LadyAnnaLee

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

I figure there's a chance that Ridahne had at least heard the name Rochelle Pines. She was a pretty famous Eluri seer in Eluri so news of her might have reached Astra. I'll leave that up to you.

Also would you do the first description of the Archives? I'm not sure what vibe you are going for and don't want to mess it up. Thank you!

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Mrixie’s cheerful laugh could be heard throughout the stable, “Of course pastries help. Why do you think I brought them? I know a few things about wayward, but determined and good natured, young adults. I’ve raised wayward, but determined and good natured, young adults of my own. They are always in the mood for good food.” His tone was too jovial for be seen as anything other than simple fact, “I’m glad we can be in agreement in some things.” He called out to Darin, “Come along young Mr. Lively. We are headed to the Archives. I think we will spend at least the morning there.”

Darin came over with a hop in her step. She wasn’t a fool, well, not a complete fool at least. Ridahne had to be chafing at the thought of a government overseeing her every move. The human knew that if the Council of Seven Winds trying to actually police the warrior she would react badly. That actually worried Darin. She had a job to do; a job for all of the Children of Astra. Could she afford to have favorites? Though the answer to that question hardly matter. She did have favorites: Ridahne, Talbot, Taja, Mitaja, Tsura, Thomas, Milla, and her mother were just a few examples. A better question would be should she allow her feelings for her favorites influence her actions? She was letting her emotions influence her actions a lot lately. Darin wasn’t sure, but she was pretty positive that wasn’t necessary a good thing. She needed to learn to be rational even when she was upset. Astra reacted to her emotions. She needed control or she might accidently rip the continent apart.

Still, she was in a good mood right now, so she nodded cheerfully, “Sure!” Lead the way.”

Her good mood swiftly vanished as Mrixie lead them though the city. It was nothing that Mrixie or Ridahne had done. It was the atmosphere of Lihaelin. Yesterday it had been noisy and bright and friendly. Today it was subdued and sober and closed off. Vendors and buyers alike whispered quietly to themselves; gossip was surely spreading like a wildfire already. People eyed the traveling company with wary eyes, though Darin noted that other outsiders were receiving similar looks. What the trees had done last night had set everyone on edge. There were a few people laugh and hanging signs or banners welcoming The Seed-Bearer. Some hawkers were calling our “Arrival of The Seed-Bearer” sales. Most people were quiet and wary though, and they hurried about their business, eager to be home.

Suddenly Darin felt a hand on her shoulder as a person spoke in a loud exuberant voice, “REJOICE! For soon Astra will be at rest and her Children will be abroad! REJOICE!”

Darin turned to see an Elf woman so old her hair had gone silver and her face was covered in wrinkles. How old must she be for even a long-lived Elf to show signs of age? Her eyes were milky white. Had age or something else called her to lose her sight? The woman had no idea who she was looking at or even where she might be. On her face was one of the biggest grins Darin had ever seen. She let go of Darin’s shoulder and bowed the bow of a lesser to better. Then she ambled off without waiting for a response. It happened so often that Darin’s heart was still racing.

Mrixie seemed panicked as well, “I’m sorry Mr. Lively. That’s Ms. Rochelle Pines. She used to be on of the best seers in all of Eluri lands. Then the visions got worse or stopped coming, it depends on what gossip you believe, so she resorted to drugs. Finally, she was helped free from her addictions but the damage to her mind was already done. She’s harmless for the most part.”

Darin spoke quietly but with a certainty that couldn’t be questioned as she watched the old woman walk away, “They got worse.” She then shook her head and turned to smile at her guide, “Are we almost to the Archives?”

Mrixe nodded and held out his hands to point, “Yes. Just a little bit further.”

The Satsuma Rebellion - A Magical Incursion RP

Redacted.

Ocean Sci fi idea

@Jasper19 They are all questions about what type of mutations are allowed. It looks like you will be answering those in an ooc if you put one up. I am content to wait until then.

