Carantathraiel

♀Female Looking for ♂Male or ♀Female. Medieval/Fantasy/Casual/+18

tentatively looking, though i have no story ideas. If you've got ideas for a period piece or medieval story, let me know!

Wanderers

Ruli shook his head somberly. "Envy never let any of us give up anything." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Remember when Callha tried to give up meat because some boy she liked refused to eat it? No, that was probably before you joined us." Ruli sighed. "He paraded around eating meats of every kind; dried, roasted, smoked, until she caved."

"Envy isn't a diet preference, but he's family. To all of us. He took us all in when we didn't have anywhere else to go. So we're not going to give up. If I have to tear Amria and the Gods apart to get him back, I will."

---

Kire's sharp answer did nothing to wither the eager expression on Zeltzin's face. She did, however, noticeably bite her tongue when Kire mentioned her actions were to prevent further harm. Zeltzin very much believed that the Goddess had not done any harm at all. She nodded complacently when Kire set down her terms, and smiled warmly when Kire said this was a delicate matter.
"I understand completely, Empress." Zeltzin said patiently. She turned and bent to Ysaryn, who ignored her almost completely.
"Be well." Ysaryn said instead to Kire, stepping away from the two as Kire warned the priestess of their abrupt departure.

Zeltzin, to her credit, handled the portal exceptionally well. Beside going rather pale and swaying for a moment on her feet, she appeared to be unbothered. Clearing her throat and patting down her robes to rid them of wrinkles that weren't there, she turned and offered Kire a small grin. That was her thanks for the means of travel, perhaps, as the priestess said nothing else before she turned to take in the forest.
She was silent for a long time. Her hands clasped gently before her, her eyes wide as she took in tree after tree, studying each one as if wondering if it were the Goddess in disguise. After perhaps five minutes, she turned toward Kire. "May I step closer, Empress?"

---

Sid glanced up when Myka 'knocked', grinning softly. She'd taken her hair down to sleep, her sandy blonde hair in a twisted, crimped mess over her shoulders as she laced her boots. "The cots are oddly more comfortable then the bed I have at home." Sid offered. "That, or I was too exhausted to noticed." Despite the implication, Sid smiled proudly. Like she was glad to be busy and needed.
Finished with her boots, she raised her arms and went for her hair, twisting it up and out of her face, making sure to gather every single strand. "Do you know where we can find breakfast? I'm famished."

♀Female Looking for ♂Male or ♀Female. Medieval/Fantasy/Casual/+18

Technically, I'm never not looking. DM me if you've any ideas.

Wanderers

Ruli bent low into a crouch beside their workspace, his head in his hands. His head spun, his anger and despair at war with one another. "There is no 'try again'." He said bitterly to Daryll. "This was it. It was done correctly. And there was no answer." He inhaled, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes.
Daryll replied that this wasn't it, and Ruli swallowed the urge to shake the man. His mention of rest wrenched Ruli's thoughts off track; the idea of leaving this space to rest while Envy was missing, suffering through fuck knows what. He growled into his hands and rose again, staring down at the table, once more recounting and recalculating.

Somewhere, through the numbers and volumes, he heard Gavin reassure Rab. Blinking, Ruli turned his head toward the two. "You both did well." He reassured as well, then he frowned at Gavin seemed to panic. "Gavin. Hands above your head." Ruli said firmly, turned to crouch before the young man. "Whatever just went through your head, don't let it through again." Ruli said fiercely. His blue eyes pierced into Gavin's, his attention latching onto the lad in vain hope to escape his own inner dread. "I need all of that brain in your skull. I can barely do this, but I can't do it at all without you."

He stood up again, watching Rab sign quickly. Ruli shook his head. "No, Daryll's right. Rest." Ruli sighed, having no intention at all of doing such a thing. Once more, his eyes fell on the table, replaying it all in his head. Every ingredient. Every turn of the pestle. The pronunciation of every word of the spell. The length of time he waited until he was sure it had failed. Something had to have gone wrong. Maybe Daryll was right. Maybe they should try again tomorrow. Minds refreshed.

