Life Is a Promise, Fulfill It. [Solo]

[Elhaym]

15th Day of Fall, 510 AV The ring of the 5th bell is heard throughout Syliras... The day was young. Pain drank greedily from her waterskin, wiping the runaway fluid from the sides of her mouth with a bandaged forearm. She had left the city gates of Syliras moments ago, now heading south alongside the road. Of course, her trusty companion Tanny trotted alongside her, wagging his tail in anticipation for the days events. Pain glanced down at his face, and he seemed to be smiling. Could a dog smile? Well, hers could. She reached into her satchel, rummaging through the pockets until she found a small morsel of dog food. Holding it out in her palm, she allowed Tanny to jump and pull the treat from her hand. "Good boy!" She said, sounding a little too motherly for her tastes. She made exceptions for Tanny. After a few more minutes of walking, the two broke away from the beaten path, approaching a small tree that stood alone in the grass. Pain had been here several times, and had scraped the bark off one side of the tree to a height of about five feet. This was where she practiced. Now, fighting wasn't something Pain thought she would ever do regularly. Far from it. It had simply turned out that she was quite good at it, and she was not one to waste talent. As Tanny took his position aside the tree and curled into a ball, Pain began to hop up and down on the balls of her feet. She would usually stretch for a few minutes before doing anything rigorous. Pulling muscles and having cramps weren't exactly her idea of staying fit. She pulled her arms back to stretch her chest muscles, and pushed her neck to loosen it up. A few more ritualized patterns of stretching, and Pain felt warm enough to begin. "Don't worry Tanny, you don't have to move. Momma won't miss." She cooed, observing that her companion's ears twitched. Of course, he was allready asleep. What a beautiful life. Without preamble, she began. Pain's methodology for fighting was a balance of focused aggresion and close quarters manuvering. She started off by jabbing the tree, and following up with a punch from her opposite reach arm. The punches came slow, at half speed at first, until a few cycles she began impacting the tree with a solid thud. Her fists were wrapped in a manner to brace her hand and knuckles, and a piece of leather was placed inbetween the bandages across her knuckles to both increase abrasiveness to the enemy, and soften the blow to her own body. As she was satisfied with her punching form, Pain began to integrate elbow attacks into her steady stream of jabs and rear arm jabs. The trick with using her elbows was to fold her hand into her chest when she struck to to fully extend her elbow's bony edge. Otherwise, her forearm may be the point of contact, and that was marginally effective if at all. Not to mention punching herself in the sternum on occasion was most unpleasant. Left jab, right jab, right elbow, left elbow... she struck the tree purposefully, making sure to swivel her hips in the direction of the attack for increased momentum. To practice elbow attacks was tricky, because the nature of the target surface usually ended with her scraping and cutting the thin skin that covered the bony bludgeons. Of course, this time was no different. "Urghh!" Tanny lifted an ear, and half opened his eyes to see pain inspecting her right elbow. She had come across too hard on the softened surface of the tree, and even without it's bark, she had managed to split open a new wound. Pain muttered to herself as she walked to her satchel, casually flung to the ground several feet away. She produced a long, thin piece of cloth and wrapped it around her elbow. As she tied it off and was satisfied that she had stymied the bloodflow, she returned to her tree. "Tanny, I know what you're thinking..." she said, as she began to bounce on the balls of her feet and assumed her stance yet again. "You're thinking... master, you're an artist! Why do you always come out here and beat up trees?" The statement was punctuated by the solid thud of her lower shin pounding the tree, a trademark kick having been executed. Pain brought her leg down, and inverted her stance. She would put her weight on the ball of her forward foot, and swing her leg in an arcing motion to roughly the area of her opponent's neck. Meanwhile, utmost care had to be taken to maintain the her guard, which meant keeping her right fist centered near her chin and denying it the impulse to flail about. Her other hand, however, was released from guard duty, and allowed to swing backwards to increase momentum. Her hips movement could not be forgotten either. Foot, hips, arm; the three areas of focus for momentum and balance in Pain's kick, all equally important. The kick was executed much as the other, impacting the tree with the bottom of her shin. "Well Tanny..." she gasped inbetween kicks. "I'll tell you! It's because... studying only one thing... huah! Is worthless... You have to make sure... that you remain well rounded!" Another thud, and Pain's shins had taken enough beating for the day. She walked to her dog, and bent down to scratch behind his ears. "You see Tanny, if you want master art, you have to master the fist. If you focus only on art, you will become one dimensional, and boring. You can never attain greatness in something by ignoring everything else. That's the mark of obsession, and obsession only leads to failure." Tanny responded by rolling onto his back, begging for a belly scratch. Pain obliged, humoring her friend with a battary of tickles and scratches. "So why fighting? Well, i'm good at it. I learn things when I fight, about perspective and observation... I learn patience and focus. These are lessons wouldn't come to me in the same way if I only sat around and sketched." Content with his nap and massage, Tanny got to his feet. He looked up at her, showcasing the aging white fur around his eyes and running down his back. "Okay, I know, you don't care about that, right? We're done for today. You hungry boy? Me too... lets head back to town and get something for the both of us." Pain's knuckles, shins, elbows and knees all ached. It was a glorious feeling. Even more so, it was a glorious beginning to yet another normal, routine day.

