Sweet Showers (solo)

[Sayana]

Spring 69, 515 AV – The Fool’s Errand, Mithryn Outpost Sayana woke abruptly that morning. She was about to lean over to see if Aren was awake when she remembered she was not in Syliras but in a simple tavern at the Mithryn Outpost. She sprang quickly to her feet and made sure she had all her belongings before quickly leaving the room. The previous night she had stayed at the Fool’s Errand having realized it would take far too long to get back to Syliras. And she had danced… such a wonderful dance for the goddess. Unfortunately, this tavern wasn’t much better than the rooms in Syliras and had no windows so she scampered down ready to head outside. The morning was early and crisp but… no less dry. It didn’t take a genius to tell that the dusty ground had not received any rain that night. Maybe they would see it later today. It had to come. They had worked so hard. Patience, patience. Makutsi would appreciate patience, wouldn’t she? Sayana paced around outside for a moment before deciding to go back in. She might as well have some breakfast. Even as she sat down, the Eypharian fidgeted and constantly looked towards the door. She hardly tasted the food as it was shovelled down and she tried to strain her ears for even the softest patter of raindrops. It was to no avail and several chimes later she had finished her meal without even recalling what it had consisted of. Back outside, Sayana began roaming the streets. She was glad her horse was comfortably stabled but it didn’t leave her any less anxious to get moving. She still had to see this rain for herself. She began to wander from one shop to the next being careful not to barge into someone’s personal dwelling. Surprisingly many of them were open and she first took a look inside what appeared to be a fabric shop. There were a variety of fabrics and also some clothes already made. But Sayana’s first impression was how drab and boring it looked. None of the colours were bright and cheerful and many of them were shades of brown or earthen green. With a frown she walked out without a word. The Eypharian moved on to a simple blacksmith and after peering in to see only various farm tools and no weapons in the slightest, she moved on from that one too. One thing she did notice was that many of the small cottages had windows of their own. But were windows really worth the price of a boring lifestyle? She recalled that Isolde had lived in Mithryn and she had thought it was a nice place to raise a family. Maybe it was safer, but how could Sayana deny her son of brilliant lush life? Especially when his parents were strong enough to protect him from the dangers of Syliras. A trek through the Mithryn Market provided a little more interest but it seemed like all the items sold were for mere common folk, and Sayana did not aspire to be common in the slightest. By the time she had made it through most of the streets of the little outpost, the most interesting building had been the carpentry shop. And that really didn’t speak much for the settlement. Ledger : Previous night: 1 night’s lodging, single room – 5 sm Dinner – 3 sm Morning: Breakfast – 2sm Total: 1 gm

[Sayana]

Part of her just wanted to go back and find Zydrunas to yell at him. But that was hardly a solution. He probably had no control over how long Makutsi waited to grace the land with rain. Maybe Makutsi didn’t even have full control. Now there was a troubling thought. Eventually Sayana made her way back to the Fool’s Errand. By now the tavern was clear and empty as morning was well on its way. She took a seat on the step with her arm curled around to prop up her chin. Patience… It will come. She tried to concentrate on the blue blue sky above and clear her restless thoughts. How the petch will it rain from a blue sky? Faith. People have faith in their goddesses, don’t they? She forced herself to sit still and breathed in a long deep breath. It will rain. She is of the rain, the rivers, the blessed oasis. Sayana closed her eyes trying to recall the memory of the soft rain that had come those many years ago when she had first come across a rain dancer. She had only been nine or so but it had been beautiful and the rain dancer had even been a Benshira. Makutsi must bless all manner of races. For a moment she was able to sit still with her mind clear except for the soft patter of rain. But then her concentration broke and for a moment she thought the rain had actually come. She opened her eyes and it was just as dry as before. Petch this waiting. The dancer got to her feet and strode over to the stables. The least she could do was be productive and practice some riding. Better than feeling cooped up in this little outpost. Sayana quickly saddled her horse. First the horse blanket, then the saddle and cinching up the girth. Next the bridle. Sayana was still a little cautious with the bridle but it seemed to work alright as she carefully pushed the bit into the horse’s mouth and then put the rest of the straps into place. It was still tricky to know if it was too tight or too loose in various places but she thought she’d be alright. With everything set to go, she placed her own blanket on top of the saddle to protect her legs and then mounted up. Her legs still felt a bit stiff from yesterday’s riding, but anything was better than sitting around waiting for it to rain. She chuckled at the ironic thought. She nudged her horse into a walk with her knees and plodded slowly down the streets. It was now really starting to warm up and the crisp air had turned muggy. Sayana stated her business to the guards at the gate and then launched into a trot after a firm kick to her mount. Even the hot air felt nice blowing through her hair. She hugged her low hands around her stomach and wondered how long she’d be able to keep up her active lifestyle with her baby on the way. Her stomach still hadn’t grown noticeably and she felt she should take advantage of that and the weather to enjoy the outdoors. With a tug of the reins she made a wide turn off the road and into the fields. The crops really were in bad shape. They seemed to grow in lines and some of them looked small and shrivelled. She wasn’t fully paying attention and soon the section of low lying crops ran out and she crashed into a set of cornstalks. “Whoops…” She pulled at the reins as the horse trampled on the vegetation to turn around. “Oi! What the petch do you think you’re doing?!” Shouted a farmer who probably owned this very field.

