[The Strangers Welcome] Creatures of the Night (Veldrys)

[Sitkanis]

Timstamp: 3rd of Spring, 511 AV Now that it was spring everything was changing. Even Sitkanis was changing. His night form was starting it's downward progression into it's spring colors. The silver color of his winter hair was starting to mix with the lavender-grey color that Spring brought. His horns were slowly losing their black color and instead starting to bleach to a pearly white. He was a beautiful as the changing seasons and yet he was completely uncomfortable in this form. Since falling in Denval Sitkanis had been trying to figure out exactly what had happened in his past life. Lately he had been less focused on that though. He was trying to figure out his current life. He looked up at the sky to see Leth sitting quietly on the horizon. He felt a pang of sadness as he looked upon his farway God. The land of Leth was another that he had foggy memories of. His fall had taken a good amount of his memory from him. Lavender eyes locked on the door to the Stranger's Welcome. Sitkanis hoped that by now he was no longer a Stranger to Denval. He liked to think that he had made the Denvali people see him as a friend, even if he wasn't exactly friendly. He found it strangely ironic that he was only just entering the Stranger's Welcome now and not when he had first found himself in the city. As he walked through the doors he looked around for a place to sit. He hoped his night time appearance would not catch any unwanted attention. The people of Denval had to have known he was an Ethaefal by now. When Sitkanis found a place to sit he meerly looked around at the people dining. He did not need to eat at night. He was nourished by the rays of Leth. He mostly just wanted to pretend he was some what a functioning part of the town. Adalia had a job. She was a healer. Granted, it was not a paying job but she did things. Sitkanis had just been stumbling around, looking for something that was not there.

[Veldrys]

Veldrys had visited The Stranger’s Welcome from time to time since he had arrived in Denval in winter. The Symenestra had enjoyed his stay in the secluded city so far. He found Denval’s history and the fact that his god was worshipped here, quite fascinating, and there was always something to do at the chapel. But sometimes, sometimes he sought the company of those that came from outside, like him, even though they were more aware of the darker sides of his race than the Denvali themselves. This particular evening found him sitting at a table alone, dressed in the robe that marked him as somebody that served Viratas, watching the people around him. His meal consisted of something that had about the consistency of the dish that humans called porridge, although it tasted indefinitely better. He always ordered something like that when he came here since he was, like all Symenestra, unable to digest solid food. Next to the bowl stood a glass filled with some kind of juice. Human drinks at least provided little problem. The Symenestra made no attempt to hide his race, even though his training in Morphing would enable him to do so. With his amethyst eyes, pale skin and pale hair there was little doubt that he wasn’t human. While the Denvali themselves had likely gotten used to his presence to some extent since he was regularly seen in the chapel, the tourists that gathered in the Stranger’s Welcome likely felt surprise or unease ... ... although the presence of a Symenestra would likely pale in comparison to the one of somebody as exotic as an Ethaefal. Veldrys at least watched Sitkanis with unveiled curiosity as he entered. In Kalinor, deep underground, there had been none of his kind. He knew that Ethaefal existed of course, but he had never seen one with his own eyes. Had they really fallen from the sky? Was it true that they remembered their past lives? Sitkanis would almost feel the Symenestra’s gaze on him, there, at the almost empty table.

[Sitkanis]

