[Courtyard of the Sky] Secrets

[Krysanthe]

“Is that a gyrfalcon? You know, my girlfriend just loves gyrfalcons. But I already got this lovely vase from you, so I probably shouldn’t spend anymore. But it’s our first year anniversary, so I want to get her something nice, you know? How much for the gyrfalcon? I’ll give you five pinions for it. No, that’s probably not enough, is it. Oh it’s just such a lovely day and you know I have been saving up, so maybe I should just give you ten. Is ten okay? Of course ten is okay! Well, it’s alright, isn’t it? It’s for my girlfriend after all. She’s so lovely. Oh I hope she likes it. What if she doesn’t? Was it gyrfalcons that she liked? Maybe I should just get the vase. I need to get some flowers anyway. But if I spend eight here, then I could spend the rest on some really nice flowers. Gosh, this is so pricy. Why is glass so pricy? But it’s just so nice looking! Do you think that my girlfriend would like the falcon?” Krysanthe was dying. She had been listening to this strange man ramble on and on about buying his girlfriend gifts for their anniversary. Honestly, if he didn’t buy anything and just left she would be really happy. Still, she wanted to make a sale. She liked having a little extra money. Of course the vase wasn’t hers, technically. Her work was the few molded creatures and the extravagant beaded jewelry sitting on the other half of her stall. She was honestly surprised when the man said that his girlfriend didn’t care much for jewelry. This was Wind Reach after all. Beads were almost as much of a fashion statement as feathers. At the opportunity to end this one sided conversation, Krys responded as enthusiastically as she could muster, “Oh yes, I think she would absolutely love it.” “Oh, you do?” The man smiled. “Good. I’ll take both of these. Here.” He set the glass bird on her stand again so he wouldn’t drop it and stuffed his hand into his pocket to pay. “Alright, here’s… okay, that’s enough for the vase.” He dropped the pinions in Krysanthe’s hand and she tucked them away, making a mental note to give them to the man who actually made the vase, who was sick and couldn’t be at the Market today. He then stuck his hand back in his pocket and forked over eight pinions for the mold. Krysanthe would have been happy with less. It wasn’t the most detailed piece. The man was too distracted about his anniversary to care about bartering however, so Krysanthe happily accepted his money without complaint. The man picked up his falcon and turned to go, but quickly turned back around. “Say, do you think I should get a bunch of flowers with the rest of my money, or just get a few flowers and then get my fortune told?” At first Krys was just irritated that he wasn’t leaving yet. Still, at the question, her frustration turned to confusion. “Your fortune told?” She questioned. “You think so? Oh, I dunno, I-“ “No no no, I mean, what are you talking about?” She had noticed the large crowd forming across the Courtyard. She had simply assumed that since this was only like the second Market Day since the Djed storm, people were just excited to get their material goods. Then again, now that she thought about it, that didn’t make much sense. “You didn’t hear? You need to listen more, missy!” Krysanthe tried not to roll her eyes, getting very tired of this man. There was a reason she didn’t listen very often. “A group of Konti came up to give people their fortune! Isn’t that interesting? I wonder if they could tell me about my girlfriend. Hey, you should get yours told. Yeah, I gave you enough money there. I hear it’s a good investment. I think I’m going to go check it out. Thanks!” He thanked her for absolutely nothing at all, then hurried off towards the crowd without another word. Krysanthe watched with dull amusement as the indecisive man turned away and went to a stand selling flowers instead. She watched the crowd for a while, occasionally catching a glance of pure white that must have been one of the Konti. She was definitely interested, if not to get her fortune than just to speak to one of these pale beauties. She fidgeted with the pinions in her hand, wondering how much it would cost her. The man failed to mention that, naturally. And that being said, she couldn’t just abandon her stall. What if someone came by and stole from her? She looked around for a moment, catching the eye of someone she recognized from the Reverie. She had helped the younger boy with his molds. He was only but a novice at the trade, just having received his apprenticeship. “Listen.” Krysanthe stated, not leaving room for protest. “I need you to watch my stall here for a few minutes. I’ll be right back. Don’t do anything stupid. If you make a sale, make it overpriced, because I’d rather lose someone because it was too expensive than it being your fault that I don’t make enough. You got that?” The boy nodded, excited at the prospect of running a stand at Market day. Krys offered him a smile, then dashed away. She had started to learn to talk to people, and it wasn’t as difficult for her to speak to those that she had offered instruction to before, however minor. She started to walk off, but quickly turned back to offer him a few more pieces of advice. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. But she wasn’t sure how long the Konti would be here and she didn’t want to miss them. “And also, don’t back down when you barter. You go too high and they’ll go too low, and when you meet in the middle you’ll make a profit. Don’t be afraid to stick to a price, even when it looks like they’ll walk away. If they really want it they’ll either stick around and pay your price or come back later. Good? Good.” She stepped away again, then quickly came back, giving the boy a glare that told him she remembered something from earlier. “And please,” she pleaded. “Just don’t break anything.” With that, she gave him one final look, then dashed off into the crowd. Almost immediately she was swept up in the commotion. She wasn’t a fan of crowds and felt rather claustrophobic. She was rather happy when someone swept her away and told her the prices. Five for Konti, six for human. Human? Well that was no fun. Still, they way Krys saw it, if it was more expensive it was bound to be more worth her time. She was partially convinced that this was all a wash anyways. As if they could actually tell fortunes. Then again, she didn’t doubt gifts from gods or gnosis or Djed or any of that that her knowledge was till rather fuzzy on, so she did not rule it out entirely as a possibility. If they said they could, then perhaps they could. Krys could accept that. She handed the older looking woman with a voice all too young six pinions, and with a spring in her step that Krysanthe did not understand, she guided the Inarta woman to a chair, telling her to wait, that they were very busy now and she would have to wait only a short moment. Krys wouldn’t mind much if it weren’t for the naïve boy waiting for her back at her stall. Well, naïve as far as she was concerned. He had never worked a station before. This was not a good idea. And so, Krysanthe sat and waited for whatever was supposed to happen next, growing increasingly anxious which each passing second.

