The Journey Really Begins [Ijuiashke]

[Ifran]

45th Winter, 510 A.V. They said it would be easier traveling across the Burning Lands during the Winter. He would have hated to experience the Summer. A litter had taken him to the outskirts of Ahnatep, a guide found by Aru had taken them up a river, over a bit of desert, and to this oasis. Now they simply had to find a guide through the rest of the deserts, whether Benshira or Chaktawe, and they could continue on their way. While Aru was off looking for a new guide, Ifran kept his back to a wall of rock and his eyes discreetly everywhere. Beyond Ahnatep, the reception of Eypharians was not so friendly. His twinned khopeshes were visible over his shoulders, and with six arms, he was off-putting to most on the lookout for a fight or easy money. He had drunk from the oasis already, and refilled his water supplies. All the same, he drank again now. It would be necessary to get water-fat while at the oasis, because the journey across the hot sand would be desiccating experience, he was sure. There were no water gardens, no lush foliage. Even the oasis plants were mostly hardy things that conserved what they were given. His training had only somewhat prepared him for this sort of experience. The rest he would have to pick up as he went along.

[Ijuiashke]

Off the horizon in the west, Ijuiashke could make out the towering outline of a man blocking the sun. The figure could not be missed for its height of a hundred feet. Ijuia could feel its cooling shadow creeping over the sand as it grew unmistakably longer and longer. In its speed, it felt almost like it was intentionally going after Ijuia. He froze because he wasn't sure about this. His mind was firing rapid impulses to the rest of his body to move, but his muscles would not yield no matter how hard he thought of moving them. However, mind does exceed matter and he could feel the first of muscle twitches in his leg. It was too late, however, as the shadow grabbed his feet. His eyes were wide with fear. He was more immobile than he was at first. His arms, his feet, it felt like he was not there, a strange incompleteness yet an almost familiar sense of nothingness. The only things that could prove his existence to himself were his eyes, still looking to the horizon and watching for movement. There it was. The shadow moved its arms outward to the side. You could see that this humanoid figure was not just humanoid, but the birds had blessed it with wings with which to fly. So, the shadow became more intimidating. After a few breathless moments, unmeasurable because of the apparent dilation of time, the shadow receded. It slid back into the western horizon, back into the body of the hundred-foot birdman, almost like the sun reversed its rotation. Ijuia was dumbstruck at first, but knew by his Chaktawe vision that this was a sign from Eywaat. It was a call to serve, a call to arms. He was finally getting a quest from the divine and he was getting closer to understanding his purpose in life. He ran like the wind, leaving his task of reconnaissance of the desert near Ahnatep unfinished. After all, the matters of the gods are more important than the matters of humans. A family might starve with the negligence of a father, but under the negligence of a god, Mizahar will fall to ruins, a barren continent of desolation and cosmic ineptitude. It was an honor for Ijuiashke to be called to Eywaat at such an early age. He will not fail his god who has fed his family for generations. Then he saw this man with six arms.

[Ifran]

The hexabrachian Eypharian was not so keen-sensed as the Chaktawe, but a lifetime spent among the intrigues of Ahnatep had fine-tuned his survival skills and so it wasn't so long before he noticed the approach from the harsh sands. His eyes turned toward the newcomer warily; there were dangers in the desert worse than those of the civilized city, and vice versa. But here he was out of his element, and so he discreetly stretched to prepare his muscles for the possibly need to make a quick draw to defend himself. Aru was of little help in a fight, but he knew he could count on his childhood friend to take an arrow of a blade to the guts for him. That was just how things stood between them. As the man approached, Ifran took careful stock of him. In the dazzling light, it was difficult to say for sure, but it appeared to be a Chaktawe, which could be a stroke of good luck if he and Aru could persuade him to guide them north and east into Cyphrus. If worse came to worst, he supposed they could follow the coastline up to Riverfall and then set sail for Alvadas from there. Of course he saw no darkness, but only light visible in the oppressive heat of day. When the man was close enough, he nodded, a friendly enough greeting. "Hello," he greeted in Arumenic. If that failed, he would try Common, but he certainly didn't speak the language of the Chaktawe. Perhaps that was a short-sighted mistake in his education.

[Ijuiashke]

Soft sounds tumbled out of the man's mouth. Ijuia was sure it was a greeting of some sort, as it was common courtesy across all civilizations that he knew of to acknowledge the presence of another. Ijuiashke nodded back in reply and put his right hand on his lips, saying "Same goes to you." He spoke his name aloud: "Ijuiashke." Then he pointed to himself. With his finger still on his chest, he enunciated, syllable by syllable, "I-ju-i-ash-ke," although experience tells him that outsiders will only be able to catch the last half of his name. He was not discouraged, as he repeated for the last time: "Ijuiashke." He showed them the pores on his fingers and told of his race, "Chaktawe." Above them, a crow was flying, away from the gates of Ahnatep. Ijuiashke then pointed at the bird and announced with solemnity (felt in the timbre of his voice) "Eywaat." Then, he pointed at this man with six arms. He offered a sip of water from his waterskin to the two travelers, pulling it out of the canvass bag hanging on his back from his shoulders. He put both hands forward clutching the waterskin. His eyes were bright and he was nodding at them, telling them to take whatever they need from him; he has decided to help them because it's what Eywaat wanted.

