Closed Lost and Found [Tesni]

[Tallis]

2nd Day of Summer, 2014 AV

Coming off the Kabrin Road, Tallis found himself somewhere near the border of Cyphrus and Sylira. The forested tree canopies of the Syliran forests were a ways behind him now and a vast expanse of tall grass stood before him. The whispering winds had led the stormwarden to the Sea of Grass, to what end, he still had yet to discern. He simply knew that the breezes had been harsh in their urgency.

The winds here felt so different from the ones in Zeltiva. Back home, the breezes carried the chill of the mountain tops and mingled with the salty spray of the ocean. Here, the breezes were dry and arid. Tallis would even venture to say that the winds felt sharp and unforgiving.

Perhaps the harsh winds were a sign. The undulating waves of the Sea of Grass were, in their own way, just as terrifying than an actual ocean. Out on the water, one would drown within chimes. However, lost in the seemingly endless plains of grass, one could easily get lost in the maze, wandering for days until a fatal combination of hunger, thirst, and exhaustion overcame a fortunate wanderer. For the unfortunate wanderer, the creatures who inhabited this land were the real threat. Tallis would have to tread carefully.

Shaking off his doubts, Tallis called the breezes towards him and uttered a prayer to Zulrav. “God of Storms, I am your servant. Calm the tempest within my mind and send your winds to guide me.” Channeling res through his feet and into the ground beneath him, Tallis sent a large pillar of rock shooting up from the earth in front of him. The pillar was thin, only about as thick as a sapling, but it stood tall and would act as a marker for Tallis to return to.

“This way,” the breezes whispered. “Quickly!” Tallis felt the wind at his back pushing him forwards, leading him away from the caravan routes and guiding him through the Sea of Grass. As the winds guided him past walls and thickets of grass, Tallis suddenly froze in his tracks. There before him stood a large horse. The black and white creature was clearly well groomed and had a harness upon its back. Yet… where was the horse’s owner?

As Tallis observed the horse for some sign of the owner, he noted that the creature seemed content to stay where it was. Truthfully, Tallis was happy to leave the creature where it was as well. Moving a few feet into the distance, the mage planted his palms against the ground and channeled his res into the earth beneath him. Slowly but surely, a column of rock began to rise in front of Tallis. It wouldn’t have been too difficult to send a pillar shooting out from in front of him like he had earlier, but Tallis felt that it might have spooked the horse. He didn’t need the creature bolting off anytime soon.

As the pillar slowly reached a good three or four feet higher than Tallis, he stood back to observe his work. Having spent more time on this pillar, it was much larger and taller than his previous one. It would serve as a good marker. In fact, far in the distance he could just barely make out the tip of his previous marker. He would have to work quickly. If the sun were to set, the markers would prove to be useless.

As he pushed forwards once more, the breezes carried the echoes of a voice towards him. By the sounds of it, the owner of the voice was in distress. The person couldn’t be far away now. Keeping his composure, Tallis rushed forwards until he found the source of the voice.

There, kneeling on the ground was a young girl. As he approached her, Tallis felt the winds around him relax. This was what they had been leading him to. This was whom he was meant to find. The orange glow of the sunset illuminated the wetness on the girl’s cheeks.

“Hey now, don’t cry. I’ve found you.” Tallis offered the kneeling girl his hand, “My name is Tallis. You can trust me.”

Waiting for the girl to take his hand, Tallis looked backwards and could just barely make out the silhouette of his marker against the setting sun. “Hurry now! We have to get back to the road before the sun sets.” If there was one thing he dreaded, it was being trapped in the Sea of Grass for an entire night. Who knew what creatures stalked these lands in the cover of darkness?


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[Tesni]

With tear-filled eyes, Tesni was awestruck by what stood in front of her. She moved her stray hairs away from her face to get a better view. It was a man, but unlike any she had seen before. His cerulean blue eyes were gentle and inviting. Tesni was immediately drawn to him for some reason. Tesni wondered who this striking man was. He said his name was Tallis.