[Tiaue'a]

Tiaue`a wasn’t integrated into the society as a kelvic just yet, and she liked it that way. Surely, word was spreading, but slowly. The eagles had begun to whisper. She still was among the first to hear of the egg. It was a beautiful thing, though it filled her with envy more than joy. Why wasn’t it her egg? The customs of the Endal weren’t so appealing to her, though she might just have the urge to grab a man soon if she weren’t satisfied with something. While Wind Reach welcomed in fortune seers from the east, Ti`ue saw suspicion. She was paranoid, but the foreign appearance in their dress and virgin paleness of their skin gave her reason to worry. They had passed through the gate with ease, so Ti`ue could rest for the time. Ti`ue moved in for a closer look. She felt curiosity creeping up on her, in spite of all mistrust of foreigners. After all, the last time a human walked into the city, the entire range of the Unforgiving lit up in flame, and the skies rained fire. A few more wouldn’t hurt much more, right? Ti`ue caught sight of a particular Konti. The young woman – though they all appeared young and beautiful – was looking right at her eyes. Perhaps she knew Ti`ue’s secret, read her aura or manipulated more strange magic, but she knew something about Tiaue`a. Ti`ue glared back with intensity, as if to intimidate her that Ti`ue would learn their secrets and thwart their evil schemes. The Konti didn’t yield, for she had no fear in her heart. This one had seen past, present, and future. Tiaue`a initiated, this peaceful creature surely having the capability to commune with her thoughts. What are you doing here, seer? Who are you? The Konti’s face lit up in the distance. It must have been a new and welcomed experience. Ti`ue needed to focus on the calm thoughts that came from the Konti, but she heard her call to her, Greetings, mighty wind eagle. We come from the east to share our fortune for some minor fortune. I am Pierue, Konti seer from the White Isle, and I come to read your fortune. Have you five pinions? I have no money…Pierue. You mean to say your visions are only worth what I pay you? Nay, gracious eagle be gentle and kind. I merely say I cannot live to share my fortunes and visions for free. Perhaps you have something I want as it is? What? Ti`ue’s thoughts cut to the point, having little patience for a pale seer’s silver tongue. Are you fond of your feathers, wind eagle? Perhaps we can make a trade? Quite fond. But your curiosity entreats you, no? I have felt it. Such is my gift from the lady, Avalis. How many might I pluck for the honor to read your vision? Tiaue`a felt like she was whoring herself out, bartering feathers for visions with little assurance of their validity. Ti`ue considered the comfort of her body. Perhaps she could find use in grooming herself overhead and give the konti a loose bunch. You may pluck none. I will determine the worth of your vision and then – Nay, I will tell you, and you will give me none of poor condition. Your feathers are rich in color. I’d marvel to hold one and test the strength of one too… Fine, Ti`ue grumbled. I will choose them though. Come then, and let me read your fortune. What do you wish to know, might wind eagle? What is your name? The Konti was small. She excused herself from her circle and moved to the side where Ti`ue watched and followed. The eagle landed as if to cut off the Konti in her path. I am Tiaue`a. Tell me of my future? “Hello, Tiaue`a. I will share what I can.” Tiaue`a knew nothing of the deceivingly young Konti, save for a name. Hopefully the seer wouldn’t strip her bare for payment. Ti`ue waited for the Konti’s command, and she would obey for her fortune to be read, heard, and known. Her past was dark and forgotten, and her present marked by destruction. There was a trend to her history. Perhaps death lay in wait, or else the hopes of a bright future after the storm? This konti knew, and she had chosen Ti`ue to share such knowledge. Hopefully it would be worth the pain.