Lilac eyes stared down at the table in front of Sitkanis. He wished that Adalia had accompanied him to the Stranger's Welcome but she had been busy. She often seemed busy though. More often than not he found himself trying to entertain himself while she worked in the Chapel. At times he would walk her dog, taking her to the shore to play in the waves or possibly chase a stick or two. He never saw himself as a social creature but he was growing tired of the monotinous schedule he was keeping. He had to admit, Denval was growing on him. Still, he wanted something different, possibly new to happen. Looking up Sitkanis caught a pair of eyes watching him. He scowled a bit switching his attention to the moon outside the window. He knew why the man looked. It was the same reason they all did. He was one of the fallen. One of Leth's lost children. It made him feel like an object and less of what he truely wanted to be, a simple person. He did not like this form. He was much shorter for one. He loathed that fact. He also did not like the fact he was considered beautiful. It was so immasulating. He was a hunter in a past life. He killed Glassbeaks and brought honor to his Pavilion. He could barely remember how to wield a sword or hunt now. "Oh Leth help me..." He sighed burying his face in his hands. The eyes of the man were starting to burn into Sitkanis' side. It was not as if the man was glaring at him, Sitkanis just hated to have someone watching him like some creature. If the man wanted to look then he would get to, but Sitkanis was not going to sit there like a man on display. He was in dire need of male conversation reguardless. It seemed at times that he only spoke to Adalia and Astrid, both whom were women. Walking slowly he approached the man, looking at him with his light eyes. "No sense sitting alone I suppose. You don't mind if I take a seat with you?" Sitkanis decided against pointing out the fact the man had been looking at him. It would not help either one of them to bring it up and it was not as though the man had not been aware of his own line of vision. He noticed the man was eating but he did not give it too much thought. He did not need to eat nor would the man eating drive him to hunger. It was only when Syna stretched into the sky that he would regain his hunger. The man was different looking although Sitkanis could not put his finger on why. He could tell the man was not human yet he did not know what else he could be. He did not know of many races. He knew there were humans, like Astrid and the rest of the Denvalis and there were Konti, like Adalia. There were also Drykas, like him in his daytime form and Ethaefal like his night time form and the strange girl he met on the beach. This man did not seem like any of those people though. There was one way to tell though. Through interogation. Something that Sitkanis had never been good at. Still, he would try. "So, where do you hail from?"

[Veldrys]

The Ethaefal was beautiful, more beautiful than anybody that Veldrys had ever seen before. He couldn’t have pulled his gaze away even if he had wanted to. How could somebody that was obviously male look like this? He felt almost bad for a moment, because of that simple fact, as if admiring another man was wrong. And there was another thing that made the Ethaefal so fascinating for him. Did he know what the world had been like before the Valterrian? Maybe this man, this unnaturally beautiful man knew what had happened. Maybe he carried the secret that would help him save his kind inside of him. Veldrys firmly believed that the solution to the Symenestra’s problems could be found in the past, before they had moved into the underground. He was so deep in thought that he barely noticed that the Ethaefal had come closer, that he was in fact standing in front of him now. As the man spoke, he looked up into those strange, light eyes. „I do not mind at all“, he answered. Sitkanis would notice that Veldrys‘ words were heavily accented. He was obviously not a native speaker of Common, but had only learned the language later in life. „Feel free to take a seat.“ As the Ethaefal asked him where he was from, the Symenestra arched an eyebrow. The question confused him. Did the man simply want to be polite, was that simply a way to start the conversation? It almost seemed as if he had never seen a Symenestra before. He certainly didn’t seem to be scared or disgusted. There was none of the usual caution. „I come from the city of Kalinor“, he answered. „Do you know where it is?“ He paused and waited for Sitkanis‘ answer before he posed a question of his own. „And where do you come from? Is it really true that your kind fall from the sky?“

[Sitkanis]

The Ethaefal offered Veldrys a smile, or his version of one. He tried to show more kind emotions to those around him it was just difficult. Maybe it was his past life flaring up and telling him to keep his mind on more important things. He could not remember those things sadly. Those, much like the rest of his memories, had been long forgotten. He was happy to see the Symenstra was polite. That would make it easier to try to be friendly. Averting his gaze, Sitkanis took a seat across from the Symenstra. "Thank you." He looked at the man, almost as if he was glaring at him. He did not mean to be rude. He only wanted to try and figure out what he was. It took about a chime to notice staring at the man was probably not the best idea if he was out to find friends. Instead he simply continued to listen to the man's words, trying to find sense in them. "I'm sorry, I've never heard of Kalinor. I don't know where it is either." Sitkanis didn't even know where he was from. Zahari had talked about Drykas and the plains of Endrykas saying that there was a good chance he was from there. He truely did not know though. He just remembered grass and horses. Oh, and Nakara, the little brown dog that seemed to fill him with joy every time he thought of her. Sitkanis looked down at the table as Veldrys asked about where he had come from. He hated to talk about the night he fell. It was the worse memory he had. "We do all from the sky. I almost drowned when I fell actually. I don't know how to swim." He left out the fact that he was deathly afraid of water. In his night time form he did not need to give people more reasons to think of him as weak. "Before then I lived somewhere with horses and grass. I was told that it is called Endrykas. Have you heard of it?" The question was a bit odd. It was uncommon for someone not to know where Endrykas was or at least what it was. Even after haven been fallen for over two three seasons he still was quite ignorant. He knew nothing of the world past the edges of Denval. He liked it there. He felt comfortable. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you come to Denval?" He always wondered what made people decide to come to the city. He never had the choice of deciding to come to Denval. He just dropped in one day on their shore. Still, he could not think of a single place he would rather be.

