Quest Shattered Cycle

[Seeker]

Seeker
From his vantage point Seeker watched as Ayda interacted with others of his kind. Perhaps if I yell out to him he will be able to hear me. He thought as he stepped closer to the awnings edge. "AYDA!" He called out, trying to make his voice stretch as far as possible; but his efforts were to no avail. His friend was a bit too far away, caught up in a small group of people, and he just could not get his voice to stretch over the dissipating mob.

With a slight scowl, Seeker scouted out the best path to take. I want to get as close as possible... but not be trampled by dispersing feet. Several awnings stretched between him and his friend, but at the end of the stretch there was a gap between himself and Ayda that was bigger than what he would have liked. Well, what's the worst that can happen? Fall to my death? Eh, not likely. I'll probably just flatten a bit. Nothing a bit of reforming can't fix.

After a moment's hesitation, Seeker sprinted towards the opposite edge of the awning and let out a silent prayer to his god. Confidence, think light. As his foot left the edge of the awning Seeker eyed the next and tucked, mid flight, landing in a roll on top of the next awning. Scrambling to his feet Seeker could not help but let out a shout of success.

The next three awnings went the same way: Seeker prayed, jumped, and landed in a tucking roll. The last one was a bit tricky... more slippery than the rest. He thought with a quick glance down towards where Ayda stood. Must be made out of a different fabric.

Planting his feet firmly at the edge of the blue and whit stripped awning, Seeker waved his hands above his head- trying to get Ayda's attention. "Ayda! Up here!" He cried out, jumping up and down as he went. More relieved to see his friend unharmed than anythings else. Spotting a stone railing just on the opposite side of his friend, Seeker attempted to judge the distance.

"Could I make it?" He asked himself quietly as he stopped jumping. "Perhaps..." He answered himself, looking over the gap again. Now that I'm actually here, the distance isn't as far as I thought. Only a big wider than the distance between the awnings themselves. Maybe one and a half times the width.

Figuring that Harameus had protected him thus far, Seeker decided to go for it. Backing up far enough to gain good momentum, Seeker sprinted towards the edge and jumped; only to slip at the last minute and go catapulting in Ayda's general direction.

[Elysium]

The Plaza was all but deserted suddenly as Lhavit’s citizens made their way home. The large crowds shuffled out in unison, leaving the rag-tag group of citizens alone in their wake. It seemed the group was at a bottleneck, still reeling from the information Alaja and Elzai had given. The Shinya’s invitation hung in the air. To investigate? Or not? Sel’ira’s caution in regard to the Shinya had mirrored Talora’s own, but having an protector present could only enhance their chances of discovery. Something was amiss and if someone didn’t do something, a Synaborn would surely be next. Lu Gavima seemed like an intelligent young man. Perhaps there was some merit to the offer. ”Hmm,” a voice mused from the alley. It was low - barely audible - but there. Someone was watching them. They frowned, looking over the odd group. The watcher had intended to tail one, but it seemed they'd made a few friends since their last encounter. A flash of brindle and red, and the presence was gone. It wouldn’t do to be discovered so early on. Better to avoid suspicion and simply have that person disappear down the line.

[Alses]

Time seemed to stretch and crystallise, yawning into a burning desert before and behind as Alses let her words hang in the air and waited for a response. Time didn't normally press heavily on her – bell followed bell, day followed day and season followed season, but where was the rush? The weight of years didn't press down on her, nor did any apprehensions of her own mortality, but now, she felt, she had an inkling of what some complained about.

More people vanished from the grand plaza as she waited, even one from their own little group – if such it could be called, anyway – turned and took her leave, as though washing her hands of the whole intriguing and perplexing matter. Alses, as a matter of principle, tried – and failed – to not think a few uncharitable thoughts about the redheaded citizen who'd surely heard exactly what she herself had, and had then, heroically, decided to do...nothing about it.

Perhaps she had something against the Ethaefal (as unusual as that was in Lhavit) – but she'd listened attentively enough earlier, hadn't she? Hadn't she? After a moment's thought, Alses was forced to concede 'maybe not'; she was still relatively unpracticed at paying attention to other people and their expressions, all the tells of body language that some seemed to so effortlessly interpret.

