In the Quallian - Aer'Ylferian

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

In the elven city of  Aer'Ylferian  lies a burned woman on a bed out of soft moss, without movement, unconscious. She is looked after well, the best healers of the Quallian are beside her lair and tend her body, but there is no medicine to cure her hurt soul.


Talia doesn‘t know, that she is Talia. She just goes on and on forever, so it seems to her. She cannot rest, for there is no place to rest. All sky is nor‘sidian black, only faint hues of crimson reds jitter over a formless ceiling, reflections of the fires which frame her path. If you can call a path, what is just a small track between pits of glowing coal, erupting fountains of fire, smoking cracks.

She feels so hot, no sweat is cooling her face, she has forgotten the name of water. Even worse is the thirst, her throat is dry and hurts, she is unable to speak, nor to produce any simple sound.

She is ready to die, but not even that is possible. She can only die in a cool, dark place, and she has to find one, maybe over there? And so she stumbles on, sets foot before foot.

Sometimes, very rarely, the heat retreats a little bit, her throat is a bit less hurting, but not for long, then it returns.

She goes down a hill, not steep, not flat. Down there, maybe down there it will be cooler, for it is dark down there.

Siroled, the seer, sits next to her bed and tries to get some fluid into her mouth, but her lips are crusty and  nearly closed. In her dreams this woman reappears daily, but she can‘t tell yet, what the dreams are telling her. she hopes, that a close contact might help to solve the puzzle.

A healer comes and asks her to leave. There is something severely wrong with this woman, and their best priest of Seyella should not face an unknown danger.

***Astropic of the day***
"For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path   that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel looking, looking, breathlessly. ~Don Juan"

[Terra Artemos]

Avi'Sharu sits watching over the armor clad, red haired woman as she sleeps peacefully, her sword at her side. She does not particularly relish the task of sitting watch over the exhausted and injured human, but does not envy the older ones task of trying to heal the burned human either. It seems the elders think these human were important, and was at least relieved that all she has to do is sit and make sure the human does not drift off into too deep of a sleep.

'I am grey. All but those like me see only darkness and light, they do not see the grey between them. In this greyness I dwell. I would not wish this fate on any other.'

Edited by: Terra Artemos at: 6/9/05 17:54

[Aueniteri]

Melor

There is a strange air about him as he enters the small building. A female elf, apparently his senior, stands from a small cot on which she had been resting, and watches him silently as he glances around the room. Melor, this best of the best, this powerful assassin, she notes, takes several seconds before actually recognizing her, and when he does, the look in his eye is something frightening, even to her. Of course, aside from what was just mentioned, there is no evidence, but Melor is panicked.

"I have something for Garrek, and reason to believe he'll be heading this way soon."

He drew out a longsword, of obviously human make. She takes the blade and handles it, curious as to what it might be, but not really daring to ask questions.

"Make sure he gets that, and tell him he needs a new door post."

With that, Melor turned and left. In the same motion, he also left his previous career, but it didn't matter anymore. Garrek was going to have him killed anyway.

-------------------
Silence! You could give your excuses until Injèrá hides her head from all Santharia, but it will never preserve your life.
I have so sworn...

[Terra Artemos]

Terra awakens to find an female adult elf watching over her, she could not tell really how old the elf was from her appearance, but from the elfs reaction to her waking up Terra figured she was a younger adult. Terra lies in the moss padded bed for a few moments, with something stuck in her mind, like something really important she had forgotten and was trying desperately to remember. It does not bring upon her the pain and dispare of the dark things in her mind, so she tries to relax and let it come to her. Suddenly she sat streight up quickly, felling just a little dizzy for a split moment from the sudden action, and remembers the burn patch of ground where she had found Talia's sword.

Terra is not sure why, but she has the most urgent feeling that she forgot something of very great importance there, and looks around trying to find Hajarian, but he was gone. Terra's eyes finally settled on the elf woman that had been where they faught the demon, then grips her Moon Blades scabbord in one hand and starts to get up. The elf who had been watching over her stood, and spoke sharply in her tongue which Terra did not understand, but she could assume its meaning. As Terra eases her self up from where she had been laying she looked to the elf healer, responds in her usual cool, level tone, hoping that the elf could at least understand her.

"There is something very urgent I must do."

Terra walks over to the elf she remembered from the battle with the demon lord, she thought she vaguely remembered her name was "Teri" something, but was unsure where she heard it or if she was correct. As the battle went on everything became mier in an ever deeper haze, and Terra figures that at some point she must have fallen asleep or worse yet unconcious. Steping before she elf she thought was called Teri, Terra addressed her in the same cool, smooth, level tone that she had addressed the healer in, hoping that this elf could understand her, as she could not quite remember which tongue she spoke if she had at all.