As he told Tesni his name, his voiced seemed to gracefully float through the air. In her current state of panic, Tesni easily went from being a stubborn independent girl to a vulnerable, easily-frightened child. Being in this state gave her somewhat of a child's mindset as well. He did indeed say Tallis was his name, but in her mind, this man felt like Zulrav to Tesni. The wind seemed to be drawn to him, just as she was. It couldn't have been anyone else but Zulrav, she couldn't think of anyone else that would come to her rescue. She had prayed to him, begging for his help, and there he stood, right before her eyes.

As Tallis held out his hand, Tesni threw herself into his arms, wailing and sobbing like a toddler who was separated from her mother. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on to him as if her life depended on it, which is exactly what she thought at that very moment. Tesni had been mortified, but there was actually someone that had found her, and wanted to help her. His kindness was something she hadn't been shown since her dear Orti died fours years ago.

"Thank you, thank you so much! I had hoped you would come for me, but I honestly didn't think you liked me very much, since I always get lost so very easily! I'm so grateful you took pity on me, I hope you'll forgive me for being so careless!" Tesni choked up as she spoke, but she forced herself into forming words anyway.

She then remembered something that she had also carelessly forgotten about. "Drue! Where is Drue!? Please tell me Drue is safe! I don't know what I'd do without him!"

[Tallis]

Completely ignoring his hand, the girl leapt up and wrapped her arms around his neck. The mage felt himself blushing. He honestly wasn’t accustomed to such intimate contact, especially not from a complete stranger. As he stood in shock, the words coming from the girl started to sink in. Tallis wasn’t too sure what to make of it all, but something in the way that she spoke made her sound slightly delusional.

Why wouldn’t Tallis like her very much? He’d never even met her! At this point, he was almost as confused as she was, but he quickly decided that she was still in shock from being lost. After all, who wouldn’t be a little out of their mind after being stranded in the Sea of Grass for who knows how long? He would let her live out her delusion for a while. Frankly speaking, as long as she was going to be following him closely, it didn’t particularly matter who or what she thought he was.

“Right. Right. I forgive you.” Tallis said, deftly untangling himself from the girl’s arms and grabbing her hand. As he began pulling her along, he almost jumped in shock as she began raving about someone named “Drue”. He hadn’t passed by any other people on his way here… but he had passed by a horse.

“This ‘Drue’ you keep talking about. Does he happen to be a horse? Because if he is, you’ll find your horse standing close to that tall pillar right over there.”

Knowing that Drue wasn’t too far away seemed to invigorate Tesni and their pace instantly picked up. If they kept this speed, they would be able to reach the caravan path before sundown.

“By the way, you’ve told me your horse’s name, but you still haven't told me yours. You do have a name don’t you?”

[Tesni]

Tesni let out a heavy sigh of relief. "So, you did find him! That's wonderful, thank you so much!" Tears began to swell up in her eyes again, but this time, from sheer happiness and gratitude. The god she had worshiped most of her life had actually come to save her. The one thing Tesni thought was a bit strange was his appearance. In the stories that she'd heard, Zulrav had never been seen in the form of a mortal man. He appeared to her in the form of a gentle, kind man. His auburn colored hair shimmered in the light of the setting sun, twirling about through the air as he moved with the wind. In addition to that, instead of the loud, booming voice of legend, he had a tender, soothing tone. She felt so honored and touched by his godly gesture. Zulrav had even forgiven her for her mistakes!

But, her joy quickly dispersed as he asked her a question that was painful to hear: “By the way, you've told me your horse’s name, but you still haven't told me yours. You do have a name don’t you?”

Tesni's speed began to decrease as her enthusiasm wavered. She chuckled in self-pity. "So, I guess I was right, you don't really like me all that much, do you, Zulrav..." The emotions whirling inside of her were just too much. Tesni had gone from one extreme emotion to another, and it remarkably drained her strength. She was so exhausted, from being lost, to meeting what she thought was a god, to hearing that the god in question that she admired so much didn't even know her name. This was all just too much for her, and being unable to handle it, she felt her vision fading, and fell to the ground.