The Synaborn off to the left looked rather as though she were struggling to swallow something large and uncomfortable, something sticking in her craw. A fellow Daughter of Syna, and in exactly the same position vis-a-vis talking, well, Alses could empathise, at least a little – the only way she'd been able to speak at all had been to address it generally, so she wasn't forced to talk directly to her shining counterpart.

And then the other Synaborn stepped up to the mark, voice wobbly and uncertain at first – a little bit deeper and rather less musical than Alses had expected, in truth – but nonetheless, speaking. Coherently, after a brief false start, and offering her assistance, her expression and voice both firming as she spoke and the world didn't end.

'Well, perhaps that was unkind,' Alses admonished herself; she knew petching well how difficult it was to talk to another Ethaefal; she was struggling with it now, for Syna's sake!

And now she was on the spot. 'I did ask for help,' she reminded herself, slightly helplessly. 'So what do we do?' the thought squirrelcaged around in her brain, chasing all the others away. 'What do I say?'

Nothing. That seemed to be the only safe option; there was, somehow, a fat, prickling, obstructing lump in her throat had manifested, and her head was full of shouting – songs of praise to Syna, the music of the Goldenlands and the celestial tongue which sang in the vaults of her mind and turned to ashes on the tongue. Which nearly set her eyes to watering – and a teary Ethaefal was never anything good. A grateful bow, graceful as only an Ethaefal could be, was about all she could manage, at first – and by the time the lump, and the vice which went with it, had subsided, the Shinya guardsman spoke, having waited a little.

Perhaps that was because he was indecisive, or maybe he'd been weighing up his options. Evidently, he'd decided keeping an eye on a couple of private citizens who were deciding to do something potentially massively unwise would be a good idea, for he returned her bow courteously, and with maximal economy of motion in the manner of all Shinya everywhere (or so it seemed, anyway). He was lithe, muscled as all the city's protectors tended to be, and there was the hard fire of intelligence behind his eyes, tempered with that slightly worrying devotion they all seemed to show – to the gods and to the city and to the citizens. In that order.

He, at least, was easy enough to talk to – and as a Shinya guardsman, he surely should have some idea of how to proceed. Useful, in other words. “I would be honoured to have your assistance,” she replied, and then added, after a heartbeat's pause and a brief glance at Ayda: “Both of you.”

'There,' she thought, smugly. 'That got around it nicely.'

She half-turned, cocking her head with its shining crown-of-horns towards one of the Surya Plaza's many exits. “Shall we at least see where...the unfortunate event, shall we say...occurred?”

A thought struck her, then, and she turned back to face them more fully once more, with a wry smile at her own absent-mindedness tugging at her lips. “We suppose it'd be useful to have names, too, so I'm not forever calling you Shinya guardsman and you...” she faltered for a moment, looking at Ayda “...and you as 'blessed one', 'sister', or any other ridiculous title. I go by...” Always, with another Ethaefal, there was the old reflex of the celestial tongue singing in her head and screaming up her throat. It showed on her face, she knew it did, whenever it happened, but she could no more control it than she could the Change, twice a day, every day.

She'd tried – back when she was a freshly-Fallen thing, clinging desperately to the tattered shards of anything that reminded her of home - until her throat was raw to use the celestial tongue, to speak to others her true name, the liquid ripple of sound that was the slow dance of the sun and the moon overhead, the bright glory of a sunbeam and the spectacular brilliance and fury of a solar prominence, but the shining cadences had always turned to mangled, jumbled collections of mundane, ugly syllables the instant she opened her mouth.

Alses would have to do instead, as it always did, the name of a far, bright star high in the northern sky. “I go by Alses. Yourselves?”