Ocean Sci fi idea

I'm interested. I would have to have more details before I commit though.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Mrixe was quick to correct the warrior, “This is not quite apple pie. It’s close, but not exactly right. Though if you are looking to try apple pie, I can talk to my partner about making you some before you leave Lihaelen.”

Darin practically lit up like the sun, “Yes please!”

Mrixe raised an eyebrow, “Well aren’t you polite.” He held out the basket towards the young human, “Here. Why don’t you take a couple to share with you faithful steeds while Warrior Torenzi and I discuss the plans for today.”

Darin nodded, “That sounds like a good idea.” She reached in to pull out a dumpling for Talbot and one for Tsura, “Thank you!”

She then moved to returned to where the horses were stabled. While apple dumplings were not the best for horses one a piece certainly would do much harm. She held on out for Talbot and giggled as he pressed his mouth to her hand to practically inhale the treat. He then eagerly pressed his nose against her shoulder, looking for more of the sweetness that she was carrying. Darin laughed at him as she gently pushed him off. Then she moved to give the other dumpling to Tsura. The warrior horse acted much the same way as the farming horse. It seemed that somethings were universal. Once both treats had been distributed, she moved to wash the sugar, butter, and horse slobber of her hands. She didn’t want them to dry sticky.

Meanwhile Mrixe was speaking to Ridahne, “I here that Azurei are oftentimes more frank than most people are or expect. That is not the Eluri way, but I will try.” He took a deep breath to prepare himself, “I have been sent by to Council to do two things. One is the reason that will be known by all people; that is to watch you for trouble. The other is the reason that I think only she,” He nodded at Darin, “Has figured out. I am here to ensure that The Seed-Bearer’s stay in Lihaelin is as productive and comfortable as possible. I cannot hope to win in a fight against you. I deal mainly with drunkards and the occasional thief and protecting the Councilmembers. Then again I do not think we will have much reason to fight each other because you are wrong about the whims of powerful people.” He seemed to shift the direction of the conversation, “Let me give you some wisdom that I have learned in my near five hundred years of life. People like us are almost always at the whims of powerful people.” H nodded at Darin again, “And you are currently at the whims of the most powerful person in all of Astra.” He laughed lightly, “You should just be grateful she seems to utterly adore you and care for you.” He sighed, “That’s all people like you and I can hope for; to be at the whims of a master or leader that cares for others rather than is consumed by selfishness and a lust for power. I know you have been hurt by such people in the past. So have I. Yet now we both seek to serve the same cause. As such there should be no reason for tension between us. Is that not correct?”

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin felt something hit her as she jerked awake, “I’m awake! I’m awake!”

She then looked around as she rubbed the sleep sand from her eyes. It was easy enough to figure out what had happened. She must have fallen asleep while visiting Talbot and Ridahne had woken up and then come to find her. Darin stretched out towards the sky as she pushed herself up. She suddenly remembered that she did not like sleeping in the stables. She was sore and stiff. Luckily, she was young and would soon work out the kinks. She bent down to retrieve the apple Ridahne had tossed at her in order to take a big bite out of it. No matter why she was or where she would go apples would make an excellent breakfast.

Darin smiled at Talbot as she reached out to rub a hand along his flank, “Thank you for sharing your bed with me Talbot. I’ll be back later.” She turned to speak to Ridahne, “Where to today? I figure we still need to resupply, and I would like to see the archives you spoke of.”

Another voice called out, “I can help with both those things.” Darin turned to see Mrixe Janeel, “I hope you don’t mind me accompany you today Warrior Torenzi. The Council has asked me to ensure you don’t cause too much trouble while you are visiting.”

