Carantathraiel

Wanderers

Sid grinned and chuckled softly, her smile pretty, though it revealed a few crooked teeth. "You sound like my brother. Zeke." She added, unsure if they knew Zeke here. "Only he twisted that comment a bit." Sid straightened, folded her arms, and leaned slightly sideways, as if to mock Zeke's posture. "Bet you know how to make men writhe in the bedroom, huh? Think you can teach my lady a thing or two?"
Snorting, Sid lowered her arms, shaking her head with amusement.
Though, for a moment, guilt crossed her face. Her mind wandering over the pretty young girl who had made Zeke so happy, and who had fallen in the Ziadi raid.

Pushing it aside, Sid grinned back at Myka. "But, I suppose we can be pretty scary. Envy says our minds just work differently. We watch a child trip, and the average person wonders if their shoe is untied or of something was in their way. We debate privately about muscular and skeletal abnormalities or underlying illnesses that could make them unstable." Really, it never shut up. She had plenty of theories about Rulitus and Zeke that she could never share, because her opinion on such matters was never requested.

She stole a glance toward Myka again as she gathered supplies she wanted and moved back toward the initial tent. Myka followed, and she was a bit glad for that. Myka, though slight, was a sliver of familiarity, and suddenly finding herself in a new world, with patients who didn't know her, with maladies they seemed uncertain of, she could use a sliver of familiarity.
"But you're right. I never would." Sid explained as she ducked back into the tent and set her armful down. She knelt for a few moments, applying and mixing in preparation. "Growing up with the others, you saw a lot of tears. A lot of broken hearts. I've had enough. So I'd rather mend and cheer up. There's enough cruelty without my adding to it. Its why I started training as a physician."

---

Risa studied the statuette for a moment, then looked up at Kire as she let on she'd gone digging around Ziad for it. The question blossomed on her face without her prompting. How was it? Her home, abandoned and left to crumble. Did she long for them back as they all longed to be there?
But the mention of the Kartaians made Risa give a short shake of her head in rejection. No, it would never be their home again.

"She've already agreed to speak with you." Risa said, turning and pacing her chamber. "Apparently having the ear of some off worlder has her quite excited." Risa's tone betrayed that she still didn't believe it. Or, if she did, she didn't understand why it made Kire special. With a turn of her head, she called toward one of the walls. "You may come in, now."

The wall shifted, one of the many bookshelves pushed outward to allow a figure so slip out of a secret passage. The priestess was older, perhaps in her early fifties. She was pale from years indoors, likely within the temple itself, though wrinkles touched her face regardless. She had brown hair speckled with grey pulled back into a neat bun, the crows feet on the corners of her deep brown eyes gave the impression of kindness, their slant indicative of smiles, rather than frowns. Her dress, a plain, woolen thing of muted gold-tan, was held around her waist by a plain rope. Part of its end was burnt, the frayed pieces charred black.
"This is Priestess Zeltzin. Priestess, this is-"
"Empress Akire." Zeltzin finished. She did, indeed, have a kind smile. "I know of you, of course. I am happy to meet you in person."
Risa looked utterly disappointed at the amiable greeting, hoping at least to have to 'request' that the priestess listen to Kire's strange favour.
Zelzin's warm gaze fell upon the statuette. She asked no questions, but looked pleased with Kire's find. "I am aware Her Warmth has graced your world. How may I be of service to her through you?"

Wanderers

Other healers? Sid looked up, suddenly far more interested. The idea of meeting other-world healers. To compare notes and techniques. Blend their resources. To be able to speak with them and take home her knowledge...
Sid blinked as Narda explained there were supplies in a nearby tent, Sid straightened, smiling kindly to the woman who had let her inspect her neck.

The strange way the two interacted, especially when speaking about Ruli and their investigations. "Yes," Sid grinned. "I knew. At least, I did. Then Ysaryn appeared beside me and yanked me out of a practical course." So, frankly, without Myka informing her that Ruli was somewhere, likewise offering assistance, Sid would have assumed the others could be anywhere.