[Sayana]

Sayana bashfully turned her horse around. He looked mad, really mad. “I was just taking a little ride.” “Through my field? Through my crops that are struggling to survive?” The farmer retorted angrily. He gestured to the trail of hoof prints that sometimes avoided the struggling plants but more often tramped the yellowed leaves. Sayana nervously tried to maneuver her horse around the farmer. If she could just slip past him and… “Don’t you even think about dashing off or I’ll call the knights and charge you for vandalism,” the farmer spoke with an angry finger pointed at her. Sayana let out a sigh and slowly dismounted. “Alright, I didn’t mean to trample your crops. Is there anything I can do to help?” “Unless you can make it rain missy.” “I… I was trying to do that last night.” “Don’t think it worked. There’s not a cloud in the sky.” Sayana looked up at his retort and grimly resigned to the fact. It was still as blue as blue can be. “Okay, I’ll tell you what,” Sayana began. “I’ll do any weeding or plowing or whatever you farmers do until it rains if you forgive me for trampling over your crops.” “And if it doesn’t rain?” The farmer replied questioningly. “Uh… I’ll help you till it rains or until the sun goes down,” Sayana answered and she prayed to Makutsi and all the other gods that it wouldn’t come to that. “You’ve got yourself a deal Miss Brown Arms.” The first thing Sayana learned was that weeds were much hardier than the actual crops. Despite the lack of rain they seemed to be everywhere and the dry soil didn’t help to dig them out. Still, with a good shovel she was able to work quickly. After she got the hang of it, she even asked for a second hand shovel to speed things up. She could aim two shovels going down while holding the weed with a third hand, and the weed would be out in a couple of ticks. Sayana wiped her brow of sweat and asked herself for the tenth time why she had not only agreed to this but actually proposed it. After returning with a bucket of weeds to the farmer she said, “You know, I should really be on the road back to Syliras.” Maybe he’d see her plight and she’d be able to persuade him out of the situation. “You’re the one who was so confident in the rain,” he answered with a smirk. But at least he came and joined her with the weeding. “Why are they planted in nice neat rows?” Sayana asked after she pulled several more weeds. “Easier to plant, easier to harvest, and gives them space to grow,” came his brief reply. She was quiet for a while and then he decided to elaborate. “When you plant the seeds, you don’t want to dig a hole for each seed. Instead, a horse pulls a plow through the dirt and makes a thin long hole that you can just toss the seeds into. Some seeds don’t grow but enough do to make these rows of crops. Unless they die from a drought.” Sayana nodded at his explanation but it was clear that he was still upset with the weather.

[Sayana]

