Flashback Till Death Do Us Part [Sollys]

A wedding, a betrayal, a death, and a bonding

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The westernmost tip of Kalea, Wind Reach is home to an amazing group of people and their giant eagle mounts. [Lore]

Till Death Do Us Part [Sollys]

Postby Solstice on September 4th, 2018, 9:35 pm

Summer 13, 503
Courtyard of the Sky
10th Bell

Since Syna had first peaked her head over the crest of mountains separating the land and sky, Wind Reach had swarmed with activity like a hive of bees. Much of this activity had to do with the usual tasks that every member of Wind Reach participated in daily. Time stopped for no one. Endals still hunted for food to feed hungry bellies, avoras kept their betters equipped and happy, and who would take care of filthy tasks such as garbage disposal in their beautiful city if the deks ceased to do their work for even a moment? But though the city functioned as it always did, today was different. Special. It was not every day that Wind Reach was able to host a wedding between two Endal with mated Wind Eagles.

The early hours of the morning had found the Courtyard of the Sky possessed by a flurry of bodies. By the time Syna had been high in the sky for a few bells, much of the preparations had been complete and both the endals and Wind Eagles were already enjoying the festivities. Banners of gold, crimson, and mahogany brown had been draped around the amphitheatre, making the drab gray stone pop like a field full of wildflowers. Glass lamps had been prepared a season in advance for this exact occasion, and their colored light spilled a crisscross of beautiful patterns across the stone mosaic of an eagle and rider in flight embedded into the floor of the courtyard.

The courtyard was more than just a feast for the eyes. Cedar, the proprietor of Wind Reach’s dance club Inclement Weather, was infamous for never missing a celebration. Music echoed through the entirety of the Courtyard, propelled by hollow tubes that carried the sound from one end of the courtyard to the other. Giant metal chimes hung in arcs above the courtyard, a great source of fun for the Wind Eagles. The birds would take turns swooping at the chimes and striking them with their wings, adding their own music to the revelry below them. Couples danced between tables and on the steps, and in every free space that allowed even the slightest movement. The elderly Cedar took turns between playing music himself and allowing his employees to play while he sat and chattered beside with a dark haired woman with animated gestures, a bright laugh and a brilliant smile.

The feast extended to taste and smell as well. Chef Davoid had spared no expenses for the festival, and the chiets had hauled out massive tables that we're heaped from edge to edge with a literal feast for both the eyes and stomach. Meat dishes were the most prominent, but the bounty of the Summer harvest had assured that no tastes were neglected. The tables were heaped with all manner of fruits and vegetables as well, and many of the dishes were prepared by the brilliant and talented Chef Davoid as well and had been cooked and seasoned to perfection. In between dancing, Endals would snag bits of food, eating and resting before charging back into the fray of moving bodies once more.

Amidst the celebration, a solitary pair stood out among the festivities. As far as Kisar the Wind Eagle was concerned, this wedding might as well be for him, and he was letting everyone from the most prominent Endal to the lowliest dek know it. For much of the festival, Kisar had remained perched on the raised dais in the center of the Courtyard of Sky, with his beautiful mate Saakia nestled beside him. A season ago, the young Wind Eagle had defied all odds and won the affections of the most beautiful Wind Eagle in the entire aerie, at least as far as he was concerned. It was a matter of contention and bitterness among the older and unmated males of the aeries, made worse by the fact that he was rubbing his primaries in everyone’s face about it. The wedding was a perfect opportunity to preen. After all, this wedding wouldn't even be taking place were it not for him! In between nauseatingly sweet snuggles with his mate, he took to the air, showing off the feats of aerial prowess that had impressed his beloved. Most of the Endals found it amusing. The Wind Eagles, minus his mate, found it less so.

