[SO-Syliria] The Eye of the Storm (Iosena)

[Roth Windcarver]

1st Day of Autumn Roth flinched, the first thing he was aware of being a pounding headache. Must have hit my head… he thought, lifting a hand up to his forehead. It was wet and warm, and the air smelled like the saltwater it always did with the light copper tinge that meant someone in the pod was in trouble. That someone was bleeding. Every joint in his body ached, and every inch of his skin was harboring fresh bruises from his thrashing. But what thrashing had that been? It all rushed together at once. The dark clouds, the churning sea, the storm ahead, deciding to sail through it. Not being enough. Roths eyes flew open and he ignored the salty burn and red blur that was his blood as he shot upward. He wasn’t supposed to be the only one on the boat. “Samri! Samri, where are you?!” he shouted, struggling to stand against the handrailing. The Waterwife was in surprisingly good shape, all things considered. The mast was intact, the sail only having a few minor tears. The deck was covered in seawater and there was no doubt that the storage area of the ship had at least an inch of logged seawater, but for surviving the storm she’d done well. But Samri, Roths younger sister and First Mate of The Waterwife was missing. A quick once over of the ship confirmed his suspicions, Samri was not onboard. She must have fallen off in the storm. Frantic, Roth dove to the bow, stumbling as he went from the aches his body placed upon him like weighted belts on every limb. Grasping the railing he stared out to sea, gazing across the unusuall calm ocean surrounded by an enormous circular wall of churning clouds. They were in the eye of the storm, and their time here wouldn’t last. If he was going to find her, he needed to find her soon. Time was running out. That’s when he noticed the splashing, some quarter knot away. Samri was in the water.

[Iosena]

She struggled to the surface gasping and spitting out a mouthful of water. She was confused as she caught a glimpse of Leth and Zintila staring down at her, where was she and what had happened to her? She grasped at snippets of memory: molten glass, heavenly bodies, wings outstretched, peace and death. The the icy embrace of the water pulled her back under, shattering her attempt to piece things together.

[Roth Windcarver]

Before he knew what was happening, Roth was kicking off his boots and diving into the water. It was cool against his skin, and made his canvas shirt cling to his chest and back. It felt familiar, as if he were at home, but he had no time for such feelings now. His sister was in danger, and the cool blackness of the night was making it difficult to find her. He swam, kicking as fast as he could toward where he had seen the splashing. His muscles screeched in pain, his bones feeling like they were tearing themselves apart at the exertion after the beating the storm had given him. And yet the pain was the furthest thing from his mind. After what seemed like an eternity of pushing through the heavy water, the spashing became audible. Following the sound, Roth watched as the body in the darkness slipped under the water, seeming almost to have given up. His arm shot out, grasping for the hand of the woman he believed to be his sister.

[Iosena]

Something brushed against her shoulder and then gripped her arm, causing her to renew her frantic attempt to break free of the watery prison that held her. She broke the surface again and sucked in a mouthful of air and caught a glimpse of a face.

It was so foreign to her, the eyes and features. She didn't know how to react, was this person here top help her or push her back under? She wanted to speak, but every time she opened her mouth it filled with water and she was again losing the fight to stay above the surface.

[Roth Windcarver]

As he grasped the arm of the woman beneath the waves she yanked, pulling herself to the surface for a moment long enough to cough water into his eyes. Between the darkness of the sky, the adrenaline coursing through his veins and the salt in his eyes he didn’t think to look the woman over for more than an instant. His sister was missing, and if this was her she needed his help. She’d always been an excellent swimmer, far better than he had, so if she was drowning that meant she had some sort of injury or was tangled in something preventing her from moving her limbs properly. If her injuries had pierced flesh it wasn’t simply the waves they had to worry about but hungry children of Laviku come to cull the weak from the pod after wandering too far. Roth wasn’t about to be culled. Kicking with his feet to maintain his place in the water he pulled the thrashing woman to him, heaving her over one of his shoulders and taking in a big gulp of air before going just under the surface. Her weight would keep him under for all but the shortest amounts of time, and he needed to keep her from inhaling any more water than she already had. With the girl over his shoulder Roth turned back to face the shadow of The Waterwife who had thankfully drifted slightly closer in the waves. Ignoring the screaming from his bones and the woman struggling to breathe on his back he kicked with all his might, swimming as fast as he could back to the ship he called home.