[Ayda]

Ayda Before answering Ayda's question the red headed women was gone without so much of a word in response, which seemed odd to him. It was as if the women only wanted to stir up unpleasant emotions in Ayda but why would anyone wish to do something so malicious. The Etheafal tried his best to calm himself as this was not a time to let his emotions run unchecked. With the red headed women gone it was only the three left, the other Ethaefal who seemed to take on a leadership role to the small group, a Shinya guardsmen and himself. It was nice to have a guardsmen with them if himself or the other Etheafal were to get into any danger while solving this mystery. Ayda wasn't sure of the Etheafal woman’s fighting prowess but he knew that he wasn't very skilled in the area. The other Etheafal was struggling with having to converse with him still but was getting better. She introduced herself as Alses and asked the names off The shinya guardsmen and himself, in doing so refereed to ayda as a sister. "My name is Ayda, although contrary to my appearance and my name I am actually a brother not a sister" Ayda corrected her "I am not offended, I only told you so you would not be confused when I became an Akalak when night was upon us." He hoped that they would not be uncomfortable finding out that he was really a male, many people seemed to become awkward finding out his true gender. They seem to feel they have offended Ayda by assuming he was female but he was perfectly comfortable if people saw him as a female. When the Fellow Ethaefal introduced herself he could tell that she felt awkward saying her earthly name and Ayda could relate. He too missed the sound of he celestial tongue and name Ayda was barely a fraction of the beauty that his true name was. While Ayda was was trying to avoid thinking of what he had lost, something suddenly hit Ayda in the face. It didn't hit Ayda very hard, more like a hard slap than anything truly detrimental. Ayda looked down at what had hit him and was pleasantly surprised to see his pycon friend Seeker. Seekers very presence was able to make Ayda forget the pain of the pycon's arrival and even brighten his spirit a bit, something Ayda very much needed. "hello friend! you have a strange way of greeting, are you alright?" Ayda said with a faint smile. "this is my friend Seeker" Ayda said to the others before looking back down at his friend "these two and I are going to try and solve the mystery that has befallen the Ethereal in the area, would you like to join us?"Ayda paused before realizing how dangerous this may turn out to be "It may potentially be dangerous are you okay with that?

[Lu Gavima]

As the crowd dispersed, Lu kept a demeanor of calm. Inside, he was already watching the open spaces grow between groups of Lhavitians as the murmuring tide washed away into the streets. The information that the growing group was learning needed to be acted upon. Of course, in the City of Stars, a quiet respect lived with its people. Well, of course that wouldn't include Synaborn and their sunny dispositions.

Alses, her name was. It was a lovely name, sounding to Lu like some kind of flower, petals reaching out to the life giving Mother. Everyone knew staring into Syna's gaze did not bode well, so staring was forgone for more reconnaissance. He smiled and nodded at the pair, noting the oddity of the second to speak. Not for any reason of identity or gender, but some other quality he couldn't quite put his finger on. "I am Protector Gavima. I patrol at night, so my days are free, short of required meditations." His eyes returned to the scenery of the thinning plaza when a projectile struck the more wispy one in the face. Lu's body naturally snapped into a form, pushed up on the toes, body turned aside.

Looking down and hearing the words of Ayda, Lu knelt down and looked at the little living statue. A betrayal of Lu's youth became evident momentarily as he was completely awed by it, never seeing such a thing before. "What are you?", he asked with due diligence and wonder. The playfulness submerged as soon as it surfaced, the Shinya mind returning him back to the situation at hand. Standing, he looked over at the span between Zintia and Tenten. Looking back at the group, he continued, the smile fading. "We should get going while the crowds are still moving. We need to pass Tenten to reach Sartu and our destination."

Lu waited for the others to speak or make their decisions, though the sweat forming on his brow was not due only to the unnatural heat of the day. He knew that a group investigating the scene moments after the speech would be noticed, should they be left alone to travel there. He also knew that there were many eyes, the many Shinya notwithstanding. It could affect his career to be found investigating such a thing without orders to do so. Sure, if they found something, it would go well. If not...

He cleared his mind of the fog of needless thought. Resuming an at ease pose, Lu returned to his calm manner.

[Seeker]

Seeker

Seeker rubbed his face, feeling for any damage as he went, and looked up at his taller friend. "Sorry for my- graceless landing My Friend." He began ad he continued searching his body for damage from the fall and remolding what damage he found. Chuckling lightly he shook his head as he stood up and felt his lower back for damage. "It was not meant as a greeting- though if you wish to take it that way by all means do so."

