The Honored Path of Wysar (Gossamer)

[Levakys]

The 12th Day of Spring, 512 A.V. Levakys awoke for the day yet was still tired. The storms and djed that tormented the land on the first of Spring had left a trail of disaster the city was still trying to clean up ten days later. Levakys had joined various working parties to help straighten up the city volunteering whenever time permitted. This was only a portion of his daily routine as the priesthood was called on more than ever to lead prayer to Wysar and Akajia. As a new Acolyte, Levakys spent more time handling the small mundane choirs within the temple. But he understood his role and the importance of what the head priests were trying to accomplish. But something felt different on this day. As the city had gained ground and returned to a certain level of normalcy, Levakys felt as if he were being drawn to the temple for something more. He couldn't explain it any further than a simple desire to visit the temple before he began his day, a conviction of sorts. Levakys had enough discipline and integrity in his life to maintain a positive attitude when the storms hit. He believed Wysar would see them through the wild djed and guide Nivar Chevan to lead his people with minimal loss. He could not succumb to the negative emotions that such a violent and evil storm could bring. It was Wysar who gave the Akalak such discipline and integrity to fight off the types of fears that other mortals could not bare to face. It was this discipline that made the Akalak such honed and perfected warriors. Levakys grabbed a small bite of food before heading out the door. He had been hungry enough to eat more but knew the city was beginning to experience shortages and rationing food items now would help Riverfall maintain a level of peace. He headed over to the Temple as his conscious directed but once inside could still not identify why he was drawn here. Perplexed but unaltered in his faith, Levakys made his way into the chamber and chose to kneel down in silent prayer. He took the time to pray for guidance from the Akalak leaders, for a quick recovery of the crops in the fields and the grapes on the vines, and for Riverfall to come out of the storm strengthened in their faith. Then he maintained a moment of silence before preparing to rise and face the day.

[Gossamer]

Levakys and Andramyr - I politely request your presence in the dawn tomorrow at my Ante Chamber in the Wysar Tower. Please be there promptly. I have a very important task for you. -Wysar It is said the night is full of secrets. And there is truth to such sayings. But when love reaches out and touches the divine, once in a while gaps are bridged and a unity can be found - even in the darkness. For the Akalak, this is doubly true. They, unlike other races, are far closer to their Gods than mere humans. Birthed from the unlikely union of Night and Honor, their curse is also their biggest strength. For when gaps between souls are bridged and an understanding starts to blossom, then something miraculous begins to occur. They grow far more useful in their Father's eyes. And like any good father, he tasks his sons with burdens he thinks their shoulders are wide enough to carry. Because, sometimes in life there are no easy answers, and it is far easier for a father to turn a problem over to a son and see if indeed he has become a man like the father suspects. There are no clear cut solutions to problems that have existed since well before the Valterrian. And when somethings very nature is full of transition and legacy, the gods must stay out of the way of how things are and turn the problem over to someone something's nature truly effects. Levakys and Andramyr were the sons in question - the sons to be tested. And in this scenario, there was no right and no wrong answer. There was just the reality of the situation and how a Father would witness his son's ability to deal with a situation - even an incredibly hard one. And so it was a summons came to Tower, requesting politely Levakys presence (and by default his dark brother's as well) to Wysar's temple to speak personally with him. It was time for the boy who'd proven himself a man already to prove himself worthy of his race and worthy of the trust of a God and Goddess in protecting that which they loved. If Levakys and Andramyr accepted the request, he'd be escorted in to see Wysar immediately upon his arrival. He'd be escorted into a very stark room with mosaic tiles on the floor and a glass wall overlooking Riverfall in an almost 360 degree view. Levakys would be left alone in a room with only two elegant benches overlooking the view for company.

[Levakys]

Levakys read the note and was both honored and shocked. Wysar had called upon them. Of all the Akalak in Riverfall, this was meant for them. Had all Akalak been called upon at some time in their lives? He knew not the answer nor really cared. No matter the commonality of summons from their Lordly Father, it was still a calling and something of great honor. Andramyr was even dumbfounded at the request. He had assumed that true callings came when both souls unified in the following of their deity. In this case it was Levakys who felt called to serve where Andramyr felt called to battle. He respected Wysar and was fully aware that he was the father of their people; he simply did not follow him in a priestly sort of way. Levakys nodded to the person handing him the note and was escorted to the chamber without a word. The feelings that were swirling inside of Levakys went beyond words still mind boggled from being called to private chambers with their Lordly father. Once inside he paused a moment to reflect on the state of the room, its splendor, and the feeling that filled him knowing just what this room was. Then he felt overly compelled to fall down upon the temple floor and both of them offered prayers of thanks, respect, and honor to their Lordly Father for this summons and for the strength, both physically and mentally, to carry out whatever it was that might be requested of them. When the two unified from within the accomplish the Rite of Trial, they had felt it was the high point of their life; this feeling was once again personified when they passed their Rite of Passage. Now upon the floor of the Temple, They had this felling exemplified one more time.