[Elhaym]

The ring of the 7th bell is heard throughout Syliras... Pain's stomach was rumbling as she approached The Rearing Stallion. It was early yet, and the rowdy crowds that frequented within it's wall were most likely still unconscious from their previous night's drink. She couldn't bring Tanny inside, and halted for a moment to decide what to do with him. Luckily, a couple of adolescent children seemed to be clustered a few dozen feet from the tavern's doors. She called out to them, offering up a few silver Miza's for them to watch her dog. Grateful the chance to earn easy coin so early in the day, they immediately went to work spoiling the old mutt with belly rubs and head scratches. Satisfied with his sitters, Pain slid through the entryway and into the tavern. As she thought, mostly empty at this hour. She approached a small table a took a seat, unloading her satchel of supplies for the day onto the ground at her feet. Of course, within moments, the only man who didn't seem to be with someone approached her. "Hey there." He said in a gruff, but mostly friendly voice. Pain silently noted that he didn't seem to smell of alcohol, and he had no drink. "Good." she thought. The last thing she needed was a drunkard this early in the morning trying to get attention. "Kind of empty in here, mind if I sit with ya? I wouldn't want to be a bother, so I figured i'd ask." The man said, placing his hand on the back of the chair opposite hers. Pain wasn't really the type to have random chats with strangers for no reason, but he seemed nice enough, and he had asked permission. "... why not." Pain said in a low voice, trying her best to sound indifferent. Truthfully, she was pretty lonely. Tanny was as excellent companion as she could ask for, but sometimes a human being is hard to replace. "Thank you maam', my name's Barlow." He said as he slid into the chair. At that moment, a bardmaid approached them with a face that couldn't have woken up more than twenty minutes prior. "Welcaaaahhhhhhh..." she tried to greet them, but broke into a long yawn. "... i'm terribly sorry. What can I get for you two?" "We'll both be havin breakfast, I imagine?" He said, looking to Pain. She nodded. "Yes, breakfast for both, and just water to drink. Yes, much obliged." The barmaid began to turn, but Pain raised her hand and caught her attention. "Yes, could you perhaps just cook up a small piece of salted meat? It's uh... for my dog." Pain stated rather awkwardly. She always felt strange asking for food at a resteraunt for an animal, but she had run out of dogfood from the Tooth and Claw, and had no recourse. "Certainly!" the barmaid beamed, seemingly unphased by the future receipient of the meal. "A dog lover, eh?!" Barlow said heartily, relaxing in his chair. "Wouldn't have guessed it. The looks of you, i'd say you're some sort of fighter of some sort with those wrapped up hands. You got a few cuts on your elbow too, there." "I...uh, well. Not really, i'm actually an artist." Pain's voice was meek. Situations like this were a bit uncomfrtable, especially since her tablemate seemed to be treating her with some semblence of respect. She was used to people making fun of her, or acting as though she was weird. "An artist! Hah. So, thats charcoal all over them wraps on your hands, then? You know, my son always liked to draw, damn fool couldn't draw to save his life. Bless his heart, he loved it though." The barmaid had returned with their food and drink. A simple meal of porridge, eggs and bacon. The slim piece of meat came soon after, which Pain slid to the side. She also placed her bacon on the plate, uninterested in eating it. "Don't like meat either? Well, maybe you're an artist after all. Seems you have a soft heart, carin' for animals so much." Barlow said. He was quickly tearing through his meal, although Pain thought he might actually be slowing down as not to offend her. He was nosy and talkative, but Pain had begun to find him slightly charming despite the fact that he was probably twice her age, and not attractive at all. "It's not that...uh, I just kind of don't like meat much. It uh, makes me feel sluggish. I do a lot of exercise, so I try to avoid it. If I can." she said inbetween bites. "A dog loving artist athelete. You're a unique young woman, you know that?" Pain became suddenly aware that she had never introduced herself, and felt terribly embaressed. Here this person was, being so friendly, and she hadn't even bothered to tell him her name. "Well, uh... thanks. My name is Pain. It's good to meet you, Barlow. Most people, ah... they aren't so friendly in this city." Barlow looked at her for a moment before responding with a resounding laugh. "What's a sweet young girl like you doin' with a name like that? Sounds like a Zith! Your parents weren't that cruel, were they miss?" "Oh, err... no, well actually thats sort of my artist's name. I don't use my real name much. What's a name, anyway? It's just what people call you, so who cares what it is. It's just something that means something to you, and no one else, right?" Pain stammered, feeling a slight sense of embaressment for her odd choice in names for perhaps the first time ever. Barlow's eyes thinned into a squint, and he he tilted his head as he observed Pain when she talked. After a few seconds of silence, he pushed his plate back and greedily gulped down his water. "You know what, Pain? You're a good kid. You got a pretty square head on your shoulders, there. It's good that you ain't so attached to silly stuff like a name. Sorry to say this, but it's off to work for me. Several orders to fill today..." Barlow sighed as he spoke, pushing his chair back and standing. He extended his hefty hand over the table, which Pain met, and they shook hands. Barlow signalled the barmaid, who held up a finger indicating she would come collect payment for the meal in a moment. "Hey, Pain. Listen to me, kid. You seem like you got a lot of walls built up, you know? You're kind of uneasy. You're a smart young woman though, i'll tell you that. Don't waste your life bein' so guarded, okay? You know, i'm here every mornin' before I goto work. If you're ever in these parts this early, come by. I usually eat alone, it's good to have some decent company." Barlow spoke as he offered up some coin for his meal, and Pain paid for hers as well. The barmaid cleared their plates, and Barlow bid his farewells. Pain sat for a moment, watching him as he left. He was right, in many ways. She had immediately assumed he was a drunkard who only wanted to cop a feel. Even after figuring out he wasn't, the awkward silences that erupted between them as they ate would have been enough to make most people uncomfortable. However, he hadn't minded. He had taken her for what she was; a weird, quiet girl who was uneasy talking about herself. He'd even offered to talk again, given the chance. Pain's face contorted into her trademark crooked grin as she slid away from the table, taking the roasted meat and bacon in hand. She found the teens outside that she'd assigned to watch Tanny lazing about, with her dog at their feet sound asleep. She paid them each a few coin, and they departed with their easily earned spoils. "Wake up Tanny, time for me to goto work too, you know." She said, though his real attention upon waking up was the meat in her hands. She crouched down, and fed it to him slowly in small bits. The two of them departed, both full, happy and ready to begin the real bulk of the day.