Looking up towards Ayda, Seeker noted a human eying his presence. "I am a Pycon- I see you are a human." He said with a slight smile in his voice- though without a mouth it could not show on his face. Turning his gaze back upon Ayda Seeker nodded. "Did you really have the notion that I would let you search alone?" He asked, finishing up his remolding. Stretching out, he walked closer to Ayda and looked about. "I know this will be dangerous- but I will there to at least help defend people. Although since we have a Shinya in our company..." Perhaps I will not be as required to help.


"And I agree, if we are trying to figure out what's happening, we should get moving quickly." He said, grabbing onto Ayda's pants leg and climbing up it. "Sorry my friend- but quickness should be achieved."

[Elysium]

OOCSo this next one is under the assumption that you've decided to set off. Don't be afraid to seize the actions, folks! The more your characters do, the more I have to reply to. Don't be afraid to go all Nancy Drew on me. The streets swarmed with the newly departed, each on a mission to return from whence they came. Talora's brief interlude had clearly unsettled most everyone, in turn quickening their step. The crowding made good cover for the odd assortment of companions. This was not to say they went unnoticed, however; there was a presence lingering on the fringes of perception. Someone was watching and following indeed, but who? That could not be said. One of the more regrettable obstacles were the bridges. The normal flow of traffic had been disrupted and therefore, members of the Constellation were directing citizens as need be. Close quarters still prevented those newfound companions from being linked, but blessed anonymity could not last. The stench of human odor ruminated in the open air like a cattle car, nearly incapacitating those of more delicate senses. None were exempt from the mass exodus - even members of the prestigious houses were trapped in the mob. It was on the whole, becoming a rather interesting day. Once upon Sartu, the crowds thinned considerably. Many had already found their destinations, allowing the adventurers more space in their journey to the top. The path was winding and bare, typical of the outlying peaks. The terraced comforts of Zintia were all but forgotten as they traversed the unforgiving stairs, winding haphazardly past Twilight Tower and on. The Observatory stared mutely out into the bleak sky. It seemed to almost to have a life of it's very own. There were few residential areas on that side of Lhavit, so the Ethaefal's dwelling was not difficult to find. It was a merry little shack, fitted with dry stone and barely a story-high. The aurist would feel simple joy mingled with fresh sorrow, the strength of which could nearly overwhelm. There were fresh yellows and golds being leeched almost literally with hopeless gray, the source of which seemed to resonate off a beautiful woman, buried up to her elbows in soil. She was petite almost to the extreme, sporting chestnut hair and eyes as fresh as green grass. There was an exaggeration to her movements, as if she simply could not keep still. Flitting from space to space, her hands diligently uprooted each intruding weed. But with the energy came no joy. Those vibrant eyes seemed lost, just going through the motions. She was clearly just following habit. "I knew someone would come," she called over her shoulder at their approach.

[Alses]

Collecting people together and having them listen to the Day Lady seemed to have been the easy part of an Exigent Gathering – it was managing the exodus that seemed to be giving the city authorities the headaches. Shining Constellations, Zintila's priesthood, stood radiant at key points, directing the flow of humanity out along the graceful skyglass spans that acted as bottlenecks, concentrating and concentrating the sweating citizens until they formed into great impenetrable blobs that slowly, slowly bled out along the bridges and the normal life of the city gently resumed in their wake.

From on high, from the perspective of a bird or a Morpher mage circling lazily in the heavens, it would have been a fascinating coordinated sequence of movements and manoeuvres, a testament to the organizational power of Lhavit's government and the people at its disposal.

However, actually waiting in the blobs to be released was unbearable: hemmed in on all sides by a thousand dinning auras, shoved cheek by jowl with her companions, Alses was not a happy bunny. A part of her crown-of-horns scythed dangerously close to Ayda's face as she shook her head, both as a means of expressing annoyance and a way to distract herself from the flashing and flaring impressions that assailed her on all sides. Her displeasure was made only stronger and more immediate by the abundance of contact in the crush of the crowd, the synergy between physical and mental battering on her auristically-enhanced senses, with flashes of unwanted information blasting through her mental defences. For an Ethaefal used to Lhavit's deference and a bit of space even in relatively crowded environments, it was unnerving and unsettling, and not in the least bit pleasant.

