It All Came Tumbling Down (Vanator)

[Mycroft]

Spring, Day 85, 511AV Early Dawn Under the golden and pink hues of an early dawn sky, a lone rider raced his horse back into the reached of Endrykus from the expansive Cyphrus grasses. The hooves of his Strider kicked up a fine mist of morning dew in his wake, soaking the sides of the horse's coat. This close to sunrise, the city itself was still relatively quiet. The aroma of several cooking breakfasts hung tantalizingly in the air, wafting on the breeze along with scattered voices and equine conversation. As the dark-haired Drykas rider re-entered the city, the pounding hoofbeats of his Strider became a stark contrast to the whisper of morning insects and calling plains animals. Though the Strider slowed, the rider pushed him to maintain a steady gallop as they navigated a complex path through the network of family Pavilion. The Denusk Pavilion, he knew, was set up not far from here. Hopefully it was early enough that Vanator would still be home. In all honesty, Larser didn't know Vanator very well. As an avid bowman, he'd been a member of several of Vanator's hunts, and had assisted in once in cutting down a foreign poacher. Watching the man fight was... well it was a lot of things. Larser remembered being both frightened and awed by the Denusk man's ruthlessness. He vaguely recalled that Vanator's first wife had been killed, and wondered if that could be what fueled his brand of rage. It was Vanator's perseverance through his hard times however that was truly inspiring. Now at a ripe age and with two wives, Vanator something to be envied. At least Larser thought so. He was cleanly ten years younger than the Denusk heir, and had just married his own first wife not a month ago. Perhaps Vanator wasn't his friend so much as an acquaintance, but Larser looked up to the man. And now that he had an excuse to seek him out, he was all over it. Arriving at the family's pavilion, Larser finally slowed his Strider, sliding off the animal before it had even fully stopped. He stumbled as he hit the ground, knocking his short bow from its sling on his back. Swiping back his nest of short, brown hair, Larser snatched it back up and jogged over to the pavilion. "Vanator!" he shouted at it, cupping a hand on one side of his mouth. "Come out here! I have to show you something!"

[Vanator]

Though Vanator had awoken as the first rays of light slipped through the seams of the canvas, he had not stirred from the bed of furs. Typically he would rise at first light, seeking a few moments alone to enjoy the sunrise and prepare for the tasks of the day. But lately he woke up to find Kashik nursing their baby next to him, and he would steal a few moments to spend with his wife and child. Often Khiara would linger with them briefly before rising to help prepare the morning meal. This day Khiara was already up and off, tasked with the more menial chores assigned to the children and those yet to receive a windmark. Others had begun to move about the large tent, the women smiling sweetly at the parents and their newborn. Thaladon, his oldest cousin, strolled by, kicking at Van under the furs and teasing him as he looked at the nursing infant. "Get up lazy, that one is not going to let you have a turn!" "He has to sleep sometime...you Zibri's arse!" Van laughingly replied. Kashik offered her own scathing taunt, comparing the size of Thal's genitalia to that of the baby. The older man stretched, throwing an arm over Kash's smooth belly. Once they rose from the bed, as with any Drykas in the vast tent city, work would not be finished until the sun nearly set. The Denusk heir's quiet revelry was once again interrupted, this time by the thunder of hooves and the call of his name. The voice was familiar, and after just a moment he recognized it as Larser's urgent tone. Tossing aside the light hide covering, Vanator rose, reached for a pair of breeches and slipped them on as he made his way outside into the brilliant morning light. Indeed, Larser stood there anxiously, his lathered strider breathing heavily several paces away. Vanator approached the younger Drykas, greeting him with an arm clasp and a grin. "Larser, it is good to see you. What has you racing through Endrykas so early in the morning?"

[Mycroft]

He remembered my name! So Vanator HAD noticed him. In the past, the two had shared brief, cordial conversations, but nothing more than passing chatter before and after hunts. The Denusk Ankal's heir was a busy man with important things to do, Larser knew, so he didn't expect to be noticed among the half dozen or so regulars with Vanator's hunting party. But then, if he wasn't noticed, Vanator wouldn't be such a great leader. Larser beamed. Yes, that was the man he admired, and with good reason. "Vanator! Hi!" Larser was so giddy at being remembered that for a moment he forgot what he had come charging all this way for. "Um! Well I was just out in the Sea, and I uh…" As Larser was blanking, his tall Strider stallion had looped back around sauntered back to him. As if to smack him for being an awkward dolt, the stallion bumped his nose into the brunet's head. Then started biting at his hair. "Ow! Cut it out, Nuvian! Oh, right, yes. Vanator! I saw something you won't believe! Do you still have that sighting glass?" Before Vanator even gave his input, Larser bolted around his horse, clutched the grip on his yvas, and swung himself expertly onto animal's back. Nuvian wandered around in a tight circle as he tried to temper with Larser's excitement. "We have to hurry or it will get away and you'll miss it!"