[Elhaym]

The ring of the 12th bell is heard throughout Syliras... Pain wiped the sweat from her brow, frowning at the scene before her. Her usual handwraps were gone, revealing her bruised and battered knuckles and fingers. It was more or less a necessity for her current task, which was most unpleasant. She was about to begin a bit of cleanup inside the bird enclosure, a disgusting task to begin with, but Pain was appalled by birds and that compounded the misery. She wore long gray pants and a loose cloth shirt, complete with a gray cloth wrapped around her forehead. She looked every part the custodian. She emerged almost forty five minutes later, covered in sweat and smelling not quite right. Her hands felt grimey, and Pain looked down at the long handled scrub brush she wielded with a hint of disgust. She was already midstride towards the cat enclosure when an awful ruckus erupted from the front of the store. Pain heard a heated exchange, and broke into a jog across the large warehouse with the sound of the scrubber clanging to the ground echoing behind her. The air of the place seemed to have thickened with tension between the voices, and as she grew closer she was almost plowed over by Lirelle herself. Pain noticed instantly that she had the most intense look she'd ever seen, and Lirelle revealed the source without preamble. "Up at the front. Bring that dog to the back. Now." She said with a sense of firmness that demanded urgency from Pain, despite the calm delivery. Pain ran (not walked, jogged, or sauntered, ran) to to the front, where a distressed woman was hovering over a large black dog. His fur looked matted, and the dog was panting heavily as it were more distressed than the owner. Only upon a closer inspection did Pain find the source of the problem; the dog had vicious wounds all over it's body. It was not the work of another dog. No doubt, this dog had been beaten by a human. Pain gritted her teeth and shooed the woman away as she knelt down, letting out a soft grunt as she picked up the beast up as gently as she could. She was strong, but the dog's weight was substantial, and she stumbled as she rose to her feet. Her pace was as quick as she could manage as the met Lirelle in the back of the shelter. Lirelle directed Pain to place the dog on a large table in the center of the workspace, and Pain followed her instructions without hesitation. Pain knew her role. She knew nothing of healing an animal or how to handle the situation, but she was a strong woman. She would hold the dog still while Lirelle did the work. It was all she could do to keep back tears in between the frantic breathing from Lirelle and the whimpering cries of the animal. Pain's mind began to wander, perhaps a method of mental self defense. She started thinking of a time, not too long ago, when she had cradled a dying animal such as this in it's last moments of life. Her tears could not be held back, and she closed her eyes, sinking into her memories. She also thought of her little Tanny. *** It was her second day at the Tooth and Claw, and Lirelle seemed uninterested in much personal instruction. She had given Pain a long list of menial duties to be performed throughout the complex, but Pain didn't mind so much. She needed a job, and she found that she enjoyed exerting herself everyday like this. It was her first time in the dog's enclosure, and she was cleaning up a few messes when she noticed a familiar dog. Or at least, he looked familiar. An old tan dog lay in the far corner, resting his chin on his paws and dozing. He had tan fur, with streaks of white billowing from his eyebrows and back. It took Pain by surprise, and she felt her heart skip a beat. That old dog... it could have been him. Perhaps from the same litter, more likely. Pain approached the old dog and found him to be a very pleasant little fellow, enjoying her company and always smiling at her in the way that a dog could smile. After a few minutes of deviation from her tasks, she returned to her duties, but her eyes never fell far from the old mutt. At the end of the day, she approached Lirelle and asked her about him. Lirelle said that he had been brought in a few days ago as a stray, and though he was a smart, decently trained dog, she didn't figure anyone would want him. Pain offered to buy him and have her take the money out of her pay, which apparently surprised Lirelle. She had looked at Pain inquisitively, as if determining whether Pain was fit to own an animal. After a moment of deliberation, she simply nodded. From that moment on, that old dog had barely left Pain's side. She'd named him Tanny, of course for the color of his fur. More so, it seemed fitting that he would share a name similar to the one she had given what she presumed to have been his brother. She swore that she would give this animal the best life she could for the rest of his days. That devotion had yet to waver. Rather, it seemed to grow with every waking minute she spent in the company of her new best friend. *** Pain's tears and flushed cheeks had gone unnoticed by Lirelle, who after an inconceivable amount of time to Pain, declared that her work was done. Pain opened her eyes, finding the dog before her calmly breathing in slumber. It's wounds were bandaged, it's fur clean, and it seemed to be in no distress at all. She wasn't sure if she had used magic, medicine, prayer, or a mixture of all three... but she had saved that dog. Pain met Lirelle's eyes, and she nodded to her boss. Lirelle looked at Pain for a moment, and nodded as well, offering the tiniest of smiles. "You did well. Hiring you wasn't such a bad idea, I guess. Finish up with the cat enclosure, and you can go for the day." Lirelle stated matter of factly. The woman was no social wizard, but Pain understood a compliment coming from the woman when she heard one.

