Solo A Derelict Home

[Ingrid]

72nd of Autumn, 515 AV. Dusk.

It wasn't a short walk by any means, but Ingrid didn't mind all that much. The beautiful array of peaks and the stunning panorama they offered took her to a magical place of nostalgia where problems were concepts to puzzle over another time. She simply wanted to be present in the lunar brilliance of the place. The winding roads offered surprises at ever turn; domed structures of delicate beauty to curving towers with ornate spires of skyglass that seemed to hug the stars themselves, reflecting the radiance tenfold.

Ingrid spanned a skyglass bridge that would take her to the center peak of Zintia where her home was located in a well-to-do neighborhood. She always marveled at the translucent material beneath her feet. So durable and strong and yet so alien and gorgeous. Despite her vow to bask in the present moment, a part of her pondered over the possibility of a golem crafted of the material. She voluntarily shut it out of her mind. There would be plenty of time for brainstorming later, when she was at home with father. For now she was content to wander the City of Stars as any traveler would, in awe of its majesty and ingenuity.

Ingrid actually attempted to skip up the incline of cobblestone as she did when she was a girl and nearly tripped over her bags in the process. Managing with great (jerky) efforts to only look like the spastic person she was before continuing on by more traditional methods. It was then that she didn't recognize her surroundings...

The place was not at all how she remembered it. The thoroughfare had been partially repaired in some areas. While in other places, rubble and other debris lay in piles off to the side. Buildings were also damaged. Some to small extent; balcony statuary slightly askew or gated entrances with noticeable gaps or sections of the perimeter wall leaning whimsically to one side. Many to much greater extent; entire buildings reduced to fallen timbers and jagged bits of stone. Ingrid saw one place where nothing was left standing but the fireplace.

Ingrid had seen and experienced tremors and earthquakes before. But never on this scale. Had there been a major natural disaster while she was away in Sahova? Suddenly the connection hit her like a ton of bricks. Her home was not very far away.

She began to run....

[Ingrid]

Ingrid was met by total destruction. It was as if a god had made that section of Zintia its playground. The devastation reached the peak itself, rearranging bedrock upon which many homes had stood. Ingrid tripped again, dropping her travel pack as she slammed right into the embracing arms of a tall man in the Shinya garb."Woah. Easy now!"

"Let go of me! I need to go home!" She said, her voice fraught with fear, her eyes pleading as she struggled to free herself from his restraining arms.

"I'm sorry, my lady. But we have strict orders. No civillian is allowed permission to pass."

"I...have to go. My family is down there. I live on Moonridge and Third. Please! They might be in danger."

Ingrid saw understanding bloom across the Shinya's swarthy features. Then he shook his head sadly. That simple movement and the look written on his face nearly stopped her heart. She quit struggling and pounding her hands on his chest. The animator just stared at him, a blank expression on her face. This wasn't happening. This was bull shyke. This was not fucking happening. Ingrid shut her overcast hued eyes shut .

When she opened them, there was a deep well of sadness in those depths. She only then noticed a handful of other Shinya working along the street, sectioning off the road with barricades to dishearten others from attempting to do what she now did. She peered dully at one of the Shinya using projection abilities to aid in the transport of debris. She would not think of him. Not now. It was too much. She had lost too much already.

It hardly registered when the Shinya led her away, speaking in a soft helpful tone. "There were survivors of the natural disaster, my lady. Perhaps your family is among them. Go to the Catholicon. Alvina's light be with you. "

Ingrid blinked and looked up to meet the man's gaze, as if for the first time. He had given her hope. What an elusive thing hope was. But she did not intend to lose it now. Her mouth quivered into a fragile smile, her hand reached up to dab away the moisture rolling down her cheeks.

"Thank you." Ingrid turned away and made her way to Tenten.

[Ingrid]

One peak over, Ingrid found herself elevating a staircase that led to the second highest vantage on Tenten. The stairway was hewn from the mountainside itself where torches were ensconced at regular intervals. She was glad for the light as her footing was shaky at best. She felt as if the weight of the mountain were on her shoulders. What she sought at the top of the stairway could very well make or break her life. Ingrid could not help but clench her hands, cursing at herself. She fought with her own mind and the horrible thoughts born in the factory of inevitability. Ingrid forced positive imagery, hoping in so doing it would induce a favorable reality. It was sheer lunacy. But she would do anything to have her family alive.. Please let them be alive.

