Solo It's a Long Story

[Cyrus Treestride]

Fall 3rd, 516 AV

The young Drykas opened his eyes as Syna’s light began to shine through his tent. The light coming through the dyed fabric of the pavilion painted everything inside a light blue color. Cyrus yawned deeply as he stretched his legs and arms, slowly bringing the life back to his rested limbs. It was early, but there was work to be done.

After getting dressed, Cyrus grabbed his yvas and walked out of his tent. The people of Endrykas were already out and about. The tent city was slowly coming to life. Looking at the pavilions nearby, Cyrus saw many people starting the day's work. Some were sewing, while others were tending to their herds. Cyrus could hear the rising sound of people talking to one another and the distant hammering of a metal smith.

Yvas in hand, Cyrus looked around for his strider: Sacha. Even this early in the morning, the Sea of Grass was warm. It would only get hotter as the sun rose in the sky. Cyrus was hoping to avoid hunting with the sun beating down on him. Cyrus spotted his mare grazing a few yards away from the pavilion and made his way over to her.

As Cyrus approached, Sacha lifted her head, her mouth full of grass. Upon seeing Cyrus her ears perked up, pointing towards her rider. Sacha gave a soft nicker and nuzzled Cyrus. Being bonded, it was much easier for Cyrus to read Sacha's body language. Right then the message was pretty clear “Good morning”. Cyrus smiled and ran his hand down her neck.”Good morning to you too” he said as he lifted the yvas up ”Are you ready to go out? We’re running a bit low on meat”. Sacha quickly blew air out of her nostrils and turned her side to him. Cyrus nodded, she was excited and ready to go out into the Sea of Grass.

Cyrus first laid a pad on the back of his mare. He adjusted it for a bit, making sure it was high enough on Sacha’s withers. Satisfied with the placement of the pad, Cyrus lifted the yvas onto Sacha’s back. It took him a minute or two, as he was not the most experienced at such things, but he eventually was able to situate the yvas correctly and secure the straps comfortably around Sacha. Cyrus pulled on the hand grip at Sacha’s shoulder, making sure it would support him, and then used it to pull himself over onto her back.

Now successfully in the yvas, Cyrus patted Sacha’s neck. He looked up out into the Sea of Grass ”Let's go girl”. Hardly waiting for his order, Sacha made her way into the grasslands.

Pavi | Common | Tukant

[Cyrus Treestride]

The tent city of Endrykas was behind them now. As the duo made it to the crest of a hill, Cyrus looked over his shoulder. He could just make out the blob that was his home city. Cyrus thought for a moment, taking into account how the city looked from here and estimating how long he and his companion had traveled, Cyrus thought they were about a mile away from Endrykas. They were truly in the Sea of Grass now.

Cyrus turned back around and bent a little closer to Sacha’s ears ”Stay alert girl, I’m going to search for a quarry”. Sacha lifted her head high, scanning the surrounding area for signs of danger. Cyrus noticed the way her ears remained perked up. Sacha enjoyed the danger of the grasslands. It was a thrill to her. Cyrus didn’t mind though. All the extra energy that came about when someone was excited could be put to good use in times of need. ”I’ll be back in a few minutes” with that, the Drykas closed his eyes and concentrated.

The art of Webbing had been passed onto Cyrus by his mother: Nada. He was not very skilled as of yet, but it was one of the many things he strived for. Eyes closed, Cyrus began slowly clear his mind and control his breathing as he had been taught. He gradually blocked out the noises of the plains: the wind, the birds, the streams of water. He formed an emptiness in his mind. In the emptiness, he formed a small seed. Cyrus willed the seed to grow, and so in his mind’s eye the seed sprouted and grew. First a green stem shot out from the seed, and then roots began to take hold. Twisting and turning, the roots grew and traveled vast distances and what had once been only a small stem had grown into a beautiful and immense tree. Reaching out with his mind, Cyrus touched the tree. As he did, his mind began to slip from his own body and enter the tree’s. The young webber could feel the roots of the tree, and that they spanned many miles yet he did not dare try to look further. Cyrus opened his eyes, and he saw his own rigid body atop Sacha’s back. Sacha still appeared alert. Cyrus estimated around a minute had elapsed since he had closed his eyes. The technique his mother had taught him for entering the web was very useful to Cyrus. He had mentioned early on in his training that the web did not feel like the strings of a web to him, more like the roots of a tree.