[Gossamer]

The two souls didn't have to wait long. Soon enough footsteps approached and Wysar bid them to rise. They weren't overly loud, but in a way they seemed deliberate as if the person they were attached too wanted to be known but not intrusive. Wysar paced up to Levakys and his brother Andramyr then offered them a bow before taking a seat on a nearby bench that faced a glass wall overlooking the waterfall. Wysar offered the Akalaks a seat beside him. Both seats overlooked the Blue Vein which ended its journey with a plunge into the sea. The Akalaks would have seen Wysar before. The God wasn't like others of his kind. He didn't have some shadowy mythos surrounding him that made him untouchable. In fact, most Akalak could see him if they had enough need. And indeed it was often enough that he would be seen throughout the city, often helping when things needed to be done. It was a strange way for a deity to act, perhaps, but it was how the Riverfall people knew their Lord. It was also one of the reasons Riverfall was indeed a safe city. The Divine, in the forms of both Wysar and Akajia, walked its streets. His domain was different than hers, but both were equally important. After a moment of silence, the god spoke. His voice was deep, its timbre pitched almost thoughtfully as if he contemplated something important. "There comes a time in life, gentlemen, that hard choices have to be made. When I see such promise in young men such as yourselves, sometimes I decide to leave the decision on problems that crop up to them. You have come a long way quickly, men. You have passed every trial your people have put forth for you. You have founded your own business and are even at this time constructing a building for it. You've found your footing, and even your status and the status of every male in your line has increased with your recent fatherhood. If all our young men achieved so much so quickly, Riverfall would be a vastly different place. But I think, most importantly, your greatest achievement is your ability to live with one another and work together. You are growing faster and stronger and wiser by the moment because you harness all that you have, sons, not fight all that you are." He said, turning to look at the men now. His eyes were strange, the pupils back and the iris' white giving him an almost blind look. "And so it is there is a big problem brewing out on the grasslands since the Djed Storm. It is something that will affect a great deal of people - both ours and the Drykas. It is a hard thing, something that happens rarely, but something that is indeed a situation we can't leave unresolved. I'm going to turn it over into your hands to deal with, sons. It is a test of sorts for things to come and a gift for if you can solve this problem, then there's nothing in life you cannot face." Wysar said thoughtfully then gestured. The scene of the waterfall beyond the glass changed. It instead showed the grasslands, peaceful and unbelievably beautiful. But... strange. It took Andramyr a moment to realize what Levakys had already perhaps seen. The ground undulated lightly and then a creature broke from its surface. There was no shower of dirt, no shaking or quaking. The land simply parted for the creatures head to rise up, look around, and then dip beneath it again. The land sealed up behind it, looking for all the world undisturbed. But Andramyr wasn't undisturbed himself. The creature that had looked forth not unlike a seal popping up from the waves for a look around, was enormous. It was serpentine and yet not a snake. It looked limbless though he hadn't seen its body to be sure. If one had to compare it to something, one might suggest it had the look of a sleek shimmering crocodile from Falyndar or a scaled limbless horse with flattened features. But the head... oh the head was full of sharp teeth and was at least twenty feet long. It would make the overall length of the creature more than a hundred. "Velispar." Wysar said. "They live in the land and swim through it like fish do the sea. They've been known to live in the sea as well, though they are patterned differently than the grassland Velispar we have here. That one is incredibly old and incredibly wise. Their intelligence far surpasses our own. Right now, there are two adults living in the Sea of Grass that reproduce every hundred years or so. They've been alive for ages and have seen the Valterrian come and go. Unto themselves they are harmless to people. They interfere very little and spend their days speaking with other Velispar in long low undulations throughout the ground and water which each of them can hear in turn even at great distances. Wiser men often seek them out as sages as well, asking advice. They will speak to people and sometimes will even aid them if they can." The Lord of Riverfall said. So, this didn't sound like a problem, not really. Soon enough, the heart of the problem was presented. "They reproduce every hundred years by laying a nest of eggs. The eggs hatch and hundreds of hatchlings are released. They are mindless vicious killers for the first hundred years or so or until they have caught and ate enough prey to absorb their knowledge. You see, when the Velispar consumes brain tissue, it absorbs the knowledge that brain holds - regardless of species. That knowledge then becomes its own knowledge. So, before long these newly hatched individuals are lightening fast, clever, and very very hard to kill - impossible sometimes depending on what they feed on. It is only after their first couple of hundred years that they wisen up and stop being a threat to humanity. One nest, just one, hatching out all at once, could say wipe out Riverfall or even Endrykas in a matter of months if the hatchlings got the right food sources and killed the right predators." Wysar then paused. "When they are born, they are small, defenseless, harmless. They eat worms, grubs, then move on to mice, rodents, then small things, moving upwards through grassland predators until they start eating people. They grow fast, men. They become a problem swiftly. So here is my task to you. There is a nest hatching in the next two days, and by certain on the third day. It cannot be allowed to run its natural course. But there are also good reasons for both sides - destroying them and allowing them to live. I will give you the location of the nest and turn the problem over to you so you can decide what if anything you want to do about this problem. If you leave the nest alone and let nature take its course, the Sea of Grass will not be a safe place for a hundred years or more, even if it isn't one now. It will be worse. One glassbeak taken down and you have the perfect lethal killer only a hundred times smarter. Remember that." The God said, then suddenly reached out and touched Levakys's brow. Awareness filled him. He knew exactly at that point where the nest was. There was a grassland cave on a bluff not more than ten miles from the sea and ten miles inland from Riverfall - less than eight miles from Sanctuary, where the hatchlings would emerge. "And remember, the solution you come up with needs to keep in mind these creatures have sentient parents that are incredibly powerful. Their feelings must be thought of as well." Wysar said, then paused for Levakys or Andramyr to ask him any questions. The scene in the glass window reverted back to what was directly on the other side, the Waterfall.