[Vanator]

The young man was excited about something, that was apparent. Van stifled a chuckle as Larser's strider picked at him, distracting the anxious hunter from his appeal to the older drykas. "Yes, I have the lens. let me get get my things." Vanator turned back towards the pavilion. His cousin Jinna came out of the family tent, and Van took hold of the teenager's arm as she passed by. "Jin, would you do me a favor and fetch Kalinda?" With a nod, the girl jogged off to fetch the Kavinka Paintedmount Van had ridden since his strider, Backlash, was killed in the Fall. As of yet he had not bonded with another. Hurrying inside, Van tugged on his boots and a tunic. Gathering up his field back, he threw open the flap and sifted through the items until he found the sighting lens. It was smaller than the larger spyglasses used in more civilized parts of the world, just a little larger than the palm of his hand, but it proved most helpful when spotting prey or intruders. His father had given the rare item to him when he bonded with his first strider. Placing the lens back into the back, Vanator took up his axes, bow and quiver and, after a brief explanation to Kashik, rushed back outside. Jinna stood nearby with his mount. The girl had fetched his yvas from the supply tent on her way back with the horse, and was strapping it on for her cousin. Van greeted her with a grin and a pat on her curly blond head. "You are most prized cousin, if only your twin brother proved half as useful as you!" Strapping the pack to the yvas and slipping the battle ax through a loop, Van finally shoved the hand ax through his belt and mounted the mare. "Lead the way Larser. Do I get to know what it is I am going to see now, or is this a surprise?"

[Mycroft]

While he waited for Vanator to gather himself, Larser took to riding Nuvian in wide, impatient figure-eights in front of the pavilion. The Strider flicked his tail as he trotted obediently, shaking his head in obvious annoyance at Larser's excitement. The brunet seemed oblivious to it. His mind wasn't on Nuvian, but the glorious opportunity in front of him. Now that he had a moment of rest to think about it, he realized perhaps he was just a little more excited than he should be. Nuvian slowed his gait as Larser's insistence waned, starting to feel a little embarrassed that he'd burst in on someone so eager to prove himself. By the time Vanator reappeared, Larser's moment of doubt had passed, and the full strength of his jubilance had returned. Kicking his heels gently in his Strider's side, he urged the horse to trot over to the older Drykas. Larser made a full circle around him excitedly. He was really coming along! His wives must have not been particularly insistent on his company that morning. Or perhaps they already had been. When Vanator asked what it was Larser was so excited about, the brunet only smiled, beginning to lead his horse away. "It's a trophy," he said eagerly, opening into a broad grin before he kicked his heels into Nuvian's sides. "Hyah!" The horse bellowed, bucking briefly before plowing into a full gallop. Larser leaned into the wind, clutching his yvas as he wove the horse through the Pavilion Herd's tents. He didn't glance back to see whether Vanator had followed, for surely he did, until he breached the edge of the Herd and left Endrykas proper. It was then that Larser recalled that on Vanator's mare, he might not be able to keep up with Larser's Strider. Grimacing at himself, he allowed Nuvian to settle into a more mild run, something the assumed the mare could more easily keep up with. He maintained a steady lead, however, coursing through the tall grasses toward what appeared to be a dense copse of low-lying shrubbery. Slowing his horse to a gradual halt, he stopped several hundred yards short of it, looking back at Vanator and waiting for the veteran to keep up. Larser was trying to impress the older Drykas, but began wondering if he had taken it too far, and had just appeared arrogant. When Vanator drew up beside him, Larser pointed toward the copse. "Look there." Barely visible from this distance was something large, tall, and white moving around the thicket. The shape, once made out, was easily recognizable - long neck, muscular legs, tapered body, and a coat of dense plumage. The light that brightly refracted from its translucent bill, even from this distance, identified the albino glassbeak clearly. This far from the city, a glassbeak sensed on the web was no threat to Endrykas, so the Watch had left it alone. "It's pure white. I have never seen anything like it before. It looks to be alone, too. I wonder if it was abandoned by its pack. There's no way it could hunt, looking like that." That was very likely true. The way it stalked the thicket, the glassbeak looked to be foraging for its dinner, perhaps rooting out a gopher hole. Standing this far back from the animal, it likely didn't notice the two riders standing on a knoll almost a half mile away. "I wasn't sure I could kill it on my own," Larser looked over at Vanator again. "I stumbled upon it by accident when hunting rabbit. Scared me half to death, and Nuvian here reacted before I did. The glassbeak didn't give chase for long. It looks a little weak. Still." Larser pulled the bow from off his back. "Think of what the others would say if we brought it back with us! Those white feathers would be an excellent decorative addition to both our pavilions, don't you think? I can think of no one else I'd rather share this kill with!"

