Solo A taste of something more

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Syka is a new settlement of primarily humans on the east coast of Falyndar opposite of Riverfall on The Suvan Sea. [Syka Codex]

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A taste of something more

Postby Cleon on April 22nd, 2022, 2:09 am

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51st of Spring, 522 AV

By far, Matthias had one of the most beautiful houses in all of Syka. Built right up onto the gorgeous turquoise water, it commanded an excellent view of where the sea funneled into the bay. Cleon remembered coming by here at the first day of the season, but regretfully he hadn’t the chance to come back until now.

As so often happens, life gets interrupted, priorities change, and on top of all of that the world got turned upside down by these curses. Even now, he wasn’t strictly here to try his hand leisurely fishing off the deck as had once been offered to him. Instead, he had come here seeking answers for yesterday, a way to help that might be buried in one of Matthias’ books. That was his hope anyways given that Matthias was a priest and known to him as somewhat of a scholar.

He had a pretty good idea of where he wanted to start too, and carried that idea on the tip of his tongue as he knocked on Matthias’ door. The man opened it, and didn’t even look surprised as he gestured for Cleon to come in.

“Lo there Cleon. Can I fix you anything to drink?” Matthias asked as he gestured for Cleon to come inside. Shaking his head, Cleon obliged by following him in, closing the door behind him before walking over to stand by the door as he suddenly felt a lot less confident about coming here. Perhaps noticing his unease, Matthias smiled, and cleared his throat. “So, what brings you here?”

Cleon chewed his lip, nodding to himself as he worked up the courage to say what he was going to say. “Well I was remembering you were- err are a priest right? An so I kinda hoped you might have a book on gods and goddesses, anything that mentions them really, and if you do I was wondering if I could borrow it for a bit. With all that transpired yesterday, I realized I know a lot less than I thought, and I think I could have avoided a lot of trouble if I had just been a little more knowledgeable. So I’d like to start by learning about what gods and goddesses are known and go from there. Hopefully it will go a ways towards solving these curses for us, but I can’t really be too sure of that yet.” Cleon admitted with a slight shrug.

“Hmmm..” Matthias hummed as he scratched at his chin, before turning slightly. “I might have just a book. A compendium I made during my travels of different texts I have come across throughout the years. It might still be here if someone hasn’t borrowed it already, yes! Here I’ve got it.” Matthias said as he walked just out of sight but speaking loudly enough that his voice still carried throughout the house till he returned back downstairs with a book in hand. “It is not particularly deep on any of the gods or goddesses, but it broadly touches on many accounts I’ve come across throughout the years. Of course I only left the information I could verify while I keep the more fictional accounts together in another book.” Matthias explained as he handed across the thick leather tome that Cleon took gratefully.

“Would you mind if I read it here by the hearth, just for a little while. I’ll stay out of your way.” Cleon said, and Matthias smiled.

“Of course, take your time. An if you change your mind about that drink, you can find me out on the deck.” Matthias said with a genial smile before walking out of the room, and onto the deck. Turning about towards the hearth, Cleon pulled a chair up and began to read.

Flipping past the parts where Matthias was listing his sources, and giving himself small inside notes about the text, Cleon didn’t stop flipping until he came across an unfamiliar name written in large letters, centered at the top of the page. It all began with Rak’Keli, a goddess who treasures the honest and caring above all others. Her domain apparently is linked to healing and health, an suddenly Cleon couldn’t help but remember a remark that he’d overheard his first day in Syka. Something Kamila had said about not being able to use her mark on Faye. Could the two be related? It seemed so, but he couldn’t be too sure that the woman was marked by the gnosis of whoever this goddess was until he asked her about it because there was no information about a gnosis listed on this page. It simply went on to explain that Rak’Keli’s followers are many, and they are primarily kind individuals who will heal anyone, regardless of circumstance. That sounded a lot to him like Kamilia in retrospect, and he made a mental note to ask her about that later if he got the chance.

Cleon moved on to the next page, which was a brief paragraph about Syna, goddess of the sun. Not much here is listed about her beyond that her followers tended to be very passionate, extroverted individuals and that Syna’s love was something of a double edged sword. This related to an anecdote about a generally agreed upon idea about how deserts are formed that Cleon didn’t find particularly thrilling.

Neither did he find the next passage particularly illuminating, this one concerning Leth, god of the moon, who conversely is described as a much more introspective individual with followers that tend to be on the loner side of things. As such, Cleon supposed that might be why there was even less information on this page, while he guess that the former page on Syna might have been bloated with too many anecdotes before Matthias trimmed it down. Whatever the case, Cleon flipped the page.