She only shrugged, looking back over the other patients as the two discussed their immediate plans. As Narda slipped out, Sid waved a hand in farewell, not quite sure of the appropriate goodbyes or sayings here. Then her eyes cause Myka's beaming grin, and Sid smirked. "I'm no stranger to magical burns." She admitted, following Myka out. "We had a resident of sorts who burnt another with her magic. Ruli, actually. Though," She glanced sideways to Myka. "I'm not sure that's something he wants shared. Private as he is. So maybe only bring that up if he does."

Guilty, Sid followed Myka into the tent, to the other healers. Introductions were made, Sid nodding along as names were given. Hoping she didn't look as excited as she felt internally, she logged their names away. With a final grin to Myka that shamelessly betrayed her eagerness, Sid approached the others to discuss what she knew, and how to best help.

---

Ysaryn listened to them speak, silent and patient, the same calculating glint in her eye. When they were decided, and Kire ready, Ysaryn looked back to Gavin. "Remain in here. Look into Envy's chamber, for scribe things? But do not leave caves." Leering firmly at him, she took Kire's hand and they two women disappeared.

Her countenance fell once they were within the castle foyer. Her shoulders slumping slightly, the crack in her facade that betrayed how unhappy she was with the current situation. "Keep Rulitus in Amria, Kirai." Ysaryn said warningly as she marched along the corridor to the Princess's chamber. "How, I do not care. Chain him. Bed him. But do not allow him to come home. He will be harmed by his own decision."

Without allowing Kire a moment to respond, she pounded on the door and opened it, greeted by a squawk as Risa jumped. The woman had been on the ground, Ysaryn's eyes caught as Risa scrambled to her feet. Praying. Stretching. She cared little for why. "You don't just barge in here like some ... savage!" Risa demanded, wrapping her arms around her frame.
Ysaryn stopped a few steps within the door and twitched her head. An ambiguous movement that could have been a nod in apology, an impolite bow, or a challenge. "Emp-eress Kirai." She gestured to the blonde who accompanied her.
Risa's attention was delayed by the weapons on Ysaryn's person, the look in the elf's eyes. "Right, right, for the priestesses." Risa said with an indifferent glance to Kire before her eyes went back to Ysaryn. "Has something happened? I've a right to know."
Ysaryn's wolfish grin made a reappearance, and the elf turned to look at Kire, instead. "You know a way out. Heed the words." She warned again before she marched back out, leaving Kire and Risa alone.

Looking incredibly annoyed that she'd not only been ignored, but was clearly missing something, Risa's muddy eyes zeroed in on Kire. Then to the statuette she held. "I see you at least come prepared. Where did you find that?"

Wanderers

Sid turned her head toward Narda, pressing her lips thin. She didn't quite want to admit that she'd been told nothing. Just outside the nearest tent, Narda gestured to a different one, offering a few details. A trance. Her brow knit together, then her lips parted when Narda explained that they had burst into flames. What in hell was going on here? Sid wondered, looking from Narda to the shorter woman beside her, who offered a shortened version.

Lips still parted, brow still furrowed, Sid could only offer a stumped 'huh' before she took control of her face again. "I don't know." She answered of Ysaryn. "Dragged me here, muttered something in her language, and left me. I suppose she wanted me to help, so." She gave a raise of her shoulders, then started for the tent to which Narda had gestured.

For having just burst into flames, the burns were nothing like Sid had imagined at first. She expected blackened and charred flesh. Not ... well, as Narda had phrased it, singed skin. Shining, pink, a bit blistered, but nothing terribly awful. She approached the first patient, a woman perhaps on the upper end of middle aged, and offered a reassuring smile. "Hello. My name is Sidney. May I look at your neck?"
As the woman nodded and held out her arm, Sid glanced to the two women, then around the tent. "Narda, right? And ... Myka. Would you look for fresh water, bandages, and ... assuming I am in your home world, whatever passes for aloe here?" Yes, that would make sense. The strange, ugly feeling gate Ysaryn had pulled her through, must have been the way into Kire's world.
But she'd deal with that panic later.
"Oh! And antibiotics. Salve, preferably, to set over the blisters."