During one of Kisar’s aerial displays that drew the eyes and amusement of the crowd of endal, Saakia flew from her designated place on the dais and landed on one of the raised platforms next to a stone table. There, the Wind Eagle caught the eye of her dearly bonded, who was receiving congratulations from yet another of her fellow Endals. Lyanara carried every ounce of dignity, grace, and power that was to be expected of an Endal on her wedding day. The woman’s brillant dark red hair lay flush against her back, braided with the magnificent russet primaries of her noble companion, and accented by a few dots of white shed from Saakia’s soft head feathers and bright colored glass beads of crimson, gold and brown. The woman’s bryda and vinati were the most ornamental thing the Endal had ever worn. It was threaded in glass beads and buckles of brightly polished metal. She sparkled like stained glass in the bright light of the sun.

Saakia watched with her head tilted as the pair of Endal departed. She clicked her beak twice, drawing the endal’s attention.

Something troubles you,” the eagle whispered in her soft but piercing telepathic voice. Saakia turned towards her companion with a curled lip, but the expression of haughtiness was softened by Saakia’s intense golden gaze.

“It’s probably nothing,” Lyanara replied with an unconcerned wave of her hand.

And if it were something?” the Wind Eagle persisted.

The woman stared straight ahead, her gaze stony and blank. “Have you seen Arian? He disappeared an hour ago.”

Saakia was the type to take every word her dearly bonded said seriously, so she spent a long moment considering the question.

Kisar seems unconcerned,” she said finally.
If anything were amiss he would know. Perhaps your husband-to-be is overwhelmed by the festivities.” Saakia chose not to add that her mate was rather distracted in his preening, and might not be the most attuned to his companion at the moment. Regardless, her bonded’s concerns were likely unfounded, scattered intuition in the excitement and nerves of a lifelong union.

Lyanara was reassured by the eagle’s words. “No, you’re right,” she agreed. The inarta woman seized her companion by her massive head and buried her face in her neck feathers. “We’ve both been waiting for this moment. It will be as perfect as our bonding was.”

Saakia preened her companion’s hair, careful so as not to mess up her perfectly woven braids. The pair turned together from where they overlooked the courtyard and watch as a group of avora spilled into the sunlight from the inner warrens. There was a mixture of jeers and greetings at their entrance, according to the Endals nature. The avora were welcome to the wedding, assuming they had participated in putting together the festivities, or happened to be friendly with an Endal who had invited them to join in. But they were still just avora. No one was likely to take them too seriously.
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Till Death Do Us Part [Sollys]

Postby Sollys on September 8th, 2018, 6:55 pm

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In life Nothing was ever perfect. Paths set in stone by word were not so solid as to not be tainted by waters of uncertainty and tears of dread. Men were just that; men - flawed creatures of flesh and bone that from birth did nothing but age, wither and die. And in the unforgiving one quickly became familiar with the prospect of their own mortality. Some men were not satisfied with an Inarta's life as if had been lived by their fathers and grandfathers before them. Some men wanted more out of this world and were willing to sacrifice the greatest happiness to chase after adventures unknown, to briefly sate their egos. In spite of belief, the Endal and the Dek were equal in one aspect and one aspect alone: the fragility of their humanity.

Those born able of body and spirit, in Wind Reach, had the same chances for greatness. Some simply made it to the finish line quicker than others. And how fortunate was Sollys to see a dear childhood friend of his grow into a woman who on her wedding day overshadowed all with the might of her greatness and beauty. In spite of having lost touch with her years before the big event of her wedding, to say that his heart beat with nothing but happiness for her would be an understatement indeed. He'd even hunted down the biggest Alkana he could find for the occasion, as the only way an Avora could show reverence to an Endal. But come to the celebration he did not. Not out of of spite but jealousy that in spite of the many inside jokes of their childhood years, it wasn't him she was marrying on this day.

Sollys was a proud man. Seeing his peers grow and prosper and climb the straight forward social ladder of the city only reminded him that in spite of his great ambition, he remained stagnant. What a bitter sweet pill it was to swallow.

Fresh air was what he needed. On the edge of the many entrance holes in the mountain, he could throw his feelings to the unforgiving winds which would carry the youth into the vast reals of his fantasies. Sorrows meant little in the grans scheme of the open world before him. The horizon where the vast blue skies met the landscape put it all into perspective; how small he was in it all.

