Carantathraiel

Wanderers

As Kire spoke the word 'blessing' with such hesitation, Risa narrowed her eyes slightly, shrewdly staring the woman down. Zeltzin, however, looked pleased as ever. As Kire bent and said her farewells, Risa nodded, while the priestess bent in a bow of her own. "It was a pleasure, Empress Akire. I look forward to speaking with you again. May Her Light guide you."

Ysaryn, upon return to the caves, was absent for the time being, though her voice could be heard. Accompanied by Zeke's raised interrogation. It grew louder, though the first person to appear was Rab.
He frowned at Kire, his expression anxious as he sidled in and tucked himself to the side. "I am only going to ask this one more time-" Zeke growled.
"You say that three times!" Ysaryn answered harshly.
"-what the hell is going on?" Zeke ignored her retort. "I demand to know. Why so much weaponry? Why the armed men? Why can't we-"
Ysaryn muttered something in swift elvish as they both appeared in the chamber. Both of them looked cross, and as they spotted Kire, both their expressions changed. Ysaryn looked intrigued, while Zeke looked more annoyed.
"How did it go?"
"You're behind this aren't you?"
They both asked at once. Rab swallowed and sidled further away as both Ysaryn and Zeke frowned at one another again.

"She is not behind this. No part in this!" Ysaryn fought back.
"Well, every time something goes fuck end up, out here, somehow she is to blame!"
"Pull you head out of you salf hatred long enough to listen!"
"Maah!" Rab shouted loudly, clapping his hands to interrupt. Both angry persons turned to round on him, then inhaled.

"Kirai, take Rab." Ysaryn suggested, gesturing at the halfbreed.
"Now, wait just a minute! You can't keep tossing people out! What the hell do you-"
"Perhaps some Kartaian blood will be of help?" Ysaryn said hintingly, ignoring Zeke, who continued to yell. (Why would she need Kartaian blood? Rab better be in one piece when he is returned! And he will be returned!)

Wanderers

Zeltzin blinked in surprise at Kire's question, her smile withering just slightly. "Oh, my dear. She is not punishing you!" The priestess exclaimed. "If you had a part in the destruction of Her temple-" Risa made a sort of noise that betrayed her disbelief in the punishment part. "-that, if anything, She is reaching out to you for help. She cannot communicate properly now. None of your people are properly attuned."

"What did you mean by 'taken people who displeased Her'?" Risa asked, her muddy eyes on Kire. "Have your people gone missing?"

The priestess blinked again, having apparently missed that portion of Kire's question. "Taken? Oh, goodness. I do not like such a word." She took a hand from around her teacup to touch over her heart. Her teacup still steamed merrily, despite the others cooling slightly. "I have never known for the Goddess to take anyone who was not willing to go to Her. The old ways of offering would, on occasion, require a willing priest or priestess offering themselves to Her presence by Fire, but it was long ago put to rest."
Neither Risa nor the priestess seemed the slightest bit bothered by the idea of burning people alive. Willing or no.

"As far as the temple goes, perhaps I can assist in its construction. At least with a few artifacts to help Her settle. The Statuette," She gestured to it. "would certainly be something you could use. Items She has blessed. By fire, by Her nurturing Light, and so on. And windows. She enjoys being free."
"There are stones, too." Risa offered. "Sunstones found throughout the desert. Said to be made when She first appeared and touched the earth. They're rarer now, and harder to find since the destruction of our home. But I'm sure you'll have no issue, considering you had crawled around Ziad's remains to find our artefacts."

Zeltzin smiled at Risa in a way that said her patience was waning. But, of course, the priestess could not say such a thing outright.

Wanderers

She took her time. New world, new problems, but mending injuries never really changed. Even if the absent look on the victim's faces were a little strange. But Sid knew burns, and knew how to care for them. With a nod to Myka as the Amrian woman left, Sid kept at if, gently applying the salve and aloe before wrapping them lightly.
On habit, she moved on to the next one, only remembering she was supposed to stop and speak to Myka halfway through. Ever mindful not to rush, Sid finished with the older gentleman and left the tent, smiling apologetically first before she stood herself before Myka.

On instruction, Sid looked toward the first, having no inclination that it was not natural at first. It looked so normal. Her brow furrowed as she looked back to Myka. To receive news she wasn't prepared for. Envy. Sid stopped breathing, her arms slowly rising to fold over her torso.
For a long while, she was silent, staring at the same spot on Myka's shoulder as her brain tried to absorb the information she'd been given. A Goddess from their world, her world, had come and taken Envy. Why? Why here? Why him?

