Failure Makes Us Fearsome (open)

by **Trios** on February 3rd, 2011, 9:31 pm

Winter Day 72 AV 510

It was a cool night and the stars were visible overtop of the tent city but due to the winter season most of the inhabitants stayed in their warm tents during such nights. And thusly so did a lone Isur who sat alone in the corner of one of the large pavilion tents a small candle lighting the few books and scrolls that he had purchased in the past days since returning from his failed quest. There had been rumours spreading about the conditions of the Isur’s return to Endrykas in such an injured state a few weeks ago. One was that he had gotten injured in a storm, the other was that he had challenged the storm itself and had been defeated. But not many had known the truth save for a select number of people and the fact that Trios didn’t really converse with the local populous that much these days.

Trios had become obsessed with a few things. One was finding and repairing his mystery ship somewhere along the coastline of the Sea of Grass. The other was getting even with Zulrav the god of Storms who had placed his mark on his back. Trios didn’t hate this mark in fact he was proud of it, it was a constant reminder that he’d have to fight for his power and freedom. Trios would not bow to any god, he’d live for himself and his own freedom. The last few weeks Trios had spent either studying a few of his books or earning small amounts money by assisting a few of the Drykas in their blacksmithing so the Isur could support himself to live in the Drykas lands.

Trios was wearing his usually apparel being a leather coat , sword and hat. But due to being inside a warm tent his hat and sword casually rested against the wall revealing the Isur’s watery blue hair and beard. And beside the circular object which Trios sat upon was a stack of a few common books and scrolls by the Isur’s feet. It was indeed an odd sight to see, a muscled and somewhat rough looking Isur reading a pile of information with such crazed determination that it seemed to be slightly frightening.

As the Isur over looked one of his maps of the coastlines of the Sea of Grass Trios took a big swig of the large tankard of beer that rested before him. One the liquid was drained in a gulp the large Isur leaned down to his right side to reveal that he was sitting on a large keg of the same brew and had been slowly drinking it all night in his research. Once the amber liquid had been poured from the spout into the tankard Trios returned his gaze back to his maps. With a smile cracking his stone cold expression Trios scratched his blue beard at the many rocky shallows along the Sea of Grass.

“This be like finding a bloody needle in a haystack…” Growled Trios as he traced his black and silver left hand along a few of the maps details.

The best course of action to finding this ship would require Trios to deduce possible locations and eliminate locations on the map that did not fit the legend of his mystery ship. But that would be a task in its self due to the large area of coastline that Trios was working with. He had known the legend to say the ship had run a shore abruptly near treacherous shallows. However there were more than a handful of locations that fit this description.

“Bah I might as well take a break..this be wearing thin on my nerves” muttered Trios rubbing his temple as he rolled up his map and replaced it with the religious text about Zulrav. This book had been giving the Isur the most trouble to understand. The book was clearly written by one of Zulrav’s slaves, worshipers or “Stormwarderns” as they were actually called. So as it turns out this book was mostly written in prose about Zulrav’s teachings. So factual information took a bit longer to find like for instance if Zulrav was just a storm himself or had a physical body. Trios had personally met the storm manifestation of Zulrav which made him curious about how a being could live in such a state. However the book was highly unyielding to this fact.

“And pray not for they safety in the storm but for the enlightenment and freedom each storm brings……what a load of crap!” Trios grunted silently at the passage he had just left off. Religious banter was the worse when they were ideals he didn’t follow. Trios wasn’t clear and simple facts about the god himself, information that he could use to his advantage. One such example was what the mark on his back meant, that swirling yellow hurricane of a mark. Trios felt wasn’t just placed there for decoration by the god, there had to be a purpose behind it. All the book talked about the issue of being hated by Zulrav was being watched or studied by all winds of Mizahar.

Tacking another swig of his tankard Trios found pleasure in his struggle with this book. It was one of the many obstacles that blocked his way to power and riches. The God of Storms had challenged Trios’s strength and the Isur would not cower away form it.

