Flashback Falling before the climb

[Lavira]

Timestamp: Winter 45, 510

The morning was bright and cold, glaring through the corridors nearest the outside of the mountain and lighting the stone inside the tunnels in brilliant black and red fire. It was beautiful, but Vira had eyes only for her destination, which was still some chimes ahead. The winter winds pushed against the windows and made the temperature in the outer corridors even more cool, to which Vira had donned her katinu and fur-lined vinati for work up in the aeries that day. Her teacher had given her the assignment knowing that she would soon be leaving the Yasiry to join the ranks of Avora.

Everyone knew Lavira had been offered apprenticeship by Meera to join the ranks as a falconer of Wind Reach. The girls skill was good with the raptors and had been revealed when she'd rescued that strange harrier some days back. It was still in a contained state for observation and training, given its odd behavior. She had passed all of her falconry tests with flying colors and had even helped a few classmates. She had a generally friendly demeanor and had always been a nurturer, though she'd never excelled in medicine. The girl knew enough to treat the injuries of the birds but nothing more. Some were even surprised that she'd not yet been chosen by a bird, wondering if perhaps, the eagles knew something they did not.

But now was not the time for reflection: she had work to do, work that she was heading for.

Her teacher had said that for her last few Bendi, she would be working up in the eagle aeries alongside a few of the older Endal. They called it a reward for such dutiful work she'd done already, before she'd be scooped up by Meera for more intense, non Wind Eagle training. And so, it was with that that the fourteen year old climbed the steep path to the platform, passing one of the Dek as she went. The Dek was a handsome and surly man but his eyes seemed to lack the kind of luster other caste members had. She suspected he had something wrong in the head, and for it pitied his inability to advance.

"Hey!" Someone suddenly shouted at her. "Hey, Lavira, wait up!"

The girl turned as she walked, eyebrows raised and green-gold eyes fixing upon one of her few friends, Doskil. Doskil was a season younger than she was but had been her bestie since she was ten. He was in line for masonry apprenticeship, too, but the Avora which wanted him had to wait until his current trainee finished the project he'd been working on and advanced out of apprentice to join the rest of the Avora caste. "Guess where I'm going today?"

"Where, Doskil?" She asked, grinning at him broadly and planting her hands on her hips.

"Up to the aeries with you, duh. Teacher wanted me to help a pair of Chiet repair a pressure-crack in the floor of one of the landing platforms. He thinks my res could help them to stabilize the stone before they get the cement in."

"Oh neat, you must be working really hard on that! Bet you're glad for the initiation now, huh?" The other Yasi nodded in response and hooked his arm into hers to practically drag her up the path with him.

"Let's hurry up, though. I wanna get done and get over to the fighting pit. I heard my brother got in another fight, but this time with some Chiet bay-worker. The guy's huge! Toskin's gonna get his butt kicked, I know it, and I've got a wager on it with a couple of the youngers in our class." Vira laughed at her friend for this, remarking that he was going to lose all of his money if he kept betting like he was.

The wind picked up and both youths had to stop their trek for a moment to ride out the biting blast against the safety of the cliff-face. When it finally subsided, they continued upwards. Soon, though, Doskil was being called by one of the Chiet he was supposed to work with on a landing that jutted from the paths side into the drop beyond. She grinned at him and waved after him, bidding him good luck before she continued on. There was a door ahead that she was supposed to go through to meet the Endal she'd be working with that day on the other side. The mountain was thinner up here, hollowed by the masons and earth reimancers to allow for easy travel of the workers from one side to the other while the birds had plenty of landing points to work off of.

[Lavira]

Moving along the path that led to the other side of the mountain, Vira stepped amid a flurry of activity. Three of the giant birds were on one landing, but only two riders were visible, their mature faces light with merriness as they talked animatedly with one another. The sight made the girl grin in excitement and bound towards them, her feet kicking up dust that had yet to be swept clean and her boots clicking against the stone. She would skid to a halt some yards from the nearest of the birds, a beautiful creature of white and black feathers intermixed with plumes of earthy brown. The figures ceased their talk and turned to look at the Yasi that had entered upon them, one of the Inarta about to interject before the eagle she was nearest to turned to face her and bent her massive head to the young girls level.

