Closed Reflections Of Truth. (Neph)

[Alexander Faircroft]

Timestamp: 21st Winter 516AV

Location: Alvadas - "Ahnatep"

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"


There was a strange heat in the air, or at least a lingering weight that Alex couldn’t quite put his finger on. It wasn’t cold, no it wasn’t like last winter where the snow had been so heavy people had died because they hadn’t been forward thinking enough to clear the snow. Subconsciously Alex glanced down at his hands. He’d picked up a shovel, and dug himself half to death in the freezing cold to try and save people. To the point where he put so much effort in he couldn’t move his arms and could barely feel his legs. There was a cold darkness to him as he stepped around the corner and into the blinding light that caught him off guard.

The first think that hit him was the heat. He felt like he was fireside in the jacket and armour he wore. The thick leather eating into his hope for a cooling time. No such luck. Alex glanced around and saw the swirling dunes of monstrous size. The city behind him seemingly swallowed by the brightness that washed over him and the heat that engulfed him.
Fantastic…I’m stuck in a city of sand and heat. It’s going to be an interesting day.
Alex stepped through the streets slowly keeping his motions to a minimum in his rather sweltering clothing now. Thankfully he only had his dual bastard swords and dagger on him today the rest of his gear left in his room.

Flicking his hood up to keep the sun off of his head he heard a snippit of conversation from a couple of nearby resident eypharians.
“It’s lovely really.” The first one started.
“Yes, thank Inou that we can now see our true worth.” The second eyph chimed in a broad smile across her features.
“I mean it could have been just one mirror but all of them? That’s a great boon.” The pair began to laugh together and Alex cringed lightly.

So the mirrors here show you what you truly are? Fan-bleeding-tastic. Looks like I’m going to be spending a lot of time dodging anything that reflects. Or at least actively avoiding looking. Suddenly the heat didn’t seem so bad under the weighty ideal that he could find out there and then what kind of man he truly was. Was he a brave protector of the people? A spawn of darkness sent merely to cause people anguish and pain? Or simply a useless fool? Whichever it was Alex wanted nothing to do with it. So much so that as he walked keeping his head low and glancing around for anything reflective he collided with someone. Sending them cascading backwards onto the streets.
“I’m terribly sorry about that.” Alex spoke offering an outstretched hand to try and help them up however they simply spat back the words.
“Watch where you’re going you filthy ingrate!” The eyph rose and dusted off his clothing, picking up the small book he was carrying before shooting Alex a dark look and heading off about his business. Good to know that the people were so friendly here…

[Nephti]

Wandering...

Her back pressed against the cool, smooth surface of a mirror. Her hands, all of them, pressed against her face, sobbing softly to herself. There were no tears left but the salty water still came out, wetting the mark on her palm. The events of this season had horrified her. Worse, they still did, the girl hating this world and the cruelty and violence. First, slavery. Now, this slaughtering of innocence whose only crime had been to worship the wrong goddess.

She wasn't even the wrong goddess! Before, she had done nothing wrong. It wasn't like she inspired violence or darkness or evil. Morwen had simply tended to winter. The only people who could be considered to have done something wrong were the ones who had only started worshipping her after she had disappeared on her duties - if any were fools enough to do that.

Nephti tried to calm herself. Worrying about it did nothing - she knew that. As she took deep breaths against the mirror, she turned slowly to face it. Finally, she dropped her hands, staring straight back at the reflection. She was strong, she was beautiful and despite the fact she knew the images she saw were fake, they gave her hope, and slowly, the girl rose to her feet.

She moved away from the alleyway, in which several old mirrors had been scattered by Ionu's magic against the walls. The Eypharian needed to face the facts. Accept what was happening, only so she could fight against it. The more she could do against this travesty, the better.

The alley opened up on a busier street, just as a man, in a jacket and armour, completely out of place, smashed into an Eypharian, or Eypharian imposter. True, the first man should have been looking out but the second had also been engrossed in his book, when he should have been watching his surroundings too. That sort of reaction was disgusting.

Humankind seemed more disgusting, but Nephti was surely just looking at it with the wrong eyes. She had been hurt, in a distant sort of way, and now things were looking worse than they should have been. At least the first apologised and tried to help him up.

Nephti stepped forward towards them, or rather, the armoured man as the other had hurried away. Maybe another day she would have been an interesting sight, with her multitude of arms, but this season, she was simply lumped with the masses who carried Ionu's illusions on them. The only way to tell was the natural way she moved them, each moving in response to the other as she approached.