Something was niggling at the back of her mind, too, the merest whisper of a caution, the ghostly electrical shadow of an impulse that might eventually see the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, irritatingly elusive, prodding at her memory and then running away into the darker reaches of her brain before she could catch and examine the suspicion properly.

Alses might have examined that further if she'd not been stuck in the middle of a sweating, stinking crowd, rammed up against Protector Gavima on one side and Ayda on the other – no-one could say that they weren't forging closer ties, at least. Possibly the only member of their little troupe not fighting for breathing space was that odd clay statue-person, perched on the other Ethaefal's shoulder, that Ayda seemed to know – what was the name again? Her brain returned empty, as it so often did with names, and she resigned herself to referring to it? him? as Statue until his name came up once more. Hopefully it wouldn't be too long; she didn't want another Mr. Secretary on her hands, after all. To pass the time and to distract her overactive brain, Alses asked a few desultory questions of her companions, even managing to address one or two to Ayda, in spite of the usual Ethaefal reluctance and her own embarrassment at misjudging his gender. It was still difficult to wrap her head around the fact that he was male; his celestial form wasn't exactly what one might have called the epitome of manhood.

“What's an Akalak?” she asked him, curious. Evidently a race, since it was his mortal seeming, but one she knew nothing about. “If you don't mind our question, of course.” She'd had to shout that last bit, since a Constellation further forward had evidently just issued an order; the crowd surged forwards in a wave of chatter and the sound of many boots ringing on skyglass, near-drowning her voice as they were all-but carried along onto the bridge between the Zintia peak and Sartu.

Blessedly, the crowds thinned and faded away as they crossed the bridge to the sparsely-populated Sartu, the peak dominated by the imposing grandeur of the Twilight Tower, looming majestically into the sky from the second tier and the Observatory bulking darkly higher up. “Thank Syna we're out of that,” Alses gasped in relief as the citizens peeled away in all directions, letting her breathe deeply of the crisp mountain air, scented with kariino blossoms and the bosky aroma of the mountain woodlands rather than redolent with the manifold odours of humanity.

The many, many stairs of Sartu – bane of a courier – soon took their toll on collective relief, however, endless stone steps unreeling upwards through the rocky heights of the peak that were never a welcome sight, especially given the thin air at altitude. As their merry band neared Lena's erstwhile abode – Alses blessing her intimate knowledge of Lhavit's streets and alleyways and shortcuts that took out many of the more gruelling stairs – she slowed, squinting at the distant shapes just resolving themselves around the modest dwelling.

Was that a person there? In the grounds? But why would there be someone there? The Shinya were gathered further up the peak, according to the two...interesting characters...they'd spoken with a bell or so earlier, so surely this unprepossessing place should be deserted?

As they drew closer, Alses shivered convulsively and slowed further; the auras ahead, even to her passive sight, were twisted and distorted somehow, fading away even as she watched and being replaced with something...something altogether more muted and...was despondent, perhaps, the right word?

Only one way to tell.

“Protector? Ayda? Statue?” She called gently, having fallen behind somewhat thanks to her brief mental exertion. “We apologise,” she murmured to the statuette as she caught up. “I've forgotten your name; I don't mean to be rude.” She nodded towards the humble – though outwardly bright and well-kept – home that they were heading to. “D'you see a person there too, or is it just me?” she asked quietly. “Something isn't quite right, I'm sure of it. We've some skill in auristics, and I can feel it from here, something sapping and draining and changing the character of that house, but I can't find out more unless we concentrate. Would you mind keeping whoever it is occupied whilst we try to dig a little deeper?”

OOCTime someone else got a look-in at being confused and asking twenty questions, I think .

[Lu Gavima]

And so they were off. Lu was glad of it, as the movement of the crowds looked like it would be excellent cover. As the group merged into the great sweaty mob, however, he wondered if too much cover was a good thing. An ocean of sweaty and cranky bodies engulfed them, his status as a Shinya no more important than his own superiors when it came to the mob's movement. While it wasn't terrible to be in such close company to the Synaefals, any pleasurable experience was washed away by good old fashioned stink. Plenty of it on a hot day like that one.