Darin thought she knew what was going on. The Council wanted to provide someone to escort The Seed-Bearer about Lihaelin and saying they wanted to watch Ridahne made a perfect cover story. They also showed some wisdom by having Guard Janeel be the one to do it. He and Mr. Armin were probably the only two people from the meeting last night that Darin would have tolerated, and the guard was the person that would have made sense to trail after an exile and a criminal. Darin just wasn’t sure if she wanted a shadow today or any other day that she was here. She took a few deep breathes. What would happen if she said no? She wasn’t sure and wasn’t sure how to ask.

Then Mrixe held up a basket, “My partner made apple dumplings for breakfast. They’ve been out of the oven for a little more than an hour.”

Okay, Darin could be bribed. She would admit that she could be bribed. She left Talbot’s stall and practically flew towards the basket. Mrixe laughed as he held it up. She reached in for the breakfast pastry. It was the perfect warmth and there were plenty that Darin didn’t feel guilty or greedy for taking a whole dumpling for herself. It was just warm enough that was perfect. She bit into it and let out an appreciate moan. The cinnamon and sugar were in perfect balance. It reminded her of good days of home. It wasn’t exactly the same as what she made at home but it was close enough. The pastry that the apple slices were wrapped in was almost perfectly flaky. Mrixe’s partner didn’t skimp on butter.

She turned to Ridahne with a smile on her face, “Ridahne! It’s like apple pie! For breakfast! Come try it.”

Mrixe laughed at the almost childish antics, “If you don’t mind me asking how old are you Mr. Lively?”

Darin looked at him with wide eyes, “19. Almost 20.”

Mrixe looked at her with surprise on his face, “That’s young. Even for a human. We’ll have to work in some fun for today. All work and no play make apprentices very, very tired.” He looked over Darin’s shoulder at Ridahne, “Wouldn’t you agree Warrior Torenzi?”

What did that even mean? Darin wasn’t sure. She understood the concept of having fun as a way to rest. She just didn’t think that fun was called for. Did her climb yesterday count as fun? What was Mrixe’s idea of fun? She wasn’t sure if they had time for fun. She finished her dumpling and eyed the basket. She could have another right? Mrixe smiled at her as he held out the basket. She took that as an okay to have another. His partner was a really good baker. She wasn’t going to worry about fun right now. She was just going to enjoy her treat.

LadyAnnaLee's Interest Check.

I know it's been a while but BUMP!

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin supposed that Ridahne had a point. It was the visions alone that had allowed people to know who and what she was. Not everyone in Astra got visions and even the ones that did weren’t promised to receive them. It was more of a hit and miss type thing. Darin supposed she might be overreacting or worrying for no good reasons. Then again it seemed like the Red Hand had people all across Astra. It was very possible that even humans, who were admittedly the most mundane of the Children of Astra, that knew already and were just waiting for her to come back to human lands. It was yet another dilemma or problem that Darin had that she had no real answer to.

The human let the warrior lead her back towards the inn and back towards bed. Ridahne seemed ready to return to rest, and so was Darin. Then Darin heard with the Azurei had to say right as she fell asleep. Darin stared at the sleeping figure with wide eyes. That couldn’t be right. She had to have heard wrong or Ridahne must not have known what she was saying. That was a possibility. The Elf had only said it as she was falling asleep. Darin was exhausted. Ridahne had just misspoke or Darin had just misheard. That was the only explanation. There was no way that Ridahne was proud of her. Right?

Darin sat down on the bed as she stared at her sleeping companion. Darin desperately racked her brain for the last time someone said they were proud of her. Was it Ravi back at The Farm? Darin couldn’t remember. Maybe it had been The Tree. That seemed more likely. Except the human couldn’t remember either of them saying it; just that she was glorious, amazing, beautiful, incredible. Was that the same thing? When was the last time her mother had said it? She hadn’t, had she? Darin could not recall a single instant of Talia claiming to be proud of her. The elders certainly never did and if Martin ever did Darin did her best to block those memories from her mind. Talia must have said it at least, once right? Maybe when Darin had first gotten The Seed? Darin wasn’t sure. She couldn’t remember anyone every claiming to be proud of her. She was the disappointment, the daughter of the runaway, the daughter of the lost, the foolish girl who thought to work a farm by herself and not get married, the village disappointment. How could anyone be proud of her? How could anyone think she could do anything right?