Tavasi, god of spring, fertility, and new beginnings the page said which piqued Cleon’s interest more than a little bit. It did after all seem like the sort of god that he should be making offerings to after all, this being his season, and a fresh start for his little family. So Cleon paid very close attention to this page although there wasn’t much about the god on it. Apparently, he is one of the four that walk across Mizahar to bring about the change in seasons. He also apparently had a city that he called home named Karjin, although this was the first he had heard of such a place. Aside from that, he was noted to be an invigorating presence and one who was supposed to aid in bringing about new ideas which also seemed fairly applicable to the situation. Cleon started immediately to think about just how he might make his offerings to this Tavasi as he turned onto the next page.

Next there was Sivah, god of summer, celebrations, vacation and excess which while not applicable to their situation seemed a fine enough god to know. He remembered vaguely that Stu was supposed to be a priest of this god and found himself wondering how exactly that all worked out, what he did for the god and what not as he continued to read on. There wasn’t much there aside from a note from Matthias that there wasn’t a known home to this god unlike the other one, although Sivah was widely regarded to show up at many parties throughout Mizahar, and Cleon couldn’t help but to think if there was a chance he had run into the god already. There certainly were a lot of parties in Syka, and perhaps that was a form of worship for him.

Perhaps it was something he could ask Stu about later, but for now, his concentration was starting to flag as he turned onto the next page. There were only a few short lines here, with plenty of room to be added to. On the few there were, first was the title, Bala, goddess of autumn and the harvest. While there was no particular city this one called home either, she is generally said to reside somewhere in Sylira, and travels much like the other two when it comes time to bring her season’s change across the world. Apparently she is also fairly popular with farmers which made sense given that Matthias had included the harvest in her domain. He suspected that laying out crops or something of the sort might go a ways towards appeasing her when the time came for that.

Taking in a deep breath, Cleon decided one more page before he would take a break and join Matthias out on the deck for a little while. Turning it, he read Morwen, goddess of winter, ice and snow. Here worryingly so, some parts had been crossed out, specifically about the city she was said to reside in and in its place Matthias made a notation about her disappearing and throwing the rest of the seasons out of order. Cleon clutched his jaw, working it slightly as he considered that putting it together with his own experiences back in Sunberth when a lot of people suddenly got interested in a particular kind of outsider. He couldn’t think of the word until he saw the name Matthias had down for her followers. Vantha. That was the word for it, and Cleon felt his blood go cold at the thought as he promptly shut the book. He didn’t want to think about another mystery just now, not with his thoughts so disjointed and out of order.

Rising up slowly out of the chair, Cleon got up to go over to join Matthias out on the deck with the book tucked underneath his arm.

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A taste of something more

Postby Cleon on April 22nd, 2022, 2:10 am

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Date, Season, Year

Out on the porch Matthias already had a few lines going out into the water, and turned to smile at him as he walked through the door. “Find anything interesting?” Matthias asked as he moved aside a little to make room for him to stand by one of the rods.

Cleon gave a half hearted shrug. “Kind of. There are a whole lot more of them out there than I would’ve thought, and I’m not the most patient reader. Do you think I could borrow this for a little bit longer. Maybe a day or two?” Cleon asked hopefully.

“Sure, I don’t mind. Hold onto it as long as you like. I think its a good thing that a young man like you is getting invested in our community. We’re going to need all the help we can get to figure this out, and the answer might lie in that very book. I think everyone actually has been pulling together quite well to get this solved. Have you ever been fishing?” Matthias asked. Cleon shook his head.

“No, I never tried, though I’ve seen it done from afar once or twice. Is it hard?” Cleon asked.

“Not particularly once you get used to it. Here I’ll show you, the basics are actually quite simple.” Matthias explained as he picked up one of the rods and gestured towards the other. Looking from the one Matthias held to the one he just picked up, Cleon tried adjusting his hands to mimic the man’s grip holding the handle at first before trying out the spool on the side.

