A Daunting New Beginning

[Vathas Averda]

9th of Summer, 510 AV As he neared the edge of the ridge, Vathas Averda gazed out at the horizon. It was truly a breathtaking view, or it would have been, had he any breath to spare. For all his training, he was winded; he could effortlessly demonstrate dozens of ways to kill a man with his bare hands, but this mountain range was kicking his ass. The Unforgiving was certainly living up to its name. Not only was the terrain difficult and dangerous, but the air was so incredibly thin that Vathas could never quite seem to catch his breath. Despite the hardships that he'd faced already in this past fortnight, he would not be discouraged. His brother had done it, and so would he. "Besides," he thought to himself as he gazed at the snowy mountaintops glinting with the gold of the rapidly sinking sun. "I can't give this up. Not now." Still, he had a long road ahead of him, and it seemed like he'd be in these unforgiving mountains for a while. For now though, Vathas would search for a shallow cave or hollow, somewhere sheltered to set up camp for the night, and in the morning he would climb as high as he could and survey the surrounding lands and plan his route. He had gotten a little turned around and wasn't sure exactly where he was going. He knew he was going east to Alvadas, where he hoped to buy a riding horse and some more supplies for his journey, but finding a traversible pass was proving harder than he'd thought. "At least I haven't run into any beasts," he murmured to himself. As the sun began to sink behind the mountain behind him, Vathas got to his feet and groaned; it was time he found shelter. Though much milder in Summer than any other time, being out after nightfall at such altitudes often meant a cold, miserable death. With a final wistful glance across the western skyline, Vathas set out in search.

[Haeli]

Haeli rarely came to the high mountains, though she had visited a time or two. Wandering, restless, the young girl had often ranged further and further from her home in the days following Ozantha's death. Had it just been ten days? The girl wasn't sure, didn't care, and only wanted to taste the wind in her beak and flap her wings letting the big thermals carry her aloft. She was wearing the guise of an egret. It wasn't by choice but out of necessity. The big birds grew large in the Gyvaka and one of the rules she'd not yet learned to break was how to change her body mass along with her morphing. So, when she flew, she had to pick a form that roughly translated and gave her enough size to still be able to fly. She soared to the sky, banked, and picked up movement below with the birds sharp eyes that were meant really for nothing more than spotting fish. She flew closer, curious, as she wondered why a lone traveler was scaling a mountain that wound soon bring him to a screeching hault at the very top. In fact, there was no eastern pass. No western pass. It was one of the reasons the mountain range was called the Unforgiven. It deceived travelers into thinking they could cross, when the only safe routes were up and down the east and west coasts and one small road in the north that crossed that half of the continent. Haeli slowed her flight, circled back around, then slowly winged down to pause on the ridge of dry barren stone. She landed in front of the traveler, wary, but well out of weapons range. To speak to him she'd have to change back, but it would take her some time. So rather than get caught mid transformation, the bird simply waited, head tilted, and warbled its plumed head a moment before snapping its beak and fluffing its feathers. She wondered how to tell him there was no pass. Nothing but death higher. Egrets carried food for a while in their bellies. They also had no problems bringing it back up to feed their young. So Haeli rolled her stomach, brought liquid in the form of half-digested fish back up into her beak, and began to write on the dry stone. It was a smelly sort of ink and her handwriting using her beak was a whole lot less appealing than her actual calligraphy... but it should get the message across. "Death Higher. No Way To Cross Mountains. Are You Lost?"