~You must be the Yasi sent for Bendi with us. Welcome, I am Dedensul.~ Vira's mind filled with the first birds voice and she felt her heart skip a beat as she straightened where she stood, at last catching her breath. Then, a second, and then a third voice filled her mind, the three birds then followed by a welcome from the three riders.

~And I am Desitah~

~I'm Diriskam~

The three inarta were named Lokirn, Lakirn, and the woman among them Lukirn. It was the woman, a beautiful woman with strawberry blonde hair and eyes of purest gold that spoke in lead, coming up beside the eagle named Dedensul to offer a hand to the girl. "Your teacher spoke very highly of you; we were glad to work with a chick who was actually humble for the lot you have been given. We often find you youth a mite frustrating. Far too power hungry, you see..." To which the other Endal laughed, the chirrup of the eagles following suit. "...but even Master Meera sings praises of you. So welcome to the brotherhood, at least for the duration of your Bendi, lass."

Vira was enthralled by the welcome of these men and women and birds, her cheeks flushed in excitement before the woman took her shoulder and guided her over to the rest of them. "We were told you had some climbing skills so we thought we'd do some exercises in retrieval to start. You never know what you may have to fetch from your bird or where you'll have to fetch it from. So get a rope from over there and harness up, lass." The Endal explained, gesturing to the pile of climbing supplies near the cliff wall. The girl hastened to retrieve the rope, gathering it into her arms and then turning to the riders. From there, they directed her to the cliff edge, explaining that a dummy-kill had been placed on a cliff down below and all she had to do was go down and get it then climb back up. It was a common training exercise for those seeking advancement in any outdoor or hunting position within the city. And with Vira about to go into Falconry, it was the perfect task to train in.

They directed her to now cinch the rope around her waist and use the pipe that had been placed at the edge of the drop to tie the other end to. She would then have around twenty yards of rope to work with to get down to the target. After securing both the rope to the pipe and to herself, the yasi stepped to the edge and looked down, searching for the dummy-kill they were talking about. It took about ten ticks for her to spot the brown and black and white shape against the sand-colored rock face, but once she had, she called over her shoulder to the birds and Endal that she had spotted the target and would begin her descent.

The girl squatted on the edge of the drop and turned, her hands holding the rope while she slid her feet off the stone to dangle a little over the drop. The rough earth pressed against her abdomen until at last, her feet found the first piece to get hold of. With great care, she gripped the lip of the ledge with both hands and lowered herself down. The grit of the stone against her fingers provided enough friction for her to hang onto with one hand as the right released and went for the next grip around chest level. Vira lowered herself even further then, sliding her feet down the wall until they touched the next hold. The whole process was repeated several times until the girl had reached almost where the mock-kill was.

She noticed, at this level, that the mock kill was actually a dummy shaped like a goat. Its horns had been wedged into the rock and one of the feet had been secured with a small loop of fabric over a nail. Lowering herself a little further, the yasi grabbed the nail with her right hand and pulled on it. At first, it would not come loose, but eventually, slowly, it began to dislodge and she was able to get the string off of the head. Vira then grabbed ahold of the horn wedged in the stone. The rope she was secured to was too loose to allow for general suspension or she would have let go and hung there for a little to get the horn dislodged.

So it was with effort that the girl wiggled and grunted the horn free, nearly losing her balance a few times as she clung to the stone face. It was hard work, but her patience gave her perseverance and Vira was eventually able to free the 'carcass' and sling it over her shoulder. "Coming up!" She called to the three endal and Wind Eagles above, using a combination of her body, the rope, her shoulders, both legs, and her one free hand to get back up the rockface and to the ledge overhead. It was hard work in the cold wind that bit at her face, but thankfully the winter winds were dry right now, leaving this particular ledge clear of ice and snow.