"Could you guide me out of this forest? I must go to a place to the west I think. It is most urgent that I go there."

Terra hoped the elf woman did not ask why, because she was not sure of this herself, but she knew she must go back there.

'I am grey. All but those like me see only darkness and light, they do not see the grey between them. In this greyness I dwell. I would not wish this fate on any other.'

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

The healer manages to get some liquid into Talia's mouth, but the burned woman does not swallow, nor move in any way.



The burned woman walks emotionless down the hill, trying to avoid the firepits and the smelling windrows of sulphur and other biting substances. But suddenly she stops - has somebody called her? She turns around, looks back - again. A word comes to her mind - Zaa-pher, but she doesn‘t know, what is meant with it, and so she continues going downwards.



To the surprise of the healer, Talia opens her ciliaryless eyes for a moment, but she doesn‘t see anything, her gaze is distance and not looking like that of a sentient being.

***Astropic of the day***
"For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path   that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel looking, looking, breathlessly. ~Don Juan"

[In the Quallian]

„Kurrun, we have to talk to these people, maybe my dreams and visions get clearer then, or we can understand them better. Maybe if we know more about them, they get less frequent and I get some sleep. I can‘t go on like this much more longer.“

Siroled paces in Kurrun's room, looking old out of pure exhaustion. She had lost considerably weight in the last days and at the rim of not be able to stand upright. Soon the moment would come for her to take „The Juice“ and kill her ability to see into the future or to die from exhaustion.


„I know, you are right, my dear, but the high elven circle wanted to wait till the Leias is back from the Zeiphyr, otherwise the strangers have to tell their frightening story twice. The burned woman can‘t tell anything in the moment. but the redhaired should be alright by now. Lieofin will surely support your request as well - he wants to know more , how the demon was able to penetrate into the Quallian. So lets send message to the three to come to me and to report what they want, and why they set their foot into our forest.

Kurrun stands up and shakes a little bell. A young elven boy appears and asks for his wishes.


Ava be with you, Suri. Please go to Lieofin and tell them, that it is necessary to question the travellers already now, for Siroled is in danger. We will ask the group to come to my room and answer our questions. Then go and find the three and bring them in this room. Ask Mirika to bring food and drinks. Thanks you,my boy!“

****************************************

Suri, the young elf quickly informs Lieofin about the meeting, then hurries to the room, where the redhaired human rests. He is glad to find the other, more elven one looking as well:


„Ladies,“ he addresses them in the best tharian he is able to speak:


„Our elder Kurrun asks you to visit his room and to tell us , what you are here for, and what happened. This is  not the high elven circle, the burned woman requested to meet, but our leias is still not back, and the information should flow. would you please follow me?“

Hopefully he will find the male elf as well soon.

[Terra Artemos]

Terra is hesitant to follow the elf boy, not because she feared danger from doing so, but because she felt so powerfully driven toward another task. Finally she decides its best to get it over with, as she doubts these elves would ask to see a human so eagerly if it was not of some importance. Terra looks to the elf boy and give her stern reply within her usually smooth, level tone.

"Lets go then and get this done quickly. I have another task I feel is of grave importance to deal with."

'I am grey. All but those like me see only darkness and light, they do not see the grey between them. In this greyness I dwell. I would not wish this fate on any other.'

[Aueniteri]

'Teri watches as the elven mage simply presses past her, too intent on his own business to speak with her. Of course, part of it might have been 'Teri stepping out of his way as he got near enough to speak, thus making it look like she had only been there by accident. Maybe he knew she was watching him, wondering, or maybe he didn't. As it was, she wanders to where the healing is being performed, and leans against a wall, starting to slowly fall to a sitting position when an elven boy enters, and immediately addresses the red-haired woman, proceeding a quick glance at 'Teri. Curious, 'Teri stands upright again, and steps away from the wall.

-------------------
Silence! You could give your excuses until Injèrá hides her head from all Santharia, but it will never preserve your life.
I have so sworn...

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

OOC: I assume now, that you both will follow the young elf, Teri, you as well, ok?

Suri, not sure, if the elven woman will follow his request as well, looks a last time intensely at her, then he turns round and leaves. He is urged to look back to check, if both are following him, but that would show his insecureness, and he is not willing to give in. So he stops only at the next crossing, looking at the two women and pointing to an upper path.

“We have to go up there!“

Unlike in Geaf, elegant stairs laid out with stone despite the height are leading up in the upper level of the town, nearly at the top of the trees. There they enter a big room built between three trees. Light is falling through the canopy, which is here not as dense as on the bottom of the trees. The room is simple furnished, just a few low seats are arranged in a circle, a low big table is standing in the middle.