[Tallis]

Tallis held back a laugh. “Me? Zulrav!?” The idea that he, a simple Stormwarden, could even compare to the God of Storms was ridiculous. “I told you earlier, my name’s Tallis.” But even as the words left his mouth, they fell on deaf ears. Tallis almost fell when the hand he was holding suddenly came to an abrupt stop. For some reason, the girl had fainted.

Letting go of her hand, Tallis simply stared down at the unconscious body for a moment before turning his face to the sky. Why Zulrav? What did I do to deserve this? More than a test of his abilities, this was a clear test of his patience. Tallis had dealt with many things, but taking care of a ridiculously emotional teenaged girl? This currently topped his mental list of worst things to deal with.

Bending down to pick up the girl, Tallis tapped into his reservoir of Djed once more and sent the magical energy coursing throughout his body. Flux was meant to push the body past its limits, allowing the user to pull off explosive movements. In this case, Tallis used the energy in a highly controlled manner. He lessened the explosive effect and used the energy to force his body to maintain its peak performance while delaying the sense of fatigue for as long as possible.

Using such a high degree of control over Flux took a great amount of concentration. His attention to his surroundings was almost non-existent as he pushed forwards, simply aiming to keep the pillar in his line of sight as he ran.

Djed coursed through his legs, alleviating the soreness in his shins and numbing the pain in the soles of his feet. Maintaining a rhythmic pace helped Tallis maintain a steady flow of Djed as well. Between each stride, the Djed coursed back up his leg, sending some energy to his core for stability before rushing to his arms to strengthen his hold on the girl. Then the Djed rushed back down into his leg, providing a boost of power with each stride. Normal people would have struggled to run through the grass, even without holding onto a body. Thanks to his use of Flux, Tallis was able to keep a pace as if he was running unburdened and on flat ground. His Flux powered strides tore through the grass that tangled around his feet and he sped towards his goal.

As he came upon the pillar, Tallis reduced his speed and cut off the supply of Djed. The fatigue hit him almost instantly, and he half-tripped, half-stumbled up to Drue. He could feel his legs and arms shaking, but he made one last major effort to toss the girl’s body on top of the horse.

Tallis grabbed onto Drue’s harness, partially for support and partially to lead the horse and its unconscious owner to the next pillar. Hopefully, the horse would follow along obediently. He had heard that horses were sensitive and intuitive creatures. Hopefully Drue could prove that by sensing the urgency of the situation and following Tallis to the next pillar.

[Tesni]

Tesni opened her eyes to find herself laying on her back in the soft grass, hearing a familiar sound of a paintbrush gliding across an sheet of fresh crisp paper. She sat up, and looked down to she her body had... shrunk? The wind flow was different from wherever she was before, but, where was she before? She didn't remember. Tesni knew little of what was going on, but seeing as it didn't seem like a threatening situation, she paid it no mind. That is, until, she turned around to see her former guardian, inquisitively staring into the sky, then looking back down at his blank white rectangle.

Orti noticed Tesni and looked at her, smiling at her, in his usual cute little old man way. Tesni loved when he would smile at her, it made her feel so warm and cuddly inside. She smiled back at Orti playfully. Why am I smiling?! she asked herself. How is he here? She didn't understand at all what was going on.

"What are you painting, Orti? I want to see!" Tesni involuntarily spoke and jumped up to go run to Orti's side, peeking over his shoulder. Tesni didn't really dream all that often, since she was never able to sleep long enough for any dreams to start forming, so all of this was extremely foreign. She couldn't control anything, not even herself.

Orti sighed and patted Tesni on the head. "Child, I haven't even started yet, you see? Something about the sky today just isn't right."

Tesni let out a horribly dramatic gasp and jumped away from him. "Don't say that, Orti! The way Zulrav arranges the clouds is very nice!"She plopped back down into the grass and pouted. Orti chuckled, and Tesni began to giggle along as well. Next, something eerie started happening. Tesni could see the trees that were behind where Orti stood, right through his body! She quickly leapt out of the tall grass, trying to run towards him, but the grass seemed to grow taller and taller. Every desperate step she took, Tesni was able to see Orti less and less, and as he faded away, the grass began to consume her. She screamed out to him, but he was now gone.

