As Kavala explained the talking animals at The Sanctuary and shared what she knew about the strange gifts and powers that were manifesting in the people of Riverfall, Ialari became intrigued at the inherent potential of such things. Kavala's newfound gift was indeed helpful to the work she did as Ialari had witnessed earlier with the horse. The chances of Ialari developing one of these strange abilities was a mixed consideration for her. On one hand, learning of something new and magical was one of the few things that gave Ialari satisfaction yet on the other unpredictability was something that bothered her. She liked control over a situation and a strange power not bound by rules lacked true control.
"I can see where being able to communicate with an animal would be so helpful in what you do." Ialari said while consciously trying to clear up her accent the best she could. This was done by concentrating more on her words and how they felt on her tongue. It did help a bit but it made talking a little more of a task.
When Kavala mentioned that some of those who worked for her also developed some of these strange gifts, Ialari couldn't help but think of the potential danger. Too many people in one place with powers and abilities that suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere could explode into chaos. It was the nature of the undisciplined to experiment in grandiose ways with newfound power. Ialari hoped she was wrong.
Kavala's smith, having acquired the ability to recognize what type of metal is in something and how much was intriguing considering he wasn't an isur. While an isur may be able to tell what kind of metals are in an item by manipulating the material with their metallic hand, they couldn't tell the exact percentages and the whole process wasn't an exact science. For someone to be able to do what Kavala's smith could would be of no small value in Sultros. "Such an ability as that of your smith would be quite sought after back home. He is a lucky man." Ialari refrained from commenting on the man's kelvic daughter however. She had only heard of kelvics in passing; having never met one herself. There were a handful of isur back in the Kingdom who were said to have kelvic companions yet they lived in a couple of the border posts one the furthest reaches of the Kingdom.
Once in the bathing chamber, Ialari showed little adherence to modesty. She was used to charging around the wilds in a few tattered rags at most and often spent her days in her Dominion completely nude. Despite that, Ialari did feel a small sense of discomfort when Kavala began helping her disrobe. It wasn't enough to bring it all to a halt but Ialari's lack of humanoid contact did make her feel at least a little awkward. At Kavala's urging, Ialari paused. A moment later she felt hot water slide down her back causing the dried up poultice to be peeled away. There was a slight tug and sharp burning sensation as the wound was exposed once more.
Kavala's reaction to the wound caused Ialari to shrug slightly and say, "Honestly, I'd forgotten it was there after a few days. Didn't really hurt much, 'til now..." Her words slowly turned a bit labored as she winced at the now open, bleeding wound. Mention of infection also caused Ialari a bit of concern as infections in the wilds were often a death sentence. Her meager medicinal skills had, for the most part, kept her from succumbing to a variety of wounds over the years. She'd become complacent though as time progressed or rather, she had become too comfortable with her solitude. As Kavala probed the wound in her capacity as a healer, Ialari stifled a small cry and bit her lip. When Kavala then used her gnosis to begin the rapid healing process on Ialari's wound, the isur's eyes widened. The feeling of pain being brushed away as the flesh pulled itself back together was akin to when Ialari had eaten her first real meal in years but a short time earlier. In fact, the meal combined with the additives Kavala had used stacked together with the healing of the wound was something Ialari felt exhilarated by. At the mention of scarring, Ialari nodded and said, "It won't be the first scar and I'm sure it won't be the last."
Kavala continued to use her healing hands across Ialari's body. The initial feeling of awkwardness grew into a bit of shock as Kavala promptly traced her hands all over Ialari's body. Kavala would definitely feel Ialari jump a little but would also feel the isur relax once the healing energies of the gnosis brought relief from the numerous tiny wounds that covered Ialari. At one point, Ialari couldn't hold back a soft moan at Kavala's touch. The combination of physical contact mixed with the comforting warmth of gnostic energy was almost overwhelming. When Kavala finally finished and helped Ialari step into the back, Ialari's legs felt a little unsteady and was more than thankful for Kavala's assistance in moving.
