now. And the fact that Randal was offering her a place in the village hierarchy was not lost on Io. Her grin widening into a full blown smile, Iolara hopped from one foot to the other, clapping her webbed hands as her tentacles danced with joy. “Yes! Yes! Iolara lives and works here, with your people! Con-trib-utes!” She drew out the last, unfamiliar word, though she felt she understood its basic meaning: to make herself useful. When Randal made his comment about building a home for her underwater, Iolara had no choice but to erupt into bubbly giggles once more. “You are funny, Mister Randal! Iolara grows her own home. From the coral. Is Charoda way.” Calming herself, Iolara regarded the man with a warm smile. She had a feeling this was the beginning of a grand new adventure. “Thank you, Lady Caiyha,” came the instinctive mental prayer, “thank you for leading me to this place! Guide me to your will, that I might gain your favor and wisdom!” Bringing her pale eyes back to meet Randal’s own, Iolara cocked her head in a classic gesture of curiosity. “Your village, what is it called? Are there other Charoda? All humans?” She barely suppressed a grimace before continuing, “Many rules?” She knew humans tended to be fond of rules. But this place seemed, different somehow. Not that she had much experience with human settlements beyond the two isolated examples she’d stumbled across in her travels. And neither of those had ended particularly well. Perhaps this place would be spared a similar fate, but that was not for little Charoda to decide. Word Count523

[Solstice]

Randal ran a hand through his hair and grinned softly. He had had a feeling that he would have a little bit of trouble communicating with the girl, but if her perception of acres was the worst of it, he figured he didn’t have very much to worry about it. “If you’d like, once you pick out a spot I could walk you the distance five acres would be, and you can mark your boundaries underwater yourself. Not that I’m sure it would matter. You probably have choice pick of the underwater real estate. You’re the only charoda we have in town right now.”

Randal’s eyes lit up as Iolara mentioned growing her own home from the coral. He knew that it was something that charoda did, but he hadn’t expected to be able to get a chance to experience it himself! “I would love to see what you end up forming. Be careful where you grow it though. You wouldn’t want it to interfere with any of the ships we have coming and going here. But it might be worth thinking about how you can use that talent to help the settlement. There’s all sorts of possibilities.”

When she asked about the name of the settlement, Randal told her with a smile. “This place is called Syka. You’re the only charoda we have here, but we’ve got a few non humans here and there. Mostly kelvics, but there’s also an isur and a couple of eths. Oh and a konti as well! You should chat with her, I’m sure she’ll be happy to be able to meet a fellow water dweller.”

At Iolara’s timid request on if there were many rules, Randal laughed aloud. “Perhaps if you had wound up in Riverfall you might have to deal with rules. But here? Not so much. So long as you don’t steal things, hurt anyone, and contribute to the settlement than most people here are willing to live and let live."

Randal stroked his chin for a moment. “I know Caiyha provides nearly everything you need, but if there are things you need that you can’t get from her easily, we can loan you money to allow you to buy the things you need to get started. Is that something you would be interested in, or will you be okay building things are your own? Regardless, you’ll be paid for the things that you can find in the ocean.”

[Iolara Lyada]

Iolara couldn’t suppress the musical chuckle from escaping her lips at Randal’s suggestion of walking off a boundary for her. “Do you have stone feet, to walk beneath the waves?” she teased, rocking back and forth on her feet again, digging her webbed toes further into the soft soil as her tentacles writhed in a reflection of her mirth. When her laughter had subsided into a wide, beaming smile, Iolara managed to refocus her attention on what the human was saying. She gasped in delight at his mention of coming to see her reef. “Yes! Yes! Reef is very beautiful, but Iolara knows how to make it better!” At his admonition to be mindful of the ships, Iolara nodded sagely. That was a good idea, she would have to spend some time watching the routes the traders used. She would hate to interfere with the budding settlement’s livelihood! “Syka. Ssssyka. Syyyykaaaa.” Iolara played the word over and over again, stretching various syllables as she mulled over the name of her new home. It did roll off the tongue quite nicely, but she would have to come up with an appropriate Char name for it later. The news that she was the only Charoda in the area came as little surprise to Iolara. It had been eight, nearly nine, long years since she had had any meaningful interaction with others of her kind. Charbosi could well have fallen into the Abyss for all she knew. But the mention of other non-humans piqued her interest. Kelvics? Isur? Eths? These names were unfamiliar to Iolara, but she was certain all would be revealed in time. Caiyha always brought her followers to precisely where they needed to be! The mention of another water-dweller caught Iolara’s attention. She had never heard of Konti before, but if they were as adept in the water as Charodae, Iolara looked forward to making fast friends with the one dwelling here! “Yes, I want to make many friends. Caiyha wants me here, I think. For a long time, I hope. It seems a good place.” The revelation that there were few rules brought another round of delighted clapping and bouncing from the young Charoda. “Those are easy rules!” she said, more out of relief than disrespect. Charodae were pacifists almost by necessity, and she doubted the surface dwelling residents of Syka would have much that she would find useful enough to warrant stealing. And there was that funny word again: contribute. Be useful. Iolara could do that, she was sure of it! “I will be useful. I can con-trib-ute! Promise!” One of Iolara’s tentacles stroked her chin in a bemused mimicry of Randal’s thoughtful expression. His was a generous offer, but Iolara could think of nothing the settlement could provide that she did not already possess. She could craft her own shelter, and indeed, was quite excited at the prospect of settling into one location for a time! Foraging for valuables required little special equipment, and Iolara had amassed quite a surprising collection of coins in various denominations during her scavenging trips along the Falyndar coast. As her tentacles draped back along her shoulders, Iolara regarded Randal with another toothy grin. “Caiyha provides. Will be sufficient, I think.” she said. “But thank you! Mister Randal is very kind. Generous! Iolara will be useful!” Iolara nodded in satisfaction. She was welcome in the village, and had made arrangements for being of use as well. Giving him a final smile, Iolara turned and departed, ignorant of the normal social pleasantries of humans, though a pair of tentacles seemed to wave goodbye as she made her way back down the path towards the sea. The humid jungle air wasn’t awful, but she longed to have water upon her skin once more!

[Solstice]

Grades are here!

Iolara Lyada

XP Award:

• +4 Socialization
• +1 Observation
• +1 Persuasion

Lore:

• Persuasion: Selling Your Merits
• Randal Zor: Personality, Traits, Place of Residence
• Syka: Settlers Need to Contribute
• Randal: A Carpenter
• Location: Syka
• Syka: Doesn’t Have Many Rules
• Syka: Founders Offer Loans
• People Will Pay for Goods and Services

Note: Happy threading with you. Welcome to Syka!