By this point Sayana was exhausted and her back ached. It felt like it had been two or three bells but the farmer assured her it had only been one. She sat herself down on the ground, legs sprawled and her low arms propping her up. In Ahnatep it had always been hot and dry, here it was hot and stuffy. At least Syna wasn’t scorching her skin. Wait… When she looked up the sky was no longer blue as the sea. It wasn’t fully overcast either but it was hazy grey. And then she felt it. A single cool drop upon her arm. Despite her exhaustion she leapt to her feet and spread out all six arms. A second drop and a third. Then another landing on her forehead. “Ser Farmer! Ser Farmer!” Sayana cried out without caring about the proper title. He came over carefully with her horse that he had been watching. “Do you feel it?” He simply smiled as she spun about with her arms outstretched. “How did you know it was going to rain? Or lucky guess?” He asked as the drops became more noticeable. “I did a rain dance. It was marvelous.” Sayana began to explain. “We danced last night hoping to bring rain to the suffering crops. It was powerful and magnificent. All for the joy and life of Makutsi.” She was passionate about her words and was glad that her waiting had paid off. Slowly the light drizzle of rain became a steady patter. “I saw it happen once in Ahnatep. A raindancer came. It didn’t rain right away, but eventually the clouds came and opened up on the beautiful city.” There was a bit of an indent in the land where a small puddle had begun to form. Keeping hold of her horse’s reins she splashed into it not caring about muddying up her skirt. It was Makutsi’s blessing. She twirled about and was careful not to get herself tangled in the reins. “Isn’t it wonderful?” She asked as rivulets ran down her face. “Sure is refreshing, but I think I might head inside,” the farmer answered simply. “You’re free to go and start your journey back to Syliras.” Sayana grinned at him in response and gave a wave as he turned to go. With one last splash in the puddle she flopped onto the ground and stared up into the sky as the rain pattered gently upon her. At last her beautiful view of the sky was blocked by a big nose as her horse nudged her face. “Alright, alright. We should probably get moving.” She muttered softly as she got to her feet. Fortunately she had packed everything when leaving the inn with her mount. By now her skirt was rather muddy but she’d be able to wash it when she got back home. Sayana did a quick check of all the straps before mounting up. Even as the rain dampened her hair even further, she gave a nudge of her knees to get her horse into a walk. This time however, she was much more careful while riding and guided her horse along the narrow space between the crops. Occasionally her mount wanted to nibble at the plants but she pulled back the reins to dissuade him. Once they were safely out from the farmer’s field and onto the road Sayana kept her feet flexed and gave a firm kick to move into a trot.

[Sayana]

She was wet but the rain felt good upon her skin. But even as she started to get moving on the road back to Syliras, the patter of rain began to lighten. It had been short, almost too short, but it had still been refreshing. Sayana hoped that for the farmer’s sake, all the farmers, that it was enough to keep their crops thriving. Or at least not drying up. The horse’s hooves pounded against the damp ground and Sayana bent forwards as she tried to match the rocking gait of the horse. It felt good, to ride and be free. Strangely enough, the social woman was not concerned about the lonely journey ahead. It felt different having the freedom to explore the land, to see new sights, even if it was just returning back to Syliras. As the rain subsided, her mount became more sure of itself and she pushed it into a quicker trot. Sweet Makutsi. She took her time but she brought the rain at last. Sayana couldn’t help but smile as she looked around at the vegetation glistening with droplets of rain. Even though previously she had felt exhausted, the rain had refreshed and rejuvenated her. As she rode, she watched the fields go by and had a new respect for them. She still felt that the Outpost was slow and lacking luxuries, but it seemed to serve a purpose. As she reached the South Kabrin road she turned right to head northwards. The Eypharian dismounted to take a brief stretch since she had been riding for at least a bell or so, and let her horse graze for several chimes. Soon she would be home, or at least by the end of the day. Home and back in Aren’s arms, in a city she belonged in. As much as she had enjoyed the excursion she was ready to return to the bustle of Syliras. It was dark and damp at times, but it thrived with life. Putting her left foot in the stirrup, she kicked off the ground and swung her right leg over. “Away we go,” she murmured softly to her mount with a pat. After a firm kick with her heels she was off at a trot again, eager to return to the great city.

[Plume]

Sayana

Negotiation	+1 XP
Meditation	+1 XP
Agriculture	+2 XP
Intelligence	+2 XP
Philosophy	+2 XP
Horsemanship	+1 XP
Riding: Horse	+3 XP
Interrogation	+1 XP
Storytelling	+1 XP
Navigation	+2 XP

Lores :

• Mithryn: Drab Fabrics Sold
• Are Windows Worth a Boring Lifestyle?
• Makutsi: Must Bless All Races
• Riding: Avoid Crops!
• Agriculture: The Basics of Planting Crops
• Rain Dance: Success!
• Outpost: Slow But Serves a Purpose

Notes :

Well done, as always ^_^