Only a few people are here, two who they know already from the forest, Lieofin, the leading mage in the fight against the demon, the other one is the healer they met already there as well. The other three are unknown to them. There is an old elf, simple looking, with plain clothes and no emblems of power or wisdom, but he emanates a presence like no other. A young woman sits next to him. Despite her youth she is looking tired and ill. Haunted.  Not far away, another woman, an old one, despite her elven nature she is looking old, near death. But a friendly smile welcomes the three newcomers.

The old elf raises, when Suri leads Terra and Teri into the room and greets them.

„Welcome, travellers, in the Quallian. Your journey was a hard one, so please sit down and have a cup of cha first before we talk.

Suri knees down and pours everybody a cup of tea. Then he bows and leaves the room without saying anything else.

After a first sip, the old elf continues:

„My name is Kurrun, I‘m a member of the high elven circle as all other present here are as ell. Let me introduce my friends to you. You know already Lieofin, our master mage, adept in many things. On his side, Airam, one of our best healers, you have met her as well in the forest. Our lady there is Aikirana, most probably the oldest elf in the Quallian, a source of knowledge. At last, here on my side  sits Siroled, and she is a seer of Seyella. She saw your coming in a vision, and so we were able to protect you when entering the Quallian. She is the reason we asked you to come and to allow us to interrogate you, though our Leias, to whom the burned woman wanted to speak to tell her news - threatening news - or to seek advice, isn‘t back yet.

Her visions and her dreams concerning you all haven‘t ceased, after the vanishing of the demon - don‘t think, that he is beaten - she has even more dreams than before. But she can‘t point to what they are telling her, there are only fragments. But she can‘t go on for long anymore without dying from exhaustion or loosing her abilities to look into the future. So we ask you, to tell you all you know. That may help to put the fragments and pieces together and solve some questions. Maybe we can help you better afterwards. but please tell us, what happened to you, not only in the Quallian, but before.

But before you start - is there any chance, your companion, the old Ylffer elf, will follow our request as well?“

***Astropic of the day***
"For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path   that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel looking, looking, breathlessly. ~Don Juan"

[Aueniteri]

'Teri, not familiar with Talia's apparently former companions, simply looks helplessly at Terra. Although she is doing her best to quell it, she is worried about the gem, which Talia was protecting for some reason, and somehow suspects her brother's involvement in its disappearance.

-------------------
Silence! You could give your excuses until Injèrá hides her head from all Santharia, but it will never preserve your life.
I have so sworn...

[In the Quallian]

Kurrun, Lieofin, Siroled, two other elves, Terra, Teri


Kurrun has seen many things in his life. He knows people well. So he observes now, that the two women are not very familiar with each other. The elven one hesitates with speaking, looking insecure at the other one. So he addresses her again:

“ Just tell us , what you have experienced in the last time - when did you meet the others, especially the burned woman. What do you know about her? I heard she claimed to know our former Leias Asaia, better known as Wren, but I don‘t know, what she wanted.
May I as well ask, who you are? We know Hajarian, what brought you to accompany him?

Kurrun hopes, that his questions help the two women to talk about what they have experienced.

[Terra Artemos]

Terra hesitantly follows the young elf who leads them streight to a large room built high up in the forest between three trees. Withing the room is a large round table round which sit low chairs, several of the chairs are occupied by elves ranging from relatively young to very old. Terra vaguely recognized two of the elves, but the rest she knew she had not seen before. One of the older ones Terra does not know stands and greets them, and she listens as intently as she can, though still feeling groggy from her injury and sleeping. Finally after the old elf had finished speaking Terra took a sip of the tea that the your elf had poured for her before he left and tried to answer his questions where she could.

"The old Ylffer elf?"

Terra pauses for a brief moment trying to think of what he ment, the realizing he was refering to Hajarian, Terra replies.

"I don't know. He was gone when I woke up, and I don't know where he went, or where he would go."

Terra looks to Teri and notes that she is hesitant to speak, but to their origional request, and the questions the old elf asked, Terra would have to start at the beginning anyway. Terra takes another sip of tea and stares intently at the table as if she is arranging her thoughts and memories upon its surface. After long moments she begins to speak, at first still looking at the table as if moving the last peices into place.

"It seems easiest to start with who I am and work from the beginning of all this, or at least what I can remember. I have not yet fully recovered from my injuries, so I hope you can bare with me.

I am Terra Artemos, my first memories are of the island of Guldor the homeland of the Kassumarii, though I was not born there. I am a warrior that will offer my sword to any just battle.