[Sphinx]

Avon Lomondir The woman to take Avon seemed young to the wolf. She had blond hair, dirtier in colour than any of her sisters, and the palest silvery eyes he had ever seen. She looked to be about twelve, maybe even younger, but the delicate blossom winding its way up the side of her neck disproved thoughts that she was just an extraordinarily light haired Inarta child trying to take his pinions. In truth, the Konti was about twenty years old, but as her race aged slowly, she still seemed to be in the prime of prepubescence. The Konti took Avon's pinions in delicate hands, making the money disappear as though it hadn't even been there in the first place. She took him aside, to a more private place behind her sisters and their friends than most of the others did, and sat him down before joining him. "What is your name?" The girl asked softly. Her voice sounded young as well, but yet the tone was incredibly formal and polite. When he told her, she smiled. "I will read the chavi of your past, Avon, and try to pry into the shadows of the Now and the promise of the Soon To Be. Be prepared for a bit of a wait." She pulled out one of the glass coins he had given her from some secret pocket in her dress sleeve. She lowered her head and stared into the coin, looking deeply at it. After a few minutes, Avon noticed her eyes go steadily more blank and adopt a far-away appearance, as though she weren't even actually paying attention to him at the moment. He fidgeted restlessly, looking around at the others who seemed to be coming and going remarkably fast. "You're a Kelvic that wants to be loved." The Konti said suddenly, to the great surprise of the male. "You have walked far, from the crystal peak of a mountain to the one with fire at its heart, but have you found the one to hold you in their arms forever more? I don't think so..." While her eyes had returned to normalcy, her voice wad airier and carried a mystic tone. "Keep looking, wolf. There is a pack for you out there somewhere, and where the bird loving people of Wind Reach may fail, the wild people of Taldera and the Unforgiving may prove to be what you seek." Krysanthe The Divinist Krysanthe was eventually approached by was a robust woman with sandy hair and bright blue eyes, the trademark of her own race: Svefra. She had a plain face, unremarkable in every sense but for the gap between her front teeth when she smiled, but when she spoke she had the most alluring voice that Krysanthe had ever heard. Bland though the woman was, there was something about her voice that promised freedom upon the open water and pirate adventures where the only laws were ones made by yourself. "So, you've paid the fee to see a normal divinist and missed out on what could have been your best shot at knowing what tomorrow would bring to ya, eh? Well, let's get her done and see what your hands have to say about you." She reached forward and grasped Krysanthe firmly by the hand in both of her own, pulling her roughly over the table and closer to her. It wasn't quite unkind or personal, but it was uncomfortable and embarrassing and Krysanthe hoped it would end soon so she could return to her stall and making money. " So, you're a working girl are ya? You work with hot metal or hot glass? Your hands are burned, but still pretty and shapely and bound to catch the attention of a sporty fellow." The Svefra ran her bony fingers along the palm of Krysanthe's hand, tickling the sensitive skin and causing her breath to hitch. "I suppose you are a glassworker. You Inarta love glass, and birds. It wouldn't suprise me if you made money selling glass birds." She looked down at the hand in her grasp. Her eyes examined the curved lines, the contrasting straight ones bisecting the curves, and she pursed her lips. "It seems as though you will uncover a fortune soon, but if you are unwise in your dealings, you will lose all the fortune and it will turn to dust in your hands. Marriage is in your future, and so are children. Many, to be exact. I expect you will become so well known in Wind Reach and Kalea that I will be hearing of you even years from now." Thinking she had dealt the best of fortunes ever, the Svefra grinned widely. "I have a gift for you, from Pierue of the Konti Seers." The Svefra said after a few moments of just smiling. She pulled out of her pocket a strangely shaped glass bird made out of red-hued