[Vanator]

Mounted and ready, Vanator could not help but grin at the young hunter, the man beamed with excitement and eagerness. After a moment to settle into his seat and wave to Jinna, he nodded to Larser, who broke into a gallop. The Denusk drykas followed, keeping a more even pace, riding out of Endrykas well behind Larser and his strider. Van's Kavinka mare was not a strider, but one of the fastest of his pavilion's horses. Nevertheless, the white and brown paintedmount would never catch a strider in full grassland gallop. Van saw the man look back and ease his horse into a slower pace. Then the older rider urged Kalinda forward to catch up with Nuvian. The pair came to a halt some distance from the bushes, and at Larser's direction, Vanator peered into the dense foliage. Yes, he saw the stark pale movement within the shrubbery. Squinting, he followed its movement until he could see glimpses of its full shape. He emitted a low whistle, looking sidelong at Larser. "A trophy indeed! Good work Larser." Reaching into his pack, Van produced the sighting lens. Raising it to his eye, he located the creature again and examined its details. Its plummage was indeed white, though splotched with a few stains. Its head bore a beautiful hooked beak, and peculiar red eyes. Lowering the glass, he handed it to Larser, allowing the man a closer view. "You say it appeared weak? I wonder if it is wounded or half-starved. It is amazing that something that difficult to hide in the grass has survived this long. Its parents must have been very skilled at keeping it hidden from predators after it hatched." Van watched carefully, trying to judge the glassbeak's condition by its movements. "And you are correct, it certainly could not hunt well with no ability to camouflage itself. It either lived by killing the sick or young, off of carrion, or was fed by its flock, which would surprise me." He turned towards Larser. "With what weapon do you hunt, Larser? We will have to coordinate our attack carefully, Kalinda here cannot out run it unless it is significantly weakened."

[Mycroft]

The young hunter beamed when Vanator praised his find. "I feel a little bad killing a weakling, but it must be the only one of it's kind. I'm going to turn those feathers into hip skirt for Jalya." Larser had just married his first wife, and was still as proud as ever. He was confident enough that the young brunet sent a grin over to Vanator. "Say, don't you have a pair of Konti sisters? They aren't... seeing anyone, are they?" The hunter burst into a laugh as Nuvian trotted forward a few paces. Larser sent a glance back to Vanator as he removed his shortbow from his back, brandishing it proudly at at the older Ankal heir. He drew an arrow from the quiver hanging near his waist and loosely nocked it on his bow, but stayed put. "I'm a fairly good shot. Kalinda is beautiful but Nuvian barely kept ahead of it when it chased us earlier. Considering that it's outnumbered and packless, it might just run away from us." The white image of the Glassbeak so far off in the distance was still moving around its little copse. The two Drykas spying their prey were thankfully downwind. "I'm thinking I'll come in and get its attention, and it'll either run away or come after me. I'll fire off an arrow, and hopefully I can bring it down. Getting close and friendly though, I think an axe is better for that. What do you think?" The young Drykas was not a natural leader. He usually preferred to follow. Still, he was finally starting his family. He hoped to learn a few things from Vanator, poise, control, strategy, and apply them in his daily life. Was he just a little too taken by admiration? Perhaps. Suddenly, a low deep noise rumbled quietly around them. It sounded vaguely like thunder, but there were no clouds in the sky. Larser looked upward, but the source of the rumbling couldn't be identified. "Huh. Strange. You ready, Vanator?"

[Vanator]

"First, don't feel bad about taking down weak prey Larser. Its the way Caiyha created things to be. Who does the lion, or the wild dogs, or even the glassbeak prey upon? The young and the weak. It prunes the population so stronger members can better survive. We are simply part of the divine architecture." Vanator instructed casually. A wry grin then stretched across his clean shaven face. "And as far as my sisters...they live with the Akalak now. Besides, I believe they are more than even a drykas man would want to tangle with." Vanator laughed shortly, then lost his grin. He would very much like Kavala and Akela to return, to find Drykas husbands and become a part of the pavilion again. But he knew that would never be. The older drykas watched the anxious young man trot ahead, wielding his bow, ready for the hunt. A fine hunter Larser had become too. Leaning down, Van pulled the short bow from its case hanging from his yvas. "I have not lived to this ripe old age by charging glassbeak, swinging my ax! It is a glorious concept, and I would certainly enjoy taking one down so close. But wisdom tells me I too should start with an arrow at a distance. My ax is ready should the opportunity to use it arise." He grinned again, pulling out a heavy, broad-headed arrow used to take down larger game. The hunter scanned the landscape, and viewed the copse again through the sighting lens. He tried to assess the most likely path the white glassbeak would take if it fled, for it would do one of two things, run away from Larser, or towards him. Van would want to place himself where he could strike in either event. Vanator did notice the peculiar rumbling. It was not thunder, nor did it feel like the tremors of a large running herd. "That was strange." His brows furrowed, he ran his gaze across the plains around them. The sound was unnerving, only in that he could not identify the source. But it had ceased, so, still wary, Van turned his attention back to the hunt. "Yes, lets move in, but keep downwind of it."