Cyrus looked around. The “roots” of the web going off in every direction. He had to be careful, as going too far into the web could prove dangerous for him. Luckily for his purposes he didn’t need to go very far. Around a mile into the web, if that. Cyrus could handle a mile easily enough. Cyrus gently traveled through the web. He didn’t need to read the web for past information, only what was happening now. A mintue or so passed when the Drykas found himself atop another hill, 1000 yards or so from his body. He looked around for a moment, and then he felt it. One of the roots of the web tugged at his mind, he looked towards the disturbance in the web and saw a fox making its way down the hill towards a stream. Having found his quarry, Cyrus gently traced his way back towards his body. He looked at his body, rigid and motionless, and reached out to it.

Cyrus’s eyes flashed open.

He couldn’t help but feel a tinge of longing. Cyrus enjoyed being in the web. It was the closest he could be the the land and plants in the Sea of Grass. He knew that longing was the exact reason why he could not stay in the web for long. Cyrus had gotten lost in the web a few times in his training, only to be guided back by his mother. It was not a pleasant experience.

Cyrus looked towards the direction of the fox. ”There is a fox over there. About 1000 yards”. The Drykas looked up at the sun. The sun had risen only a few hours ago, so that was east. The city of Endrykas was to the north, and his quarry was north-east. Cyrus found that quite fortunate. If anything were to go wrong then he and his companion would not be too far from Endrykas. The sun had not properly baked the plains as of yet either. Cyrus’s desire to receive the bounty of his hunt before the full force of the sun hit the plains would seem to be satisfied fairly shortly. Everything was going according to plan. Satisfied, Cyrus urged Sacha onward.

Pavi | Common | Tukant

[Cyrus Treestride]

Cyrus and Sacha trotted along the plains towards their destination. Both of them keeping an eye out for danger. Albeit Sacha was the one who mostly kept an eye out as Cyrus’s mind was occupied. Cyrus thought to himself as the pair went across the Sea of Grass. Given the distance they needed to travel and the speed they were going, Cyrus estimated they would reach the hill in about 3 minutes. The fox would almost certainly be in the immediate vicinity after such a short amount of time, and if it happened that he could not find the fox he could always look for it again in the web. In the likely event the fox was by the stream, Cyrus would approach the creature from behind and catch it off guard. Cyrus wasn’t the best at sneaking through the grasslands, but luckily he didn’t need to be very close to use Reimancy. There were probably rocks he could use instead of transmuting his res, saving him some personal djed.

Sacha’s abrupt stop jarred Cyrus from his planning. Cyrus looked up and found Sacha had stopped right before the top of the hill they had been heading towards. She turned her head to look at her rider. She was asking what to do next. ”Wait here. If something goes wrong I will call for you” he patted her neck before dismounting. Sacha moved in place, her energy spilling over. She would probably try to watch Cyrus anyway. As long as she remained quiet Cyrus didn’t really care.

Crouching down into the grass, Cyrus made his way over the hill. Stopping just over the crest of the hill he scanned his surroundings in search of the fox. His vision swept over the stream 30 or so yards below him. His eyes caught the red tint of the creature's body beside the water. The creatures back was already turned towards Cyrus. The Drykas slowly stepped forward. A few times his feet would fall on loose rocks or a dry twig and make unwanted noise. Cyrus tried not to wince with every noise he made, but the fox didn’t seem to notice. He was about 20 yards from the fox now. Knowing he couldn't get much closer, he stopped his approach.