3 maps of the Sea of grass coast lines 3gm
Book on the Basic details of Magecrafting (common) 8gm
Book on the Basic’s of Glyphing (Common) 5gm
Tales of Captain Brooks the Pirate (Common) 6m
Basic Religious Information on Zulrav god of Storms (common) 7m
Ship buildiers guidebook (Average) 50gm
1 keg of ale 1gm

by **Trios** on February 5th, 2011, 10:11 pm

“And so Zulrav would love the mortals by marking his compassion towards his chosen with his power upon entering the world so that they too would have the same gift” Trios read aloud scratching his head at this verse in the book. It was strange that a god would gift his own powers to mortals for the sake of liking them. Trios was disgusted at that fact aswell, those people that were born with this power of Zulrav would almost be born into service and they could never praise their power for being their own since it was given from a divine being.

Tacking a deep swing of his beer Trios would choke down his disgust with the amber liquid before reading onward. The book would continue to bring further annoyance to the Isur as the next few chapters would include steps on the proper basic worship of Zulrav. There was nothing neither special nor interesting; to Trios it was idiotic in ways he couldn’t describe. However it was also apparent that this author was more of a peasant as there were foot notes that on offerings of wine and cheese the god would sometimes bless the day with cool and calm winds.

Trios closed the book with slight annoyance at its contents. Deep down Trios had a inkling of a suspicion that this country bumpkin of a book wasn’t going to be as informing as he’d have liked but at least it was a start. But it was still information on an opponent which was still helpful regardless of how small and basic.

“Hrmp” Grunted the Isur lifting himself of off his seat. Placing the books on his keg Trios walked ale in hand to entrance of the pavilion in an attempt to stretch his legs. Stepping outside of the warm tent Trios cast a cold hearted glace at the tent city before him. Endrykas Trios had slowly come to the realization was like one giant ever moving caravan to no apparent destination but to escape the extremes of the weather. The Drykas simply lived for their land, they were from what Trios could tell satisfied with the way things were and didn’t seek to want anything more. To the Isur this was highly bromide as he thought about this casting his head to a group of hunters gloating about their kill of the day.

Trios didn’t know when he’d leave the tent city for good, but he did have an slight idea of where he’d have to go. It was just a matter of finding the right opportunity, but for know the Isur thought he could occupy his time reading his books as well as trying to beat as many Drykas in swordplay within the war pavilions.

Tacking a greedy swig of his Drink the Isur cracked a smile at the prospect of seeing the Akalak. The rumours about their pride and anger seemed to match if not exceed the Drykas’s which was saying alot. Plus the aspect of seeing even taller races put a slight knot in Trios’s gut, it always seemed the taller the being the more prideful the race was.

by **Khiara** on February 6th, 2011, 9:51 am

Khiara loved the winter, and the closer it got to the end of the season, the more she tried to go out in it. Dressed in the flowing white dress she had been given from the woman in Riverfall, along with her thick furlined parka and boots, the young woman made her way outside and away from the sleeping form of her husband and his first wife. She breathed in the deep scent of snow in the air and delighted at the steam coming from her breath. How the chill night called to her, speaking of home with its icy walls. Passing the close tents of sleeping drykas, she turned her violet eyes to the sky, searching the stars. The sky was crisp and clear, a beautiful open vision of glittering amazement.

Walking without seeing, the vantha headed towards the warmth of a lit tent, a place of warm wine and laughing faces - most which she knew now. Standing with her back to the tent and eyes on the stars, she sighed once before turning to go inside.

Involuntarily a short cry escaped her lips as she almost ran into a wall of a man. Clasping her hand over her mouth, the young woman stared with wide eyes now swirling with a suprized gold.

