Flashback The Beginning (Finished)

[Neyasi Tillandsia]

Neyasi Tillandsia

_
58 of the Day, Winter of 507 A.V.

A slight sigh escaped the reddish lips of the young Symenestra, crystalizing into small white specks, and drifting upward past her ashen face, as her ruby gaze left the thin, crisp white parchment before her face, traveling upwards to peer at the open gates of the city, long, pale fingers hastily working to fix the slackening of her cloak, revealing a section of her pale epidermis to the biting cold, resulting in an immediate racking of the sixteen-year-old's frail, gangly body.

Neyasi focused her eyes down upon the parchment once more, well-aware of the loss of feeling in the fingers holding tight to her father's journal. "I was not sure what to make of the city of Sunberth, but took an interest in it." The muttered words escaped in a few small breaths, as Neyasi read the start of one of her father's entries aloud.

She proceeded to close the book with a quick movement of her fingers, which spread themselves across the front and back cover of the black, silk-bound journal. Her gaze returned to the entrance to the city. She would have to start somewhere. This seemed the most likely place to begin.

What could she hope to gain here? Second thoughts crossed the young Symenestra's mind, as she grasped at straws for a reason not to enter the rugged, mean-looking port city. Why would her father come here? Neyasi fumbled with the top of her knapsack, giving her fingers something to do, and her mind something else to think about, as she fought to place the book back within its depths.

The question is, why would someone who wants my father dead or gone come here? Neyasi corrected herself firmly, as she pulled her resolve back together, slipping the strings of her knapsack back around her shoulders, and tightening her cloak. Alright. I'm ready as I'll ever be. She told herself, nodding, before taking the first step towards the city gates.

Barely five steps into the city, and Neyasi was already skidding away in immediate hasty retreat, barely managing to avoid a jostling group of people grouped around a man selling baked goods straight out of a bag. Having made it to the shelter of a dirty old awning, Neyasi took a moment to neaten her clothing, letting out a slight huff at the noise and disorder of the city.

[Neyasi Tillandsia]

Neyasi Tillandsia

_
A rusty old laugh sounded from behind her, and to the young Symenestra's innocent ears, it sounded more like a hearty cackle. Neyasi turned, fingers tightening at the hems of her black silken sleeves, eying the old man sitting before her warily. "A bit lost, are we?" The old-timer chuckled, pausing in the middle of the act of scraping away at a stick, one end sharpened to a fine point.

After a few moments, Neyasi found the nerve to speak. "No, sir. I'm looking for the, uh, The Pig's Foot Tavern?" She said, hardly able to keep the anxiety from breaking her voice. The last thing she needed was to look weak and vulnerable in front of this old geezer. According to her father's journal, you never could tell, with these people, what they were thinking, and it was best to present a firm, sturdy manner.

Neyasi fidgeted nervously, despite herself, as the coal-black eyes of the old man moved up and down her body, examining her with a scrutinizing gaze. It caused the small, translucent hairs on the back of her neck lift. At last, he leaned forward, pointing the sharp end of his stick at her. "You watch yourself, missy. Folks 'round here not always got the best intentions." He said seriously, and Neyasi wasn't sure if she should have been relieved, or more worried.

The old man proceeded to point the pointed stick in a different direction, down a side street. "Ya' go down that street, 'til ya' get to the cross-section. Then, ya' turn left, 'til ya' see the sign with the pig's foot on it." He said, moving the stick in a tapping motion with every pause, causing the young Symenestra a mild case of confusion, attempting to follow the tapping motion of the stick and the old man's words at the same time.

When she realized he'd stopped speaking, she dipped her head respectfully to him. "Thank you, sir." She said politely, and turned in the direction the old man had pointed her in, her long-legged stride quickly taking her away from the old man, who was grinning at her back as she walked away.

Neyasi followed his directions, taking care to avoid the worst of the crowd. As the sign with the pig's foot came into view, Neyasi heaved a mental sigh of relief. Then she realized it would probably be just as bad inside, and her stomach clenched. Forcing herself not to waver, Neyasi kept her stride, until she stood before the door to the tavern.

Neyasi reached for the door handle, and, a bit reluctantly, pulled the heavy wooden door open, wincing at the creaking sound made by the hinges. With that done, she stepped into the dimmer lighting and noisy bustle of the tavern.

[Neyasi Tillandsia]

Neyasi Tillandsia

_
The first thing to hit Neyasi was the smell. Oh, how it reeked of stale ale, moldy cheese, and sweaty men! But that was just Neyasi's personal opinion. Some people might have thought it smelled much different, and very nice. Neyasi most certainly did not. Instead, she blinked, allowing her pupils to rapidly adjust to the dim lighting, before taking a real look around.

The room was packed, that was for sure. Most of the men were rugged, bearded, big, and burly. Emphasis on the 'big' and 'burly'. Neyasi's pale, slender form slipped through the crowd, seeking out someplace to sit, whilst attempting to get jostled as little as possible. She wasn't entirely sure how much her Symenestra bones could take. Definitely not much, that was clear.

Neyasi jumped at the touch of a hand on her hsoulder, whirling around, comign face-to-face with a young barmaid, who was staring at her quizzically. Without waiting for an explanation from Neyasi, she started talking - And fast. "Alright, just sit wherever you can, and we'll bring out something. Whadda you want? Ale? Beer? We got plenty o' beer to last us a good while, unless the construction workers come in early. You want food? We've got baked fish."

As the barmaid paused to take a breath, Neyasi jumped at the opportunity to get in a word edgewise. "Ah, no thank you. Solid food and spirits aren't quite... In my diet." She said, fidgeting nervously. At this the barmaid leaned closer to Neyasi - So close, actually, that the Symenestra female could smell her breath. It wasn't a pleasant odor, of that she was sure.