Sollys drew air into his lungs and closed his eyes, feeling the chill of fresh air against his skin, the rock of mount Skyinarta under his feet. This day was one of many, he told himself. And this woman one of even more. May the gods have the happy couple in their sight and may their will bring them prosperity.

But as his eyes opened one more, as if by the will of Syna herself, they came to a sight he'd never hope to see. For in the distance, down a little path carved in the rock, it was none other but the groom himself, walking in the wrong direction. Puzzled, Sol's feet carried him by their own will, hopping from stone to stone, almost slipping on more than one occasion until he was well within the Endal's ear shot.

"Hey! Heeey!" he called out. A thunderous baritone voice on such a young lad. "Sir, are you lost?"

The Avora hadn't given the notion that the Endal was escaping any mind. How could he? Surely only a mad man would escape the happiness of his rank and the privilege of marrying a woman like Lyanara. There had to be an explanation for this odd behaviour and in absence of anybody who could have dealt with the situation better, Sollys took it upon himself to see the Arian steered back onto the correct path. Or so he thought.

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Till Death Do Us Part [Sollys]

Postby Solstice on September 12th, 2018, 6:07 pm


Arian had long felt that he was a cog being forced to fit into a box that was far too small for him. The wilds of Skyinarta, and Wind Reach, and the Unforgiving in all their splendor were far too small for a man such as him. When restlessness had seized him and the sky had called him with a shrill cry, Kisar had answered with his own scream and brought to the inarta an entirely new world, allowing him to see further and explore past the horizons that he had only seen in his dreams. But that taste of the sky had not slacked his thirst. Kisar had only enflamed the itch that the newly bonded Inarta had felt since he was a small yasi, staring at the mountains of the Unforgiving and dreaming of what lay beyond. There was so much of the world left to see, even once he had gained wings. And now, he could feel the manacle attaching him to Kisar and binding him to the mountain. The Wind Eagle may have expanded Arian’s gaze among the sharp peaks of Kaela, but any glimpses he had beyond there would be no more than a fleeting dream from now on. How could one truly experience foreign lands if one’s mount was constantly dragging him back to the mountain of his birth like a ball and chain?

A bitterness had taken root in Arian, and slowly sprouted. It was such a small thing that the man had not noticed it at first. When he had finally realized what it was, he had hastily uprooted it and buried it far away. And yet, still it continued to grow, ever the persistent weed. Surely his eagle had noticed it, but the bird had never mentioned it. Perhaps he thought that the privileges of being an endal would grow on him. And in all honesty, Arian did like the comforts of his new life. But still, that weed wouldn't leave. Over the seasons, that itch of wanderlust roared into an intolerable rash. And it had only become more enflamed when Kisar had found himself a mate. Good for Kisar. The Wind Eagle’s brillant fortune and skill was certainly known by every man, woman, child, and Wind Eagle in the entirety of the city. But where did that leave Arian? Lyanara was beautiful, strong, brilliant and talented. Truly any man would be delighted to have her. But she wasn't his choice. She was just another chain in a list of growing bonds shackling him down to Wind Reach. And as much as he tried to bury these feelings deep inside him, still they smoldered and sputtered.

The wedding had finally tipped that delicately balanced scale. Arian had endured several hours of polite congratulations for a thing he didn't want, and endured the awkward silence between himself and the woman who would be his wife before he politely excused himself. He told himself that he just needed some space to clear his head; that the air in the Courtyard of the Sky was stifling with all the thick crowds. But before he knew it, he found himself in his quarters, tearing off his beautiful wedding garb and letting the buckles and beads clatter to the stone floor. And then, he was proceeding through the warrens and into the stifling passages waering a simple hunting garb and with a bow in hand and quiver on shoulder. It wasn't until he was nearly outside that he realized what he was doing. And that realization caused a bright giddiness to bubble up from his heart. Freedom! None of what he wanted was here. He belonged out there, out among the world and far far away from this prison that had been named Wind Reach. Every step he took brought him closer to where he needed to be.

"Hey! Heeey!" called a thunderous baritone voice. "Sir, are you lost?"