"Goddess, I am so sorry. I didn't see you there! Oh how embarassing." The initial shock of being presented face-to-face with a massive stranger colored her cheeks, and her eyes shifted to a bright violet. Stepping back, she pushed down her hood, exposing shimmering violet and gold highlights. The man, hairy and gruff looking, was dressed in clothes unfamiliar to the woman. His skin, or what was exposed, glowed blue with the veins close to the surface. One arm was almost stonelike in appearance, and shone with the veins of color. Glancing down at his face, she lowered her hand.

"I truly am sorry."

by **Trios** on February 6th, 2011, 7:37 pm

OCC: Actually you’d be looking down on Trios, he is 5 ft nothing lol.
“HUUGPPH” Trios’s cup that was clasped in his right hand was pushed back a bit too violently. The result would be the spilling the amber liquid over the Isur’s face like a flood. Choking on the ale as trickles of the same liquid flowed off his blue beard Trios cast an enraged glance at the tall being. There was laughter in the background of the pavilion which the Isur could only assume that it had to have been directed at him.

Clenching his midnight black left hand the veins of silver upon them bulged with rage as the Isur cast his gaze upward at the tall human. Would punching this person and fighting the ridiculers be worth picking up arrows, Conrad had mentioned that he had been shot in that punishment thanks to a cruel Drykas instructor. Also it was a women Trios thought, what kind of a being he would be if he went around clobbering girls and children on a mere whim. Trios knew he had to calm himself down but that didn’t mean he didn’t have to like what had happened.

“What’s the deal with you humans, Be all your heads in the clouds? Or is it that Drykas pride in you….you just don’t think to look down once in a while.” Growled Trios as he forcefully unclenched his left fist. As the Isur did so he absentmindedly used this free hand to squeeze and pat his beard dry.

This had been the fifth time a human had bumped into him unknowingly in Endrykas. It was getting old and fast to the point where the Isur wanted an answer for such treatment. With a cold exterior washing over the man’s face Trios would demand an answer from the tall female.

“So what is it? Pride, arrogance or stupidity? I can’t see any other reason for your….. “ Trios abruptly cut off turning his head to see that amount of eyes on him form patrons inside the pavilion. Trios at that moment realized that he had been making a scene almost the same magnitude if he had punched someone.

“Your apology tastes bad in my mouth missy….and your not worth getting upset over” Mumbled Trios looking back at the golden eyed girl or was it now a shade of purple? It was strange but Trios shook the oddity from his mind. Turning in annoyance more than anger now Trios stomped back to his secluded corned in the pavilion.

Trios thought he was having a splendid night too, until some doe-eyed Drykas in furs decided to ruin his night. Mumbling curses the entire time, Trios filled his cup once again from his keg and grabbed a random book from his pile. Seating himself upon the very keg he was drinking from Trios began to read the books contents with the notion that information might restore his good mood. It took a few moments to realize what book he had chosen but Trios then realized that with the amount of glyphs in the figure heads book it was obviously a beginner’s guide to glyphing.

by **Khiara** on February 6th, 2011, 9:08 pm

Khiara's eyes shifted gold as his arm clenched in rage. Goddess he was going to hit her, for an accident! She raised her arm in defense, cringing instead of running. The young woman had never been hit before, not even threatened to be hit. Her heart pounded in her chest.

He checked himself, and Khiara slowly lowered her arm, looking down at the extremely angry man. He snarled at her, and with a nasty leaving comment, he stomped back inside and planted himself at a table with a book. Standing in shock, the vantha looked at the other patrons. Some shook their heads disapprovingly, but some tended to agree with the man's anger. If Khiara had been looking, she would have seen the man. It was awkward. But that was no reason to want to hit her. Something stubborn triggered in the brunette, maybe a little drykas had crept into her after all.

Not willing to leave without making it up to the man, she entered the bar and bought a tall mug of ale for the man, and a wine for herself. Walking with chin lifted, she placed the mug on his table. It was obvious he already had enough mead to drink from, but it was the principal of making things square.

"It's nothing to do with pride, or arrogance. I was distracted, for a moment, and in that instant I ran into you. An accident, none the less. And for that I apologise, regardless of how you will take it." Seating herself at his own table, she sipped her wine, heart thumping in her throat.

