A long way from home (Harbor)

[Galeron Aeda]

A Kuruk strode with a leisurely pace, it had been a long journey, many leagues had been traveled to get to this point. 'We're here,' he said. 'Yes, we have. What can you make of the elves reaction to my presence?' Asked the snow elf from on top the Kuruk. Valenmir could make out a persons position, stance, smell, emotions, and sometimes even outfit with a combination of his focused hearing, smell, and sensitive touch. Yet one thing he could never manage to make out were facial expressions, such small details in movement were lost to him. He could hear the heartbeat of some of the elves change, to a more fast paced rhythm, something that usually did not bode well. It hinted towards fear or dislike of something.


Valenmir heard the same sound resonate along crowds of people, much more than he had anticipated. Each time Valenmir heard a bystanders heartbeat become faster, it made his own beat faster. He felt hurt. Not accepted. 'They don't seem to show discontent, I think only a few recognize you as a snow elf.' said Kers. There was a long pause before Valenmir said "Their hearts tell a different story.' 'That is not a skill you can always trust, Valenmir. It is not every day you see a person riding a Kuruk, maybe their instincts are just kicking in, my race are predators, and to us, you are prey.'

The snow elf pondered on the words, but said nothing in response. His companions thought made sense, but hearts could tell quite a bit about someone. 'Be it as it may, let us drink in celebration to our arrival at Nädindel!' And so the two asked several elves for the nearest place with alcohol. They all replied by saying that they only knew of one distillery and tavern in Du Weldenvarden, and it lied in Ellesmera. Both Kers and Valenmir found t extremely strange that there was no alcohol to be found. So, as always, in order to solve his problem, Valenmir would use magic. 'Let us go to the nearest pond, Kers' said Valenmir. The Kuruk sped up, he himself was desperate for a drink after his constant running.

When they found a realtively clear looking pond, with a small stream pouring into it, Valenmir said 'Better not to get sick, if you could, get me a cauldron. He gave the Kuruk some coins. Kers stood four feet taller than all the elves on his two legs, and even his back on all four limbs reached an elves head. His appearance was both fearsome and beautiful. His size was intimidating, due to the pure muscle power, and his size, and his fut helped him look even bigger. Once the tall black and white bear found a traveling merchant, he gave him several coins before he gave him his own cauldron. Kers returned about an hour later to Valenmir. 'What took you so long?' 'Just getting to know the area, people were surprisingly kind to me.' He responded.

Valenmir picked up the cauldron and filled it almost entirely with water. He placed several pieces of wood he had broken up before, and lit them with a single spell. As the water boiled, Valenmir told his companion "Look for some honey comb if you could please, I'll get the rest ready." Once the water was hot enough, Valenmir proceeded to transmute the water to alcohol. It was a lengthy spell, but one common among the snow elves. It was usually used to drink and stay warm on cold nights, and most everyone knew the spell since there was no other way to make alcohol without any grain or fruit in the North.

Once the alcohol was done transmuting, he poured the contents from the couldron to a glass vial. He then filled the cauldron once more with water, but this time, to the middle. Valenmir scouted the surrounding area, grabbing various fruits, and grain. He put them in to make a juice. When he was satisfied with the taste, he mixed it all in and let it stay in the warmth. He then waited for Kers to come back with the honey. Half an hour later, when he came back, Valenmir made sure to put in as much sweetner as possible. When the juice was ready, he poured it into a second glass vial. Finally, Valenmir grabbed one last container and mixed both the alcohol and the juice.

Valenmir, had basically made a cocktail. He drank it straight from the bottle enjoying the sweet soft taste at first, and ending with a stronger alcohol taste at the end. Most snow elves liked their drinks strong, as did the Kuruk. Kers grabbed the container with one big hand and drank up. The two spent their time conversing about their dangerous journey and their arrival. 

NOTE: ' ' is used for thoughts, " " is used for verbal talk. Also they are in Nadindel, an elf city. This all takes place before Valenmir is an alcoholic, right now he is dandy.

[Harbor]

Please take care, I can’t see you consistently through the trees. Aroure circled above Fasail as she walked, giving her the basic layout of the forest around her, and various obstacles or potential threats. They’d flown most of the way now, but Aroure was tired of flying and Fasail was tired of sitting. Aroure only flew now to give Fasail an idea of the trees she walked through, trying to alleviate some of the risk of her blindness.