[Sitkanis]

Accidental double post. Dismiss.

[Veldrys]

"You have never heard of Kalinor?" Veldrys was surprised. Kalinor wasn’t too far from here, at least compared to other cities like Syliras or Zeltiva. His people didn’t conduct the Harvest around Denval – because the area was so hard to reach, but most people had at least heard of the Symenestra and their city. Their reputation tended to precede them. "Kalinor is my home. It is where my kind live. It is located to the southwest, on the other end of Kalea. Are you sure you have never heard of Kalinor and the Symenestra?" "What was it like, being in the sky and then falling? And why did you fall?" The Symenestra’s voice was unusually soft, barely more than a whisper, as if he almost didn’t dare to ask, worried that the stranger would be offended. There were few people that afftected him in such a way, but the Ethaefal did. "And how can somebody that used to live in the sky almost drown?" He knew almost nothing of Sitkanis‘ kind apart from the very basics and couldn’t even begin to imagine what it had been like to live in the sky. How exactly did the Ethaefal come to be? "I have heard of Endrykas, although I have never been there myself. It is strange. I have heard that Endrykas is never in the same place, and its people have a unique kind of magic." They called it 'Webbing'. He didn’t know exactly what it was about, but it had always seemed more like a kind of magic that the Symenestra should have to him. His people were weavers. "I came to Denval because of it’s history and because of the fact that my god is worshipped here", he answered the Ethaefal’s question. He still found it unusual that humans put so much emphasis on Viratas, on a god that was usually worshipped by Symenestra. "As you know, it has been secluded from the outside world since the Valterrian. I hope to find information of the way the world was before here. Do you know? Do you remember the old world?" He assumed that the Ethaefal had experienced the Valterrian because of his unique nature. He had no idea that Sitkanis barely remembered anything. For now at least he believed that the man opposite of him was his best hope to find out what the world had been like before the great catastrophe had taken place.

[Sitkanis]

Sitkanis looked at Veldrys sort of like a confused animal. "No, I've never heard of it." He was not sure why he should have known it. He had spent countless years in the Ukalas and prior to that, he lived in Endrykas. He never left the clanlands and he had no recolection of any life before his life as a Drykas. "Sorry, I haven't. I am guessing you are a Symenestra?" He looked the man over as he made a mental note. Pale skin, Kalinor, fangs. It meant Symenestra. Another race he could add to his mental collection. "It is very surreal, at least it was for me." He tried to think back to the day he fell to Mizahar. Although Ethaefal were supposed to be seekers of memories, Sitkanis was terrible with them. He did not like to think back too much. He found that the more he thought back, the more things tended to hurt and become confused. One day the memories would overflow and become sick of being forced down. For now he could be more controlling. "It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Then I hit the water and it was like time just stopped." He felt a bit lost in the memory. It was truely one of the strangest he had. "I don't think anyone can really know what it is like unless it happens to them." As for the question about his swimming skills the answer was quite simple. "Being in the sky did not give me the ability to swim. I can remember a little bit from my past life and from what I remember I couldn't swim then either." Thoughts of his past life were slowly circling in Sitkanis' mind like fine mist. They had just enough information to tease him but not enough to tell him anything. "I am scared of water actually. Not drinking it, just being in it." A shiver rippled through his body as he thought of being in the stuff. It was all wet and full of death. Not the sort of place Sitkanis wanted to find himself. The Symenestra seemed to be an educated one, or at least he put up a good front of one. Veldrys probably knew more about Endrykas than Sitkanis did. Simply having the body of a Drykas did not mean he knew how to be one. "I'm not sure. I imagine they might have some sort of magic." He pondered on the thought of Drykas magic. Sadly, nothing came to his mind though. He hated the feeling of being empty, at least in an intellectual sense. "Do you know what it is called? If you told me I might remember. I have a strange memory. I don't remember things too well." His lilac eyes fell upon the table after he muttered the words. He wanted to remember things. He wanted it more than anything. His brain just couldn't. Maybe there was something wrong with him. Maybe it was Leth's punishment for leading the girl to die on the night he fell. He didn't care what the reason was. He just wanted to remember. "Who is your God?" Sitkanis did not know what these Symenestra worshiped. He knew of some Gods. There was father Leth, Caiyha, Adalia's favored Goddess Rak'keli. He had heard mention of Semele from Marius and some of the Denvalis, and Aquiras from Zahari. Symenestra were new to him though. Maybe they knew of other Gods too. "I do not know if I remember the old world. I remember a land of grass and horses. I don't know if that is the old world though." Sitkanis felt like a fool for not knowing anything Veldrys was talking about. He yearned to to know more so he would no longer seem to he ignorant. "What was your home like? Kalinor that is." He wanted to ask what Symenestra were like too but he worried that was a bit of a personal questiosn. He really wanted to know though. He wanted to know so many things but he did not know how to put them into words. "Do you miss it?"

