Safe Passage [Castien, Valeria, Emiyn]

[Castien]

It was unusual to see him within the city bounds, at its edges perhaps less so, but every now and then, Castien was sought out by one of his siblings and practically dragged back into the city, into the throng of life in the form of his fellow elven brethren and those who traveled through the city on their journey to some other place.

It always came with a family dinner in which he was interrogated about his future plans other than ‘staying a ranger’. By the end of every dinner, Castien could not wait to race out of his parent’s abode and into the thick forest, into its peace, the only sound that of the animals that called it home.

However, this time there had been a reason Castien had not put up more of a fight to be dragged back into the city; he needed supplies. While the ranger could provide for himself well enough, there were a few items on his list that were necessary, and so finally free of his family, Castien wondered to the small shops to be found in Faesa, nothing like those of Taranath, but Castien would rather avoid the shops in that particular city entirely.

Finally catching sight of several items he needed at one of the stalls, he paused to examine them.

[Valeria]

Very rarely was Valeria patient enough to wait. She was currently sitting outside a temple, shaded by one of the towering trees. While she checked the supplies they currently had for the journey ahead, she lifted her head every now and then. Though she didn’t like to admit it, the architecture design and the preservation of the ancient trees did fascinate her to some extent. However, the feeling of unfamiliarity was still present, with the air been too fresh and the scenery too green and leafy for the girl who grew up in the slums in the desert.

Hearing a couple of soft footsteps getting louder, she turned to see a dark-haired boy coming from the entrance of the temple, wearing traditional clothes of the Nereus’ clan.

“Just a moment. Let me finish checking whether we have everything.” She said, continuing to tick off the mental list, as she finished placing the last water bottle into her own bag. She then turned to Emiyn. “Did you manage to ask about the ornament?”, she asked as he took out the item she had found while they were staying overnight at a plundered village. When she had asked the boy whether it was good to pawn for money, he gave a wild shake on his head wanting to verify about the markings on the thing at the temple first. Knowing that the child was one who had steadfast faith in the gods, she could only guess it was something to do with the religion of Vida.

[Emiyn]

Emiyn walked out of the local temple with high spirits. In his first time coming to Faesa, all the stories he heard from his mother was nothing in comparison to what he was actually witnessing in the city of magic and wonder. He would have liked to imagine if he could come again, the boy would be able to see the town decorated for the Winter or Summer solstice festivals.

Do they have any festivals for Spring or Autumn equinox. he thought, only to have his thoughts interrupted as he almost tripped over the stairs. Smiling sheepishly at his own carelessness, he continued walking. Being living in Valia and Maquina most of his life, he wasn’t accustomed to many of the traditions here in Vida, especially when it came to worship Lavathor. He made sure to watch carefully how the other families performed their worship ritual before he walked up to the priest.

Soon he walked up to a girl dressed in a similar style traditional clothing, though there were less seals on her outer tunic. The girl turned her dark blue irises to his own red ones, and his smile widened.

“Let’s go, Val?”

The elder girl passed him his bag, and asked about the ornament they had picked up the other day at the ruins of a village. He nodded with a slightly more determined glint in his eyes.

“Yeah, I asked the priest about the seal.” He said, as he took out a well sculpted ornament from a smaller compartment of his bag. Pointing to the centre circular seal, he continued,” That’s definitely belonging to one of the temples of Lavathor.”

[Castien]

His travelling bag had been almost empty when he began gathering materials, now it was mostly full and Castien was ready to go. He left the stalls behind, travelling the city streets, but as he walked closer to one of the temples, he slowed. ‘It…has been some time,’ while Castien at times left offerings in small shrines to be found here and there in the forest, when one knew what to look for, the elf knew it had been over a year since he had set foot inside a temple.

Making up his mind, Castien changed directions, starting for a nearby temple and heading up the stairs, his gaze focused on it instead of those he passed, that was until he walked past a young couple, perhaps siblings. It wasn’t them that caught his attention, it was the item the boy held in his hands.

Eyes narrowing, he walked towards them. “Excuse me,’ he gave a polite bow to the two. “I apologize for interrupting but,’ he shifted his gaze to the item. “May I ask where you found that and…where you plan on taking it?” He’d never seen one in anything but images drawn into a book one of his siblings owned, but he knew…this one was ancient and very likely, the last of them.

[Valeria]

At the sound of another set of footsteps getting louder, Valeria quickly lifted her head and stood up to face the stranger who approached them. If it wasn’t the younger boy who she was talking to suddenly standing in front her, the dark blue eyes would have narrowed in suspicion.

he could still see the elf in front of her above the outlines of red-tinted black hair of Emiyn, who was a head shorter than her. He was clad in an attire of a hunter and traveller, indicated by the worn-out bag and his bow. Given the look on his face, it was hard to judge how much of their conversation he had heard.

Clearly, the young boy wasn’t the only one who saw the value in the ornament. At this point, she didn’t really care though, if it was going to attract attention, particularly unwanted attention. She paused for a moment, letting the boy in front of her to answer by nudging his back a little with her hand. Though she was the elder of the two, it felt like wandering in uncharted territory. A slip of the tongue, and she could be disposing of her identity as a foreigner to Vida. Having being suspected of having an “illegal” Aethian brand was the last thing she would like to occur.

[Emiyn]

Emiyn’s eyes widened in surprise at another voice, and whipped his head to face a taller figure. He jumped in front of Valeria almost a little too hurriedly, as if the elf was a police in Maquina. His face softened into just mild curiousity seeing the humble and polite bow from the stranger.

Hearing his words, his face relaxed somewhat in knowing that they weren’t going to be arrested. He wasn’t sure whether one was allowed to be dragged away to the prisons in such a city in the public, but his travelling companion had suspicions that could happen given the heavy laws against Aethians. This elf’s face looked more docile and friendlier, was what his instincts as a fellow hunter told him.  

Almost jolting from the jab on his back, he stuttered a little at the cue he was given. “U-um… we found this in a village south of here.” He began, unconsciously burrowing the precious item into the pocket within the folds of his robes. “I’m not sure the name or tribe… because it was empty when we went there.” He said truthfully, remembering the sight of the abandoned houses with broken doors and shattered pots. It was truly unimaginable how the city-grown Valeria managed to notice a well-sealed off incense offering statue in all the messy state of the interior.

“And” he rubbed the back of his neck as he finished off nervously, “We haven’t decided yet, sir. Why do you ask that?”

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