The hustle and bustle made Lu want to use his staff as a lever, though the sides of the bridges looked over fatal descents. He would have to rely on patience, one of many disciplined reflexes. Fortunately, the Constellations were doing their duty to insure that the crowd moved along. Release came in the form of the end of the span, Sartu in sight. The group passed through Tenten with little effort, a blessing to Lu. With Zintila's presence there, it was the epicenter of any surveillance he might expect. Having none, seen at least, the span to Sartu came and went as well. Ethaefal had a penchant for talking a good deal, so he hoped that by not starting any conversations, he might avoid any more delay.

Then came the long ascent upward to the scene of the event. Lu was scant on information, so he hesitated in thinking of it as a crime just yet. He could see that the exertion took its toll on some with them, though he found it invigorating. Be it masochism or not, the physical training of the Shinya made this sort of thing almost pleasurable. Alses' knowledge of shortcuts was convenient, of course. They would no doubt need their reserves and faculties once they found whatever it was at the top.

The end result was a strange one. A small and lovely woman was moving about as she did something akin to digging near the house of the fallen. Lu thought of it this way due to her strange exaggerated movements, as one might out of habit rather than purpose. Alses seemed interested enough and he believed her in her sights. His own were infantile in comparison, so he only sensed something was off. It was enough for him to step in and properly interrogate the suspect as Alses did what she needed. Not waiting for others to intercede, he simply looked at the Synaefal in her twin oceans and nodding.

Stepping forward and around so that he could face the woman. Lu stood with his staff in hand, observing her actions. "Greetings, Lady. I am Gavima of the Shinya. Who were you expecting to arrive and why?" Lu used a tone in his voice to indicate strength and knowledge, hoping to make it seem as if he already knew the answer. She might very well tell them some important information while Alses examined her.

[Elysium]

The woman stood, sliding off dirt-caked gloves with measured slowness. Light touched her earthen locks, once-hidden gossamer strands suddenly coming ablaze, revealing an intricate lacework of viridian and gold. She turned on her heel to face the newcomers, eyes dead. ”Hail, Gavima.” There was a catch to her words, fresh heartbreak stuck at the base of her throat. ”I have been solicited by nearly every city official in Lhavit. It was only a matter of time before more enterprising citizens decided to do the same.” Agitation surfaced through the still water of her gaze. ”Quite a mystery. You know, with perfectly sane individuals suddenly jumping to their death? I’m sure it would fetch a handsome prize, finding the cause. But it won’t bring her back.” Tears threatened the corners of her eyes. Spitting, she cast the gloves in the garden behind her. Her lips parted slightly to speak for a moment before her eyes fell on Alses, stopping as if struck. ”By Leth…” She breathed, first astonished and then crestfallen. ”Must you all look as heartbreaking as the gods themselves?” Trembling, she trudged back inside, gesturing for them to follow if they chose. The door stood slightly ajar as if tempting them forward, urging them to delve deeper. The interior was warm - not a house, but rather a home. Flowers filled the empty spaces, jutting wildly from vases scattered across the room. ”My name is Illia,” she supplied, scrubbing clods of earth from her hands. ”I lived here with Lena.” Forlorn eyes scanned the room, as if searching for something that could not be found. ”Ironic… We always knew I would pass into Dira’s hands first. Kelvic do not live very long, you see.” She sighed. ”She had eternity and I… Well, less so. Yet she loved me.” This idea roiled about her aura in suffocating waves - rose, beryl and brown all fusing into a muddied black. Illia was a welter of emotions, all of which seemed to revolve around loss. ”Tell me why you have come.” Flecks of amber shimmered in both eyes, revealed by the ambient light. ”I’m sure you have questions… All of you do.” Despite how she positioned herself, her stare kept gravitating toward the Ethaefal. ”I thought the transcendent hated their own company…” Her brow furrowed slightly. ”Are you truly working together?” There was a note of awe. OOCI've spoken to Ayda and he wishes to drop out. As for Seeker, it's been over five days so the order marches on!