[Veldrys]

As Sitkanis admitted that he had really never heard of Kalinor, Veldrys shook his head. He couldn’t believe it. He had always thought that Ethaefael knew nearly everything – or at least more than most people – that they were touched by the divine, but this Sitkanis seemed ignorant about the most basic of things. It was unlikely that he remembered the Valterrian as Veldrys had hoped. And yet there was something positive about the Ethaefael’s apparent ignorance as well. He likely wouldn’t have any of the usual prejudices. He likely didn’t know about the Harvest and wouldn’t condemn him, but just take him for a man that looked a bit stranger than most. „I am a Symenestra“, he confirmed. „I may be the only one of my kind in Denval.“ He had certainly not met any other Symenestra since he had left the ship that had taken him here. Denval wasn’t exactly Harvest territory due to the fact that it was small and could only be reached by ship, and few Symenestra left their city just for fun. He wondered if Sitkanis was in the same situation. Were there other Ethaefal in Denval or was he the only one of his kind in the city as well? „I can imagine that it was surreal“, he agreed, although he actually couldn’t. It was, as Sitkanis had stated, one of those things that you needed to experience yourself. „And I can imagine why you are scared of water. Anybody would be scared of it if he fell from the sky and landed in the ocean. Although you could probably learn to swim and overcome your fears if you wanted to.“ Veldrys definitely wasn’t afraid of water. In fact he had often gone swimming in the Blue Grotto in Kalinor. He hadn’t tried swimming in the ocean yet though. It would likely be a very different experience since the ocean was salty, and there was all that bright light in the sky. „The magic of the Drykas is called Webbing“, he replied. Again he shook his head. How could Sitkanis have been in Endrykas in a past life and yet remember so little of it? Did Ethaefal get amnesia when they fall from the sky? „I don’t know why it is called Webbing though“, he admitted. „It sounds as if it has something to do with weaving, but it’s probably not like that. Do you remember it now?“ He wondered if there was a way to cure Sitkanis apparent amnesia. Maybe if the Ethaefal let him take a look at him, or if he brought him to somebody that had the mark of Viratas ... would Haimon be able to unlock Sitkanis‘ memories if he drank some of the Ethaefal’s blood? He decided not to ask. Sitkanis was still a stranger, and such a thing was very personal. „My god is Viratas“, he answered, wondering whether the Ethaefal had any of the issues with the blood good that surface dwellers sometimes had. „He is one of the two patron gods of Denval. The other one is Aquiras. I have some manner of respect for him.“ „I’m afraid I cannot help you in that regard“, Veldrys remarked and sighed as Sitkanis spoke of a land of grass and admitted that he didn’t know if it was the old world or not. „I have very little idea what the world was like before the Valterrian. That land of grass might already have existed back then. I don’t know. Texts that describe it are hard to come by, and most people that remember it are long dead – or undead.“ „You want to know about Kalinor?“ The Symenestra smiled a little. He liked it when people wanted to know about his home rather than simply deciding to hate everything that had to do with it. „It is located underground, in a vast cavern. We don’t have houses like the Denvali do. Our buildings hang from the ceiling, and they are connected by thick strands of silk. There is very little natural light there, and the seasons never change as they do on the surface. It is a beautiful place. I wish you could see it. There is no other place like it anywhere in the world.“ A sigh escaped his lips, and he looked rather melancholic for a moment. „I miss it. Sometimes“, he admitted. „But I’m not sure if I ever want to go back. There are things in Kalinor that are simply not right, but I don’t think you want to know about the issues I have with my people.“ He paused, and then he asked, „Do you miss the sky, Sitkanis? Do you ever wish you could go back to Endrykas or the sky?“

