The Serpent and The Knight (Savi)

[Henrik Thaldrin]

11th of Summer, 512 AV
Mid Afternoon

Henrik slowly patrolled the outskirts of Syliras in his full set of armour. He had his shield in one hand and his longsword in the other. The armour was heavy but gave Henrik great satisfaction that it was hard to penetrate.

After doing his rounds and returning to the main gate, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. Henrik swiftly turned around, looking straight into the forest, searching for the shape that he'd seen. The thing was nowhere to be seen. Henrik just dismissed it as a lone wolf or escaped cattle and attempted to get back into Syliras again. Then he saw it again. The knight turned again, sword raised and yelled, "Show yourself!"

Henrik advanced into the forest, determined to find the source of the dark shape that he'd seen twice. The trees were looming over him as he moved even further forward. The bushes rustled about as the wind moved through them. There! The shape moved again! Henrik ran as fast as he could in the armour, which wasn't very fast.

The human made it to the shape, which stood about 10 metres in front of him. Henrik's grip tightened on the sword as he stared at it, wondering who, or what, it was.

"Well, stranger," Henrik spoke. "What are you doin' around here?"

[Savitaire]

The night had been rather uneventful, though having fed recently he hadn’t really been hungry enough to hunt. He had spent his time coiled up in the branches of an elder tree, his bag and clothes stashed in a deep hole at its roots. When the warm rays of the sun had settled upon his scales he had stirred, uncoiling and slithering his way to the ground below to then shit to his human form. It didn’t take him long to dress, a nearby creek gave him water to drink, then he set off towards Syliras once again. He had chosen an isolated spot deep in the forest so it was mid-afternoon by the time he had made it within sight. The city was a big place and he was firstly trying to find work, though he didn’t have any mundane skills, his abilities were more towards combat than crafting. He could hunt of course, but it was only good for himself, not to feed others. At first he had dismissed the loud clanking sounds, but when it persisted he stopped looking around trying to locate it.

The sounds eventually revealed themselves to be a man in armor, one of the Sylirian Knights. He couldn’t help grinning at the man “I believe it is called a walk sir, but I could be wrong, might be more a stroll since I was taking my time.”

His accent would be an oddity, the hint of a longer ‘s’ sound present whenever a word spoken with the letter was said. He didn’t have an aggressive posture, his grin warm and amused, he thought a Knight chasing him down highly entertaining. He hadn’t thought he was up to anything suspicious, but what did he know? He was not familiar with the rest of the races, but he was sure he’d find out if he had done something wrong.

[Henrik Thaldrin]

Henrik looked at the man, intrigued by his accent. It sounded foreign, nothing like Henrik had heard back in Syliras. But, this person didn't seem to pose a threat, so Henrik sheathed his sword and removed his helmet. The man still didn't attack so Henrik had no reason to try and arrest, or kill, him. Henrik did not trust the man fully though, so he kept his distance. "Indeed it is, I'm just a bit on edge is all," Henrik spoke.

Henrik took a swig of water from his leather canteen and placed it back into a little spot in his armour where it was safe and sound. He then, slowly, walked over to the man and sat down, leaning against a nearby tree. "Heh', I thought you were a wolf or something like that," said Henrik. "At least you wasn't. Say, where are you from? Because I know that accent isn't from around here."

As Henrik awaited the man's answer, he proceeded to eat some of the food that he'd stashed in his armour in case he became hungry during his shift. It was just some basic meat but Henrik offered the man some all the same, seeing as he did look a bit hungry and thin. "Oh, and don't worry, unless you give me a reason, I won't hurt you."

[Savitaire]

Savitaire’s grey eyes stayed on the man as he moved around, when he had settled he walked over. Honest men weren’t hard to find, but he wondered if he’d stay true to his word if he knew his secret. He too sat down taking what the man offered and chewing on it, the meat was rather tasteless, but it would do for now. “I’m from the Falyndar Region, not anywhere particular since my family lived isolated for the most part.”

