Secret :
The wooden door gave an alien creak as Adavi pushed past it. While curious of outsiders he’d never actually entered the Meadows Pub, only observed from affair and in passing. This place was different than the rest of Kalinor; warm and earthy in its smoothly blended paints verse the bland grays and vibrant blotches of color that made up the Symenestra city. It was foreign and scary in its unfamiliarity just as the world above was both enticing and foreboding.
The young man had debated a long time before coming here. The time of his 15th birthday was drawing close and along with it the coming of his first harvest, where he’d be expected to leave the city in search of a surrogate to claim and return home with.
If that was indeed his goal Adavi wouldn’t have giving the Pub a second glance; wouldn’t be wandering plagued by thoughts of dangerous travel with uncertain company but, this was not his goal. He had no intention of finding a surrogate this year, and as his sister was hardly past 13 she had little interest in birthing children herself. That gave him some time; two years at least if not more, for regardless of whether he achieved his goal he would not abandon the trust of his family. Not like his brother.
And so he’d kept his ears open and eyes wide to the swell of rumors and facts permeating Kalinor, and as the years went by he’d slowly gathered them into a fragile plan. He was going to the city of Mura, the city of Konti. A place of mysteries, seers of strange powers, and healing, it’s said, the likes of which can be found nowhere else.
For a long time Adavi had watched the pains and trials of Symenestra birthing. He’d observed the disposal of many female corpses both in respectful ceremony, and tossed into Kalinor’s dark depths like so much trash. He’d wondered if the instinct of infant to turn upon its mother was a curse or some lesson from Viratas himself; if the bloody death of one bringing life to another was perhaps the purest form of homage to his god. If so then Adavi hoped no success from his quest for he intended to end this cycle, and bring about a deathless birth for his people such as graced the other races.
This is what had brought him to the Meadows. Why he did not just sit quietly and wait to travel with the other harvesters. His was a journey that would take him far from home, to the other side of the world, and he had enough Symenestra pride and sense to keep quiet about it. The Brevissima Web had already failed in its first son and Adavi did not wish others to think the same of him for fear it bring further shame upon his small family.
Still it was a dangerous move, trusting an outsider. So many things could go wrong not the least of which being turned on once the safety of Kalinor was passed, to be killed or sold into slavery. He'd heard tales of horrible fates befalling Symenestra who dared venture into the above world with too trusting a heart. His race as a whole it seemed was marked poorly by the other races of Mizahar, which was to be expected. They had earned that fear and distrust, and the young man hoped such a reputation could be advantages as well, perhaps making people think twice about tangling with him.
In the end while not 100% confident he felt some assurance of being able to weed out all but the most deceitfully cunning of traveling companions. With that said if no foreigner was to his liking he still had time to find a group of harvesters to travel with.
So, mastering his initial discomfort and hesitance Adavi squared his shoulders and marched determinedly towards the bar, casting a sideways glance at the Pubs other visitors.