[Sitkanis]

Sitkanis looked over Veldrys when he told him of his race. He did not think that he had seen any others who looked like him. There had been some other more pale people in Denval but none as pale as Veldrys. "I think I am the only of my kind in Denval too." There had been the girl on the beach but she was gone now. He frowned a bit as he thought of her. He could still see her running into the waves and sacrificing herself to Leth in order to return home to the Ukalas. "I hope that someday I will meet another like me though. It is hard to learn about your race from people who are not of your race." It was hard enough the Sitkanis had left father Leth. He had to face the pain completely alone. He did not have any Ethaefallen siblings to speak of, not even those of Syna's touch. A shiver rippled through Sitkanis as he thought of the sea. "It was, until I hit the water." He shook his head as he tried to rid his mind of the memories. "I don't really feel like facing my fears yet. I am fine with staying in Denval so I don't have a reason to lose my fear." The statment was more of a cop out than anything. He did not want to admit to the man that he would rather have faced off agaisnt another glassbeak than to try to get into the water ever again. He already had admited to Veldrys that he was scared of the water and he had met him in this sickeningly beautiful form. He did not need the Symenestra seeing him as a weak person. He was anything but that. The mention of Webbing struck a chord in Sitkanis. A could see a young boy being held in a woman's arms. He had seen this boy before in his memories. The woman was new though. "Our son will be part of the web. Isn't that great...? The name at the end of the woman's sentance seemed to trail off. Sitkanis could not make it out. Webbing... Sitkanis did know that. "Webbing... it is a magic used to connect all Drykas." He spoke as though he had never forgotten the art at all. "Drykas are connected to it shortly after birth so they are never lost." He smiled at the words. He thought of his son as thr words left his mouth. How old was he now? Was he even still alive? "Viratas and Aquiras." Sitkanis let the two names rattle around his mind. He remembered Zahari talking about Aquiras but Viratas was new to him. He supposed that he respected both. They were Gods just like the one's he favored. "I'm sure both are worthy of worship. The Denvali are smart and they know what is worth their time." Sitkanis was a bit disapointed to hear that`Veldrys did not know what the land of grass and horses was. He supposed it was Endrykas but he wanted to know for sure. The topic quickly changed when Veldyrs spoke of Kalinor. Sitkanis listened, growing more interested as the description went on. The place seemed to interesting! So different! "I wish I could see it too. It sounds really interesting." He clearly did not know about the way the rest of the world saw the Symenestra. The city of Kalinor was feared by many yet the Ethaefal simply claimed he wanted to visit. "Maybe someday when I get the nerve up to leave Denval." He thought on those words. "I really do like it here though. It is becoming home to me." The topic of home was a strange one for the Ethaefal. "I suppose I would like to return to the Ukalas. Things were..." How did one explain what the celestial realm was like? There were no words. "Well, there is no way to describe it. It just was." The Ukalas were really not the issue Sitkanis was having though. He wondered about Endrykas. What was it like now? What was his family like? "I suppose I want to return to Endrykas." He thought about his son. The boy he only knew from small snippets in his mind. "There is someone in Endrykas who I want to meet, that is if he is still alive." He had never talked to anyone about his son. Not even Adalia. "I just want to know if my son is still alive. I remember a little about him but I don't know him anymore." It pained him to stay that. He felt like he should know more. "What about you? What is your family like?"