---

Ysaryn only smiled when Kire asked about a coup, though it was far more reserved than her usual one. Less blood hungry than her wolfish grin. "Gavin, and myself. But others can see." Ysaryn pointed out, reminding Kire that they would illuminate once triggered. "It is not stealth. It is uh, what is word?" She clicked her tongue. "If you are found moving in an out freely, you will be hunted."
Her fuchsia gaze flit to Gavin when he asked about Zeke. "He won't be harmed. He will be on my side, or he will find himself in Amria." She gave Gavin another reserved smile before she looked back to Kire. "I take you to the door. Inside hall. When you are done, you come here to me, Kirai. Before you go through gate, yes?"

Wanderers

"Gods rarely do." Ysaryn replied, about their returning the favour.

She followed them back to Úvano, and promptly disappeared. Silently, Ysaryn tore across the elven side of the mountain, sweeping down the steps to Bolym's house. After slipping inside and a brief conversation, the two slipped out again, parting ways to head in separate directions. To different houses. A knock on the door, a quick conversation, and four of them were moving swiftly across the carved cliff-face. Then six. Then twelve.
Ysaryn paused then, watching the others move and spread her instruction to those she knew would follow her orders. Thinking, she turned to frown at the castle perched on the crown of the cliff. Risa would be easy. The difficult ones would be-

She disappeared again, grabbing a soft arm and uttering a quick word of "You are needed" before appearing in front of the gate. Once through it, passenger in tow, Ysaryn Walked them both to the forest where Myka and Narda were. "Do your best." Ysaryn instructed, before disappearing again.

Sidney, who spoke not a word of elvish, stood dumbstruck where she'd been left, without an ounce of knowledge of where she was or why. Her sandy hair was bunched up into a messy clump, and wrapped in a bit of brightly coloured cloth, tied together in a bow atop her head. Her outfit, little more than a long sleeved tunic and skirt, was hidden behind an apron that had some mildly questionable stains.
Allowing the inner turmoil of Walking and ...whatever the weird gate was ease out of her system, Sid exhaled, looking around apprehensively.
To spot Narda. A face she somewhat recognized. Right. Sid rolled up her sleeves and turned them at her elbows. Kire or Kire's friends.
"Who needs help, then?" She asked Narda, strolling into the first tent.

Upon Kire and Gavin's return to Úvano, the atmosphere had changed. The caves between the two sides of the cliff were empty, with the exception of Ysaryn, who was more heavily armed than normal. She tilted her head, peering over their finds as they set them down. As Gavin went to walk away, the elf casually stepped before him, blocking his route. "No leave through there." She warned, her gaze steady on him for a moment before she looked up to Kire. "You are to stay into the caves until go to Risa. With no Envy, it is dangerous." A shrug of her bony shoulder. "Well, not yet, but soon, yes? You are to be given access to you home that way, but only with me."

Wanderers

As she returned, Ysaryn arched an eyebrow as she listened to Kire explain her plan to return to Ziad. As much as she wished to return to the city to see more of it, having only viewed it briefly from afar, Ysaryn knew better than to leave Úvano for long. "Or, bringing these text would help placate worshippers and Risa." Ysaryn suggested. If they'd left behind such sacred things and deemed them lost in the rubble, they would be excellent bargaining chips against the princess and her priests.
"You what?" Ysaryn asked suddenly, lifting her head. "You punch hole through ... ahaha." She laughed, grinning wickedly. "Not wise, to destroy things offered to the Gods, Kirai." The elf clicked her tongue, though the grin on her face said she approved of the violence involved, and against whom.

"He..." Ysaryn glanced over her shoulder to Ruli as Gavin asked. "-is solving problems. Envy first, he say. Then the others, like Lyta." When Gavin expressed his curiosity about Úvano, Ysaryn frowned. "Do not fret about city. You work with Kire to find Envy. I can handle home." She offered what she hoped was an encouraging smile, but the expression wasn't one she used often. "Go unmake wards. Find leverage. I will speak to Risa and inform her you will be speaking today." Another crooked grin. "Though, much more fun to ambush her."