[Lavira]

Vira pulled and heaved, gripping the rocks tightly with the fingers of her free hand and using her legs to push upwards. Grunts repeatedly escaped her lips as she struggled her way upwards, teeth bared at times and her shoulder getting scraped often. Even her knees felt the strain as she shoved onwards, her fingers at last reaching the top as her body pressed against the rock face. With the hand holding the mock-kill, she worked and pushed and heaved until she could get it onto the lip of the same ledge. Only when it was stabilized up there, she too pulled herself up, letting gravity keep herself balanced as she swung her first leg up and then simply rolled away from the ledge.

The teen laughed once she was back up, laying on her back and grinning at the sky. Nothing could hamper the excitement she felt about today, not even the stress of the labor the Endal put her through. She would go see Meera today and she would accept the apprenticeship, so immensely excited and grateful for the offer the Master who so rarely took on students had given her. "That was fun! What's next?" The girl asked, grinning over the the six figures.

The Endal laughed with her and waved her up to her feet, the woman coming near to unharness the girl and tug her to her feet. "Next we do it without ropes." Vira looked skeptically at the dame, a pensive frown creasing her forehead.

"Ma'am, I'm not the best climber yet, are you sure that's wise?"

"Yup. It's common to retrieve prey in obscure and challenging places, and sometimes a rope is not conducive for retrieval. Learning how to manage the rock face without a restraint will help you in the long run. But don't fret, we're not going to kill you before Meera puts you through the paces. There's a small ledge up the path from here that we'll be working from. Lokirn and Desitah will set up the task once more and you will be asked to retrieve it. We'll make a race of it; five pinions if you retrieve the kill and return to the starting point in under five chimes. How does that sound?" It was certainly a challenge, but Vira thought she was up for it. Depending on how high or rough the rock face was she was being asked to navigate.

"I'd wanna see the challenge first, please." She asked of them, gathering the rope up and winding it properly. Once it had been carefully wound, the youth returned it to where it had been then fetched the fake-kill once more and laid it there too. Lukirn clapped the girl on her shoulder and laughed.

"Smart girl; it's dangerous going into things unprepared and unassessed. Meera made a good choice. Too bad you weren't picked by a bird yet, we would have loved to take you into our Flight." Vira was glad for the encouragement. "But sometimes, a little risk is needed. The pinions are still on the table, Lavira; do you want to try?"

"Will I lose anything?"

"Nope, just the pinions you wouldn't earn."

"...I suppose it's worth a try."

The Endal clapped her hands and nodded to her comrades to head off. The other two Inarta and all three eagles mounted up and flew off, leaving Lukirn and Lavira standing on the ledge. Lukirn explained that it was just a short walk up the mountain to the next spot. "Remember, five chimes to get it and get back up."

"Yes ma'am." Vira replied and followed Lukirn to their next destination.

The walk took no more than three chimes of hard climbing up the steep path, from which Vira could see the ledge that she would be having to get to. Desitah was carefully working the fake goat into a groove once more while the humans and other birds stood above, watching him. The climb down was relatively easy, but the ledge she'd be working from was narrow with a hardy drop to the next landing. It was dangerous, true, but the girl thought she would still be able to complete the task in the alotted time.

A flurry of activity high overhead distracted her, though, and she stopped to look up. A fledgeling had just leapt from an aerie higher up, its wings flapping hard to gain air but struggling with the cold currents against the mountainside. It managed to catch an updraft, though, and shot heavenward, making Vira beam at the sight of it. It was always amazing to see the eagles fly, their beautiful forms built for the sky. She had hoped for years that one would consider her, but likewise knew that with all the Yasi they met day in an day out, chances were always slim. Besides, who was picked had to be just right, so maybe it was simply that the right bird had not yet discovered her. Working with Meera might help ready her, she hoped, for when a bird would choose and bond with her.

