Season of Fall, Day 20, 504 AV
It has been about two weeks since he has arrived in Wind Reach and about two seasons since he has left Syliras. The journey was a long and arduous one but he made it in one piece. He was greeted by his mother with tears in her eyes for not seeing her son for about ten years. She did not question why did he left Syliras and came back to his birthplace, Wind Reach. No questions were ever asked except what he wanted to do in Wind Reach but those were the questions were asked by others and his mother would normally shoo them away. A small celebration was held in his honor; an Inarta coming back to his rightful place as well as bringing back knowledge of the so-called jewel of Sylira, Syliras and its knights. Zenai answered those questions to the best of his abilities. Very few would come to Wind Reach and very few would leave Wind Reach. Zenai was an exception and he is always the exception. He doesn’t have a twin; a common trait amongst the Inartas. He knew his father; most wouldn’t even bother with such knowledge. He was an oddity and he felt odd that he find Wind Reach to be a very different place from what he remembered. Maybe it was those ten years in Syliras where they had their own set of rules and customs. Zenai would just have to learn it all over again.
He spent his first week getting to know Wind Reach again; its people, places and customs as well as the language. He wasn’t fluent at Nari since Common was the first language taught by his parents. He knows the more common phrases and could get by speaking basic Nari for most of his daily interactions. Still, it was difficult to get into an in-depth discussion without being fluent in Nari. Even then, most would just accommodate Zenai by speaking Common. However, Zenai felt as if he owed it to his people to know the language of his mother’s tongue. He also took the chance to explore Wind Reach of all of the essential amenities. The Communal Kitchen would be one of them where he would get his meals. Another important venue would be the Darniva Commonrooms where he would be sleeping and keeping his belongings. He also got familiar with places of more to his interest such as the Archery Ranges and the Enclave. He still had that obligation to train and educate himself despite having failed to become a knight. His quest this time would be to be an Endal or at least, someone with a particular useful skill such as hunters. Archery is a highly viewed skill that Zenai has already had trained with during his days as a knight, having chosen mounted archery than using a lance on horseback. He would need to further improve his skill with his composite short bow so he could join the hunting parties that regularly hunt game outside of Wind Reach thus proving himself a useful member of Inarta society. Then there’s the Enclave where he could quench his thirst for random, non-practical knowledge. Even in such a harsh environment like the Mt. Skyinarta, one needs to at least set aside some people, space and effort to keep the written words alive.
Zenai had already decided what he wanted to do; he was still a fighter of sorts so we decided to go with trying to be an Endal or hunter if he doesn’t get chosen by a dire eagle. It made perfect sense since he was trained as a knight, a protector of the people. In Wind Reach, you protect your people mostly from starvation and hunting is akin to slaying beast but instead of killing it so it wouldn’t do harm to the innocent, you kill it to eat it too. Two birds killed with one stone. Zenai reminded himself that he shouldn’t say that analogy out loud as the Inarta has place birds in a special position. Not worshipping them but honoring them as the Syliran Knights would honor Windoak. The Inarta especially honors the dire eagles which are used as the mounts of the Endals and the Endals, being falcon-riders and elite hunters, would mount their dire eagles daily to fly down from the mountain and hunt game with their bows. This arrangement reminded him of the Syliran Knights except horses would readily accept anyone with an apple. Zenai didn’t have to get chosen by a dire eagle yet and for now, he is expected to train as any one of the important professions vital to Wind Reach’s survival. He was a Yasi after all.
Hunting and archery was already on the table but he wanted add his sword skill to the list. Archery is good and all but it’s not very useful once your target has come up within melee range where your bow would be ineffective. He had trained with the long sword and shield but it wasn’t really the Inarta’s preferred weapon. Talon swords were very Inarta and something Zenai was quite interested in learning how to use. Unlike the long sword, talon swords were more like scimitars; curved but thicker on the end of it. When he relayed this desire to his mother, she didn’t hesitate in acquiring a set of dual talon swords. Zenai leaped for joy at the sight of his new toys but he needed an instructor and he readily knew who would be able to teach him. In addition to his two talon swords, Zenai was gifted with a bird; a magpie which Zenai named “Vicky”. Zenai had heard the name from Syliras and he thought it was a pretty nice name for a bird. Hopefully, people don’t ask twice about it. With a magpie sitting on his head and his two new talon swords, he sets off to find Shubre Dyson, Master Earth Reimancer and Talon Sword Expert.