[Vathas Averda]

Vathas had seen birds in the mountains occasionally in his days of travel, great eagles circling the mountain peaks, and small flocks of songbirds chirping through the valleys. They were different from the bats twittering through and around Kalinor, but not entirely alien to him. This limited experience, however, could not possibly have prepared him to see a great egret, roughly the same size as he was, gliding through the sky. Indeed, he had no idea what she was or what to expect from her, and wondered if she might be some type of monstrous fauna. Despite his natural caution, Vathas' curiosity got the best of him; he stood out in the open as she swooped down and perched on a rocky outcrop. He and the egret regarded each other for a time, and then she began to vomit. It smelled like fish. Vathas wrinkled his nose at the scent, but soon noticed a pattern in the retching. The egret was writing to him. The common tongue was not his first language, but he knew well enough to manage. He spun slowly with his arms raised and his hands open, to show that he had no weapons, and then slowly approached the great bird. "I have lost my way. Are you a monster?"

[Haeli]

She took his lack of weapons for a peaceful exchange and slowly and gracefully began her shift. Six minutes was a long time as the morpher slowly and carefully melted her features, contorted her muscles, and reabsorbed the flight feathers back into her body and extruded everything else she needed to be human. It was a slow painful process that left her vulnerable and open to attack. But it was a chance she was willing to take to help the stranger find his way. Alone in the mountains like he was, Haeli knew he wouldn't survive long. And truthfully she wanted to help him even though there was something about him that didn't look quite right for a human. She finished the change and remained crouched before him. It usually left her slightly disorientated to be seeing things as one creature then as a human minutes later. Haeli needed time to breath, let the pain of the transformation return her to her normal form, and come back to herself. When she stood up, she was naked, but functioning far better as she took a gasp of the cold air and shook out her long blond hair. "I wasn't sure you wouldn't kill me." She said softly, crossing her arms over her chest to afford herself a slight measure of privacy. "But the way you are going is simply death. There's no footpass on these ridges, not one that I know of for hundreds of miles even. To try and find the Suvan from here is death. The only way to get anywhere is to go west and hit the outer sea and catch a boat ride to somewhere else with traders." She said looking him over. Then it struck her. He wasn't human. She wasn't exactly sure what he was, but he definitely wasn't the same species she was. "I live in a swamp west of here, downward. There's traders that stop twice a season, but trails that lead both to Zinrah and the spider people's city to the north." She added, not being able to remember what the spider people were called. "I can take you there. You can get warm, fed, and decide what you want to do. Here there is only death between the storms and mountains." Haeli said, sincerely.

[Vathas Averda]

Vathas took note that his mouth was slightly agape, and quickly closed it and shook his head clear; this large bird had slowly morphed into a beautiful young woman. He made a concerted effort to tear his gaze from her delicate curves and looked her deliberately in the eyes, just in time to catch her scrutinizing his features. He thought he saw her eyes flick from his black, crescent shaped claws back to his amethyst colored eyes. "Your aid is very well appreciated," Vathas said softly. "It is kind of you to risk yourself for a stranger." He turned to look out over the ridge, toward the south and the west. It was in the complete opposite direction he needed to be moving in, but he was not expected, nor was he in any particular rush to get there. Alvadas wasn't going anywhere, and he was cold and running low on food. On top of that, there were storm clouds gathering over the opposite peak to the east. "I come from the west, from Kalinor, 'the spider people's city' as you call it. I would have you know that I am one of the spider people, Symenestra in most tongues," Vathas explained as he gestured toward himself. "If this does not offend you, I would go with you to your Swamp and have your counsel." He bowed deeply, and with a small flourish. "I am Vathas, of the Web Averda; quite pleased to make your acquaintance, as you might imagine," he added with a smirk. "With a flick of his wrist, he whisked his cloak from his shoulders and held it out to the young lady. "Allow me to offer you my cloak. Or will I be following your other form?"

[Elysium]

Character: Vathas
XP:
Observation +1
Land Navigation +1

Lores:
“The Unforgiving” is Aptly Named
The Intellectual Egret

★

Character: Haeli
XP:
Morphing +1
Flying +2
Observation +1

Lores:
Identifying a Symenestra
Old Habits Die Hard
Vathas, of the Web Averda

Other: Short and to the point. I would have loved to see this interaction continue. Very nice to both of you.


and so, the journey continues...