On the other side of the wall

I might be interested. This sounds rather neat so far.

Wanderers

Ysaryn only clicked her tongue. "People learn." The elf insisted. "Chieftess, too. You Emp-eress learn, and you are to learn that this is different." Ysaryn gestured broadly. "This is happening many places. Magic blossom. We know is not you fault, to lose grasp of control." She shifted her weight again, lowering her blade to appear less threatening. "The Lyta girl, she is to spend time with others like her. Like you and me. To learn how to control it. To make sure no harm comes of her. Or of you. If you are not harmful before magic, I see no reason to fear that you will be harmful now."
Her wolfish smile returned as she sheathed the second blade, placing her hands on her hips. "I am danger long before magic. Is the way of my people. But I still know not to harm people who do not deserve. You not deserve harm. Well, maybe a slap on wrist, but no blades."

Following the woman back to Narda and Daryll, Ysaryn peered around as the spell wore off, watching the other villagers wake and try to make sense of it. She wondered, as Narda grumbled her orders to the woman, if the magic could be controlled to target specific persons. A handy tool it would be in a fight, though grossly unfair. Silent for a moment, she considered the ramifications that would follow magic abilities such as these, randomly spawning in civilians. Kire had already anticipated such a reaction in the power hungry, no doubt, but Ysaryn made a note to remind her, either way.

Once inside the mayor's home, Holly, she learned the name, admitted to her husband that they were caught. As she confessed that it happened more often the more anxious she felt, Ysaryn glanced at Daryll, sure he noticed the connection. It wasn't until Holly mentioned Lyta that Ysaryn hissed, glad Daryll answered before her. Glowering, though deciding not to chime in with her own, far less polite response, Ysaryn kept quiet, watching Daryll and Narda. "We are to leave her here?" Ysaryn asked. "The waking messengers, they will not cause harm? Should we to bring Wyvern soldier here to protect?" Her fuchsia eyes darted to Holly for a moment. She understood the woman's fear of being singled out. Even if Narda echoed her own reassurance that she wouldn't be, leaving the pair in the center of a city freshly released from a spell seemed cruel.

When the matter was decided on, Ysaryn returned them to the edge of the forest. Leaving Narda and the others to relay their news to the empress, Ysaryn wandered over toward Ruli, who was using his finger to mark the dirt. Runes. Ysaryn tilted her head, her limited knowledge of the symbols preventing her from understand. Practice, perhaps. Or problem solving.

"More than the Lyta girl in Daryll's vision have magic." Ysaryn said.
Ruli only grunted.
"They will need help to understand it. Like Envy helped me. He would not want for you to let these people suffer, Rulitus."
He turned his head to glare at her, his bright eyes narrowed. But whatever was on the tip of his tongue, he swallowed, and looked away again. "Envy first. The others will live."
It was Ysaryn's turn to frown at him, exhaling through her nostrils before she turned and wandered back toward the others.

Wanderers

Ysaryn took in the strangeness before her. It was getting worse. Aside from her own two companions who grew drowsy and barely coherent, the guards and locals were glassy-eyed. Lost in their own other-worldly dreams. "No." She said, agreeing with Daryll. It was not Lyta. Somehow, it hadn't effected Lyta and her family within the confines of their own home. The girl was so sleep deprived she looked like one of the strange nocturnal creatures who harassed chickens in the night.
Magic sensed magic. The source of this must be weaker than Lyta's own power. Her terror would have drowned out the desire for sleep.

So why hadn't it effected her mother and step-father?
About to insist that they go and seek the married pair to question about their own suspected powers, the gasp behind them made Ysaryn turn. Her fuchsia eyes narrowed as the figure ran. Never mind them, then.
On Narda's instruction, Ysaryn took off in a paced run, drawing her blades as she tore around the corner and after the mayor's wife.