Just take a nap or find something to eat, Fasail returned. I’m more careful than I used to be, you’re well aware of that. I’ll call if I need anything.

You’ll only call when you’re sure you have no other options, Aroure grumbled, but circled off in search of supper regardless. She knew as well as Fasail that neither one ought to baby the other—neither one appreciated it.

Fasail sighed. She knew there was a small lake near here—Aroure had distantly seen it—and she wanted to visit it. Every lake had slight variations in its ecosystem, and she was interested in comparing them. So for the next few hours she walked, ambling, not headed directly to the pond because what would be the fun in that? Aroure, knowing Fasail was armed and fully capable of fighting someone she didn’t need to worry about hurting, eventually settled in a distant field with her elk and tucked into a light sleep once she was finished with it. Fasail smiled as she observed Aroure’s complete satisfaction with the small hill she had found to dominate.

Eventually however, Fasail began to notice that the lake was not unoccupied, as she’d expected it to be out in this wilderness. Well, the more the merrier, though Fasail was understandably more cautious meeting strangers now than she had been six months ago. So Fasail picked her way around and around the pond, making no effort to hide herself because what would be the point in that? One mind she sensed was elven, and he or she would be well able to sense her in return. The other mind…. She had no way to categorize it. It was sentient, but that was all she could glean.

At last she came within comfortable speaking distance, but didn’t encroach on their space just yet. She smiled. ”And here I thought I was the only one in this stretch of dirt.” She stepped sideways into the reedy shallows of the pond, laying one hand flat against the barely-rippling surface, smiling again to feel the tingles other miniscule creatures left on her skin as she observed their passing, whether or not they actually touched her.

{I had hoped for longer, sorry.}

[Galeron Aeda]

(Bah, don't worry. You don't have to write entire essays. Just write as much as you feel is necessary, or as much as your heart desires.) 

"I can say the same... Though I doubt my companion here didn't hear you. He's got quite sensitive ears." said Kers speaking. His voice was very different from anything in Alagaisia, it was deep and warm, somewhat like a dragons, but one that could actually be heard echoing off walls. It was a pleasing voice to hear, it sent chills down Valenmirs back the first time he heard a Kuruk speak. "It's not all just dirt, theres some water here too." Replied Valenmir in a snarky response to Fasails' comment. He too had an accent not heard in Alagaisia. He playfully splashed just a couple of drops towards Fasail and said "My names Valenmir, this here is my friend, Kers" He laid down and placed his head on Kers' lap, his legs crossed.

"You're just in time by the way, Kers and I just made a type of mead. Though I've come to the realization most elves don't drink." None the less he moved the bottle closer to her after he took a swig. Kers was slightly infuriated everytime Valenmir addressed someone so casually and with little respect. Splashing water at her? Why? What was the point? It seemed so juvinile and immature to Kers, but that was kinda what Valenmir was... Not to mention he was a bigmouth as well. Sometimes it was hard to believe that they were bonded by the Bjornálfr Ignasia (this name may be subject to change, don't judge me -_- ). The Kuruk counterpart of the Gedwëy Ignasia. Kers basically had to cover and protect Valenmir, not because of his blindness, or because he was weak, but because he was young and inexperienced. He was extrmeley young even for a Snow Elf. Generally, Snow Elves were known to live shorter lives than elves because they lived in such a tough environment.

From what Kers had seen most of the elves in Du Weldenvarden were extremely different from the ones seen in the North. The Wood Elves, as they are referred to by the Snow Elves, were far less spiritualistic, and they seemed refined, in a way that puzzled Kers. Their facial expressions barely showed, and they spoke in long, complex speech, whereas the Snow Elves were the complete opposite.

[Harbor]

The first person to speak had a peculiar voice, and Fasail worked to identify why. It was true that as her sight degraded she had made the effort to better-develop other senses, but that didn’t mean she could always understand what those other senses had to tell her. She’d have to think further on it.

”There’s water here too.” She heard him flick his fingers through it and grinned.

”Oh I’ve noticed,” Fasail gladly assured him. ”It’s what I was aiming for in the first place.” She hovered her hand over the surface of the water as it stilled, still faintly smiling. ”I like finding what different things grow in each pond and in different places. Those without connecting tributaries are the best—there’s less way for the organisms inside them to travel, so over time they become more unique. Not usually my line of interest, but still enjoyable, nonetheless.”