Arian froze midstep, and turned towards the voice. “Sollys,” Arian said, startled. Wind Reach was too small for the majority of citizens to not be able to recognize each other on sight. And besides that, Arian had hunted with Sollys. The pair got along well enough. As an Endal, Arian was the superior. But the pair got along well enough, all things considered.

“Shouldn't you be working right now?” Arian asked. Any tension that might have been in Arian in that moment vanished. If a fellow endal had showed up, the man might have been a bit more tense, but Sollys was just an avora. He had nothing to worry about.
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Till Death Do Us Part [Sollys]

Postby Sollys on October 2nd, 2018, 2:57 pm

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As Arian dodged his question, Sol had been glad at least to hear that his name had not slipped the Endal’s mind. There was joy in his heart that the times they had spent hunting together had been sewn into the great tapestry of memories instead of being discarded like unnecessary threads once the man grew to outrank him. Years had passed since the men had used the word friend when referring to each other. Never a close bond, but little bitter blood lingered between them back in those days. And considering Sol’s own place in society he preferred to keep it that way. Perhaps that was why he grew to quickly become weary of the position he was in. Why he wished that the worst case scenario , which was relentlessly lingering on In the back of his mind, was nothing other than unfounded paranoia.

Nervousness flickered in the young Avora’s eyes as he addressed his superior. Only a flicker but even just a flicker could be enough to betray a fire. Arian’s question was answered with another, cautious one. Very cautious indeed. “Shouldn’t you be at your wedding?”

Sol found himself wondering where the Endal’s eagle was in all this. The majestic creature which Sol himself could only ever admire from afar, surely wouldn’t allow for his rider to skip out on such an important occasion. Surely Kisar, better than anyone, had to know what was going on. Why the Endal was acting so strange. Still, in spite of the many justifications Sol had managed to come up with in the span of less than a tick, he coudln’t shake the sickening feeling in the pits of his stomach. Intuition taught him something wasn’t right. That intuition, against his best interest, required him to stand his ground like the mountains stood around them.

“Forgive me for my disruption, but what exactly is it that you’re doing all the way out here so far from all the celebrations?”

Dread of anticipation of the answer filled him. Eyes scanned for any sign that Arian might be lying to him or have some kind of nefarious motif whilst doing his best to keep up a polite and reverent demeanour, desperately trying to quieten his own heart beat.

For, to Sol, like to many Inarta the idea of abandoning their homeland, their kin... what an unthinkable sin it was. What a terrible betrayal of the very soil and fire that gave birth to them, the community which raised them. Humans were just that: bricks in a wall, trees in a forest. One could not come to exist without the greater whole. And though the virtue of living alone the Inarta bore a duty to their heritage. Even the lowest of Dek understood this. Why was it then that an Endal was acting so strange in face of that undeniable truth which Sol himself held as the only mantra to his life?

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Till Death Do Us Part [Sollys]

Postby Solstice on October 26th, 2018, 3:05 pm


Arian stared at Sollys, for a long drawn out moment. A spectrum of emotion played across the Endal’s face so rapidly that it made his expression difficult to read. From within, Arian’s emotions battled with each other. On one hand, Arian knew that what he was doing was wrong. To leave Wind Reach; surely it was unspeakable, irresponsible! He was one of the precious chosen few, a man who had been honored with the bond of one of magnificent sky bound companions whose beaks and talons breathed life into their city. And here he was, leaving the city on nothing more than a whim! Pinpricks of guilt needled him. By leaving Wind Reach he was taking away something priceless from a city that couldn't afford to do without. He was scum of the earth; not even worthy enough to lick a Dek’s feet.

And yet, somehow that didn't seem to matter to him. Whatever sickness it was festering inside him made him mad enough to not just consider leaving, but to actually take the steps to do so. Whatever broken thing inside him that made him capable of these actions collided with his guilt and burned it away, leaving nothing more than a blazing, irrational anger in its wake. How dare Sollys question him?! A lowly Avora! A hunter who couldn't hope to know the skies and the thrill of the sky the way he knew it! The hypocrisy did not occur to Arian. All that was left was the anger, and it flooded across his features, warping his face into an expression of disdain and hatred.