Mere chimes later Ingrid waited in the Catholicon reception area. Nervously fidgeting with her shirt collar as she waited in line. The main room was dominated by a magnificent circular staircase in its center that led to other floors of the grand building. Shelves lined the walls where innumerable medical instruments were stored. Medical professionals handled mobile ladders with swift efficiency, moving to and fro to capture this or that thing. Normally she would be fascinated by their activities and have a dozen or so ideas buzzing about in her brain on how to make their job more efficient by way of animation. But her creative energies were stifled by the enormous amount of stress barraging her mind. A number of times she felt dizzy and had to apologize to her neighbor in line when she attempted to steady herself with an unwelcome grip on clothing.

It wasn't the first time she had had the episodes with feeling disorientated. She had wondered if her astral practices had somehow unbalanced her mental health. It didn't seem likely. But now that was certainly not to fault with her mental state. She was sick with worry. Overwhelming trepidation for what words the clerk would utter. She noticed a young little girl slip away from her mother to weave around the people in line. She danced around Ingrid, and came to a stop in her revolutions to smile prettily up at her. The child must have sensed her tenseness, for she beamed up at her and reached up to clasp one of Ing's trembling hands.

"Don't worry. Galda will protect you from the night."

The animator managed a nervous smile. Ing peered down at the doll in the girl's hands. It was simple and stuffed with wool. A button for a nose and stitching for a mouth. But what wasn't so simple were the sparkling jewels it had for eyes. It reminded Ingrid immediately of her creations and in particular, a jewelry box construct she had named Jewel. "Galda is lovely," she said, her lips pressing together in a smile. The little girl grinned and waved before continuing her frolicking circuits.

Ingrid watched the girl for a time and was suddenly returned to the present when a voice said, "Next." She was at the front of the line now. A woman with dark hair, studious brown eyes, and a noticeably pudgy chin and neck awaited her response. The moment seemed to slow down to a fateful crawl and her mind grew fuzzy as her perception distorted to somehow being outside of her self. It was almost as if she had projected. But she hadn't. It was some sort of defensive mechanism to prepare herself for the worse. She heard her own voice, as if it were something alien. "I'm here to see about my parents. Martin & Aleiane Rowley."

The woman scrolled through records and double checked with a registry. "Were they scheduled for today?" The lady asked, still thumbing through files.

"No. They would be victims of the Zintia landslide." She heard herself say in an empty voice.

"Oh I see." The woman paused in her work to look up at Ingrid. She wore the same pitying expression as the Shinya soldier had. "Let me check to see if they're in the rehabilitation wing." It did not take long for the clerk's shuffle of papers to end. Her hands settled over the documents and she met Ingrid's gaze again. "I'm so.... sorry. They didn't make it."

Ingrid found herself numbly nodding her head before trudging off. She scarcely noticed the eyes of those who had been behind her watching her go. Ingrid felt as if she were drowning. Felt as though she were submerged under leagues of water and could not breathe. She wanted to cry out. To scream. To do anything that would validate the sorrow she felt. Instead she just remained silent, unable to express the grief that tormented her. Where her steps up the incline stair had been nervous and tentative, her steps down it were bold and uncaring. Falling down didn't seem such a horrible event. She could join her family and end the horrible pain that threatened to sweep her away.

She had no where to go now. The place that had always been home, felt a foreign place now. At some point she broke down and fell to her knees to lay in the middle of a skyglass bridge, weeping uncontrollably.

[Elysium]

MODERATOR INTERVENTION

Hello, dear. Before I'm able to grade this, it appears that you never paid seasonal expenses for the Fall season! After doing a bit of digging, I see that you were in Sahova in Spring and Summer, but I'd make a note of that somewhere in your ledger to avoid further interventions from other mods. Once you've made these changes feel free to resubmit your grade request.

and so, the journey continues...