Men Of Their Time (Vanator)

[Riaris Dovukalis]

Timestamp: 80th of Winter 512 AV

It was another dull afternoon in Riverfall. The winters grasped kept Syna's light at bay while clouds covered the skies. It was another day of work for Riaris at the shipyard as he and a couple of Akalak worked on piecing together a boat for a customer. It wasn't the vessel that he'd hoped to work on that day, but Kavala's cattlemen was being overseen by the head shipwright and he wanted Riaris to help with the small boat for the day.

Luckily it wasn't anything to hard and with his fellow Akalak working along side him, they could get the job done soon and he could go back to working on his other project. The men already had all the items they would need stored off to the side of the building where they could easily get to it. Riaris first worked with another for a two man job of cutting up the wood for the boarding. They cut 24 - 96 inch sheet for bottom, bow and stern and then cut those boards into smaller pieces of 1- 12, 1-18, and 1-24. Afterwards 12 inch by 96 inch sheets were cut from new solid board to create the siding.

The cutting was an important part of creating the box, because all the pieces had to be exact or they wouldn't fit securely onto the boat's frame. 8ft boards were cut for the trim on bow, and stern all of 3 inches, and boards of 24 inch thickness were cut for the floor and deck. Once that was done, it was time to start putting the wooden boards into place. With the help of the other Akalak, the boards were held up easily as Riaris and another went about nailing the sides to the bottom, followed by the back and stern. A sticky, glue-like adhesive was added to all parts to make sure that the boards stayed in place once they made contact with water.

The seats were set up, a small mid-sized board in length was placed across the center so that it could be secured. The board fastened with nails to fit on top of a trunk-like boat built underneath. Sidings were then added for handles and the boat was almost complete.

[Vanator]

Vanator was not wont to wander the city simply for pleasure. He entered Riverfall on a regular basis, but his purpose was almost always business, collecting supplies, having his arms or armor maintained, or riding escort as on of his family or Sanctuary staff went to town for one purpose or another.

This day, Kavala had sent Cadra to town to gather some foodstuffs, and Larik and Vanator accompanied her. Once the supplies were obtained, Van gave instructions for his children to return with the wagon to Sanctuary, confident that Larik could protect his sister for the short ride back, while their father spent some time alone.

The Drykas exploited the day away from the quarantined Sanctuary to see something he would have never ever imagined a few short years ago. The Denusk made his way down the tiers until he reached the port. Seafaring was still a mystery and a marvel to Vanator. Many years ago, he had seen his first sailing ship, on the opposite coast of Cyphrus. He even met some of the crew, curious and flamboyant folk who were as friendly as they were strange.

There was one craft he was interested in seeing in particular, and the Drykas milled along the docks until he found several vessels in various stages of construction. One of them would belong to Kavala. He assumed she had been on a ship, Mura was an island after all. But to own one, well, Vanator never saw that one coming.

His eyes scanned the work crews, until he saw a familiar face. The hulking, deep violet form of Riaris working on a small boat, nailing boards to the frame. He knew of the Akalak but did not know him...not like Kavala did. That was one reason he had not acquainted himself with the Riverian. He was still big brother. Riaris was a fine man, from what he had seen. A skilled warrior for sure, he had witnessed him bravely lead the Kuvay'Nas during the battle of the bone-dogs. And Kavala was an intelligent woman, who certainly chose wisely the male company she kept...and she kept company with Riaris quite often. The Denusk Ankal had no reason to dislike Riaris...except that he was an Akalak.

Vanator understood his sister was Konti. He understood the history between her kind and the Akalak. Van was intelligent and practical. He was also very protective of family. The Drykas looked upon Kavala's arrival and life among the Akalak differently than she did. He saw them save her and then force her to replay them as a breeding mare. He knew at least one of them abused her. Brotherly love blinds rationale, and his attitude toward the Akalak was congenial but cool. He did business with them, fought beside them, but he did not befriend them. However, for the love of his sister, he would no longer distance himself from her ....whatever he was.

Vanator approached the shipwright crew, fists planted on his hips. "Riaris!" He called out. The Drykas knew for certain that the Akalak would know which ship they were building for Kavala.

[Riaris Dovukalis]

Once the basic setting of the boat was complete, Riaris and another went about checking their work to make sure that all of the boards were tightly secured and that none of them were overlapping the other. When the men were satisfied with the inspection, Riaris returned with a makeshift sander and used it to smooth out any trims that might stick out and cause the planks to pull away from the others. He also used it to smear any remaining adhesive over the boards rather than leaving it to bubble up in one place. The job was done then, at least for his part, and he moved on to his next project.