He didn’t give more detail preferring to not reveal too much too soon. “Did you know that the walls of Taloba are lined with the skulls of those the Myrians had killed? At the gate to the city they have an impaled skeleton of a huge snake, a Dhani, the serpentine race and the Myrians are constantly fighting. It is said, for good reason in most cases, that these snake people are violent creatures… There are races that people go out to kill just for existing, my homeland is a rather violent place to live.” He then grinned “Which is why I left after my mother’s death and took to the desire to see the world. After the jungles of my home any place else that is dangerous I’d like to think living where I did prepared me for the rest of the world eh? So, why do you need a turtles shell against a wolf?”

[Henrik Thaldrin]

Henrik sat there, listening to the man's words with intent and fascination. He took in everything that was said and tried to imprint it somewhere in his mind so it could come in handy for future use. Other than that, Henrik finished off his dried, bland meat and washed it down with the remains of his water. He then proceeded to strip off his armour and lay it on the ground. There was no need to change since he was already wearing his off duty clothing under the armour. It was slightly sweaty though as Henrik was boiling.

As Henrik sat down against the tree again, he decided to reply to the man's question about his armour. "This, my friend, is not a turtle shell. It is instead armour of the Syliran Knights. We strive to rebuild civilization in and around this land. And, there are two reasons I wear it. One to show I am apart of the Brotherhood and the other to simply protect me in battle," Henrik looked up at the man and began to close his story. "Anyway, I've been trying to figure out what to call you since we don't know each other's names. I'm Henrik, but people just call me Rik. What about you? You do have a name, right?"

[Savitaire]

Savitaire studied the metal shell curiously, such a fascinating thing to use and quite ingenious. He looked at the man “There are many battles around these parts that call for metal skin? Perhaps I am not as prepared for danger as I thought.”

From the sheen of sweat on the man’s skin the metal did have its downside, still it was worth the cost it seemed. “My name…is Savitaire.”

He pronounced it Ssav-ih-tare, his accent adding a longer ‘s’ sound to it. While his full name was much longer he didn’t reveal it, he felt it would have given too much of himself away. “May I look at your armor?”

He wanted to see just how protective it could be, he’d do it no harm, but with touch he’d be able to tell how strong it was if he used a hint of muscle. It might or might not protect someone who he had in his grasp, but to tell for sure he had to touch it. “So did you come from another land and make a home here or has this place always been your home?”

[Henrik Thaldrin]

Henrik watched the man, who had introduced himself as Savitaire. The name intrigued him as the 's' part of the name was pronounced differently from others. Henrik thought about it for about thirty seconds and then came to the conclusion that this man had to be a Dhani, the snake-like people that certainly didn't originate from Syliras or anywhere nearby. Henrik then proceeded to answer Savitaire's question about his armour. "We only wear this for the dangers that lurk in the wilds, like bandits or, like I said earlier, wolfs. But, luckily, the need for combat around here is quite rare, so we're pretty safe in these parts."

After answering Savitaire, Henrik picked up his armour and quickly searched it for dents or other marks on it before handing it over to the Dhani, piece by piece. Helmet, chest, leggings and boots. "I'd prefer it if you didn't get any scratches on it because it's my only set." Henrik smirked a bit.

Henrik got up and walked over to the nearby creek, his mind spinning. This was his first encounter with a Dhani! He wondered if Savitaire, or "Savi" as Henrik had come to calling him in his mind, was going to harm him or rob his belongings. Either way, Henrik pushed the thought out his head as he knelt down beside the water, picked up some in his hands and washed his sweaty face. Some of it splashed down onto his shirt, but he didn't care. Finally, Henrik dried himself off using his shirt and made his way back to Savi.

He sat down again, this time though, nearer to the Dhani. Henrik lapped up the water near his mouth with his tongue as he was beginning to get thirsty again. "I'm from Ravok originally. Came to Syliras five years ago. Began training as a knight, and behold, here I am." Henrik chuckled a little as he continued. "Say, what about you? What made you come here, to Syliras?"