Somewhere above them, in a courtyard flooded with music and sunlight, an eagle turned his head and narrowed two sungold eyes.

“It is none of your business what I do Avora!” Arian snapped, savage as a warm wolf in the hunt. “Are you suddenly my keeper?! What business do you have asking me what I’m doing anywhere?! Get back to work!” A cruel snarl mixed with Arian’s haughty expression and he stepped forward towards Sollys and gave him a hard shove, his pathway carrying the pair in the direction of one of the many holes leading out of the mountain revealing the bright blue sky.
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Till Death Do Us Part [Sollys]

Postby Sollys on October 30th, 2018, 1:36 pm

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Such conflict as the Avora had now felt, was a feeling almost entirely foreign to him. A man who had up until now always walked so boldly upon the very rock beneath him, now found himself intimidated, second guessing every choice made. And with each passing second he'd find himself regretting ever turning that damned corner, lead by fate that seemed to hold only peril for him. What utter misfortune.

He watched, dumbfounded, as the flood of rage manifested itself in the Endal he had once almost called a friend of some sort. And never in the many years they'd known each other, had Sol ever seen him quite so angry. Was he the cause of it? Surely an innocent question or two could not alone spark such violent rage that twisted and warped Arian's once handsome face. Sol could only come to the conclusion that something more sinister bubbled beneath the surface. There was no other logical explanation. But what that could have been, he had no idea. Not in his wildest dreams nor the most private of thoughts would Sol dare to accuse an Endal of abandoning their home in cold blood without enough evidence to sway the minds of gods themselves. Yet somehow a sharp pin prick of urgency stung at the back of his mind. Apprehension quickened his pulse till he could almost taste it.

Sol was almost about to apologise before Arian snapped at him.

Careful was the Avora's reply. So very mellow, so very unlike himself but his superior's intimidating growls did well to cast a shadow over his pride. "I... I..." Sol's tongue felt limp in his mouth as he stumbled over his words. Perhaps it would have been best to listen obediently to the commands and run home with his tail between his legs. Perhaps there were many, far more civilised ways of handling this situation. Had Sol the sense to think like a diplomat not a brute, then perhaps he could have calmly talked young Arian out of all the mistakes he planned on making. But the moment he felt a sharp shove against his person, the sky around the two men turned from blue to red.

Before making any conscious decision to do so, Sol's tight grip came to be coiled around Arian's pale wrist like a serpent. The Avora's brow furrowed, eyes piercing the other with the glow of a dozen raging fires behind them. "I'd not ask if I didn't have a very good reason to do so." he hissed, words rolling off his tongue before he'd even really thought them though. "You should be getting married today you lucky fool, yet here I catch you about as far away from the festivities, and your soon to be wife, as you could possibly be. And you expect me not to get suspicious?"

What on earth has gotten into him? Was it truly worry for an old friend, for the good of his people, or was it pure jealousy pounding away in his chest? The undeniable certainty that, should he find himself lucky enough to ever swap places with the likes of Arian, Sol would have done a whole lot better with his status and privileges, yet such was reality that to dream of being an Endal for him was just that: a dream. Sol was jealous indeed.

"Now how about you return to where you're suppose to be and I'll return to where I'm suppose to be and we put this whole ordeal behind us? If anyone asks we pretend it never happened and we were doing what we're suppose to all along. You know as well as I do, that is the best plan of action. Unless you're far more interested in petty fights than fulfilling your damned duties, Arian?" Sol's voice was raised. Nothing in his body language would suggest that he wouldn't retaliate should that be necessary for his fists were clenched and his teeth gritted tight, brows furrowed over a nose wrinkles in a snarl. Yet just as he stood his ground, so was it very clear by his very hesitation that getting into a fist fight with a man who outranked him in any possible way was far from what he wished to do. A lier would he be, however, if he was ever to maintain that punching Arian just once would bring him no satisfaction of any kind. Knowing better to do so however he kept his fists where he could see them, in fear of them growing a mind of their own. A jealous heart had it's jealous fantasies.

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Sollys
The woods, the sky, the freedom.
 
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Joined roleplay: August 14th, 2018, 7:58 am
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