[Ifran]

"Ijuiashke," he pronounced carefully after the instruction. As a trained singer and performer, he was able to pick up the nuances of sound well enough even if he didn't understand the language. "Ifran," he said slowly, so the man could understand. It was a simpler name, to be sure, but Eypharians were even more picky about these things than most. "Eypharian," he added, moving all six arms at once. If the eyes hadn't given the Chaktawe away, then certainly his hands did. This might turn out to be a prodigious meeting after all. He didn't even notice Aru's return until the man's strange eyes encompassed the both of them when he offered water. He took a ceremonial sip and passed it to his companion, then offered his own waterskin to Ijuiashke, as that seemed to be the easiest way to put him at his ease: reciprocity. He gestured in Aru's direction -- pointing was rude -- and said: "Aru." If the young Chaktawe had any Nader-canoch, he would recognize the word for river, which is from whence came Aru's name. "You don't happen to speak Tawna, do you?" he asked his friend, who shook his head. "Only a little," Aru said. Then to Ijuiashke: "Greetings. I speak little Tawna, but enough I hope."

[Ijuiashke]

Ijuia understood that he was with this man who called himself Ifran. There was another of his kind who came up to them and stood silently behind the first Eypharian. Ifran lifted his own waterskin to level with his face and it looked like he was offering Ijuiashke a sip of water. That which you give will be returned in kind. The Chaktawe was hesitant at first. He had offered his water as a sign of his complete servitude to this person, to whom he was led by a miraculous vision of Eywaat. However, this gesture should not be denied and it showed Ijuia that the man before him fortunately was benevolent and kind. Ijuia took Ifran's waterskin and drank from it. He said, "I am grateful for your benevolence," and only hoped that, for the time that the Chaktawe of the Suli tribe had shared these Ahnatep borders with the Eypharians, they had at least learned their uncomplicated pleasantries. His eyebrows drew closer, however, when he realized that in order to tell these people of his intentions, he needed to talk with them beyond simple greetings. Ifran then gestured to his companion and called him Aru, and so Aru he must be. The two talked for a bit in a language that was unfamiliar to Ijuiashke, and he worried more about how he could explain himself. Then, Aru addressed Ijuia in the Chaktawe native tongue. "Greetings. I speak little Tawna, but enough I hope." Ijuia's eyes lit up. Surely this man must have been sent by Makutsi! "You speak Tawna very well. I am happy to know this. Eywaat has sent me to you. I believe I am under your service until the next time that Eywaat calls me."

[Ifran]

Aru seemed unfazed by the realization that Ijuiashke was offering them service, but he was a member of the Ano Cult, and few people could gauge their reactions when they did not wish it so. He nodded his head in acknowledgement of what Ijuiashke said and offered, then turned to speak to Ifran. "He believes that Eywaat has called him to your service," he said, deadpan. Ifran nodded, his intense gaze heavy upon Ijuiashke as if measuring what the gods had brought him. "Who am I to deny the will of the gods?" he asked, though he was rather unsure that Eywaat paid him any special attention. "Ask him if he will lead us across the desert." Aru nodded and began again in careful Tawna: "This is my lord Ifran of the House of the North Winds. Would your service include leading us across the desert to Cyphrus? We go to Riverfall, and then to Alvadas, City of Illusion, but you needn't pass beyond Eyktol if you wish to remain. We would appreciate any help you might offer." Meanwhile, as Aru spoke, Ifran smiled to Ijuiashke. If Eywaat wanted to bless him, he would not argue.

[Ijuiashke]

"This is my lord Ifran of the House of the North Winds. Would your service include leading us across the desert to Cyphrus? We go to Riverfall, and then to Alvadas, City of Illusion, but you needn't pass beyond Eyktol if you wish to remain. We would appreciate any help you might offer." "I believe I can. I have quite some knowledge about the desertscape." He gestured towards the far end of the horizon, the one that spanned the view from across Ahnatep. It was a tremendous task, crossing the desert when you're not a Chaktawe. For Ijuia's race who were born walking in the hot sands of Eyktol, they had already developed biological adaptations specifically and specially for traveling across the desert. Aside from their fully capable nictitating membranes, they also had an internal storage of water that could last them for weeks. "Have you got your supplies? This trip will take long."

[Ifran]

Ifran listened closely to the exchange between Aru and this Ijuiashke, determined to learn as much of the Tawna tongue as possible while accompanied by a native speaker. Aru translated for Ifran, who nodded, and then answered for his lord. "We have some goodly supplies," he acknowledged, "though it would be best if we could stop at oases along the way. If your people would not object to our presence among them in order to resupply from time to time. There is only so much water that we can carry." Eypharians were more adjusted to the desert than many races, but not so well as the Chaktawe, and these two, at least, could acknowledge their guide's superiority. Perhaps they were diplomatic enough to survive outside of the cloistered bubble of Ahnatep after all. At least, with a Chaktawe leading them through the Burning Lands. "We are ready to leave whenever you are," Aru added, "friend."

[Colombina]

The XP Wand Is Waved! Not too much to comment on here, but I will say I always enjoy seeing Aru in action. Ifran's Loot 2 XP Land Navigation 1 XP Wilderness Survival 1 XP Intimidation Lore of Chaktawe Greetings Colombina is pleased.