The sudden embrace around him pulled him from his thoughts, and Ruli blinked to find Kire. His shoulders sagged slightly, his hands wrapping around her waist. She smelled of sea salt, and smoke, and that same, fresh clean air he always sensed when he Touched her mind. So lost was he in her comforting embrace that he was confused when she mentioned the temple, not quite sure what she was speaking of. Vaguely, he could recall mention of it, but it seemed a pointless thing at the moment. All he could think of was that he didn't want her to go. She stepped back, and Ruli opened his mouth, the words to ask her not to leave him on the tip of his tongue.
But he nodded instead, turning away from her. "Right." He said, feeling strangely uncomfortable. Cold, in an unfamiliar place, without his longest friend. He moved his feet, following to where the others had lay down. Passing Gavin, he flicked the young man's shoulder gently. "Speak your mind." Ruli demanded, once more using Gavin as a distraction.

-------
Ysona was eating in the caves, spooning a thick mixture of something that reeked of fish and seaweed, mixed with cooked rice. She glanced up as Kire appeared, one of her pink eyebrows raising. "Busy." She observed, going back to her eating as Kire filled her in on what had happened so far. She nodded as Kire instructed her to inform Zeltzin that she'd be needed, making a note to send word up to the priestess. Risa would be beside herself, losing her priestess to some foreign empress over some ordeal she was not involved with. The thought amused the elf as she cleaned her spoon with her tongue.

Kire's demand for information, however, made the dark elf pause, her eyes roaming Kire's face. "Fine enough." She sighed, setting the empty bowl and cleaned spoon aside. "My Father is not so forgiving of men. He sees them and still desires to slaughter. Envy was ... sort of wall. Father would not cross. 'At least an elf is in charge.'" She mimicked with an eyeroll. "Envy gone, so Father will burrow through to slay. Only, now is me." She gestured to herself as she reclined in her seat. "He will not slay daughter. Unless I give him reason to. I remove the girl who heals, as she would be one of the first target. Zeck, Father eyes, but respects. Rulitus is threat. Rulitus is dumb." Ysaryn wrinkled her nose apologetically, but her gaze was steady and determined. "I take town so Father cannot. If ..." She paused, thinking. "When Envy is return, job is done."

She gave Kire a dangerous smile, her pointed canines showing. "I may like the bloodshed, but only against enemy. Not against family and friend." Waving a hand, Ysaryn seemed to dismiss the empress. "Go and rest. Tomorrow, the priestess will be waiting."

True to her word, when Kire returned in the morning, Zeltzin was standing uncomfortably beside the dark elf, her arms folded. Perhaps it was the cool, underground chamber, or the armed elf beside her, or both, but Zeltzin looked relieved when Kire appeared. "Well met, Empress Akire." She bent into a polite bow. Ysaryn eyed her curiously, then looked back to Kire.
"Risa ever so delighted to spare the woman." The elf said, smirking. Even Zeltzin chuckled beside her.
"You have taken up my offer on my assistance with the temple?" The priestess cupped her hands over her heart. "I am delighted beyond words to be able to help spread Her influence."

Wanderers

Ruli inhaled again at the thought about leaving for the Tower. Leaving this place, where he'd last seen Envy. Despite the fact that it was to help find his friend, leaving this place felt like turning his back on his foster father. His relief when Kire said she'd leave him here and bring what was necessary for the spell was enough to make him exhale heavily, relieved.

"What?" Ruli asked about sunstone. It felt as though only seconds had passed, the topic change so sudden, but looking at Daryll and the arrival of supplies told him he'd been lost in thought for a lot longer than he'd originally thought. "Oh. Yeah, I do. Envy would send us now and then while working underground.
"Zeltzin?" He blinked at her. He curled his lip, shaking his head. Clearly he had his own opinion of the woman.

Slowly, feeling as though he were chained to the earth and the tether strained against his neck, Ruli rose. Even as he approached Daryll and Gavin, he felt guilt strike him for every step. He struggled to focus on Daryll's words, frowning at the entirety of the idea that Solaralai had to separate them in order to kidnap. This weakened, cowardly goddess, if that was even what she really was.
He glanced over his shoulder into the forest, as if he's see the deity crossing her arms at his blasphemy.

When Gavin spoke about Envy's restrictions on teaching, Ruli turned back around, feeling strangely disappointed the goddess wasn't there. "Right." He said about the blood magic. He couldn't think straight. Gavin's words about altering the spell to fit Amria's atmosphere both sounded ignorant and smart. But he couldn't decide which.
Crouching, he rubbed at his brow. "Rab." He said with a sigh. "If you'll allow, we'll only need a drop of blood. You're the best bet we have of finding him, considering you're the only other Kartaian descendant here."
Rab nodded enthusiastically, even if the anxiety in his eyes didn't quite match.
"Whatever the bitch is trying to hide from me, I don't care about right now. Our focus is Envy. I-"
Daryll's words interrupted his thoughts again; why they'd been separated, each given visions, and why one led them to a woman with psychic powers. Why Zeltzin was pushing for a temple. Why Kire wanted the same stone to be used. He rubbed his face again. "One thing at a time, please!" He snapped out loud.