"I will however, not apologise for being Drykas, for I am not one." At least, not by birth. Somewhere in her voice, the vantha reminded herself of Kashik. It gave her heart.

by **Trios** on February 7th, 2011, 12:01 am

Trios right eye peaked above his book and traced the women’s movement through the large tent. Seeing the brown haired women seat her self at his unoccupied table Trios returned his gaze back on the book for a few moments as if she wasn’t there at all. Listening to the women’s excuses seemed to be a bit more ear splitting to Trios than what it actually sounded like to a regular person.

Glyphing is a supplementary skill…..It’s nothing to do with pride…..the applications of such a skill can exponentially increase the effectiveness….An Accident, none the less….. of the creation it’s applied too. Tinarks theory of application with glyping states that….How you will take it.

Trios fully closed his book in annoyance as the women continued to ramble on. Giving the girl his full attention once again Trios gave a annoyed grunt before speaking in his stone cold voice. The Isur’s face however continued it’s emotionally deprived state even with the amount of annoyance he held. The girl had forgotten the last part of the trio of reasons Trios suggested why she could have bumped into him. Be it by accident or on purpose the girl seemed to produce the answer that Trios was looking for nonverbally.

“Just like how you are… distracted… by your need to apologise to a person reading who also has no need for such apologetic words?” Trios said rubbing his temple compassionately with his non-diamond like hand. The Isur’s gaze looked from the women’s expression then towards the drink she had placed in front of him.

“But since you appear to be SO determined I guess there’s nothing I can do to stop you, plus the beer helps me get through this” Said Trios in a slight defeated tone of voice slowly stretching his left hand to clasp the tall cup and pulled it closer to him.

“Also you humans need to start wearing tags so I can start telling what flavour of human you people think you belong too. Always with the; I’m a regular human, Drykas human, forest human with you people. “Mocked Trios tacking a cautious sip of the liquid the women had bought for him. The Isur wasn’t prejudice or anything it was just an observation that he had noticed in his travels.

“An Apples and apple…even if some taste different” Coldly chuckled Trios at his final statement before analysing the human that sat opposite to him. She seemed like a decent person, though an incredibly stubborn and annoying one.

by **Khiara** on February 7th, 2011, 8:54 am

Khiara opened her mouth to reply as the man begrudgingly accepted her apology, before closing it without response. What could she really say to that? Sipping her wine, she nodded.

"Well...glad the beer helps. Regarding the tags, afraid I can't fix that." Taking up her cup again, the vantha gestured with a free finger.

"Besides, I could say the same for you other races. I don't even know how to address you. I've never seen someone like you before. And I've seen a lot of people." Sipping her wine, she blushed a little at the apple comment. His chuckle was as cold as his face. Winter was warmer outside. Khiara sighed, deciding she would leave once she was done.

by **Trios** on February 8th, 2011, 12:52 am

“Hahahaha, touché miss” remarked Trios rolling his eyes. It was a good comeback considering Trios was one of the few people in Endrykas who wasn’t human unless by chance there was a city of Pycons in some tent. Those little things could be anywhere and you wouldn’t see one unless you were looking for them and extremely lucky.

“You could address me as an Isur, but then again I’m no rock headed hermit who lives in a mountain now am I?” Spat Trios before tacking a swig of his cup to remove the thought about spending two hundred years of life inside a mountain. Sure Trios heard tales of his race being great miners and metalworkers but that just wasn’t how he was taught to live.

“So if you are not a regular Drykas human what the hell ya doing here? You one of them stragglers this caravan of a city picks up on its travels? Is’what happened to me! And when I first got here I thought a moving city would be interesting sight to see, least till I realized that grassland looks pretty much…*hic*… the same leagues in all directions.” Trios said his hiccup reminding him of what a lightweight he actually was when it came to booze. Four cups and he was getting the hiccups already it was slightly embarrassing but then again he was only drinking as he studied so to relax a bit.