This time he wouldn't be building a boat but repairing one. Luckily it wasn't a very big or serious job. The boat had been taken away and sat for a long time without any maintenance or upkeep. It appeared that the boat had lightly hit something and while the damage hadn't been great, over time being so close to the water had made it worse. There was a hole in the side of the large boat from the accident and the newer water damage. Riaris was put to work, ripping away the remains of the torn boards, then heading off to cut new ones to fit in it's place.

With the boards cut to length to where they would fit right into the exposed area of the ship, The Akalak went to work on nailing them in place. With the inner side fixed, he added the outer boards and even stuffed cotton on the side of the blanks to keep it together longer. By this time, he was close to a brake and Riaris stood up and stretched his long arms, an almost lion type yawn escaping his mouth as he exhaled loudly in the winter's air.

It was then that he heard a voice call out to him and he turned to see a man standing by the docks looking at the boats. He remembered the man as being family to Kavala, a brother if he was correct. The konti seemed to have a lot of family, and they all were hiding out at the Sanctuary. He wasn't sure why the man was there, unless he also needed a boat, or was there to see Kavala's.

"I'm right here.." he said, letting the Drykas know that he heard him. Riaris took a few steps closer to the man, while allowing him to make half the trip and nodded towards him. "Is the Sanctuary providing vessels for everyone boarding in, or have you come for another reason?" He chuckled at himself for a bit, and wiped away his smirk. "Is there something I can help you with?"

[Vanator]

Vanator met Riaris halfway, offering the Akalak a reserved smile and an outstretched hand. Though the Dyrkas was broad-shouldered and well muscled, the bulky Riverian was a foot taller and a good hundred pounds heavier. The Denusk was not intimidated by the shipwright's size, he had become accustomed to the difference in stature between their races. Just as with any race of people, what was truly the measure of a man was his deeds. Vanator had seen Riaris in action, and earned his respect. The matter of his sister, well, was yet to be assessed. He had not been afforded the chance to speak with Riaris much, the circumstances always required urgent attention, so his knowledge of the man was limited to observation and hearsay. Neither had Kavala spoken much of him, nor had the brother asked.

The Drykas nodded to the man, speaking in Common. "Not just a boarder...Vanator Denusk, Kav's brother. We have not had the chance to really meet, and I was out when you visited our home." His gaze strayed to the busy warf around them. The whole business of ships and sailing was so foreign to the grasslander. As a younger man, he scoffed at the insanity of it, floating around in a little wooden box atop the bottomless depths of an unpredictable sea. But after having seen his first ship, and living in Riverfall for a season, the Drykas had found the concept more intriguing.

Kavala herself had also inspired him. She had shared with Van the lure the Sea held over the blood of her mother within her, symbolized in Reverie Isle off the shore from the Sanctuary, a secretive retreat for the Konti that even he had not visited. Vanator knew that she had an interest in the Suvan islands nearby, and the prospect of ruins beneath the surface. Vanator, ever the doting sibling, would support her efforts in anyway he could.

"It appears my sister has the aspiration of sailing the Suvan Sea. I wanted to see this vessel she is having you build."After all...it may be the first one he ever boarded.

[Riaris Dovukalis]

"Ah, Vanator Denusk. It is good to meet you." Riaris said with a nod and reached out to shake the smaller man's hand. He supposed it was a good thing that they hadn't met at their home on that day. It would have surely soured the mood between him and Kavala, and the time they would have was more than memorable. "Well, it's good to finally meet the brother." More than by his name, Riaris recalled the man from their battles with the snarlwings and bone dogs. It seemed that he was a soldier for the city, that or he was just protecting his sister and for either, Riaris owned him thanks.

"The lure of the sea calls to us call. I too plan to sail the Suvan and beyond. There is an entire world out there to explore, and I aim to do so. I can imagine that Kavala has similar interest, though maybe not as ambitious as my own. And what of you brother Denusk. Do you wish to test the waters, or are you content with the lands?"

With another nod, Riaris led the Drykas around the other boats and parts lined up and being assembled and showed him to the one that they were putting together for Kavala. With the lead shipwright heading the project and many other Akalak helping as well, the vessel was near complete. "There we are, the Catamaran. I hear tale that the Sanctuary is full of adventurous people? Though I must say, you seem more battle harden.."