"Good day," she smiled politely at him, trying to show him - and herself- that not everyone was that unfriendly. "I'm sorry for that man. He is very... unpolite. Are you okay?" she asked, smiling as best as she could. Her eyes were still a little red and puffy, but that didn't matter. She wasn't fine, but that couldn't be fixed quickly. Unless this man could save all the vantha in the world.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"


Alex glanced up from the ground briefly keeping his gaze as far from the reflections as possible. After all if they showed the true him he wanted nothing to do with it. However what caught his attention was something that he didn’t expect to see. A female eyphiran that wasn’t actively hostile to him. Though what he clearly noticed was the redness of her eyes. The eyes of tears.
“Impoliteness is something I’ve come to expect from everyone and everything.” He offered a small masquerading smile as he glanced towards her. Despite being slightly hunched over from both the heat of the sun and the fact he didn’t want to catch sight of a mirror he still towered over her. His fingers tightened in at his side lightly.

“If I may be so bold as to ask, what were the tears for?” His question as innocent as it was, became highlighted and made even more so by the softness of his voice. A light tone that he kept to try and sooth those who were distraught in some fashion or another. His standing shifted as he shrunk a little further showing that he wasn’t out to cause harm but rather instead to see the problem. He kept a modicum of distance simply watching her before realizing just how rude he was being.
“Sorry, first time in the city and things are still new to me. Having a hard time telling between reality and weaved fiction.” Again he offered that small smile empty behind but so practiced it felt almost natural.

His blades clinked lightly beneath his coat which he dared not remove lest the sun sear him to a bright red. But he pied the price another way, he was sweating feeling the beads of liquid run down his forehead. The heat did him no favours, yet nothing here seemed to help and all of it seemed to be out against him since he’d men tally taken his own stand against the injustice that was being wrought upon the undeserving.

[Nephti]

Wandering...

He tried to smile, explaining that he hadn't expected much more. She looked at him with a sad expression - sad for him, this time - and wished that no one else was feeling what they were feeling about the world. She shook her head, forcing out another smile. "We are not all so bad. We must have hope in that and show the others how we should act." How we should protect the unfortunate, not participate in their slaughter.

His next question was innocent, spoken with a soft voice that could have mimicked Priskil's own caring one. Without thinking about it, she moved a hand up, brushing at the water with a marked hand. Simply the touch of a gnosis gave her strength and she decided she didn't care at all, even now that it had been picked up on.

"The world," she whispered softly, letting her voice gradually get louder, "The world and all its problems. All the people who Morwen betrayed. Me, you and the Vantha. Everyone." Taking a deep breath, Nephti forced herself to relax, to stop the emotion from coming out wildly and getting herself hurt. For all she knew, this man could be one of the Vantha hunters. He could hate them - or he could hate everyone else. Something about him reassured her that he wasn't like that. That he wanted good in this world in the right sense.

She looked up at him once more, wondering why he was so hunched. Sweat beaded at his brow and he still wore his coat, hiding blades behind it. Why he hid them was a mystery, and Nephti could only hope that it wasn't any maleficent motive that drove him to. The heat made him uncomfortable, which made sense: he wore the wrong clothing, he wasn't a man from the desert. Nephti herself had barely even noticed the heat against her skin.

"Do you want to find some shade?" she asked, starting to walk anyway in a random direction, deciding to stop in the first sheltered place they could, "And do not be sorry. I do not care who sees me like this. I want to wear my sad so everyone can see it. So they can understand it, and learn."

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"


Perhaps she was right, not all of them were bad. However his comment wasn’t aimed specifically at the Ehypirans. It was a general comment. Though a stark few seemed genuinely welcoming and nice to deal with there was an overwhelming majority that seemed to just innately hate him. However her answer to his question gave him pause for thought. What did she mean by “the world”? Was it quite literally everyone or? As he pondered she began to clarify. It seemed she took stock in the same thing he did that it wasn’t the people’s fault that their supposed patron and protector had shirked their duty.

Despite the weight of the heat he could see even through the haze that things were going, well enough. “A touch of shade would be lovely.” He spoke with that light tone again. He couldn’t stand the heat any further and lifted the coat from his body, the hood still attacked to the leather armour beneath still peeing his head out of the sun. He pulled the jacket off and threw it over his shoulder a vest difference in the heat now taking hold. The direct sunlight stronger in power but the feeling of being cooked lessened significantly.

“And I agree, it’s a shame what’s happening to the Vantha. Being punished for the fault of their god.” He managed to get the words out before feeling like he was about to pass out. He was clearly in the wrong wear of this weather. And whilst most who entered this desert had their heads together he didn’t know what he was stumbling into. And now as he kept walking along side this new Eyphiran person he listened. He heard. She wanted the world to see her sadness, to understand what they were doing was wrong. However the majority he knew didn’t care. Most people just wanted the money.

[Nephti]

Wandering...