She heard him shifting after introducing himself, and nodded in their direction. ”Valenmir, Kers, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Fasail.” She lifted her foot from the water and shook most of the drops off. Very few had made it into her sock, which was a plus—finding watertight boots that were also comfortable had been a chore. ”I’d be glad to try it, though you’re right, we typically don’t.” She heard him set it aside and arced her way toward where they sat, focusing on the bright hum of their minds against hers to orient them. She accidentally nudged something that wasn’t living—such things were harder for her to observe—and murmured an apology before sinking to sit cross-legged not far from them, still unwilling to be regarded as an intrusion. She held out her hand. ”So what type of mead is it? I’ve only tried the commoner variants of the usual honey mead, and they never varied far. Or at least not to my palate, which is admittedly unrefined.”

Fasail tried looking between where she estimated their faces were, but couldn’t estimate well on the locations of eyes just yet. The best look she had managed to convey was one of absentmindedness, which wasn’t always a harmful one to project, but strangers often construed it as rude, particularly when they were elves themselves. Humans tended to be leery of misinterpreting the expressions of elves, dwarves were miffed by everything elves expressed, and the urgals did not care. Fasail rather liked most urgals she had met. They were very straightforward, a trait she truly appreciated.

[Galeron Aeda]

"Not really sure, I'm not sure what to call it. Just called it mead because I sweetened it with honey. It's very different, I mixed in different berries from the surrounding area, I made sure with magic that they were not poisonous, since I'm not accustomed to the vegetation here. As you can tell, Kers and I are not from here, if not from our appearance, then from our accents and customs." Just then he realized how useless it was to point out his appearance to Fasail. He did not stop talking though, he continued "I am even more astonished than you are by the abundance of life here. I enjoy seeing the different life that sprouts and blossoms from this massive ecosystem..." He went silent for a few seconds, thinking of the best way to approach the situation "You're blind aren't you?"

Kers was surprised by his direct statement, not only that but by how observant he was. The Kuruk had not noticed that Fasail was blind, and he took the time to look at her and make sure. "How-" Kers was interrupted by Valenmir "I can see movements through sound, I can hear where blood pumps within a body, I can tell colors by the amount of heat they absorb... I can tell where a person has been, what they have eaten, and who they have been with, simply by their smell... You are a Rider, and I can tell you are blind. Wood Elves are usually nimble and sure footed, but you, you stumbled your way through the forest, as dirt is places it should not normally be, and your small scratches smell of plants. If they were sword wounds, they would not give off a scent. The last thing I needed to make sure you were blind was your posture, you're not sure where to look, and you knocked the cauldron over. Now how do I know these things? I'm blind as well, but when you lose your sight, all senses become more accute... I took it farther than that, I enhanced all of my senses with magic. But you're not terrible, you've been blind for sometime now, as you placed your hand over the water gently, not letting your hand fall all the way through..." The silence tore at all sounds, leaving a strange and eerie feel in the air. Kers had only noticed Valenmir's observational skills once before, and that was when he met him. This gave him the reputation of looking arrogant and rude at first meetings. His abilities made him an excellent tracker, and a good fighter.

[Harbor]

Fasail smiled, and tried a sip of the mead, wincing. “You’re tougher than I am.” She handed it back. “Now that’s not to say it isn’t good, I just am not the person to ask, though I thank you for allowing me to try it.”

There was a small pause before anyone spoke again, and it was Valenmir who spoke, not that that surprised her. Thus far it did seem to typically be Valenmir who spoke up most frequently. Fasail blinked at him, surprised by his words, and smiled again. “Indeed I am.” And she’d never have caught on that he was as well. ”You’ve had longer to practice than I have then—someday you may have to teach me. As it so happens I’ve been blind only for about six months. But I’ve been going blind for years.” But then her pleasure dimmed. If it took magic to enhance one’s senses this way she’d rather continue stumbling. She didn’t even fully trust others’ magic anymore. This had nothing to do with them, and everything to do with her fear of magic contorting when it touched her, as her own magic did when she tried to use it.

Fasail took a pouch off her belt, poured out a few of the nuts inside and tossed them in Kers’s direction, since he seemed to be the only member present who could see. Valenmir sounded wonderfully talented but she still didn’t want to accidentally hit him in the face with anything. ”These are nuts and berries I’ve dried, if they’re up your branch. So where are you from? What is it like?”

{Sorry for the shortness, this muse is slow apparently.}