[Elhaym]

The ring of the 15th bell is heard throughout Syliras... Pain's satchel was heavy on her shoulder. The tome that was nestled within was thick and weighty, not to mention her waterskin and a few tol'uma race cakes wrapped in large green leaves. The hustle of the castle's interior was hardly a place could sit down and read, much less actually focus on the words and absorb them. In light of this, she had left Tanny to his nap back in her room, and ventured out towards a small courtyard that was fully exposed to the midday sun. The fresh air and hot kiss of sunlight felt wonderful on Pain's skin, uplifting her mood and desire to give this whole magic business a good go. She spotted a stone bench that would work nicely for her scholarly endeavour and made a beeline for it. Halfway there, she stopped dead in her tracks. She was directly in front of Inner Fire Glassworks, and it was a sight to behold indeed. Pain's eyes widened as she witnessed a young woman working with the glass, enamored by the rich hues of the glass displays and the forms that it took. Pain knew nothing of glassworks, but she knew art when she saw it. After a few more moments of staring wide eyed at the woman's brilliant display of craftsmanship, Pain unglued her eyes and once again set her sights upon the stone bench that had been her original destination. After situating herself with her legs folded beneath her on the bench, Pain pulled free the book with great care. She wasn't too good with money, but even she knew she had spent an arm and a leg obtaining this book. In retrospect, she probably should have tried to talk the bookseller down in price. Pain shook her head, mentally scolding herself for not haggling. The cover of the book was bound in leather, and had a series of symbols etched into it's surface that held no meaning to Pain. It was a tome detailing the magical art of flux, something she had experianced vividly only once. She had been on the receiving end, however. She knew nothing of what the magic was or how it was performed, but anything that Pain thought might benefit her body was something of interest. She opened the book to the first page, and began to read what appeared to be a forward. A few words in, Pain recalled that the young man at that dump of a bookstore had mentioned that the book was a copy, so she assumed this brief introduction may have been slipped in by the man who copied the text. To the reader... in order to fully appreciate the magical art of flux, one must... Pain yawned, and skipped forward in the introduction in an attempt to find some text of a little more substance. Ah, there. The streams of djed flowing throughout your body can be a terrible weapon, indeed. You would be wise to remember that Flux is not a magic to practiced and learned alone. It is said that the stress it causes the body... "Djed? What the..." Pain spoke aloud, unfolding her legs to stretch. She swiveled her body and lay on her back across the bench, bending her knees and leaning the book against her thighs. The bench's stone surface didn't make for a comftable headrest, and she grasped blindly for her satchel before finally snagging it and pulling it underneath her head to act as a pillow. Pain picked up where she left off, reading the lines aloud. "It is said that the stress that it causes the body is far greater than it was ever meant to contain. Use this knowlege and power wisely, and always abide by the guidelines outlined throughout the text if this form of djed manipulation is to be used." Pain took a breath, and flipped the page. The author seemed to assume that this magic was detrimental to the body, but how could that be? That blind man had hit her so hard... surely, it wasn't dangerous. After a few pages of intricate artwork and decorated type, she flipped to the first page of the text itself. Pain's jaw dropped. The size of the script was miniscule, and the pages were thin. In a panic, Pain flipped through the book quickly, realizing the true size and breadth of the tome she had purchased. As she skimmed through the pages, she found that the amount of information and detailed drawings and diagrams pictured within were consistant until the final page. Pain sighed aloud, returned to the first page of the book. She had allocated a good hour of her day to read the book, but this would take weeks... no, monthes for her to finish. She pulled the book closer to her face, and began reading the elegant script of the beginning lines. Almost immediately, she was lost in the technical jargon and references the original author used. Her eyes darted about the page, widenend in the same state of terror that a youth experiances when realizing that the test that they are taking is completely beyond their ability. Her will to continue wavered. Pain was not a truly stupid person. Rather, she was probably just as intelligent as most people you would meet. Her fault lie in the fact that her schooling had been lackluster and her reading ability was nowhere near the level needed to understand such prose. Pain's eyes followed the words meaninglessly, even as her mind drifted away into daydreams. Her thought process snapped back into focus as she reread an account of a student whom had experianced something called "overgiving" when using the magical art of flux. It had described the man's joints and tendons popping out of place, tearing his muscles and leaving him crippled. Aside from that, the description went on to note that the student had been so filled with rapture by the feeling of power the djed in his body had given him, he hadn't even realized the damage his body was sustaining. It described further signs of degridation, both physically and mentally in detail. Pain went no further. She slammed the heavy tome shut, discouraged. This magic wouldn't benefit her body. It would destroy it. "Thirty gold mizas... for this!? How the blazes does one learn magic, anyway? Sounds like one might as well jump off a ledge if they want to learn this sort of thing." She muttered as she stuffed the book back into her satchel. She was dissappointed that her interest in magic had lasted for less than day, but at the same time, she was struck by a sense of wonder for those who would actually utilize the power of the own djed. She stood and stretched, releasing her muscles from their lethargic state that her brief study had left them in. "Magic..." she thought, "... not for me, I guess." The outing hadn't been a total loss, however. She casually walked back to the glassworks, eager to once again view that fiery haired woman shape the molten material. Her mood had soured upon discovering the true nature of magic, but the intricate technique of glassblowing washed away her disdain. It truly was beautiful.