Cyrus’s quarry was ahead of him now, drinking water from the stream. Cyrus sought that emptiness he had achieved when he entered the web only a few minutes earlier. Controlling his breath and focusing on the fox, Cyrus managed to block out the subtle distractions of the plains. He formed the seed in his mind’s eye. So as not to break his concentration, Cyrus very slowly stretched his upturned right hand outwards. He urged the seed in his mind to grow, nurturing it. As the seed sprouted and grew, so too did the magicians djed. Cyrus felt his djed pool in his hands. The trees branches grew out and reached far into the sky, and so Cyrus urged the djed from his palm. A dark green liquid began to form in his hand. As the res built up, he slowly willed the viscous liquid into the air. Cyrus had created a fist-sized sphere of res an inch above his hand. The tree in his mind continued to grow, stretching, even cracking in some places. A painful tremor ran along Cyrus’s right leg. Blurring the image of the tree Cyrus had in his mind before it jumped back into clarity. The young magician had little djed to manipulate, he had to act quickly or risk overgiving.

The fox jerked it head into the air, looking around the area.

Lifting its’ head into the air, the creature's muscles tensed. Cyrus remained motionless. In part due to his intense concentration but also in an attempt not to be seen. The fox took a tentative step away from Cyrus’s hiding location in the grass before dashing off, following the stream away from Cyrus. Cyrus’s concentration immediately broke with the sudden movement. The sphere of res fell back onto the magician’s hand. Extremely viscous and sticking to him like honey. In his mind's eye he saw the tree snap in half before the image dispersed entirely.

Cyrus sighed with slight annoyance. It seems his day would not go as smoothly as planned. A headache started to spread across the right side of Cyrus’s head, originating at his temple. This was an early sign of overgiving. Cyrus cupped the expended res in his hands. Closing his eyes, Cyrus tried to calm his mind to reabsorb the res. At his level he could only restore a small portion of his djed by doing so, but it was something. The Drykas found it difficult to find the emptiness in his mind that helped him in his magic. To aid him in his efforts, he began a soft incantation in his native tongue. Not loud enough to call the attention of any nearby predators, but enough to provide a rhythm that allowed Cyrus to focus. The res gradually began to sink back into Cyrus as he willed it to. It was an uncomfortable experience, but it would hopefully relieve some of his pain.

With the res now fully absorbed, Cyrus felt the spreading of his headache stop and the pain alleviate slightly. Cyrus slowly rose from the grass and turned towards the hill where he had left his mare. Cyrus wasn’t very surprised to see Sacha making her way down the hill towards him. She must have gotten to a place to observe what was going on.

Taking the time that Sacha took to come down the hill, Cyrus thought for a moment. What exactly did I do wrong? There was no way the fox had seen him. He had approached completely out of the foxes field of view, and the few moments Cyrus had been fairly close to the fox the creature had been bent down drinking water. Then he felt it. There was a slight breeze coming down the hill towards the stream. Cyrus shook his head. A foolish mistake. That current would have taken Cyrus’s scent right to the fox. He was surprised the fox had not run earlier.

Sacha walked up to Cyrus. Turning her head to the side slightly so she could properly see him. Cyrus placed his hand on the mare’s nose, his headache not subsiding anymore after he had absorbed his own djed. ”Perhaps Caiyha doesn’t wish this creature to be harmed” Cyrus said with a sigh. ”Using anymore djed may become dangerous. We should have enough food for a few more days, and father will almost certainly bring something home” Sacha stomped her hoof and stepped a few feet towards the direction the fox had ran, showing her distaste for Cyrus’s apparent plan to return home with no bounty. Cyrus held a hand over his right eye, his headache throbbing behind it. Perhaps if he rested for a few minutes, he would have the strength to try again. The rider looked up at his strider ”Fine, I’ll find the creature after I rest”. The Drykas sat down in the grass beside Sacha, leaning his back against her leg ”Keep us safe”. Cyrus closed his eyes. The full extent of his exertion began to reveal itself, his muscles felt weak and Cyrus found himself very fatigued. Even with his headache, Cyrus found sleep fairly easily.

Pavi | Common | Tukant