Looking toward the forest, where Ruli was said to be working on getting him back, Sid felt ill. But she turned to look back around to Myka and raised her shoulders. "I- I don't know." She said. "I don't know why I'm here. I had assumed this," She gestured toward the tents full of healers. Sid licked her lips, her brows still pulled up in worry. "I've never... when things go wrong, its always the three of them. Envy, Ruli, and Zeke. Sometimes Aera, but," Sid shook her head, then touched her fingers to her lips as she looked at the tents once more. "Mending injuries is all I know. I have to assume its why Ysaryn brought me here until told otherwise. So." Turning back to Myka, she straightened and nodded. "Thank you for telling me. But I'm going to keep busy so that I .. I don't know."
Another nod, and Sid turned and shuffled back into the tent, her own vacant look on her face to match the others.

---

Moving to gather a cup of tea, Zeltzin held it with her fingers wrapped around the ceramic, despite the steaming liquid and obviously hot surface. "Oh, no." Zeltzin grinned reassuringly. "The Goddess minds not the reverences paid to others. She understands that Her Warmth touches all, even if they do not acknowledge. Not all are grateful to the sunlight or to the rain for nourishing us, but they continue on, regardless."
"Temples are sacred." Risa butted in to Kire's inquiries. "No matter the form, no matter the religion. Even those savage Kartaians knew better than to touch the temple in Ziad."
Zeltzin looked Risa's way and nodded patiently, looking more like a teacher tolerating a rowdy student than a priestess for a moment. "The temples we build in Her name are Her way of communicating. While Her light shines strongly, we have found that the temples aid in focusing is, so that She may more clearly relay Her favours."

"Tithes," Risa butt in again, glancing to Zeltzin as if for permission. "are different all the time, and depending on what the persons wishes. Our famers often offer the best of their yield as thanks for a great summer, and to request another the following rotation. Nobility would often offer coin to the temples, as well as their children to inspire return of favour."
Another nod from the priestess, who sipped her tea as Risa spoke. "A temple in your world should assist with the visions She is gracing your people with. Offer to Her willing people to serve, and She should cease reaching out blindly." Her warm smile never faded. "You are incredibly blessed that She has chosen your world. It will be a lovely home."

Wanderers

Sid grinned oddly, her lips pressed thin into a sort of grimace. "Yeah. He's not really the same anymore. He's lost two, now. Women who made him happy, I mean. That, and the injury he has, I'm not advanced enough to really do much, so." She shrugged sadly, going silent as she focused on her work. Zeke was so much less warm now. While Sid still saw pieces of the old Zeke on his better days, that was still all she was seeing. The 'old' Zeke.

Working, she gently rubbed the salve and aloe on the burns, mindful of the blisters. She wrapped it gently, speaking kindly as she relayed instructions, such as not to scratch or do anything abrasive, or it would scar badly. Magic-given burns were not so different than normal burns in terms of care, at least. These ones appeared to hold no special properties.

As Myka offered to gill her in more properly, Sid glanced over her shoulder from the patient she was currently working on. "Somehow, I feel like you mean more than the burns and trances." She sighed, bending over her work again. A smaller burn, less time. She stood, rinsing her hands before moving to the next one. As she knelt, she looked back over Myka curiously.
She said she was a fighter, and she could see that. She had the body for it. Well toned. She carried herself in a way that declared she was fit and light on her feet. Quit similar to Zeke and Ysaryn. More Zeke, though. Ysaryn carried herself in a whole different way. "I'm not really sure what happened in my own world that brought our acquaintances together. But I know it was something unnatural. Is this like that? The trances? The .. whatever made your tone sound the way it did?"

---

Risa looked between the two women, clearly unhappy that she was currently being ignored in her own domicile. It grew worse when Priestess Zeltzin turned her face toward her. "May we trouble you for some tea, your Grace?"
Nostrils flaring over the idea of serving others, Risa forced a polite smile and slide across the floor to step outside. Beyond the door, her voice carried as she called for a servant.
Zeltzin looked satisfied with their temporary peace. Her smile only brightened. "The Sun Goddess, much like the sun that she corrals across the sky, seeks those who would benefit from her warmth." She gestured with her arms to demonstrate the sun's rays cascading downward. "Those who are yet unaccustomed to her touch will not see clearly for a while. It takes some adjusting, I fear. Consider it like dwelling in the dark for all your life, and suddenly stepping outside into the sunlight."

Risa stepped back in, sweeping with a bit of a hurry in her step, as if she didn't want to be left out of the conversation. Her eyes darted between the two, as if demanding to know what was said. Zelztin, of course, did not indulge her. "New exposure can be uncomfortable, but with the correct tithes, the visions will clear."
Shortly after Risa, a servant girl, a fairly pretty faced thing of about fourteen entered, carrying a tray of teacups that didn't quite match. Purchases from the nearby town, presumably. The kettle steamed, and a small arrangement of baked biscuits sat on a small saucer. Risa kept her mouth shut, but looked minutely displeased about having to share her precious snacks.

The priestess gestured to the statuatte Kire had brought in, studying it like a mother reunited with a beloved child. "I would know that anywhere. She used to sit in the lower chambers, watching us as we worked on our tomes. You have been inside the temple?"

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.