[Elhaym]

The ring of the 17th bell is heard throughout Syliras... Pain sat in her room, enjoying the silence. She much approved of her new living situation, as her old room had been so deep in the guts of the castle that she hadn't even had a window. She had needed some peace and quiet after the day's events however, and some time spent with just a pencil, herself, and Tanny was welcome at the moment. She was perched on her bed, bent over the vellum pad on her lap, sketching furiously with a graphite pencil. Tanny's light snores behind her assured her that he was asleep, and well. She was drawing from memory, a beautiful flower called the White Dryas. It was her favorite flower, and she was quite good at sketching them. She started with a piece of charcoal, lightly coating a piece of vellum in it's loose dust. Using the side of her hand, she smudged the charcoal in, creating a grayed background and simultaneously coating the fistwraps around her hands in the black dust. Pain liked to tone her paper before she drew; it made shading and lighting much easier to handle for the less skilled artist. Once the charcoal's work was done, she produced a thin piece of graphite fashioned into a pencil, and began to outline the shape of the flower. Each petal would be slightly differently shaped than than the last, with a few tiliting up or seeming bigger. It was hard to resist the childish impulses to simply draw eight identical shapes around the center, but such practices would not produce a lifelike flower. Pain bit her lip, concentrating as she blindly grasped for a small piece of soft rubber next to her. She would use this to move the excess charcoal away from highlighted areas of the leaves. This was where the drawing began to look more realistic, but it was difficult to do correctly. Direction of the main light source had to be constantly considered. She switched back to her graphite, filling in areas and erasing them, working out each petal individually. As her pencil moved, she became lost in thoughts, her hand easily gliding across the paper in practiced movements. She remembered a particuler time that she had been drawing with her brother... the day before he had left. The last time she had seen her brother alive. She was fourteen, and he had been twenty-two. *** "Elhaym, let me see your drawing." he said, extending his arm and opening his palm. His easle was in place in front of him, and he was putting the final touches on what Elhaym considered a beautiful landscape painted in brilliant oil colors. "Okay, here." She said, handing him her drawing. It was rudimentary, but decent. She had been drawing the same landscape. Whereas his landscape was rich with color, her's was monotone in shades of black and gray. It seemed like a wasteland compared to her brothers. "Beautiful, Elhaym. You captured the spring so well, and the clouds. You've gotten so much better!" Eric said, studying her drawing intently. Leave it to her brother to always find the good in everything she did. She knew the drawing wasn't that good, but despite it felt good to receive praise from her brother. "Have you decided what you will sign your drawings with, yet?" He asked, handing her the drawing back and turning to sit facing her. "No... I don't want it to be just anything. I want to make sure it captures my essence as an artist, like you said." she spoke the words, but she was still somewhat confused as to what he had meant when he said it. Eric nodded in agreement, apparently satisfied that she was giving it thought. He reached behind him, and took the painting off of his easle. The paint was still a bit wet, and he had one finishing touch to apply before finishing. His brush moved as though it was dancing, spelling a word out in total eloquence in the bottom right corner in jet black paint. Pain struggled to read the word, but it was upside down. When her brother flipped the painting over to show her, she saw what he had signed his painting with. His artist name. Brother. "Eric... why did you choose Brother as your artist name? Is that what you want to be remembered by?" Elhaym asked, somewhat confused. She thought that the name was supposed to be an actual name, like Thomas or William. "Yes, it is how I want to be remembered." He said softly, putting the painting back in his easle. He dropped his brush into the grass and stretched, looking into the sky. "Elhaym, did you know that you're the only person in our family that cares to know me? I mean, really know me. Father and Uncle Deliles know me a bit, I guess. They just don't care about what I want, they want me to follow their footsteps. You know, everyone expects me to do that. No one really gives a damn what I want..." Elhaym hadn't often heard her brother's voice take on such meloncholia. It worried her, but she didn't speak. He seemed like he wanted to get something off of his chest, and she knew when her brother wanted to talk, he only expected her to listen. "So, you know... to them, I am Eric, but I am Eric the bounty hunter. They don't acknowlege my desire to be an artist, my desire to travel, and paint... to them, I am only my father's son. So, Elhaym... you see, if I am to paint, I can't be Eric. I have to be someone else." Elhaym moved to her brother, and put her arms around him. Tears were beginning to fall from his eyes, a rare moment of weakness in her stoic brother. He had always taken his fate with a grain of salt, handling everything the world had thrown at him with ease. Today, he seemed different. Battered, broken, and weak, as though he'd had enough. As she embraced him, he hung his head low, and continued to speak. "Elhaym, you're the only one that really cares. You support my dreams... you want me to be what I want to be, not what you think I should be. That... thats what a family is. When I paint, it's because there is still someone who believes that I should, that it really is my lot in life... that's you, Elhaym. That's why I sign my paintings as Brother. Because if I wasn't your brother, I wouldn't paint at all. I wouldn't be able to be myself, I would just be the son of Armande Berial Vormav, bounty hunter." Elhaym's face was flushed with tears, and her skin felt hot. A lump was growing in her throat as if some unknown entity had taken a hold of it, and was threatening to dislodge it. She began to cry, and the brother and sister sobbed togethor for a few moments. "Eric, i'm so sorry... I wish I could do more. I just want you to believe in yourself. You can be a great artist! We can still travel and you can paint, and I can draw... and we can live the life that we should. You don't have to be a bounty hunter, you don't..." Elhaym's voice was weak, quivering with emotion. She wasn't finished, but her brother's voice interrupted her dialogue. "I wish it were that easy, El... I really do. Tomorrow, father is taking me with him for a job. A real bounty... I'm scared El, i'm so scared... this isn't training out in the field, or trying to find Uncle Deliles in the woods... this is a real live criminal, who may try to hurt us if we find him. I don't want this, I don't..." but his voice broke down into sobs, and he could no longer speak. The two cried for and talked for hours, until dark crept across the horizon. Togethor, they packed up their supplies, and made the walk back to their cottage. It was a sullen night. The next day, Eric would leave on his first assignment with their father. Three days later, he would return. Dead. *** The White Dryas was complete, but Pain merely stared at the page as thought it were blank. The memories had flooded her mind as if they were a storm, taking over her thoughts so completely that she had felt the air of that day, heard his voice, felt the pain... a tear dropped from her face, splattering on one of the freshly drawn petals. The graphite smeared as Pain rubbed the moisture away, tarnishing the otherwise beautiful drawing.