Once in the water, Ialari felt her muscles melt at the heat. When Kavala disrobed to enter the water, Ialari noticed the obvious marks of a number of gods on the konti's body. One of marks she noticed almost immediately and it explained the strange closeness Ialari felt to Kavala. The other marks, though beautiful in design, were not as familiar. The combination of Kavala's numerous marks and tattoos combined with the otherwise flawlessness of her body was nothing short of a work of art in Ialari's eyes. The woman's scaled, pale skin was stretched over refined muscles which only added to the beauty. Although not as sculpted as an isurian body, Ialari couldn't deny Kavala's body was a close second.
Following Kavala's instructions, Ialari dunked herself a couple of times to get her hair wet and relaxed while Kavala settled in behind her. Ialari was not just dirty, she was absolutely filthy. As Kavala set to running her fingers through Ialari's hair, mixing in the shampoo, Ialari casually rubbed her hands down her arms, legs and chest in an effort to loosen up the accumulated grim. Her baths back at her coastal retreat were taken in a nearby pond and pond water wasn't exactly the cleanest thing around. A small detail that Ialari caught was the architecture of the bath that allowed the water to remain clean and fresh regardless of the amount of grime that came off of her. It was a detail that only an isur would find interesting in such a situation.
Having her hair washed was a unique experience for Ialari. Except for being a child and having her mother wash her hair, Ialari never experienced such a thing as an adult. She simply closed her eyes and allowed the comfort to fill her body. When Kavala began to speak, Ialari listened intently; eager to hear what the konti had to say which in itself was unusual for the isur. As Kavala spoke of the isur and of her interest, respect and admiration for them, Ialari's fascination with the konti grew. How could such a creature be so different yet be so similar at the same time? When Kavala spoke of isurian history and faith and then compared it to that of humans, it struck a chord with Ialari even deeper. "Kavala, the things you say about my home and my people, it's beautiful...I haven't been home for years and to hear you speak of it...It's nice."
As Kavala continued to speak, all the while scrubbing Ialari's hair and massaging her scalp in a way that kept the isur on the fine line between sleep and awake, the topic turned more toward humans. Kavala told Ialari of her hatred of humans and how they'd hurt her. She mentioned falling in love with a human and how they were so short-sighted and foolish. How is this possible? Ialari thought to herself. It's like this woman is some sort of one-off mirror image of me. Maybe this was the right place to come.
Kavala then steered the conversation toward Ialari; mentioning how she looked so traveled yet not due to running from anything. She asked if Ialari wished to talk about any of it. If anyone else had asked such a thing, Ialari would have saw it as an attempt to weasel some sort of information out of her for personal gain. As a result, Ialari would have crushed the person's face and reveled in the sight of thick red blood covering her metallic black hand. Yet, when Kavala asked, it was as if her younger sister, Nysan, had asked. The feeling was a strange one considering it wasn't Nysan who'd asked, it was this rather unique konti whom Ialari had just recently met.
Continuing to focus on speaking more clearly, Ialari began, "You're right, Kavala, I'm not running. If anything, I'm searching for something." Ialari signed in comfort as Kavala continued working with her hair. "It's...it's a very long story. I'll keep it as short as I can but it won't make any sense unless I start at the beginning." She so desperately wanted to tell her story. There was so much to tell, so many things that Ialari wanted to share with someone yet nobody had revealed themselves to be capable of understanding any of it...at least until now.
"Until recently, I always thought my childhood was, well, just that, childhood. I was the loner. I never fit in with anyone or anywhere. I always felt alone and empty. Nothing I did ever seemed to satisfy me. No matter what I excelled at, it all felt hollow. As a child, I would spend a full day at a time at one of the local parks. Unlike parks outside of the Kingdom, this park was more a monument to the craftsmanship of my people. There was a particular statue, a massive representation of Izurdin with his hand held out and his palm open upward symbolizing all the potential the isurian arm possessed. I would spend entire days sitting in that open palm, pouring my thoughts and feelings out to the Divine Father. While he never actually answered, I truly felt as though he was listening and that was enough." Ialari remembered her time spent with Izurdin in that manner and after receiving his marks later in life, she realized that indeed he had been listening.
"Each and every conversation I had with him ended with a single question, why? Why did I feel the way I did? Why did I feel so empty and alone? Why could nothing fill this terrible void I felt deep inside? I thought that Izurdin had the answer yet I never received it. I joined the Silver Tower hoping for answers there only to find nothing. I petitioned the Towers ruling council to extend my studies to the outside world. My father was an instructor there and with his help, my request was granted. So, packing up what few possessions I had, I set out in search of my answer. As far as the Tower was concerned, I was merely extending my studies of lost and forgotten lore to the world outside in hopes of bringing back something to benefit the Tower and our people." Ialari could still remember the feeling of the icy winter wind biting deep through her furs and sapping nearly every bit of strength she had.