Casually placing his two mugs aside Trios finally noticed the oddity of her clothing being the white fur lined winter dress. One thought did press through the Isur’s mind that she could have been some sort of matriarch for the Drykas given the elegant clothing. But she did say that she wasn’t one of them so the thought about being flogged over insulting a Drykas princess quickly faded as it arose. Plus insulting royalty would have been a step down from Trios previous escapades.

by **Khiara** on February 8th, 2011, 12:21 pm

Khiara studied the being as he spoke, now confirmed as an Isur. Strange, how he practically spat the words. Obviously things about his race irked him as much as things about other races. Noticing the empty mugs, she gulped the last of her wine ans gestures for two more. It couldn't hurt. And then he asked her how she came to be in endrykas. The young vantha thought about her reply for a moment, taking up the second mug she'd been given.

"I suppose you could say that. I'm a vantha, from the northern most part of Mizahar. Left a while back and got caught up with a kelvic. Followed her here, where I met a man. We are now wed, therefore I am part of Endrykas, but I am not drykas." Taking a deep drink of her wine, the brunette shrugged and pushed the other mug toward him.

"So you could say I picked up Endrykas! It was a long way to go on horseback, so I am pleased to be settled for now. And of you think grass goes on forever, you should see snow!" Laughing a little as the wine warmed her cheeks, the girl glanced at his books with violet eyes.

"Reading and drinking, interesting combination."

by **Trios** on February 8th, 2011, 9:56 pm

“hahaha…..Buwhahahahaha You married one of these horse riders? And people call me mad! But I guess the heart knows no logic” Trios said breaking slowly into a hysterical laughter fuelled by half amusement and half liqueur. To think that a women so far from home ending up with a prideful Drykas was slightly poetic, in a comical way. Trios also couldn’t for the life of him remember anything about Vanthan’s other than the fact that they live in snow and were apparently good story tellers.

The thought of endless snow made the Isur crave the tropical climate, he’d take warm over cold any day. Living in snow must have been the reason why the girl left home, Trios would have done that the moment he felt the chilled air if he’d have been in her shoes. As the Vanthan pushed another mug of amber liquid, Trios couldn’t help but snicker at the thought that if humans from now on would buy him beer every time they ran into him, then Trios wouldn’t mind it at all.

“Here’s hoping you don’t stay still for too long….” said Trios Picking up the new mug and setting it aside for a slow consumption; he didn’t like his wits being dulled this much by the liquid. There was too much to think about, to much to plan for and the alcohol wasn’t going to help in that regards. This Vanthan reminded Trios that he couldn’t spend his time carelessly; he had so many things to do. The statement about Trios books and drinks hard reminded him about his objective once again.

“The drinks keep me awake…as for the books……all I can say is that I need to prove a point as a favour to a very old man. The books are just a crutch to get me started, so no more idiotic questions on that…. GOT IT?!” Growled Trios didn’t want to openly give details that he wanted to put his boot down on Zulrav since the girl wasn’t apart of this nor was she considered an ally to the cause. Trios could almost feel the accursed mark on his back which made a small proud grin crack the corner of his stone cold face.

But then a small idea had struck the man about using the women for something that her race was known for. It was slightly brilliant, considering it took Trios a bit to think of it. If Vanthans were as good of story tellers as they were meant to be. Tios could leave his mark on Endrykas, on that would grow as Trios traveled the world.

“On the other hand, if stories be true about you Vantha storytellers…. I might tell you if you can answer me this one question…..Tell me exactly how far would you go for your new Drykas love?” It wasn’t a riddle or anything Trios was just generally curious about the woman’s ideals. Trios wasn’t much of a subtle lie detector yet but he could see through the bullshit of others to the bottom line of things. Would a women fight against all the odds for one and only one desire? Sure a person could say they’d fight the world for it, but would they truly mean it?

"“But let me give you a bit of warning, life sometimes makes us prove our words.” Stated Trios in a cold manner as if he spoke from experience.