Sparing a final look to where the fledgling had risen into the skies and a grin besides, Vira finally brought her eyes back to the mountain and hurried to catch up with the other flier. "Looks like another fledgling's come! It'll be exciting to see who it chooses." She remarked, Lukirn looking back at her and winking. "I wonder if Meera will let me continue visiting with them between training..."

"I'm sure she will. All the teachers know how devoted you are, it would be a crime to deny that much, even if on your free time. Hurry up now, you've got some pinions to win."

[Lavira]

Vira grinned at the Endal in return and reached the lip that led down to the next ledge where the kill was. Her eyes glinted in excitement before looking back to the three humans and birds. "I'm ready!" She declared, shaking her hands out to either side and steeling herself for the climb down.

"On your mark." One of the endal then began. "Get set..." Vira bent forward some, muscles tight and ready. "Go!" She dropped to her belly and swung her feet off the edge by twisting until they dropped. She felt carefully with the toes of her boots for a grip while holding the lip of the top of the landing. It was only about twenty feet down so it wouldn't be too much of a climb to reach it. She just had to keep her grip and make sure she didn't slip! The thought made her laugh a little as she lowered herself down and searched for the next hold with her right hand.

This one was about three feet to the right and she had to stretch to reach it, her muscles straining in her arms as she reached for the little jutting piece of rock. Her fingers closed upon the tip and tightened, locking in place so that she could slide her right foot that way along the wall, feeling for the next lip. She found the grip again and steadied herself on it, now moving her left side to the next hold during the descent to the 'kill'. There were quite a few grips she could use, thankfully, though only some of them were strong enough to support her hands or her feet subsequently.

Far overhead, a bird soared on the cold winds, circling the open top of the volcano on fledged wings. He was a young bird, barely out of his third year and was taking his first true flight after seasons spent strengthening his wings in the warm thermals that rose off the mountainside during the spring and summer months. He felt such peace and courage up here among the clouds and no longer in the confinement of the nest of his parents. And for that, the eagle was glad. He flapped his wings and shifted on the winds, long 'finger' feathers spreading over the supporting gusts that held his massive form up. Heaven was the best thing to call this place so far above the mountain-city. Absolute heaven.

But then, the winds stopped and he lost the strength of their support and began to drop like a rock. He screeched in surprise, flapping his young wings hard to re-stabilize himself and look for a good landing spot on the mountains face. He could see one far down where three other birds were crowded with their riders. There wasn't enough room on that ledge, but there was on the one thirty or so feet further down. And so, he beat his wings and tried to turn his clumsy plummet into a purposeful dive, hoping maybe that none of the others in the colony had not seen what had happened. He had too much pride for a young and inexperienced wind eagle, pride that was sure to see him fall truly one time and probably cause some serious harm. He had no idea that that day was today.

On the cliff above the ledge the fledgling had considered, Vira was nearing the last grip beside the mock kill and steadied herself with a knee against the stones so that her dominant right hand could let go and pull at the kill. Overhead, Lukirn shouted, "Three chimes left, Yasi, best hurry up!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" She shouted back, dislodging the fake carcass and slinging it over her shoulder when something overhead caught her attention. The dark shape of a young Wind Eagle descending clumsily could be seen, wide circles made around the mountains edge. He seemed to be looking for something but Vira couldn't see what. She forced her attention back to the rocks and pulled herself up to the first grip, pushing with her feet and then using a edge in the rock for one knee so she could slide up a little more.

The sound of the fledgling was heard again and Vira turned her eyes up to the skies once more, spotting the raptor. He was much closer than before and the six above her had begun to shout both at the eagle and at the Yasi climbing back up the mountain.