Rab glanced uneasily at Gavin, then back at Ruli. With a sigh, Ruli shook his head. "Sorry."

When the tent was set up and they went inside to begin their work, Ruli had them run a few test spells first, especially after finding his wards around the palace had been a lot stronger than he'd intended, originally. Gavin was at least right in that they needed to recalibrate for Amria. Though he was glad Gavin seemed happy to take charge there, as Ruli was too impatient to focus accurately.
Daryll helped them with dosage, explaining how much of what he used to achieve certain results, and when compared to what they used for the same results in Persis, they worked to sort out an appropriate amount.

By the time they were finally beginning the tracing spell, the sun had fallen. Ruli tried to see the silver lining in the delay, deciding that it would be better that it was dark when they found Envy. Not bothering with the Kartaian's careful ban on blood magic around Gavin, Ruli pricked Rab's skin with a blade and squeezed a few drops into the bowl. He instructed both Daryll and Gavin to hold onto his wrist, in case the spell were to show them somewhere either recognized.

But it showed him nothing.

Nothing but blackness; different than the blackness of the shadows in which he Walked, but ... nothing.

It didn't work.

Ruli set down the bowl and leaned on the table, staring down at the ingredients they'd used. Recounting. Recalculating. Everything had been done right. Everything pointed to Envy just ... not existing.

With a desperate roar, he thrust his arm across the table, sending the bowl and its contents flying against the canvas wall of the tent. Rab tensed, sensing easily the failure of their work, his eyes falling to the small wound on his arm.

Wanderers

Rab's brows furrowed as Gavin begen to explain what was happening. Along the flux of armed elves around, and the yelling between Ysaryn and Zeke, he was visibly uneasy, the pink-hued sclera of his eyes largely visible in his anxiety. That they'd be taking him away, even for his help, didn't seem to put him at ease any. He looked between Ysaryn and Kire when the two spoke, his greyish skin paling.

Ysaryn only nodded once. Zeke looked livid about being spoken about but not informed. He turned to round on the elf again, who raised her chin and held her stance, every bit determined not to bend to his temper. Hesitating, Rab followed Gavin and Kire, listening to Zeke and Ysaryn snarl at each other with bared teeth.
But, upon approaching the gate, he grew interested, losing a bit of his apprehension. He'd seen Ysaryn and the others walk through it and disappear. Aeron and Gavin had both explained to him what it was, even if Rab hadn't ever completely understood. Now, he was going through it! What an exciting experience for him to behold!

-Not exciting.
Nauseating and disorienting. Rab bent over before kneeling on the ground, groaning. No, not ground. Floor. Of some strange looking chamber. Kire disappeared again, and Rab signed I do not like to Gavin twice before he felt like he could sit upright again. By then, Kire had reappeared, looking worn.

Another portal, Rab found this one only slightly less disorienting. He only signed I do not like to Gavin once, this time. He could see Ruli, and began to make his way toward the blond on shaky legs.
He looked up as the trio approached, the look in his eyes making Rab feel more anxious. Something was very wrong. He looked around, seeking Envy, or Aeron, only to find Gavin preparing to tell him more.

Ruli watched as Gavin sat down beside Rab, informing him of Envy's absence. Abduction. Whatever they'd decided to call it. Ruli closed his eyes slowly and sighed, squeezing her hand back tightly. His brain wouldn't work. Envy knew more about location spells. "I need Envy." He said hoarsely, his throat dry. Another sigh, and he raised his head again, trying to force himself to think. After a few minutes, he listed the ingredients he would require. The same items used before when they had used the spell in the caves. He wasn't confident. Envy was the one who had been good with the last half of the spell. Ironically, Ruli was the more blind one in the end.

He twisted slightly to glance at Rab again, who looked as well as Ruli felt. "He's our best bet." Ruli whispered to Kire. Despite the whisper, Rab's half-elf ears heard the words, and he turned to face Ruli, looking unhappy.

"Bring me Daryll, too. He and Gavin will need to help. Where is Ysaryn?" He noticed her absence.
Rab glanced to Kire in time to see her shake her head, and he declined in signing his response. As Kire explained that the elf remained in Úvano to look for more items to trace, Ruli shrugged. He doubted she'd find much. Rab was their best bet, he was certain.

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?"