“Thats it. You see those holes along the length of the rod, and the thin braided line. That guides it out into the water when you give the rod a good swing. This right here is what brings the line back when you get a tug from a fish. You’ll know when you get a bite because the end of the line will pull down and you’ll feel the tug if you’re holding the rod. Here, why don’t you try reeling it in?” Matthias asked and Cleon gave it a shot, slowly spinning the spool about and hearing the rod whine as he reeled the braided line in. Eventually he noticed the rippled on the water before him as he pulled the line in faster, then noticed something in the water. At first he thought it was a fish, but it was a little too round for that and slowly he realized it was attached to his line. A small, white wooden bobble that floated near the top of the water chased behind by a small feathered object that looked more and more like a bug the closer it came into view.

It really did he realized as he reeled the line all the way in and got a good look at the feathered lure, and followed it briefly as it wagged in front of his eyes before he held it out to hang over the water till he found out what to do with hit.

“Okay, this part isn’t so hard either. Just watch what I do and then do as I say.” Matthias said as he arched his own rod back slighly over his shoulder, casting it out in one strong jerk that sent the end of the line out far into the water. Setting the rod down, Matthias walked over and gestured to the spool of braided line, pointing out a small catch in the side. “Hold this as you’re swinging out towards the water and it will release the line carry out onto the water like mine had.”

Nodding, Cleon jerked it so the rod was just behind his shoulder before swinging it out wide from himself toward the water, holding the release as he did. It took a lot more coordination than it looked like when Matthias did it so when his went out, it only went a short ways before he noticed the plop in the water. With a chagrined smile, Cleon started hastily reeling it in as Matthias patted him on the back.

“That was a fine first attempt. At least you didn’t snag your back with the hook.” Matthias offered, and Cleon’s eyes went slighly wider as he hadn’t actually considered hooking himself with the line.

“That sounds.. Painful.” Cleon said in a strained voice which prompted a chuckle from Matthias.

“It can be, but as long as you fish when I’m out here, I can help get you unhooked.” Matthias said, and Cleon felt only slightly reassured by that comment as he carefully reeled in the line the rest of the way. As he hadn’t cast it out very far, he could clearly see the lure spinning about in the water from the moment it hit the water and he was currently following it with his eyes as he pulled it in close.

Suddenly something silvery darted out from the deeper waters that he couldn’t quite see as clearly into, and sort of ran into his lure. He felt a brief tug, a surge of excitement but just as abruptly it disappeared back from where it came after briefly testing out his lure. Matthias had been watching as well, and had a deep belly laugh as he leaned against the railing.

“That’ll happen too. Don’t take it too personally. Go ahead, give it another try.” Mathias said with a genial smile.


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A taste of something more

Postby Cleon on April 22nd, 2022, 2:12 am

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Considering the rod carefully, and where the lure was currently bobbing in the air just above his shoulder, he tensed his arms briefly as he held the clasp. Concentrating on a far point in the water, Cleon swung the rod out as he had done before, clutching the clasp as he went and watching as the braided line unfurled carrying the lure a bit farther out this time before it touched on the water. Then it was up to Cleon to slowly reel it in while he watched Matthias do much the same alongside him.

“So what do you think of it so far? Do you like it?” Matthias asked as they reeled their lines in.

Cleon nodded, and offered a tentative smile. “Yeah, its kind of relaxing actually. I could see my self doing this more often in the evenings after work.” He admitted.

Matthias smiled. “Good, good, I’m glad you enjoy it. You are welcome to borrow a rod anytime and come fish with me. I actually like the company.” Matthias said. Then Cleon watched as the man pursed his lips as the end of his rod sagged towards the water and he watched him take a step back. “I got a bite, a good one from the feel of it. Here, come quick Cleon and take over.” Matthias said, gesturing quickly. Cleon stepped closer to switch rods with Matthias, and traded holding the reel in place, waiting for a good grip before he tried pulling it in. Fortunately, Matthias stayed close by to help him reel it in as whatever was on the end of this line almost tugged the rod out of his hand as he hadn’t been expecting such a pull from the creature.

With Matthias holding it from getting jerked out from his fingers, Cleon focused on reeling in the braided line which worked out his wrist something fierce as he turned the line around and around the spool until finally he could see the fish that was on the other end, darting this way an that as it resisted the line mightily. It was a greenish blue which made it hard to spot until it had gotten closer and he could see more clearly through to the sand at the bottom. Seeing the fish had a way of invigorating him, and he started to reel in the line faster, stopping occasionally for a brief break before finally they finished pulling the fish out of the water together.