[Vanator]

Vanator extended his hand, returning the firm grip of the shipwright's hand. The Drykas nodded. "Well met Riaris, I have wished to meet the man who has caught my sister's eye." Vanator felt no need for diplomacy with the rugged Akalak. He knew it was more than his sister's eyes that the Riverian had caught. Even if Kavala had not divulged much about the two of them, the rest of Sanctuary's residents were willing to talk. The Konti's brother was happy for her, Kavala deserved some attention, she was a woman of great passion. Yet, the knowledge that her lover had been an Akalak still chafed at the Drykas. Coming to meet the man was as much a reason for Vanator's visit as was seeing Kavala's vessel.

Riaris expressed the desire to sail that he shared with the Sanctuary healer, and inquired if the half-sibling bore the same curiosities. "I have always been content with the Sea upon which I can stand. But since I settled at Sanctuary, and could look out at the Suvan every morning, I would say I have an interest in seeing what its like to explore beyond the shore. Though, my heart will always be bound to Cyphrus, I have no desire to see what lies beyond the horizon." Vanator had also come to accept that the Divine may one day call him beyond his ancestral home.

Vanator followed Riaris through the docks, the grasslander's eyes surveyed the unfamiliar industry around him. Ships and boats of all sizes were being constructed, and there was a maze of stacked wood and material, swinging ropes, block and tackle and a cacophony of hammering, sawing and Tukant filling the air around the busy shipworks. Finally, Riaris gestured to a vessel of a design Van had yet to see. He had questions about it, but the Akalak had some questions of his own.

Vanator folded his arms as he examined the catamaran, then looked at the deep violet warrior, his eyebrow cocked. "Adventurous?" The Drykas laughed. "They are healers and cooks and herbalists. Until we built the armory, most of them didn't even have weapons. But when the time came to defend their home, they fought like dogs. I am not sure it was an adventure they sought. We Denusks, well, may be more adventurous. My son Larik is a rather adventurous sort. And Kavala, well, I would consider her the most adventurous of us all." The Denusk gestured to the catamaran as a case in point. "More so than I, though I have always enjoyed exploring, and between you and I, a good battle." Now that his pavilion was gone, along with his extended family, Vanator was void of true male camaraderie. Even though he was wary of the Akalak in regards of his intentions towards his sister, Vanator already felt the affinity of warriors between he and the Riverian.

[Riaris Dovukalis]

Riaris didn't know exactly what Kavala had told her brother about him, but he couldn't imagine that she had spilled any details and of everything that they did in their time together. Unless the Konti was anything like the men he knew in which case she would have likely told him everything. Which would make the present conversation a strange one if not violent. Although Nanali and Johan were still so young, he doubted that he wouldn't be so friendly to her suitor, unless he had proven himself which would be hard to do for any man in his mind.

It would have seemed awkward to stand there and discuss the man's sister and so Riaris just listened as he spoke. "Kavala is a spirited one, I admire that spirit as I feel drawn to it. She was kind enough to show me around your Sanctuary and I did meet a few of those that live there. Your family seems close..as it should be. If I believed in luck I would think you, Vanator are a lucky man."

The conversation shifted as the two made their way around the docks, and Vanator was witness to the everyday bulk and clutter that was used in building ships. It seemed that the Drykas didn't share his sister's love for the sea. It was better that way he thought, with big brother safe on land he was free to pursue the lovely Konti without prying eyes. "If that is your wish, I can understand that. But the sea calls to me, just as the unknown that lurks beyond."Perhaps one day you will venture out into the horizon...only time will tell."

Riaris stood with his arms folded as he looked over the catamaran and back to Vanator to see what he thought of their work so far. "Exploring, that's more like it. By sea or by land there is much to uncover and much to learn. Do you hunt, brother Denusk?" He thought it a good idea to learn of the man he spoke to, given his relationship with Kavala. Being a brother himself, he could understand the protective nature of a man and he respected that in the Drykas as well as his warrior spirit.

Becoming friends with the man, or allies would suit him well in the future, and also possibly strengthen the bond between he and Kavala. "I have decided to try my hand at hunting, there is need of such work here, as well as those who also wish to learn or simply travel outside the city. You see brother Denusk, I am a protector...as you are I'm sure."

[Vanator]

The darting of a glance, the shuffle of a large booted foot. The Drykas' observant eye caught the subtle signs that Riaris was not quite comfortable discussing Kavala with him. Vanator was no fool, he had already guessed the extent of the relationship between the Konti and Akalak. She was Denusk after all, they had passion and powerful needs. But Vanator too found it a subject he did not want to dwell upon, and Riaris thankfully turned the conversation to a more familial theme.