The girl walked through the sunlight letting it soak into her skin, bringing the gilded colour to life. It only exaggerated her features, but few were around to see it, and even less noticed, and cared. Her sorrowful eyes watched them all as they passed, hoping each and everyone would see the light, no matter what that meant. Until then, they would have to cope with Syna's, like her companion, who seemed about to drop dead in the heat.

A group of buildings opened up into a courtyard, sheltered by the sandstone all around, and Nephti led her companion into the shaded area, resting against a smooth stone wall. It was significantly cooler in the shade, and she hoped it would be enough for this man, wearing the worse outfit for the heat. "I can get water for you?" she offered, if the man felt that he needed some, "Do you want some?"

She closed her eyes as he responded to her own question, taking in the words he said. His words showed how he agreed with what she thought, but also demonstrated so little emotion compared to what was bubbling inside her. Now that they were away from the open street, away from the people who wanted to hunt the Vantha, she let it all out, sweeping across the desert with sandstorm-fury. "A shame? A shame?" the words echoed slightly off the walls around them. Her eyes grew dark with anger, Nephti forcing her hands into fists. "It is more than a shame. It is..." she found herself spitting out words in Arumenic, not finding the right ones in common, before trying to translate, "terrible. More than a shame. Horrible. Disgusting. Very, very bad." The girl shuddered, trying to reign herself back, "I can not believe the gods agree with the death of Vantha."

She traced an N on the swirling vortex, breathing slowly as she recovered from her outburst. "Priskil did not agree. I know her. She wouldn't." Punishing Morwen was one thing. Nephti refused to believe that the goddess of light and hope, her goddess, could find such cruelty acceptable. "So I do not agree. They need help from people." From me, she wanted to add, but she was scared. Terrified. And she didn't know how she would help. She just knew she had to, because it was right. This man had to understand.

.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"


Being led from the open streets and the belting head this eypharian woman lead him through the sun scorched stonework. The sun searing all the colours from the stone. And the sheer brightness almost blinding. The moment she took him to the shade he doffed his coat. The leather peeling away in moments but his skin and shirt beneath the leather armour her wore were both visibly soaked. Steam almost rising off of him from the heat. At the offer of water he held his hand up, taking a moment to pause and reach for the satchel at his side. Pulling free a wine skin about two thirds full he uncapped it and drained a good third in a couple of seconds.

“Thank you for the offer but I’m covered.” Though his words were seemingly lost in the space they occupied and her anger apparently flared brightly. To the point where she began spitting out words in her native tongue and Alex felt a little lost trying to grasp a hold of their meaning before she finally managed to switch back to common. And finally it sat with him why the anger flared. It was his choice of vernacular. But he had a reason for that.

“Choose your words carefully. Even the most peaceful city has eyes in the sky and ears in the walls.” Alex spoke not without sympathy for the situation but he knew clearly and plainly that anything said was anything that could be heard. Still though he leant his head and back against the stonework which even in the shade was almost hot to the touch. “As much as I disagree with the slaughter of the vantha. I cannot actively go out of my way to seek them out to help them. If one crosses my path I’ll do everything within my power to make sure they’re safe but I won’t actively seek them out. The city itself and the fact there are hunters everywhere means that by searching for them, we put them in greater danger.” Alex paused looking at the mark upon her hand as she pressed her fingers into it.

When she said Priskil was against this, Alex couldn’t help but smirk. “Of course she’d be against it. This is out right slaughter. It’s putting nothing but fear and despair into the hearts of people. And as a giver of hope, there is nothing worse to see.” Alex paused a moment feeling the heat quite literally sucking the moisture from his form. “And I can see why the gods agree with this. But it’s still not just to punish the subjects for the queens misdemeanour.”

[Nephti]

Wandering...

The man replied so calmly and clearly that Nephti hated him. But the words he spoke were true, and she knew that well enough. There could be anyone listening and she had to remember it was dangerous. Biting her tongue, the girl shrunk back against the wall a little more, listening further. He disagreed with the slaughter, but his words were kept casual, as if discussing some distant event.

It was clever of him. Nephti would have done that but she was too full of emotion. She was terrified, but more horrified, which overcame her fear. She wanted to do something, despite the danger. Talking about it was easy. That was the most she could do, because the rest was dangerous.

"But by searching, we can find them before the hunters. Then there will be no danger." Her argument fell flat however, as she realised how well this would work. Not well - by searching, others could follow her and she would lead them straight to the Vantha if she wasn't careful. Helping them would be a lot harder than she expected.

She shook her head anyway, listening to him speak of Priskil, like he knew her. Perhaps he did, she couldn't be certain. But she agreed with everything he said without hesitation this time. As a giver of hope herself, she knew that this fear and despair was everything she fought against. Whether it was last season, when the city had changed so badly, or now, when Morwen had made everyone terrified. And that only meant she had to do more.