"I made my way to the Southern Border Post before heading out into the Unforgiving on my way east. I didn't know what I was looking for or what I would find but it was something I had to do. The first place I came to after leaving the post was one of the Kingdom's trading posts. We have several set up throughout the Unforgiving where my people extract resources from the outside world and send them back home for processing; logging, mining and even trading with some of the more tolerable human barbarian tribes make up the purposes of these posts. The particular post I came upon had been destroyed. It appeared as though one of the more violent barbarian tribes had raided it. The fires still smoldered as I passed through the crippled gate. To this day I can still smell death and smoke in the chilled winter air as I made my way through the post. I stumbled upon the local shrine to Izurdin where the local priestess was raped and murdered by a few human scavengers. I couldn't save her."
Ialari swallowed hard before continuing. If not for Kavala's comforting touch, she might now have gone on. "I'm not a good person, Kavala. I killed every last one of those barbarians. The last one, I used the priestess' dagger, one I still carry to this day, to slowly disembowel him. I can still see the fear in his eyes and taste it in his final breaths. For the first time ever up to that point, I felt almost complete, almost. It was at that moment that I discovered the power of hatred. I embraced it. The answer to my question of why was forgotten. In its place, the question had changed to how could I bring the end to all of humanity. I yearned for the death of every last man, woman and child. I set out from the post with that one goal in mind." Ialari paused a moment hoping that she hadn't disturbed Kavala enough that the konti would turn away in disgust.
Assuming that Kavala hadn't recoiled from the monster Ialari had become for a time, she continued the story. "My journey led me from the post to Riverfall and then to Syliras; still I found nothing that could help me. I know such a quest sounds insane. How could one person commit genocide on a race that basically dominates what is left of the world? I was not in a good place then. While in Syliras, I learned of a place to the far east, an island called, Sahova. It was home to the nuit, a race of undead creatures devoted solely to researching magical disciplines and related phenomena. If any one place was to help me achieve my goal, that was it." Ialari's palm throbbed softly as she thought of the nuit. The memory alone of those creatures caused the mark of Dira on her hand to react.
As Kavala continued to work on Ialari's hair, the isur could feel not only the cleanliness returning but also a bit of style as Kavala brushed it. For an isur, to feel beautiful was second only to communing with Izurdin in the forge.
"I arrived in Sahova just in time to get caught up in what I guess you could say was a civil war. The archmage, a master wizard who'd existed since before the Valterrian, had just created a new "life" in the form of a being known as Drainira. Drainira had once been known as the "Supervisor" of Sahova. She was the heart and soul of the citadel there. She tended to every need the undead inhabitants would ever have. When the archmage, Maeshan, crafted a humanoid body for her, Drainira took it. Unbeknownst to Maeshan, Drainira had been subverted by Sagallius, God of Puppets and had become his champion. She'd corrupted other nuit into becoming puppets of her own and together they sought to destroy Sahova. With nobody left to trust, the archmage enlisted a small group of outsiders, myself included, to try and thwart Drainira. The others were weak-willed fools who hadn't a backbone between them. I offered to allow the archmage to transfer my consciousness into the citadel where Drainira had once been in hopes of discovering what she'd planned. Once inside, I found that she meant to destroy the citadel with magical explosions set off by her puppets. Using the power of the citadel, I prevented the destruction and revealed the rebels for what they were. The archmage now deposed by the rest of the master wizards, I agreed to help root out any other rebels through torture and interrogation. Again, not one of my finer moments yet I regret none of it."
Ialari continued trying to remove the dirt and grime from her body while Kavala expertly worked on her hair. Ialari couldn't wait to see herself when it was all done. She'd ignored her own appearance for far too long and now that it was being fixed, she realized just how neglectful she had been. She paused for a moment to see how Kavala reacted or what she would say. Having just shared so much, Ialari could only imagine what Kavala may say. There was much more to the story, some of it Ialari felt comfortable enough to share, some of it not yet appropriate to do so.