"Lucky? I suppose so. I would say blessed, we believe divine intervention has brought the remnant of our family together at Sanctuary." Luck was something Vanator historically seemed to have in little supply. He had lost three wives, two sons, parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, three striders and every possession he owned. He had been a slave of his enemy. But things had changed. Kavala had freed not only him, but his estranged children. She had shared her res so that he could release the fire within him and taught him how to worship the gods. He had a home, a family now, people to care for and protect. He had been restored. All that was left to find was a woman.

When Riaris hinted that, someday, the Denusk man may change his mind about sailing, Vanator gave him a slight smile and a nod. The Drykas had never thought he would live behind stone walls either. He may very well one day ply the ocean upon a ship like these. Then, something seemed to spark, a common interest the disparate men could share.

"I hunt, though I am certainly no hunter by trade. I would enjoy honing that skill, though, and I am no stranger to the Grass." He raised an eyebrow, a wry grin curling at the corner of his mouth as he eyed the violet warrior. He knew Riaris was a protector, he had witnessed the man defend the very streets of his city. He saw too, how the man had saved and protected Kavala during the bone dog attack. "Perhaps, Drykas and Akalak could join in some hunting and exploring of our own?"

[Riaris Dovukalis]

Riaris smiled, almost with a chuckle at the man's word and lifted a hand to pat his shoulder. He didn't believe in luck and saw it as an excuse used by humans who were weak and without their own strong will and Gods to believe in. He too believed in the divine, and without the question of which Gods and Goddess left for another day, he respected a man who believed in something bigger than himself. It seemed that Vanator also had respect for the things that he did including family, he was starting to like him more.

"Very well.." Riaris nodded back to the Drykas who seemed hesitant about the open sea. One day, perhaps he could change his mind. The world was so large and filled with unique items, places, and people. Riverfall would also be his home, but he couldn't help but to wonder if the survival of his race waiting on the other side of the ocean. This man was Kavala's brother, he found it interested that he would properly meet the man in the same place that he had first met his sister.

"The season is right for it, I would think. Though I think I will need to learn a ranged weapon soon. The Kuvay'Nas has decided to lend add to those who wish to learn to hunt. I think it will be a good job for me." The Akalak enjoyed his work in the ship yard, but warrior needed more than just to build ships, and hunting was yet another way for him to hone his skills in body and weapon alike. "I think we would do well to hunt together. Maybe we will even drag back a few Zith on our way hmm?"

The mere thought of destroying Zith was enough to send a tingle up his spine, and his muscles tighten, heart starting to pump blood faster through his body for a fight that wasn't about to happen. But the thoughts continued to race through his mind, and he thought fondly of the new two-bladed sword that he had bought yet hadn't had the chance to use. "Do you drink you drink brother? I suddenly find myself thirty."

[Vanator]

In spite of his mixed feelings regarding the Akalaks, Vanator was beginning to believe he had more in common with Riaris than he had first thought. The colored warriors had always been alien to the Vanator, though, as neighbors upon the Sea of Grass, he was always aware of their presence, seeing them on rare occasions meeting with his father, or in hunting parties crossing in the grasslands. But they were physically very different, city dwellers with a culture that differed from that of the Drykas. As a youth, there were a curiosity. But Kavala's experiences with the Akalaks had tainted the Drykas-centric Vanator with a prejudice that had only slightly faltered after almost two seasons living near Riverfall. Riaris, without even knowing, was doing great damage to that prejudice already.

"Yes, hunting is much easier with a ranged weapon. A hunter is not a far stretch from warrior, though. I am sure you would make a fine hunter." Vanator smiled. His own novice skill with the bow had more than once forced him to chase down prey on a strider and hack it to death with his battle ax, not the most efficient method.

At the dark fighter's mention of killing Zith, Vanator's countenance took on a more grim appearance, a wicked smirk across his lips. The Drykas and Akalak had that in common, hatred of the winged scourge of Cyphrus. Vanator's history with the Zith had forged a near-obsessive pleasure in killing them, unable to sate his need for vengeance against them. That's when Riaris had him.

"Yes, agreed, we would do well to hunt together." His own strong hand gripped the bulging shoulder of the Kuvay'Nas warrior, returning the Akalak's sign of acceptance. "And I do drink." Vanator had not frequented a drinking establishment since his enslavement, more than a year earlier, and had enjoyed only a few casual drinks within the confines of Sanctuary. "A good drink is long overdue, Riaris, I could use one."