"Oi! Vira, back down, back down, quick!" They cried in alarm, the three other birds above launching into the air to get out of the way of the clumsy fledgling before he knocked all of them off. Their screeches and cries filled the air and Vira flinched, pressing herself against the rock. Her left hand had released the fake kill and it dropped with many other stones towards the ground. Wind buffeted her body when the raptor struck the rock above, its tail beating at her back. "Ah!!" She cried out in surprise, clinging against the cold assault which had descended onto her.

The fledgling was struggling to get his grip, though, and suddenly slipped. His foot fell from the edge of the landing and his wings beat against the stones as he slipped. The young womans body was assaulted by winds and wings, bashing and battering against her until her grip finally gave way and she dropped with a panicked yelp only to be slammed against the wall by the wings once more. It was an instant later that something caught her clothing, something she could only assume was a talon, and yanked her from the wall. She was twisted around in the grip before pain exploded across her face. It was an mere ticks after that that they struck the ground, the girl holding her hands against her bloodied and pain-blazed face as the feathered mass clung to her and the rock face.

[Lavira]

Rocks tumbled around them but all the girl felt was blinding pain and the warm mass of feathers as the giant bird hovered over her. For a brief period, she feared that the massive raptor had been angered by something and she had been in the way, but that was not it. The eagle was just young and inexperienced, and well, Lavira had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Blood poured through her fingers as she lay there, face down in the rock and trembling, her breaths coming in hisses through her clenched fingers over the right side of her face. Her back and shoulders also throbbed in pain and she was sure she'd twisted an ankle when they hit the landing some thirty feet beneath her. Shouts were going on around them before Vira felt the mass of the bird finally leave her and then there was a hand on her back and someone talking near her ear. There were hands pulling under her arms in an attempt to get her on her feet as she continued pressing her hands against her face, stifled cries perforating the ledge.

Calls of "Easy, girl." And "Come on, to the infirmary." And other similar murmurs pressed at her from all sides, but the Yasi's head swam and her heart thumped. Her skin had broken out in a cold sweat and someone said something about that she might go into shock and to stifle the blood loss on her face. Vira felt her feet swept out from under her and then the world began to bounce and sway and shake until everything dissolved into darkness and she was limp in whosever arms she had been taken into.

It was bells before she regained consciousness, her eyes....no...No, only her left eye opened; the right felt as though it had been sealed shut by something, effectively blinding her on that side. She opened her eye and saw the smooth and polished stone of the infirmary ceiling, something Vira had not often had to visit. She had enough awareness to know that it was for it smelled of sterility and only the faint scent of blood from those who came here with more serious injuries. The girl started to sit up but a hand pressed onto her right shoulder, making her jump and wince, whimpering a little in pain.

"Hey, easy now." The voice was masculine, mature. Vira turned her head that way and could see just past the bandage who it was standing there. She frowned but did not immediately speak. "I'm Healer Micquel; you're in the infirmary, lass. Took quite the tumble, I heard." He explained, moving around the cot to her left side and bending down to her level until he was seated on a stool just behind her. "Glad you woke up, though. It's nearly sunset."

"How bad?" She asked in tiredness, her hands moving off the bed to gingerly feel the bandage on the side of her face.

"Oh, bad enough, but you'll make it."

"How bad." She repeated, staring fixedly at him.

The man watched her in return, trying to gauge just how to tell her. The girl was a sensitive case, as emotional as all Inarta were, but...more sensitive than normal. "Your right eye is useless, lass. We've tried a few different things to try and make it react but...it's not. You're not going to be able to see out of it henceforth."

Vira lay on the bed, aghast at the news she had just been given, her fingers ceasing their exploration to lay on the sheets covering her stomach. "You mean I'm blind?"

"Yes. On that side, anyways. We're going to keep you a few days, though, to watch for infection. Then you'll be cleared to go."

"But...but I'm supposed to join Master Meera in a few days."