Then, the barmaid's eyes widened in surprise. "Hey, you're a Widow!" She exclaimed, saying it just a little louder than Neyasi would have been comfortable with; Well, actually, she didn't feel comfortable with having her race, or the rather crude nickname for her race, mentioned aloud. Too many ears to hear it, in her opinion. And she was correct.

Heads turned, beer mugs were lowered, eyebrows were raised. Then, the ruckus continued, as someone made a crude joke, and the whole tavern burst into laughter. Sighing in mild relief, Neyasi pried herself away from the barmaid, and took a seat at an empty table, drawing her cloak tighter around her self-consciously. She reached into her knapsack, and pulled out a soft fruit, taking a bite out of it. Fruit were the only regular food items Symenestra had any hope of digesting properly raw.

A sudden hard grip on her upper arm caused Neyasi to turn once more, not at all courageously.

[Neyasi Tillandsia]

Neyasi Tillandsia

_
"Well, who might you be?" The rough hand holding tight to her upper arm belonged to a large, bearded man, who was smiling at her, but not in any way pleasantly. Neyasi could feel the growing pressure on her arm, and immediately knew that there was something seriously wrong with this scenario. Call it instinct.

"I-I'm not sure how much of your business that is." Neyasi said, attempting to pull her arm away. The man's grip held tight. "Come on, I love meeting new people. Especially such a young lass like yourself." He said, still smiling. Neyasi's alarm grew considerably. Her father had once told her that the lack of real order in Sunberth was bound to brew some of the worst kinds of people, but Neyasi hadn't been expecting this.

"I hope there's not a problem here, Baernen."

The man let go of Neyasi, who doubled over onto the table from the momentum of her futile attempts to free herself, immediately reaching up to put one hand over the red spot where Baernen had grabbed her. "I'm not sure that that's any of your business, Nuit." The large man said gruffly, almost in a growl.

Neyasi immediately turned her head to see the undead who had saved her from a potentially serious situation. A man, maybe in his early thirties, stood before them, cold grey eyes directed towards Baernen. His skin was ashen and deathly, the dark bags under his eyes leading to the assumption that sleep was rare.

"I suggest you go back to your table, Baernen. Wouldn't want to attract too much attention this morning, now would we?" The Nuit asked, eyes flicking once towards Neyasi. In that one glance, Neyasi saw a comforting gleam of reassurance. She nearly let out an audible sigh of relief.

Baernen glared at the Nuit for several more moments, before shuffling off, muttering angrily under his breath. The Nuit watched him shuffle off until he had sat back down, before turning, and drawing up a chair beside Neyasi. "Not really in your element, are you?" He asked sympathetically. Neyasi shrugged, picking up the fruit she'd managed to drop onto the table.

"It's not really what I was expecting." She admitted after a moment or two. The Nuit's eyebrows went up. "Then what were you expecting?" He asked. Neyasi shrugged. "I'm Vordinan." The Nuit said, sticking out one hand. Neyasi stared at it for a moment, before taking it. "Doesn't sound like a human name." She said, raising her ruby gaze to peer intently at his face.

Vordinan chuckled. "No, it's not. I was a Symenestra myself in my first life." He conceded.

[Neyasi Tillandsia]

Neyasi Tillandsia

_
Neyasi's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh..." Was all she could manage to say. Vordinan raised one eyebrow. "Yes, I tend to get that reaction." He said, chuckling. Neyasi's eyes narrowed slightly, watching his face intently. What she found was startling, at least to her. He laughed enough, but his eyes did not laugh, in the sense.

His face suddenly smoothed over, as he noticed that he was under close observation. "What's your name?" He asked, his cold grey gaze fixed on her. "Neyasi Tillandsia." Neyasi said after a few hesitant moments. Vordinan watched her for a few more moments. "Tillandsia? As in, Drovidin Tillandsia?" He asked curiously. Neyasi nodded vigorously. "You've met my father?" She asked, eager to know more.

Vordinan let out a low sigh, before digging into a leather pouch hanging from around his waist. He pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper, which looked as if it could be in better shape. He held it out to Neyasi. "A couple years ago, he came to Sunberth, said he needed me to hold onto this. Give it to his daughter if she ever came around." Vordinan pushed the parchment towards Neyasi a little more.

Neyasi gave him a quizzical look, before gingerly picking up the parchment. She unrolled it, and stared for a few moments. Before her eyes lay a complete map of Mizahar, cities marked, territories bordered. But as she peered closer, she noticed a faint red line traversing from city to city, never hitting the same city twice. She looked up at Vordinan. "Do you know what the line is?" She asked. The Nuit gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"If I knew, I'd tell you." He said. Neyasi stared at the map for a few more moments. She put one finger on Sunberth. "So he definitely came here. But how do I know where he went next?" She asked, looking up at Vordinan. "I imagine we'll figure it out." He said.

Neyasi looked up at him. "We?" She echoed. Vordinan leaned back in his chair. "You didn't honestly think I'd let you wander around Mizahar, looking for your father, all by yourself, did you?" He asked, both eyebrows going up this time.

Neyasi's eyebrows came together, a look of deep thought crossing her face. Then, she looked up at him, and smiled. "I suppose not."

[Una Tanta]

Neyasi :

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Other

Minor Fracture to Arm: 2 Weeks to Heal
Map: Given a map by Vordinan from her father. The map is large with a blue line running in a partial circle around it. The map was created by a map makers daughter who would often sit by her fathers side drawing her own fantastical maps. There are no accuracies to the map.

Notes

Maps are EXTREMELY rare in Mizahar. One of Mizahar, if it existed, would likely be in Zeltiva and under very strict watch not to mention worth thousands. More likely would be getting a map of a city or region but even those would require a lot of money or invested story plotting.

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