[Elhaym]

The ring of the 19th bell is heard throughout Syliras... Pain's satchel was much lighter without that idiotic magic book weighing it down, and she was thankful. The day had been long, and she looked forward to a bit of relaxation and drawing. The bazaar was as good a place as any to find a willing (or unwilling) subject to capture. It was also as good a place as any to get a snack, for both human and dog were growing hungry. Tanny walked alongside Pain, a thin leather leash traveling to Pain's wrist and wrapping around it several times. It was good to be out in the crowds, so long as they didn't get on her case about anything, but that was almost never a problem. Pain weaved through the crowds, the aroma of baked bread and the jingling of trinkets being sold by street vendors pleasently welcome among her senses. A familiar perch came into view as Pain burst through a ring of men and women who seemed intent on standing in the middle of the street and catching up on old times. It was nothing spectaculer, simply a series of wooden crates stacked atop eachother like a set of steps. From there however, Pain could sit slightly above everyone's head and not only pick out a larger variety of subjects, but capture them at a more interesting and dynamic angle. Pain heaved herself up the first crate, and twisted to sit atop the second. Her leash was a bit to short for this height, and seeing as how strangling Tanny was not exactly an option, she instead looped the leash around her ankle and tied a loose knot. She knew he would probably just lay down and doze off anyhow, and she received confirmation when she glanced towards the ground. He wasn't asleep, but he lay with his chin resting on his paws and seemed content to observe the crowd. Pain's worn leather satchel contained all of her art supplies, but as she rummaged through it looking for her a piece of kneaded rubber to use an an eraser, she came acutely aware that her supply was rapidly diminishing. More money to spend... and not much to show for it. Despite, she pulled free a piece of vellum and a block of wood to rest it upon, and set to scanning the crowd... Bingo. A dozen or so yards away, an older well-to-do woman seemed to be haggling the price of a piece of jewelry from a vendor. Perfect. The rich ones had money, but they also seemed so hesitant to spend it. Pain couldn't really grasp that rational, but then again, poor people were poor for a reason. What interested Pain the most was her necklace; it was a beautiful golden design with multiple jewels and strands of gold chain that seemed as delicate as silk. It was radiant, the way it seemed to trap light was simply beautiful. Pain began to outline the woman's figure, using generic shapes to help keep the form intact when she began filling in details. After a few brief seconds, she had constructed the pose, though at this point it looked like a wooden doll. Pain worked dilligently, first filling in the details of the woman. After all, the shopkeep and his stall weren't going anywhere for a while, and they could always be added in later. She observed and listened, picking up bits and pieces of their conversation over the crowd. Apparently, the woman was to meet someone for a meal later that night at the Golden Dragon, and wanted the jewelry for the occasion. Pain's tongue snuck out of her mouth, curling against her lip as she began to detail the woman's clothing. "Hey. You." Pain looked up, somewhat startled. She felt the leash around her ankle jerk, and looked down to see Tanny staring at someone in front of her with a wildly wagging tail. "Aw shyke... it's that old hag." Pain thought as she turned her head to meet her former subject, who had taken it upon herself to approach her. She must have noticed that Pain had been sketching her. The idea that this woman may actually be interested in buying the drawing flashed briefly in Pain's mind, thought that happened so seldom that she couldn't entertain that thought with any level of seriousness. "The drawing. Let me see it." She said in a commanding tone. She had beady eyes that sank far into her face, and her face was twisted into a frown. Not a happy looking woman. "It's not finished." Pain muttered, raising her hand to her mouth. She began to chew on her thumbnail, a nervous habit of hers that wasn't the most attractive of quirks. After a moment of awkward silence filled only be their opposing stares, she spat the chewed nail to the ground below. "How bout' you let me finish it, and i'll give it to you for... lets say, 5 silver mizas?" Pain wasn't much of a negotiator, but she assumed that to be a pretty fair price for a portrait. She took a step down to the crate below, and crouched so that she was eye level with the older woman. "Mmmm." The woman hummed. She seemed unimpressed by Pain's offer. It surprised Pain quite a bit when her bony arm shot out, snatching the sketch from her hand like a well seasoned thief. Pain's eyes bulged, immediately having to suppress a surge of rage from erupting. What nerve! "She thinks because she's rich she can just demand this and take that, and i'm supposed to go along with it?" Pain stood, and hopped down from the crate. The woman's own eyes seemed to bulge, as the two were mere inches from eachother now. Pain began to speak, trying her best to remain calm. "Hey lady, I don't know who you think you are, but you don't just go snatching things out of peoples hands. That's called stealing." This woman apparently had the manners of a wild dog, and speaking of dogs, Tanny seemed oblvious to the heated nature of their exchange. He had wandered up to the woman, staring up at her what Pain would describe as his cute smile (though most would call it panting). The woman waved the drawing about, observing it for a moment before returning her attention to Pain. "You're a peasant, dear. You should he honored that I might show this drawings to my circle. It could mean something for you in the future, and-" But the woman was interrupted mid sentence. Tanny jumped up on his hind legs, resting his paws briefly on her thigh. Apparently, he wanted her attention as well. The woman reacted involuntarily, lurching her knee forward and sending Tanny sprawling to the ground with a yelp. Pain could handle someone being rude to her, it happened often. She could handle someone insulting her and calling her a peasant, and patronizing her. She could not, would not rather, handle someone acting out against her dog. Tanny's yelp had been in surpise, not physical harm, but despite Pain's right arm surged forward and took hold of the cloth and jewelry at the woman's collar, twisting it into her fist and pulling her face close. "Listen you petching hag, you call me what you want, but you never hurt my dog. Understand?" Pain snarled, tightening her grip around the bunched up cloth and metal in her fist. The woman's eyes were bulging and darting around, and her mouth was emitting nothing but stutters and stammers. In that instant, Pain noticed that the streets had stopped. Everyone seemed to be looking at the young girl who seemed only seconds away from giving some old woman a beating. In that instant, Pain heard a snap, and heard a mettalic sound cluttering about the ground. She looked down to find pieces of the eloborate necklace, broken and in pieces on the ground. Pain gulped, and released her grip on the woman's collar. From within the newly creased folds of cloth, several more bits of the necklace slid free and fell to the ground. She hadn't noticed in her moment of rage, but the crowd was heckling the woman, calling her a thief and other nasty things. Pain watched as she bent down to retrieve the broken fragments of her necklace. Pain felt ashamed. She was not a bully. She was a good person, and even though she new she had a rough temper, it shouldn't have come to that. The old woman hadn't meant to hurt Tanny, he had jumped on her. For all Pain knew, her clothes were expensive enough to warrant such a reaction. And more so, Pain shouldn't have allowed a pet to do such a thing. To her own surprise, she found herself yelling at the crowd, demanding they silence themselves at once. Even as she scolded them, she knelt to the ground, and began gathering up pieces of the woman's necklace. She felt horrible. She thought her brother would have been ashamed if he could see her. Even her father wasn't so crass as to use his strength against a defenseless civilian. "What are you... I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry..." The woman sobbed. She was in tears, and began to shove the drawing back towards Pain while her other hand grasped at the last few bits of the necklace. Pain was relatively surprised by her sudden change of attitude. Seconds ago the woman had seemed defiant. It was reasonable that she would have been frightened when Pain grabbed her. Pain couldn't fathom why she would suddenly be apologetic. The woman stood, holding the remnants of her necklace close to her chest, and began backing away. Before Pain could react, the woman had allready vanished into the crowd. She was left there kneeling in the street, and stunned.