That was when Duvin entered the little alcove. The Youthmaster looked the same as always, chipper and sweet as he came to her left side and smiled down at the youth on the cot. " 'lo, Lavira. Good to see you're not dead." Vira stared back at him and the terrible joke he had just made.

"Sir, Healer Micquel says I'm going to be here a few days. I turn fifteen in a few days, sir! Master Meera is expecting me by the time I turn fifteen, I can't be late, sir!" She cried out in dismay, pleading at him with her eyes. "Please, tell him I have to go!"

"Lavira, you need time to heal. You were hurt pretty bad and your body needs to recover. When you are released, I am sure Meera will be more than willing to take you on." Duvin tried to explain, but the teen knew better, could see it in his eyes. He had already spoken with the master falconer, knew what would be decided without her even being given the chance to prove herself.

"Sir, he-" she waved at the healer unhappily. "-says I'm not going to be able to see anymore but that doesn't mean I can't still work! Please, let me talk to her, sir. If I could just speak with her, I bet I could show her that I am still able to do what she needs me to do, and we can work out a way to train an-" Duvin reached and squeezed her forearm.

"Lass, Meera's a smart woman, she'll know what needs to be done and once you have healed up, we'll go see the Valintar." That was a death sentence and Vira knew it. The pale pallor of her cheeks made that quite plain and Duvin wished he'd not said that. Kaden would determine whether she was still valuable enough to be classified as Chiet now that no eagle had chosen her and no Avora apprenticed her, or if she would be worth nothing more than a Dek. The very thought was devastating and her eyes teared up, which only made the girl whimper and press around the bandage in discomfort.

"Sir, I'm not useless, please, just let me talk to Meera and I'll...I'll..."

[Lavira]

Duvin just squeezed her arm again before getting to his feet. "Heal up, lass, and we'll talk. You've a couple tests to complete before you age out anyways so once you're better, come see me and we'll figure something out." He smiled at her in reassurement, then turned to leave, letting Micquel go over with her the injuries and healing that had been done.

Her eye had been the worst of it and he and Keah had done what they could to heal the worst of it, but they could not restore her vision in the eye. They had made the choice not to heal the rest of it, choosing instead only to stitch it up so it could heal on its own. He explained that she was going to have a scar once the worst had healed. He then went on to explain that she had also taken some severe battering when the eagle had knocked her from the ledge. Her shoulders and back had taken the worst of it and Vira was likely going to need some good time to recover. Her left shoulder had taken the brunt of the assault and Vira would learn soon enough that she would have to take it easy with lifting or hitting or anything of the sort.

"It really is a miracle you did not receive worse. Had the fledgling shifted to one side or the other, or hit you higher or lower, you probably would have been dead. It's like you have Ovek's luck on your side, haha!" The healer got to his feet then. "Well, I'll let you get some rest. Call if you need anything." He said, then slipped out of the curtain, leaving the girl alone on the cot to stare dejectedly up at the ceiling.

"Man...what am I going to do now?" She murmured quietly, eventually shifting with much groaning and displeasure onto her left side, the pain in her back and shoulders now apparent. It would take some chimes before she was able to fall asleep, her mind going over all of the possibilities of what was to come. Once she was out of here, she'd have to rejoin the Yasi for whatever reason, and then she'd have to see Kaden. The very thought frightened her for there was a very high likelihood that Vira was going to be placed into Dek because of this new handicap...Frightened.

No, she was more than frightened.

She was terrified.

[Taylani]

XP Award!

Lavira:

XP Award:

• +2 socialization
• +3 observation
• +3 climbing
• +1 leadership
• +1 rhetoric

Lore:

• Sometimes rope is not able to be used in climbing obscure locations
• Five Pinions for completion within five chimes
• Kaden to decide if one is still useful enough to remain a Chiet or must be considered a Dek.

Notes: I gave you a leadership for demanding to see the challenge first. It didn’t fit smoothly but I felt it the demand was a skill building moment.

Comments :

These are comments.

TAYLANI