I first met Talia, the burned woman, sortly after... returning I guess, to Satharia from Guldor. It was in an in outside to Strata, and she was with others, one of them being the man that hired us onto this quest, though he is now missing. I can't seem to remember a lot about Talia, much of what seems like I should remember is just a hase. It seems like she grew up in the desert there. She is a good person though, and seemed almost motherly toward a half elf that traveled with us. When trouble befell us in Chylikis and it became apparent that the artifact we recovered from the city of Strata, a fist sized green stone, was what these others were after she took it and tried to lead them away from us while we recoved. Once I had recovered enough to try and catch her, myself and Hajarian set out to try and catch up with her.

Hajarian our group had met on the ship as we fled from Strata with the artifact. I guess his modivations for journying with us is as much curiosity as perhaps being bound into the larger scheme of what is going on. He had a feeling we would find Talia here, how he know she would be here, if he knew for sure at all I could not say, but none the less we finally cought up with her where the demon was defeated, though we were to late to do anything to aid her."

Terra takes another sip of her tea, and seems to becoming unsteady, if it is from her emotions, or from the injury to her head is not appartant as her face remains cool and not showing her emotional state. Inside however she was deeply concerned for Talia, and also concerned about the nature of this thing that she had forgotten yet bothers her so greatly.

'I am grey. All but those like me see only darkness and light, they do not see the grey between them. In this greyness I dwell. I would not wish this fate on any other.'

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

Kurrun



Some moments of silence pass, till Kurrun talks again:

„Thank you, Terra Artemos, for your brief summary. Could you tell us a bit more about the one who hired you? When did your journey start? What do you know about the gem, where did you find it and to whom did it belong?“
Kurrun sees the exhaustion and forlornness of this woman, though her calm mask is without flaw, and only his farther reaching magic abilities allow him to penetrate it.

“But have a rest, maybe the companion of your friend wants to go on? As you like! “

***Astropic of the day***
"For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path   that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel looking, looking, breathlessly. ~Don Juan"

[Aueniteri]

'Teri listens intently to Terra's story, somehow amazed at what she did not know. But then, Terra is failing, it seems, and attention to a degree falls on 'Teri. Her hands are clasped firmly to the opposite wrists, and her gaze drops as she inhales slowly, yet deeply. The human in her answers the question indifferently: what has happened? Surely nothing out of the ordinary up until the demon attacked, and the results of that they well know themselves.

Something slightly more thoughtful pushes the ideas into a different direction: Terra saw fit to give a piece of her background. However, would that be appropriate for 'Teri? Most elves, although not exactly hateful, frowned upon the enterprising Dinik and his son Sean. And then the question of Garrek is raised. Although he torments her continually, drawing attention to his corruption could bring him to find her more of a nuisance than an amusement, and he would simply have her killed as he had so many others.

Thus a question arises that 'Teri needs answering, although she knows speaking it aloud will do no good. Slowly, she opens her eyes, having closed them as she habitually held her breath, and cautiously, quietly exhales as she glances at everyone about, looking for something in them that might betray a loyalty to, or even an agreement with Garrek. After having thus scrutinized everyone, and finding none to be, so far as she is able to judge, a threat in this way, she decides to tell what little she knows, pointless as it may be. Still, possibly by force of habit, she does not mention Garrek, or even her paternal lineage by name.

Thus she begins, speaking in the Quaelhoirhim dialect of Styrash, "I am Aueniteri, child of a Quael elf and an Eyelian father. I have many times neared these forests of my childhood in my travels, and was doing the same again when I met Talia. In the night of the eve we met, we were assaulted by what I can only assume is this same demon, but the human's sword protected us from it following directly. Little else has happened; we arrived here in the Quallian, and met Furchego, whom I believe you may have been familiar with. He was overcome by the demon, and the resulting beast attacked us. I know nothing of this artifact except what has been said here.

-------------------
Silence! You could give your excuses until Injèrá hides her head from all Santharia, but it will never preserve your life.
I have so sworn...

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

KURRUN



"Do you knowsomething about the sword? What happened,when the demon appeared, you you be a bit more precise? it might be of importance." Kurrub inquires.

***Astropic of the day***
"For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path   that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel looking, looking, breathlessly. ~Don Juan"

Advanced search

[Members]

Members Total Members: 2849 Latest: abigailjordan Stats Total Posts: 214569 Total Topics: 8052 Online Today: 51 Online Ever: 216 (November 30, 2006, 09:08:03 AM) Users Online Users: 0 Guests: 49 Total: 49

[Artimidor]

	Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2005, Simple Machines TinyPortal v0.9.8 © Bloc
Theme based on Cerberus with Risen adjustments by Bloc and Krelia Modified By Artimidor for The Santharian Dream