Tesni let out a loud scream as she opened her eyes, falling off of her Strider, landing face-first into the dirt. After standing up and brushing off the dirt, she found herself standing in front of a very attractive male, though she wasn't even interested in that kind of thing, and never will be. She then noticed him grabbing onto Drue's Yvak. She immediately drew her wakizashi and held it to the stranger's throat.

"What do you think you're doing with my Strider and I? How dare you touch him!"

[Tallis]

As Tallis neared the road, a high-pitched scream tore through the previous silence of the Sea of Grass. Startled by the jarring noise, Tallis leapt back, keeping one hand on the horse while sending djed coursing down his free arm. A small pool of res gathered at his hand and began growing as he watched the girl awkwardly tumble down from her position upon the horse. It would’ve been better if she had stayed unconscious. Who knows what wild beasts could have been alerted by her sudden outburst?

He watched in frustration as the girl brush herself off. What was someone so incompetent doing out here? Who in their right mind let this girl out into the middle Sea of Grass all on her own? As the thoughts crossed through his mind, she suddenly drew her sword and pointed it at his neck.

When he first met the girl he had been surprised. That surprise had quickly become frustration and now it transformed into anger. Here he was, doing his best to get her back to safety. He had been civil and hospitable and he had been met with nothing but dramatic emotion and hassle. Now she had the audacity to try and threaten his life? That was the last straw.

Tallis’ eyes narrowed as he stared down the gleaming steel weapon. Still manipulating the pool of res, he sent the magical essence surging forward with a motion of his free hand, transmuting it into air right in front of the girl.

A near solid wall of wind rushed straight into her torso. It was enough to knock the weapon out of her grasp and send her sprawling backwards, but it wouldn’t be enough to hurt her. At least… it wouldn’t hurt her enough to do any permanent damage.

Letting go of the horse’s harness, Tallis bent down to pick up the sword, ensuring that the girl wouldn’t be able to get her hands back on the weapon when she got back up.

“Child…” Tallis addressed the girl before she could do anything else stupid, “I will actually drop a boulder on your face if you don’t calm down right now.”

He was physically exhausted and his patience had run thin, he was not putting up with anymore of the girl’s drama. It was only through sheer willpower that Tallis managed to maintain a tone of calmness as he spoke. “Now, we’re going to try this again. You’re going to stay right there and this time, you are actually going to listen to what I have to say to you.”

Tallis fiddled around with the sword, deliberating his words before he spoke again. “You were lost. Or at least that’s how it looked to me. You were separated from Drue at least. He’s great company. Probably needs all that patience to deal with you, eh big guy?” Tallis gave the sword a few experimental swings, slashing at the grass before him. The way the weapon sliced through the grass was rather stress relieving. He really should have taken it from her when she was unconscious. “Anyways, the winds brought me to you and I've been trying to rescue you. And let’s just get this clear. My name is Tallis. I am not Zulrav. Although, I am a Stormwarden. You see that tall bit of rock over there? That’s where the path is and that’s where we're going.”

Dissipating the res he held over the girl, Tallis tossed the sword at her feet. It was getting dark, and he would have to set up camp soon. It was against his better judgment, but he couldn’t just leave this girl out here. From the past bell or so spent with her, she seemed like she would be far from fine if left alone. “I’m going to set up camp now. I suggest you join me until the morning.”

Tallis sighed as he turned and walked towards the main path. What have I gotten myself into?

[Tesni]

The strange man's eyes suddenly changed into what could only be described as somewhat serpentine in Tesni's mind. She then felt a horrible pain coursing through her scar as a strong gust of wind knocked her off her feet as her weapon slipped from her grip. Tesni clutched her chest, wincing in pain, trying ever so desperately to hold back the tears.

“I will actually drop a boulder on your face if you don’t calm down right now.” Like he could even do that!

"You..." she tried to cough up the words as best she could, "You shyke! What the petch was that for?!"