[Elhaym]

The ring of the 20th bell is heard throughout Syliras... Pain reached the Golden Dragon in a near exhausted state. She couldn't stop thinking about what she had done to that old woman at the bazaar, and after a few moments of brooding, she had decided that she needed to do something. It was odd, she thought, that it had bothered her so much to have broken something that belonged to someone despite them having deserved it. Perhaps she was just growing up, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something in her was changing. Her satchel was devoid of art supplies, but it's contents weighed heavily on her shoulder as she stood near the entrance to Syliras' most luxurious restaurant. Tanny was uncharacteristically fidgety, pacing about Pain's feet for a few moments before sitting, and repeating the process. "Hey, Tanny. How come you sleep all morning when I have energy, then get a second wind when i'm about to fall asleep every day?" Pain said to her dog, who simply glanced up at her and tilted his head. If she hadn't lazily looked off to the right of the restaurant when she did, she might not have seen the old woman from the bazaar sauntering towards the Dragon. Pain could clearly see that she had been crying, as even from a distance the red around her eyes and slumped shoulders gave her emotional state away like a beacon. The old woman stopped short, apparently having sighted Pain, and nearly tripped over her own feet trying to turn around. Pain guessed she thought that she was here to give her a beating or something equally nasty. "Hey! Hey, yeah, you!" Pain yelled, attracting the attention of several people who assumed they were being yelled at with many annoyed glances accompanying. She jogged towards the woman, who finally turned and stood her ground when she came to the realization that she wouldn't be able to outrun a woman that was probably a third her age. "What do you want from me!? Have I not been shamed enough?" The woman cried, throwing up her arms in exasperation. Once again, Pain was startled by her words. This woman had come across so confidant in the beginnings of their quarrel, but now she seemed to act as though she was insignificant. "I... listen, lady. I'm sorry... I really am. I shouldn't have gotten so upset. You were acting like a bitch, for sure." Pain said, pausing a bit and wincing at her words. She was shooting straight from the hip, which she had a habit of doing when she was flustered, but her words despite their blunt nature were not an embellishment. "The thing is, I shouldn't have done what I did. I consider myself a fighter, you know. I should never have used my strength to intimidate you... I could have handled it any other number of ways, I guess. What i'm trying to say is that i'm sorry." "Young lady... it wasn't your force that shamed me. It was your humility. I admit that I was rude, I... I apologize for the way I acted. You see, an acquaintance of mine happened to pass by while I was haggling for some jewelry, and informed me that an artist seemed to be sketching me. She's... a very important woman, in our circle. She looked at me as though I should be doing something about it... so, well, you know what happened." The woman said. She had regained her poise, no longer the shaking, stammering mess from before. "My... humility?" Pain said to herself in a perplexed tone. "Yes. I'm a woman of prestige, young lady. I come from old money, and most in Syliras recognize that and would never engage in an altercation of someone of such status. You stood eye to eye to me and told me I was wrong, and I knew I was wrong. You stood up to me and rose to my level, mentally and physically... and then, when I was on my knees... you came down to my level again. Do you understand that what you did was powerful?" "Lady, I just didn't think you deserved to be heckled by a crowd of morons. Look, I know that necklace was expensive..." She said, simultaneously rummaging through her satchel and pulling free a large square object wrapped in cloth. "Whether or not you deserved it, I can't let the fact that I broke it pass. This is the only thing I own that could possibly be of value enough to replace it." Pain said, pulling the cloth away to reveal a dusty tome. It was the same tome of magic she had attempted to read earlier in the day. It was valued at thirty gold mizas, and thought she knew that the necklace could have easily bought ten such books, she had no other recourse than to offer it. she offered the book to the woman, who took it in hand without letting her eyes leave Pain's face. "Young lady, whats your name?" The woman said, pulling the book close to her chest. "I'm called Pain." "Ridiculous. A horrible name for you, my dear..." She said, touching the leather surface of the book daintily with her fingers. "I don't know why you would go by such a name, dear, but you must have your reasons. Know this... you are a woman of integrity of the likes I don't see often in Syliras, even when I look in the mirror. You have a beautiful soul, Pain." The woman said with a faint smile. Her words and actions were baffling to Pain, but after hearing her reasoning she believed that she was speaking from her heart. She had acted out of pressure from a friend. It was odd, but she actually seemed to feel a warmth traveling through her body. She had done the right thing, and she had been recognized for it. Tanny had been meandering around Pain's feet during the whole conversation, seeming a bit pensive in the presence of the same woman from before. A brief and slightly awkward silence had spanned a few seconds, but the woman ended it by leaning down and scratching Pain's old mutt behind the ears. Pain thought it seemed a bit forced, as if she really didn't want to do it, but she crouched down and joined in to give Tanny some attention. The old woman stood, still clutching the book. The two women, young and old, found their eyes locked on each other for the briefest moment. With a nod, the woman broke the tangled glance and walked briskly towards the door of the Dragon. She did have a dinner to get to, after all. Pain stood, gripping Tanny's leash in one hand and the strap of her now empty satchel in the other. Pain could feel exhaustion breaking over her body like waves in the surf. It had been a long day, an eventful one no doubt, but really not too much different than any other though. Her mind, despite her physical state, seemed to be racing. Her thoughts enveloped her as she strolled back towards her temporary room in Syliras, with an old mutt and a happy heart in tow.