glass. The bird had claws, and teeth, and seemed to be about to take flight. "The message that goes with this is: find that which dies in fire and is borne again from itself, dwelling within the heart of an immense darkness it lights the deep with song and blaze. Where it is, only Ivak knows, but beware delving too deep. There be monsters here." The Svefra shrugged and gestured for Krysanthe to go. She had other customers to take. It was unwise to keep them waiting. Tiaue'a Pierue took a deep breath to ready herself to delve into another chavi this day. She had just scryed the Kelvic and her bondmate, and digging into the future could be such a trying task, but she could not let the opportunity to acquire Wind Eagle feathers slip her by. "Give me a feather now so I may see you clearly, wise Eagle," the Konti said. She could sense the argumentive emotions boiling in the bird and gave her a warm smile. "To see, I need something that belongs to you, but I suspect clothing or a lock of hair are unavailable when it comes to a Kelvic in denial." She winked, the gesture appearing as disgustingly sly, but Ti'ue really intended to have her fortune read and something as disconcerting as a complete stranger realising she wasn't exactly a true Eagle couldn't hold her from pursuing what she wanted. However, she resolved to take a smaller feather, a damaged one that would have blown off on the next flight anyway, and it dropped into the outstretched hand of the Konti lightly. The Konti curled her fingers around the roughed edges of the feather and held it close to her chest, as though she cherished it. Her gnosis flared, the three blossoms of the Seer's Lily lighting bright blue on her thigh, hidden beneath her clothes. She dived into the magnificent weave of the Chavena and the mystical world between the Ukalas and Mizahar. She saw it all along the bright darkness that wad Tiaue's chavi. Her anger, isolation, wrath, loneliness, longing... She felt it, but understood it as the view of the Kelvic before her alone. Individuals could change their chavi with their perceptions, so it was no surprise that Tiaue'a's was essentially about the isolation she felt from her Wind Eagle peers, her envy of Sira, and her rage at the world for seemingly abandoning Wind Reach during the shed storm. "Why are you always so angry, Tiaue'a?" The Konti asked in her kind voice as the visions faded and she stopped trying to see the future. "Your wrath will be the end of you, and there will be no others to blame but yourself when you sit before Lhex. You will die and be forgotten, another carcass left to burn in the heart of the volcano, unless you can open your own heart and unstopper your fear of the unknown. Welcome into your life the different, the unique, the special, and don't preen your feathers too proudly or only the lowly will find you worthy of them. Do you understand me? Prove yourself to yourself first, and then seek a bondmate to fulfill your destiny. Walk into the heart of uncertainty and feel freedom from your curse as a Kelvic for the first time. Fly high with the falling stars and burn brightly with the fire of your soul. Your future is a dark, twisted thing of ifs and maybes, and so uncertain that Dira could be waiting for you at your aerie already. "Let go of your hatred, darling Wind Eagle. Let go of your fear. Don't hold yourself back or you'll never succeed." At the end, Pierue was breathing heavily, having winded herself with her long speech that was both meant to be berating and uplifting. There was a fine sheen of sweat across her wide brow and her eyes had the fevered light of the sick, but she still smiled radiantly. "I'll take those feathers now, Tiaue'a." The bird, unable to give any kind of speech after the fortune she had just been told, complied. Of the four feathers given, three were in good condition but the fourth was as poor as the one given for the fortune to even be told. The Konti was still grateful.

[Estrellir Konrath]

SIRA

Skills
Rhetoric +1
Flirting +1

Lores
Konti: Beautiful ladies
Prophecy: Hard times will come

THE OTHERS
(Makia Ezio, Vaas, Athia, Alori Sai,
Aidara, Avon Lomondir, Krysanthe, Tiaue'a)

Skills
*Withheld due to retirement or inactivity

Lores
*Withheld due to retirement or inactivity

COMMENTS

What an exciting thread idea! If any of those who haven’t received grades return, feel free to PM me and I’ll post them!