Finally Cleon could set down the rod and massage his wrists as he watched Matthias extract hook out of the fish, and then hold it by the mouth for appraisal. “Not a bad catch for your first time.” Matthias said. Cleon didn’t quite agree as it was a small little fish that was hardly worth eating although it was sort of pretty to look at the way the blues and greens banded across his body until washing out against its silvery underbelly. Still, he couldn’t help but to notice that it looked a little odd, its belly distended at an odd angle. Matthias must have noticed too as he ran a rough thumb across it as he brought the fish closer for inspection.

“Hmmm.. That’s odd. This one must have swallowed something.” Matthias reason as he laid the fish across the porch railing with one hand while retrieving a small knife from his belt. In one quick motion the man had the fish sliced open, and then dug out something silvery from its belly. A bent armed cross that looked like it fit in a similar way to the charm that hung off the chain on his wrist.

Matthias laughed as he turned over the piece of metal in his hand holding it out towards Cleon and dumping it into his palm when Cleon opened his hand. “I suppose this goes with that other one on your wrist. Maybe its Laviku sending you a sign.”

The charm felt heavy when it fell into the center of his hand, and with his thumb he tried to clean off the blood before he cleaned it off on his shirt. When he was done, he tried slipping it onto the chain. It snapped on seamlessly and when he tried to remove it, he found that it wouldn’t budge. He felt a similar connection to this one as he had the first, and he wondered quietly what this one entailed before his eyes snapped up hastily to meet Matthias’, and he plastered a smile on his face.

“Thank you. I, well I don’t rightly know what this chain, or these pieces of jewelry all mean just yet, but I like to think that its a part of the gods giving me a helpful nudge. A crow brought me this chain that had this piece already attached, so I think that was Eywaat, and now this. I guess I’ve got a lot of thanking to do for this, which actually was another part of the reason I wanted to borrow this book. I’d like to thank the gods and goddesses in a way that will please them the most and I figure learning what I can about them will be a good start.” Cleon admitted.

Matthias nodded at that explanation, and returned his smile. “Its as good a way to go about it as any. I’d say you are doing just fine, try not to over think it so much. Some food, prayer and flowers at their altar are nice, but what they like even more is you living your life in a way that mirrors their ideals. Keep that in mind as you continue your studies.” Matthias said.

“I will, thank you” Cleon replied after a brief pause to think it over. He actually thought about those words quite a bit as they continued fishing and long after he said his goodbye before returning back to the Inn with the book.

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A taste of something more

Postby Cleon on April 22nd, 2022, 3:57 am

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Later that night, in the comfort of his own bed with Faye sleeping contentedly away in the other half of the bed, Cleon got a little restless and decided slip out of their room for a little while. With the book tucked under his arm, he paid a visit to the adjoining bathroom first to take a quick leak before he went on up to the common room where he got comfortable by the hearth, opening up the book in his lap.

Opening it up to where he left off, he had to blink several times before he could properly see the words, and even then it hurt his head to read them. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried again, and again the words swam before his eyes before with a frustrated sigh he closed the book and settled for staring into the fire within the hearth which didn’t make him feel any less weary.

It wasn’t the first time he had a night like this but they were beginning to add up, he could feel it underneath his eyes as his lids drooped but not in a way that meant he had an easy sleep ahead of him. Far from that, if he went back to bed now, he would lay there fully awake and thinking and eventually a fixation would come along to drag him out. At least he beat it to the punch by coming out before hand, although he didn’t feel particularly thirsty at this moment. What he really wanted to do was read this book, but for some reason his body just wasn’t up to it.

Pulling up his right arm to rest his chin against it, he started absentmindedly playing with the chain that dangled from his wrist as he looked on into the fire. Particularly he was rolling the newest addition between his fingers, feeling the texture of the bent armed cross before giving it a brief squeeze. His eyes shifted as his body did to get a good look at the charm which looked rather delicate but hummed with that same thrum the other one did when he touched it. Just on the edge of his consciousness. Strangely, the thrum didn’t go away when he released the cross, it stayed at the back of his mind, and curious, Cleon reached out mentally to touch the feeling.

What followed was at first an uncomfortable sensation as he felt pulled towards the sensation until finally he felt like he had some sort of possession of it, although the feeling was as hard to grasp as the sudden feeling was. Then it washed over him, a clarity of thought and a more physical one like a relaxing of every single muscle in his body as the power of the charm coursed through him at its activation.