[Mycroft]

"You sound like an Ankal when you talk like that, Vanator," Larser said to him, laughing softly as he glanced over his shoulder. Of course, the younger hunter took the wisdom to heart. He was a little embarrassed that the older man had so effortlessly corrected his way of thinking, but he concealed it. Readying his bow, Larser swallowed their light conversation and nodded his preparedness. "Let's fetch ourselves a trophy, then. Jalya's going to have meat for stew tonight." Tapping his heels into Nuvian's sides and tugging on his Yvas, the Strider fell into a firm trot, headed directly toward the small white shape poking around the copse. It was unnatural for a prey animal like a horse to stalk a target with any sort of predatory intent, so Larser made no effort toward being subtle. It wasn't long before the Glassbeak saw the horsemen coming, though unbeknownst to them, its eyesight was rather poor - a common trait among albinos. Once that bird lifted its head however, Larser leaned forward and kicked insistence into Nuvian, he broke into a full gallop. The Glassbeak, alone and intimidated, immediately turned and began to run away. It was outnumbered this time, and knew this was a fight it couldn't win. No sooner did the bird begin to run did the grown open up beneath it. Heralded by a roar of what sounded like raging thunder, a crack opened up in the ground beneath the Glassbeak. Within seconds, a crevice opened up so wide that the bird was swallowed whole. Panicked and confused, Larser brought Nuvian to a halt, but the horse was already terrified and was reluctant to follow commands. The stallion slowed to a stop, but continued to fidget, bucking and vocalizing his obvious discomfort. The crack in the earth continued to travel like a giant serpent, racing past Larser and Vanator as the Sea of Grass continued to moan. Larser watched the crack as it easily overtook them, having seen nor heard about nothing like this happening before. "What the...?!" Larser shouted over the intense rumbling. Then the earth began to shake beneath them - violently and quickly, as if Semele herself was thrashing beneath their feet. Then the crevice that had swallowed the Glassbeak began to crumble away and open into a full blown chasm - which was collapsing along the fault line toward Vanator and Larser. Nuvian began running before Larser even gave the command, but the Strider didn't understand the exact danger of his situation. A horse like this had never faced something as foreign as a sinkhole, and so Nuvian was just doing what every instinct was screaming at him to do: run. Larser did what he could to steer the horse toward Vanator and toward Endrykas, and Nuvian only barely listened. As the mouth of the chasm came to swallow the two lone Drykas, Larser urged his horse as well as he could, only hoping that Kalinda would be more agreeable with Vanator. OOCIf Kalinda follows Vanator's instruction, she should be able to outrun the chasm.

[Vanator]

Vanator grinned at the young hunter, pleased that the man had invited him for this special hunt. He watched Larser ride towards the shrubbery, keeping Kalinda prancing until he knew what direction the white glassbeak would take once it saw the mounted drykas approach. As Larser urged Nuvian into a gallop, Vanator aimed to kick Kalinda into a run, laying a course parallel with the albino beast, adjusted to close the distance gradually. Then the world cracked open. The Roar was loud, the shuddering ground causing his mare to prance and hop frantically. With astonishment, Vanator saw their quarry tumble out of sight, and the crevice opening in the ground became visible. Wide-eyed, Van glance back at Larser, who was having trouble getting the Strider focused on a path of escape. Then the earth began to dissolve in a horrifying chasm that ate a hole stretching out towards them. Nuvian, a creature linked to the land, needed no more direction from his master and dug its hooves into the dirt to propelling himself and his rider away from the danger. Kalinda was near panic, bouncing on her front hooves and threatening to rear. Vanator hollered encouragement to the horse over the roar of the quake, coaxing her in a direction away from the expanding dark opening, patting her shoulder in urgency. Finally the mare bolted, trailing the Strider, who was speeding ahead. Kalinda could not match a Strider's speed, but she was about the fastest otherbreed the clan had, the main reason why Vanator chose to ride her until he bonded with a new Strider. Slipping the bow back into its case, useless now, Van clung to the yvas, urging the horse forward with yells and kicks, leaning forward while glancing back at the advancing gap in the ground.