Suddenly the room was too warm, too close, too small. As quietly as she could Darin exited the room and somehow stumbled downstairs. The tavern portion of the inn was finally empty as the forest returned to some semblance of normal. There was no one to watch her as she stumbled outside. The trees rustled in worry, but Darin did her best to reassure them that she just needed some air. They ceased to rustle but their worry was still felt in the air. Without knowing where she was going Darin picked a direction and began to walk. She knew she would get lost. She knew she would probably trip at least once. She didn’t care. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t process. She misheard, there was no reason, none whatsoever, for anyone, especially Ridahne, to be proud of her.

Somehow, though a mix of luck and guess, she arrived at the stable where Tsura and Talbot were. There was no door so there was no need to break in. Talbot sense that she entered the building immediately and looked up in distress with a whinny to let his person know where he was. Darin stumbled over to him and threw her arms around his neck. It wasn’t long before she started to cry. She couldn’t do this. She was trying, but there were so many questions that she was supposed to have answers to that she just didn’t. She was supposed to be good, but she barely qualified as not bad. How desperate was she to pretend that she was a good person that she was making up things that no one would ever say about her? Why did it even matter? She had never cared about having anyone’s, not even her family’s, approval before. So, why did she so desperately want Ridahne’s? Finally, all the stress from the day’s events caught up to Darin and she fell sleep next to Talbot. The horse did not seem to mind.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin had wanted to give Ridahne a chance to avoid answer the question yet again for yet another crowd of people that simply didn’t seem to care. Yet when the warrior asked her to wait, she did so gladly. It was Ridahne’s business. If she wanted to share the choice was hers. The human would not begrudge the Azurei that. There was nothing to begrudge anyways. The story she gave the Council was briefer than the story she had given others in the past nut it wasn’t any less true. Darin did appreciate the brevity. She wasn’t sure she would have been able to stand being here in this room for too much longer.

Ridahne’s response to her question cause the young girl to wrap her arms around the warrior in as tight a hug as she could manage, “Thank you Ridahne. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much than means to mean.”

It meant more than Darin could ever hope to verbalize. She hadn’t been looking forward to taking Ridahne with her when they first meet. She could remember trying to hide who she was. She could remember being apprehensive of taking in a stray. Yet Ridahne had changed. She wasn’t torn up by guilt anymore. She knew the love The Tree had for her. She walked with a confidence that Darin didn’t realize people could have. She was not afraid to admit her crimes and the truth of the entire situation. She seemed proud to be both the Guardian and to be Seed-Chained. She was someone Darin couldn’t imagine living without. Darin loved her the same way she loved her mother, as dear and precious family. The fact that she was willing to modify the traditions of her entire culture to comply with the whim of a silly human girl was a good example of how much the relationship between the two girls had changed.

The human did her best to tighten her grip on the warrior as Darin had to consider how she had changed since Greyrock. She didn’t feel like she had. She still felt like she was out of her depth. She still had no idea what she was doing. Only now it was worse; much worse. She could level this forest and it wouldn’t even be very hard. She was still afraid of people knowing she was The Seed-Bearer; not just because of the threat to her life, but also because she felt unworthy of the role. She swung between wanting to avoid people to keep her name and face a secret and practically screaming from the rooftops that she was The Seed-Bearer. The problem with the first was that she was trying to make friends. So, she couldn’t avoid people. It was also becoming harder and harder to hide her identity. People just seemed to know. The problem with the second was that Darin didn’t want to seem like she was bragging, She was also unsure of how people would react to her. She really didn’t want to be showered in praise. She was just trying to do a job.

With great reluctance Darin pulled away from Ridahne, “And I suppose we should discuss if there is any point in continuing to travel as your apprentice. More and more people seem to know the truth. What do you think?”