Tesni began the attempt of lifting her currently heavy body off of the ground, but to no avail, continuing to stumble but into the position she had originally been in. For some reason, whenever that scar came in contact much a mighty impact, Tesni went through excruciating pain which rendered her quite incompetent, but still conscious, as if the mark wanted her to suffer.

As the odd man continued to speak, he spoke of her being lost. How dare he assume I was lost!? she thought angrily to herself. Who does this random guy think he is, anyway!? She scowled and looked at him in the eyes, mustering all of the strength and willpower she could in order to lift herself up from the dirt.

“Anyways, the winds brought me to you and I've been trying to rescue you. And let’s just get this clear. My name is Tallis. I am not Zulrav. Although, I am a Stormwarden. You see that tall bit of rock over there? That’s where the path is and that’s where we're going.” As he said those words, Tesni's eyes widened. Stormwarden? Tesni never thought she'd actually meet one! She was excited, but also irritated and flustered.

She flailed her limbs about, her face bright red as she screamed at him, "What kind of idiot would think a weird looking guy like you was Zulrav! He would obviously be much more attractive than you, and besides, he never takes the form of a human man anyway, how can a stupid, foolish boy like you be a Stormwarden?" Immediately regretting the movement of her limbs, Tesni winced in pain once again.

As Tallis said he'd set up camp, Tesni scoffed at him. "Do whatever you want, I really don't care, just don't my Strider, you shyke..." she muttered under her breath.

[Tallis]

Tallis toyed with the idea of using reimancy to wrap the girl in a rocky straitjacket. Ultimately, he decided that ignoring this girl was the best way to deal with her while still maintaining his sanity. Somehow, it seemed that she had forgotten absolutely everything that had happened; perhaps falling unconscious had given her some sort of amnesia. Tallis could only hope that she would come to her senses again after resting for the night. Stepping out of the grass and onto the path, the mage set to work preparing to settle in for the night.

Standing on the edge of the path, Tallis channeled djed down his arms and created a cloud of res in front of himself. Working carefully, he lowered the res over the ground and shaped it into a rectangular shape. Manipulating the magical substance into a flat layer, Tallis began folding the sheet of res right in the middle. It was almost as if he was folding a piece of paper in half, except on a much larger, much more magical scale.

Positioning the sheet of res so that it formed a triangle using the ground as a base, Tallis began transmuting the res into a clay-like substance. He started from the edge of the res that touched the ground, working his way up to the peak. Within a few chimes, he had created a solid tent-like structure. Following up, Tallis formed a rough trapezoidal shape with some more res and transmuted another block of clay to largely seal off one end of his tent, leaving just a small gap so that the wind could flow through.

Unravelling his bedroll under his makeshift tent, Talllis finally turned back to Tesni. “So basic rules for the night. No more hysterics and drama. No more screaming. Just silence and sleep.”

Having to use flux and reimancy so many times within the last few bells had taken its toll on Tallis. He was physically exhausted, not to mention mentally exhausted from having to deal with this girl’s antics. Burrowing into his bedroll, Tallis quickly fell into a deep, much needed slumber.

[Tesni]

Tesni just stood where she was in awe of Tallis' abilities. She had never witnessed this kind of mystic behavior before, and she didn't really know what to make of it. This mysterious Stormwarden with talents Tesni had never seen appeared before her, but for what purpose? Could he be the key to receiving a Stormwarden gnosis mark of her own? She had so many questions to ask him, but then again, he didn't seem to like her very much, and Tesni had mutual feelings. Tallis actually made her really mad for some reason. Although it wasn't as if she disliked him, if she did, Tesni would've ditched the guy hours ago.

Tallis looked at Tesni, and said to her, “So basic rules for the night. No more hysterics and drama. No more screaming. Just silence and sleep.”

Tesni rolled her eyes and looked to Drue, who seemed to be analyzing Tallis thoroughly. The Strider appeared to be as interested in the man as his rider was. Both girl and horse continued watching their new companion with amusement. The more Tesni observed Tallis, the more questions she had for him. But Tesni was exhausted, and didn't even bother setting up her tent, wearily spreading out her bedroll instead. She kissed Drue's snout gently and plopped herself onto her bed in the most ungraceful way possible.