[Savitaire]

When he picked up the armor he could feel its weight, moving it around in his hands he decided that even with armor he could still crush a man with it on if he decided to do so. It didn’t make someone with it on any less a threat, but it gave him a measure of confidence, though he wasn’t overly confident. He set the chest piece back with the others and stood up, he was thirsty too. He pulled his water skin from his bag as he stood up to go where the man was, emptying the old water and adding in fresher stuff before dipping his hands in to cup water to drink as well.

“I left my home because there was nothing left for me there. I wanted a taste of more interesting lands, to see how the rest of the world was and…maybe find a place for myself. Conflict is all good, keeps ones blood pumping, but too much too constant endangers all sides. I like a good fight, but I don’t want to constantly fight, perhaps this makes me odd no? So, here I come, as to why I am out ‘here’ its because I decided to make a temporary home out in the forest. I want an occupation before I live in your city, but so much to see and taste, getting a feel for the city is best before I make commitments. So too would I like to make a friend or two perhaps, friends are good to have in a place with men wearing armor and brandishing pointy steel. Much easier to live off the land, no need to spend coin when the forest gives you everything you need, I don’t need a hoard of possessions.”

He stood to his full six foot four inch height looking at the man, his grey eyes calm and showing his clear easy going nature. He weighed at a lithe and stocky one hundred and ninety five pounds, stocky, but not bulky as his build was lithe instead of overly muscled. He had seen in passing that he was much taller than the average person, perhaps there were races as tall or taller than he, but he had yet to meet one. “Have you seen much fighting?”

[Henrik Thaldrin]

Henrik listened to Savi speak his story about how and why he ended up on the outskirts of Syliras. The man definitely had some interesting stories up his sleeve. The tales that Savi spoke about captivated Henrik and he wanted to hear more since all there was to do back in Syliras was kill time trading with the merchants or hang about drinking in the bars with friends.

As Savitaire returned the armour in the same condition, Henrik began to ponder the man's interest in it. It amazed Henrik how people could be so easily amused by the simplest of things. "Heh', you never seen a set of armour before?" Henrik joked. "You can get a cheap leather set from the merchants in Syliras."

Once Henrik had finished his sentence, he stood up to his full five foot and eleven inches. Henrik also weighed around 178 pounds compared to Sevi's height and weight, which dwarfed him completely. At once, the though of Sevi being a Dhani crossed Henrik's mind again. Should he or shouldn't he ask him? Henrik didn't want to offend the man since Savi would probably destroy him in a fight. But, Henrik decided he would. "Say, Sevi, if you don't mind me calling you that... would you happen to be one of those Dhani folk?"

[Savitaire]

Savitaire looked at the armor “In deep jungle the armor would cook you because it is so hot and moist. It also would give you away to every creature that has ears, a fight in the jungle is best being stealthy and hard to find. So no, I have not seen people who wear metal skin till I came here.”

The thoughts of buying some armor amused him, he doubted it would be useful unless he was put in a situation where like the man he’d need it against men. The nickname only made him chuckle, no one had ever given him such and he thought it sounded funny. The next question stole the mirth from his eyes and expression, his grey eyes focused upon the man with a predator’s intensity, he shifted positions suddenly wary. “Depends on what you’ll do if I give an answer.”

His change in expression and stance would be answer enough, but he didn’t do anything more than prepare for a possible fight, he didn’t look like he’d be the one instigating the aggression. His instincts screamed at him that the man was a threat, but he waited, he could just simply be curious. His grey eyes had a feral quality to it, like looking in to the eyes of a creature who’d not hesitate to lash out if provoked. It was intense, they had been a warm grey before, but now were like dull steel. Yet he held himself back, he didn’t do anything aggressive, he just stood there braced for whatever might come that could harm him.