[Elhaym]

The ring of the 21st bell is heard throughout Syliras... Pain felt as though she couldn't move. Nothing bound her physically save her exhausted body. No, the source of her entanglement with the thoughts racing throughout her mind. It wasn't unpleasant, rather the ideas and thoughts were quite promising. She felt as thought something had changed today. From the moment she had awaken, the day had felt so oddly typical and yet different at the same time. Pain had a feeling she knew what this small change could be. She had lived her life up until this very moment with the intention of living a good life that she could be proud of. No, not just her... she wanted to live a life that her brother could be proud of. But, for Pain, it wasn't only the memory of her dead brother that she felt drove her. She had met many people in Syliras, all with their own faults and strengths, and yet, she felt strangely connected to them. Xelin, a wandering bard who selflessly committed the gravest of acts in her defense. A blind man called Stitch, who showed her without mercy what her faults and strengths were, yet he did so with a strange sense of compassion. Aselia, the young Konti, who despite such drastic differences in their lifestyles, her own past and future seemed to reflect Pain's own. These were people, like her brother, whom she wanted to live for. She wanted to live an honest life, walking a good path and showing them that she could be a rock that they could rest upon. That was what had changed. Until now, she had lead a good life, for sure. However, when Pain thought about it, right now... she realized that just wanting to do good things and waiting for them to happen was not enough. She would have to change herself for the better, actively seeking ways to improve herself. No longer would she idly wait for her actions to speak for her wishes of a pure path. She could become an engine that carried her well wishes to all that she met until the day she died. But how? She was a foul mouthed, ill tempered, dirty girl who had lost her temper often and couldn't care less about the majority of the people in the world. She viewed most as simply filler, people who bobbed up and down the street and didn't really matter. Could she become something that would reflect her intentions? How do you just change yourself overnight to become something so radically different? These thoughts roared throughout her mind like a hurricane, intense and furious as an actual storm. She came to a reluctant conclusion. She could not change herself on one day. It was simply impossible. She would have to find reasons to learn to accept people for what they are instead of what she believed them to be. She would have to find reason to cull her temper when it flared, and keep her words from offending those that would hear them. She would have to find reasons to live a life that she felt she could be proud of. She concluded that though she couldn't find all of them in a day, she could perhaps try to find one... And perhaps one day, she would wake up and realize she was living the life she wanted. It was that thought that soothed the storm, turning a hellstorm of wind and rain into a soft steady drizzle in her mind. She began to slip into sleep, moving her hands about her bed until she found a small furry ball of warmth curled up next to her hip. Tanny was asleep, well ahead of her. As her mind slipped farther and farther into slumber, she thought of her brother. She had made a promise to herself that she would live a life that her kind brother could be proud of. Her life had become that promise. She intended to fulfill it. - END -

[Triniel]

XP AWARD!
Pain
XP Award: Unarmed Combat +5; Observation +3; Rhetoric +2; Drawing +3; Animal Husbandry +3

Lore:
~Knowledge that not everyone is who they seem
~Recognition of little things as art
~Realization that not all things can be learned simply

OOCI loved the way this was written. Pain is getting to know her strength, and it is playing a major part in how she is developing. Let me know if you feel I did not award something that you thought fit. After all, this was my first award!