[Iosena]

Iosena felt strong arms about her and head came free once more. She was too focused on keeping her head above water and too disoriented to give much thought to the nature of her rescue. She didn't even register there was a ship until Roth heaved her over the side and she lay gasping and coughing on its deck.

[Roth Windcarver]

Roth was losing breath; he'd never swam while carrying someone before, just watched his older family members do it when someone too drunk to swim slipped over the railing. It was hard work, and the storm had taken much of his energy from him. He was running purely on adrenaline and desperation to save his sister, fighting with all his might to rescue the only thing the Svefra truly valued: family. His hand scraped the hull of The Waterwife after what felt like an eternity without breath. He grabbed the railing heaving himself up and tossing the limp body onto the deck before falling into the water again, exhausted. There he stayed, vertigo and shock from the exhertion pulling on his senses, tearing him away from this world and into another. But he had to stay here. He had a job to do. Shaking off the haze, Roth turned and clawed at the dark wooden railing, pulling himself over the side and tumbling to the floor with a wet thud beside the woman he'd rescued. Spitting salt water from his mouth before turning his head, he squinted in the silvery light to see if the girl was okay.

[Iosena]

Iosena looked up at the sky and then over at the water, as a sense of anguish and loss washed over her, and she let out a keening wail. It was a bit before she managed to compose herself enough to acknowledge the man who'd rescued her.

"Thank you," she said in Nari and then realizing he didn't understand her, she paused a moment to compose herself and tried again in common, "thank you for saving me. Leth has smiled upon me to see that you were here to do so.."

She took a deep breath trying to push away the thoughts of the loss she'd endured and sort through what she remembered. Leth was still very clear in her memory, as was Zintila, some hazy thoughts of Wind Reach, falcons and glass were also jumbled in there. She was wearing incredibly soaked, but beautiful robes and she reached up and found a small object dangling from her horns.
"Where am I?"

[Roth Windcarver]

Roth’s heart dropped like a stone, seeing the horns that curled together over the top of the red haired beauty. For all that this woman was, she was not his sister. Samri was lost, somewhere in the ocean, but Roth couldn’t be worried. Samri was a priestess of Laviku, and the sea would take care of her. She was not injured, she was not drowning. Perhaps she’d even found her way back to the pod, making him the one lost at sea. No matter, Samri was safe, he was sure. He would have laughed, had an agonized cry not erupted from the woman lying next to him. Roth shot up like a bolt, the pain from him myriad of bruises forcing him to moan out in concert. Dragging himself to the horned woman’s side, he placed a hand on her shoulder, carefully trying to comfort her and trying to distract himself from his own pain. She spoke, first in an odd sing-song language that sounded like birdsong, before changing to the common tongue. Well at least we can communicate he thought to himself. He cleared his throat, coughing out a small amount of saltwater out of his lungs onto the deck before being able to speak in strained and gravely tones. “Yer in the middle of the Sebakem aboard this beautiful girl,” he said, patting the deck. “The Waterwife. Not sure exactly where we are in relation to the coast… shyke-filled storm blew me off course and away from the pod. Lost my navigator in the storm…” As he went, his light and airy canterous speech slowed. They were in trouble. He had no idea where they were, not really, and no way to find out. He had no sextant, instruments like that were horrifyingly expensive. He was apart from the pod he’d been tethered to all his life. He had nobody to follow, nothing to tell him what to do. They were lost.

[Iosena]

Iosena looked up at the clear night sky and then back at Roth, "how are we lost? Zintila's kingdom provides an easy map to follow."

She pointed up to a bright star in the sky, "there lies the compass star. What is the closest body of land?"

Having a task helped calm and distract her, from how raw her emotions were and how suddenly everything had changed. The cold also started to settle in, her wet clothes clung to her and she began to shiver. Her teeth chattered and she knew she needed to get dry, but she had no other clothes. "Uhm.. I.. it is... very... cold," she stammered out.