Blinking rapidly Cleon sat back in his chair as he cocked his head, his eyes unable to leave that charm as it dangled off the end of his wrist and slowly he came to terms with what had just occurred. Magical indeed, but what exactly happened. Taking in a deep breath, Cleon slowly stood up from the chair, doing a brief spin as he examined himself and noted no outward differences before he sat back down in the chair and considered how he felt. There he found something different. He felt great, like he had gotten a full nights sleep and then some. Almost like before he had been cursed at all although it was hard to remember a time before this curse.

Flexing his fingers, he took another good look at the cross and tried reaching out to it again, but the hum was gone or at least very very quiet. Whatever it had done, perhaps it had gone dormant after fulfilling its purpose, and Cleon had to wonder if this was a one time deal. It didn’t take him long to decide that it wasn’t likely the case as he would probably have gotten some warning if it were. Then again, what did he really know about magic trinkets.

At the thought, Cleon felt the edge of a headache coming on and took in a deep breath to settle himself before he got too carried away. He’d keep an eye on the charm over the next several days and try to reach out to it every once and a while. An the other, well, he was rather full on experimentation as far as this day went. Rather he would like to spend this renewal of sorts reading more of that book he borrowed from Matthias, as he still felt that pressing urgency to learn what he could about the gods and goddesses before it was too late.

Opening the book back to where he left off, he turned the page and was pleasantly surprised to find that his eyes could focus on the words without the same trouble as before. Mouthing the words, he began to read the page which started off with the god of peace and civilization. Sylir, slain but still revered amongst the knights of Sylira. Not much was mentioned of this god for obvious reasons, but its inclusion and lack of information troubled Cleon slightly as he turned to the next page to come across a familiar name. One that caused his heart to beat a little faster and his hands to tremble as he read the words, Rhysol, god of evil, chaos, and betrayal. What followed was noted as coming from Syliras by Matthias, and it was from these Sylirans that he heard that one of the gods favored symbols was a black sun.

Cleon shuddered at the thought, looking up from the book briefly to wonder if he could remember seeing a black sun mark on anyone before. When he couldn’t immediately recall, he looked down at the page again as he considered that this might be the very god behind what was transpiring here in Syka. Alric certainly seemed to think so, and it definitely fit in well with his domain. It was too bad that the god of peace and order had been slain because he would have be the right one to petition to fight against this curse.

Considering that, he decided it wouldn’t hurt to mention this to the founders sometime soon when he got the chance. Until then though, looking down at the book somewhat regretfully, Cleon decided to close it, having lost his taste for reading tonight. Tucking the book underneath his arm, he decided he was going to try and sleep after all and use this brief reverie from his curse to his full advantage. Tomorrow he would read more, and perhaps even experiment with these charms a little more. Yes, tomorrow.

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A taste of something more

Postby Cleon on June 6th, 2022, 6:05 pm

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Grade Award!

Cleon:

Skills:

Fishing: 2
Investigation: 1
Logic: 2
Observation: 4
Research: 1
Rhetoric: 2
Socialization: 3

Lores:

Matthias: Appearance & Mannerisms
Matthias’ Place: Location & Appearance
Matthias: Well traveled
Rak’Keli: Goddess of healing & health
Rak’Keli: Favors the honest and caring
Rak’Keli: Her followers are kind and heal everyone
Syna: Goddess of the sun
Syna: Followers are passionate and extroverted
Syna: Her love is best when tempered
Leth: God of the moon
Leth: Followers are introspective loners
Tavasi: God of spring, fertility, and new beginnings
Tavasi: Walks mizahar to change the season
Tavasi: Lives in Karjin
Tavasi: Invigorates and brings new ideas
Sivah: God of summer, celebrations, vacation and excess
Sivah: Is prone to showing up at parties
Bala: Goddess of autumn and the harvest
Bala: Travels the world to spread the season
Bala: Popular with farmers
Morwen: Goddess of winter, ice, and snow
Morwen: Lived in Avanthal
Morwen: Disappeared Winter 516 AV
Morwen: Followers are called the Vantha
Fishing: Reeling in a catch
Fishing Rod: Appearance & Usage
Fishing: Casting a line out
Fishing Lure: Appearance & Usage
Fishing Hook: Appearance & Usage
Fishing: First catch
Charm discovery: Bent-armed cross
Bent-armed cross: Appearance and usage
Matthias: Enjoys fishing
Sylir: God of peace and civilization
Sylir: Dead
Sylir: Revered by the knights of Syliras
Rhysol: God of evil, chaos, and betrayal
Rhysol: Symbol is a black sun


Feel free to pm me with questions or concerns about your grade, and don’t forget to edit your grade request! :)
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