Only to find the chase disappointingly anticlimactic. The woman turned around and raised her hands, kneeling before Ysaryn as the elf approached. Keeping her blades drawn, Ysaryn tilted her head and grinned, flashing her sharp canines. The fear on this one. She could smell it earlier in their home over tea, and had assumed it to be a reaction to Narda's and her own appearance. Now she knew better.

The woman wouldn't stop talking. So much she offered, and so freely, that Ysaryn sheathed one of her two blades and set her hand on her hip impatiently. Spineless woman. Such cowardly acts in her tribe would result in an ended life far too quickly. "You have a mistake in you assumption, woman." Ysaryn spat down at the kneeling woman. "It is not those who have magic the Crown dislikes. Gem-en-ai are cruel bastards who torture and bleed for their own profit. That is why they are hunted and sentenced. People like me," She gestured to herself, raising her chin. "offer services to you chieftess. Guidance. We are not seen as enemy. The girl, Lyta? She will be helped. Taught. As would have you. Maybe still, if you put an end to the sleep and confess you fears. Emp-eress is hard as blade, as we all must be as chieftess, but she is also understanding."
Ysaryn shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her eyes wandering down the length of her still-drawn blade. "You are to come to the Lady Narda. Put end to you sleep magic. Confess. Yes? Or, no. And we will see how understanding Crown is when foreign chieftess makes target practice of sniveling house wife." A flash of her wolfish grin, and Ysaryn stepped back to invite the woman to walk back toward the others.

ℭαrα's Uniquely Titled Art Gαllery

Ysona Wolf-Blood

Large Image

Wanderers

Ysaryn was still quiet, her eyes focused on the ground as her mind churned her thoughts. Absently, she chewed on the inside of her lip, only looking up when someone mentioned her name. Her fuchsia eyes landed on Narda, who seemed to be speaking about the Lyta girl. Immediately after, Kire looked her way and asked about the Gods. Ysaryn blanked, blinking at her.
"I can take you to the priests." She offered, reminding Kire that she was to speak with them in Úvano. "They will know. As for others, the Moon God, perhaps the Raielwen will know?" She offered thoughtfully.
Here, though. She wasn't sure who would know about the Gods on this side. Perhaps she could question Ed. Warriors often found purpose or solace in deities.

Ysaryn cautiously followed as they approached Ruli, who knelt in the soil near the edge of the forest. He stared ahead, frozen, as if trying to listen. Or, perhaps, to see through the invisible fog to find his foster father. As he heard them approach, he blinked, turning his head slightly to listen.
As they explained their thoughts, and Kire's rather short but enormous list of requests, Ruli shook his head. "Tracking him is far fetched." Ruli said. "We would need something with his signature. Something strong. He isn't connected to anything." Each word he said made him feel more and more helpless. "A lock of hair. A drop of blood." They had access to nothing that would help them.
"What of pillow?" Ysaryn asked. "Long hair slips onto pillow and bed in sleep."
Ruli's shoulders shrugged, as if to say they were free to look. Ysaryn glanced at Kire, her expression promising to go back to Úvano shortly and hunt.

As he was asked about blocking them from the Goddess's sight, he again shook his head. "Hiding magic from magic users is one thing. Hiding three figures from an deity is another. Especially since we don't know the extent of her power here. Even if you were invisible in the woods, she could use the husks to watch you."
"Husk?" Ysaryn questioned the word.
Ruli gestured to the villagers Solaralai was using to protect her stolen earth. "I would offer to just make you invisible, but, magic senses magic."

Turning his head, his pale gaze landed on Kire. "What did you see when you went in there? Minutes ago?" He frowned as she retold the scene, shaking his head before looking away again. Nothing useful.
Ysaryn stuck out her jaw, watching him. "Good for nothing pain in the arse, you are." She grumbled at him. "You think on it. Yes? We're going to investigate something. When we come back, so help me if you don't have anything to offer I'm tossing your stupid little plant in the ocean, and you with it."

Huffing, she turned around and faced the others. "Who is going to sleeping town?" The elf demanded, holding out her hand.

Once there, she released their hands and folded her arms, visibly annoyed. Her eyes were dark as she surveyed what was before them.