"The gods should not agree with this. Not to kill Vantha. Morwen has been bad, but the Vantha? To kill them is not helping. It is death for no reason, which makes it a lot worse. If gods want to punish Morwen, then they should find Morwen!" She inhaled sharply, hoping Morwen would not hate her. The goddess had done wrong, and a lot of it, and it was right for her to be punished for ignoring her duties.

She would not protect Morwen if it came to it. But she understood the Vantha. If Priskil did something wrong, Nephti would not care. She would worship her anyway.

"I have to give them hope," she whispered softly to herself, reminding herself what her goal had always been to do. Rubbing the gnosis some more, she watching the swirling light. "Help me." It was too much to ask, but she didn't care. The man could refuse at any time, if he didn't want to. But if he did...

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"


“You see.” He spoke with a calm air that belie the weight of the issue. “Now with regards to holding off on that it’s a good idea to wait for them to find us. We may lose a few more to the hunters but in the long run they’re be less loss of life as most of these “hunters” are new to the city. And will get lost very easily.” Much like myself. He wanted to add but didn’t slip into the last part of the explanation simply because he could have had his words taken out of context.

“Who knows what the gods think.” He spoke with a sullen air slightly stretching a lerg out into the sunlight again. “Needless death is just that needless. This is simply something their doing to paint a Morwen a villain to show that it’s more difficult to be a god than most think. However with them all aligned against her seemingly… I dunno.” He leant back against the softer than expected sandstone behind him and continued on. “I doubt both Dira and kihala will stay quiet for long with this mess.” He pulled free the loop of sigils from his shirt.

He listened to her speak. Hope. One word that meant so much. But what called his attention was the two words he could never turn down. “Alright.” All he said. He sifted his hand to offer the empty left had to her in a show of good will. “Before I help you though I think I should introduce myself. I’m Alex.” He gave a soft almost disarming smile as he held the wineskin in his right hand. “Although if you want my help you’re going to have to tell me how I can help.” He gave a small sigh from the heat and took another drink of the water.

[Nephti]

Wandering...


"But what about the hunters who are not?" Nephti found the words slipping out before she realised them. Because they existed - you only had to look at the Speakers for evidence. They not only knew the city, but knew it better than anyone else, Vantha or otherwise. The Vantha didn't stand a chance against them. "There can not be death. It is not a story, not something we can talk about. A death is a real person, and one is too many. I'm sorry," she apologised, without knowing why. For disagreeing with him? Because if so, she was being stupid. In the long run, a death was still a death. And Nephti wanted to stop them all.

Then he spoke of the gods, of what Dira thought, of what Kihala thought. Honestly, thought, Nephti didn't care. They weren't doing anything now, so it didn't matter whether they disagreed or not. Clearly none were brave enough to actually do something right. For a moment, she was ashamed, ashamed of them all, including Priskil. Why hadn't the goddess done something? Why hadn't she stood up or saved the Vantha? Then she realised why she hadn't. Because she had Nephti, the girl blessed with her mark, who would fight for her, and reach the Vantha in ways only Nephti could. And she was just waiting for the girl to do something.

Looking back up at the man, she waited for his response to her plea for help. Finally, after her heart had stopped and eternity passed, he spoke again. "Alright," he said. "Alright," and that was it. Nephti was expecting more even as he stretched out his hand, and she took it, with the hand opposite her mark, and took it tightly, grip firm for a girl like her. "Thank you," she said, but her eyes said more. They had lit with a fire stronger than real, a fire only fuelled by Priskil's light and hope.

"I am Nephti," she replied steadily, urging herself to not let her emotions over run her again. It was still dangerous. But she didn't care. The smile of relief flooded to her face, still there even after she realised how little of a plan she had. And this Alex needed one, because that was who he was.

Thinking quickly, Nephti ran over what needed to be done. They had to find Vantha, but that was not something Alex wanted to do - he had made that clear enough. But once they had found the Vantha... "We need a place," she decided, saying it out loud as she thought it through, "A place where they can be safe. Hide from hunters." One place where they could all go, and be protected. What else? Hunting the hunters was too dangerous. Fighting them was only to defend, not to attack. But talking to them wasn't that dangerous. "And we must show Alvadas how wrong it is to kill Vantha. Tell them, in some way. I don't know how. I don't know." She shook her head softly, wishing she did. She had been so caught up with the idea of helping them, the girl hadn't thought it through. Because in the end, it didn't matter what she did. All that mattered was that she had done something. But if she did think it through, she would only end up doing more, and that was even better,