Testing the Waters

[Izvilvin]

((Closed))

Perched atop the highest rooftop in (or on) Irrakam, a silent and observant Izvilvin took careful tally of the people below. He had a physical description of the one he was supposed to find, which didn't do him a tremendous amount of good from so high, but a woman with purple hair wouldn't be difficult to spot in a crowd. His lavender eyes swept slowly, carefully over the throngs of people who moved about while the wind blew stark white hair over his cheeks.

It was mid-morning on one of the more important days in the Drow's life, a day when he could make a true difference in the land he'd come to call his home. The Calerians, whatever they were, had surfaced again, and a woman named Ira was the link between the Jya and them. At least, that's what the Jya hoped she would be.

Izvilvin's mission was to find her, which was the easy part. Then he was to take her back to the Keep and pick up a pair of priestesses, and together they would travel to Astaka where Ira would attempt to become ambassador of their people.

When he thought about it, Izvilvin had to chuckle. It was such a long shot that he couldn't believe he'd taken the job.

He'd recently begun to feel less needed in these lands, or rather, he started to become aware that he was not needed here at all, and never was. The Drow was doing the work that a native Fallienite was better suited to, but he'd been taking jobs that were more and more dangerous in an attempt to make himself feel valuable. In truth, this was not his home, and the impact he could make on this desert region was limited. He needed to go home and help those who could truly benefit from a talented drow's dedication, the dark elves.

Izvilvin, usually unafraid to face trials, was not yet willing to face this fact and leave. He'd grown comfortable as a soldier of the Keep, and that comfort had become the one thing hindering him.

Mercifully, a woman with purple hair seemed to pass by in a crowd. Izvilvin snapped out of his contemplation and got to his feet, spinning to head down the roof the same way he'd gotten up, by climbing a series of wall vines. This was one more job he needed to do for the Jya, who'd become the closest thing to a mother he'd known in a hundred years.

Perhaps, the time for going back to his true mother was growing close.

[Iriah Caitrak]

Ira sighed as she rolled over. The sun as filtering through her open window and outside she could hear the sounds of normal people going about their normal everyday business. She didn’t want to move, she didn’t want to be awake. She wanted to return to that little happy place in her mind where everything was all right and where nothing truly mattered because it was all just a dream. But she couldn’t live there forever and she couldn’t pretend that everything that had occurred in the last few months was just a dream, or a nightmare to be more precise. She had to wake up and slap some sense into herself eventually coming to terms with what had happened, what was happening and what was going to happen. She did not have the luxury to waste away in bed day after day, dreaming of grander things. Ira had a life, a job, people to protect and souls to save.

Throwing back the thin sheet covering her, Ira began her morning routine. The same one she had done in this room the day before and the day before that. She showered, dressed, groomed and went downstairs to get some food. The Rising Phoenix was a nice Inn and tavern in a not so nice part of Irrakam, The Outlander’s Quarters. Why she was in this certain area she didn’t know, perhaps she thought fewer people would recognize her here. Foreigners gathered in this place and as such a girl with purple hair and swirling, silver eyes tended to go a little unnoticed…by some.

So early in the morning the downstairs area was mostly deserted and Ira was graced with her breakfast alone. She talked with the owner for a little bit, a nice woman with a name that for some reason eluded her at the moment but the lady didn’t seem to mind.

“You’ve been here for a few days now and you’re clearly not a foreigner. So, what are doing?”

Ira remained silent as she pondered the question. Just what was she doing here? Truly, she didn’t know. It was Gereint’s idea and that Shaman worked in mysterious ways. He could have sent here for her own amusement, or for something much more that he just wasn’t telling her. She hadn’t seen any souls aimlessly wandering around and she hadn’t sensed any Fallen, so it didn’t seem to be for that.


“Ira, I think you should go back to Irrakam.”

The Calerian looked over at her Shaman as if he had just lost not only his eyesight but also his sanity. Go back to Irrakam, after all that had just happened there? Why?

“I think it would be best for you…” He continued.

“You think it will be best for me? Gereint, I normally do not question you—”

“Then don’t question me now.”

Ira was taken aback by him cutting her off. He never did that; he always let her get a few words in to explain things. Why was he being so callous with her now? It hurt her slightly that he could do that.

She folded her arms under her chest, “I do not want to return to Irrakam.”

Gereint sighed and shook his head, reaching out and resting a hand on Ira’s shoulder. “I do not wish to argue with you. I just think it would be best if you return to Irrakam. It’ll give you time to think without all of the eyes watching your move as if…”

“As if what, I could turn into a monster at any minute and kill them? Yeah well, by their logic and by mine that should have already happened, twice! How can I blame them? The first time could be considered a fluke, something weird, something not completely explainable. The second time, Hell we both know it changed me in more ways than either of us are willing to admit and not even you know much of anything about it.”

The weathered, old shaman nodded his head knowing it true. He knew much but this was something beyond all his years of wisdom. He’d never heard of a Calerian surviving corruption, twice at that and even then a Calerian controlling the corruption and using it to become thing else…it was unheard of. None except Ira and himself knew of the last part though and decided it best to keep it between them. Some of the tribe would not understand, others might and then others might feel threatened enough by Ira to exile her and that was the last thing he wanted to happen.

“Ira, go to Irrakam, please. You need a break from Astaka.”


Ira smiled at the woman, “I guess I’m on a vacation…”

She smiled and nodded her head knowing there was more to it than that but not prying, “I hope you enjoy yourself.”

“Hmmm…”

It was hard to enjoy herself in a city that cost her best friend her life. She could try though. She could forget for a little bit each day and try to just enjoy this place and not remember the sound of the buildings exploding and the sight of Uri falling into the flames. It was a hard image to just wipe clean from her mind especially back here but she could try.

“I think I’m going to go shopping…” Ira said absentmindedly.

“That’s an excellent idea! The Merchant’s Walkway isn’t far from here, you have to leave The Outlander’s Quarters though.”

Ira nodded her head, that wouldn’t be a problem, she wasn’t a foreigner and didn’t need an Exit Pass, she could pass through freely. Going back to her room, she grabbed her rucksack and asked the tavern owner to fill her water sack before she left The Rising Phoenix.

[Izvilvin]

The Drow stood out like a spot of dirt on a bedsheet as he ran among the Fallien people. Eyes followed him as he made his way by, for most had seen him during his daily route, and most had heard of the sole Dark Elf who'd taken up residence in the Keep. For many, this was the first time that the rumor could be confirmed, and it was rather exciting to see him. Others shuddered away, for Drow did not have a remarkable reputation in the lands outside of Alerar.

Izvilvin ignored them all, keeping his eyes locked onto a distand building so that he'd remember which one he was headed for. He swerved desperately, avoiding the pike of a merchant who was carrying it back to his shop, and then he was on the side road where the woman with purple hair had gone. The sun was blocked by a pair of high buildings on each side of the lonesome road, and the woman was nowhere in sight.

He ignored the urge to draw his weapons, though being in a secluded area in a land where he was not overly loved made him edgy. "Ph' dos ghil?" he called, a melodic voice drifting from his ebony lips.

No answer. Izvilvin began to walk down the road, making sure to check each corner with his peripheral vision as he passed. The woman wasn't supposed to be hostile, but the man learned long ago that such information couldn't be trusted. Too many surprises had come at him.

"Ira?" he asked rather loudly, using the common tongue name of the woman he was looking for. If nothing else, perhaps hearing her own name would call her attention.

[Iriah Caitrak]

“Hmmm?”

Ira stopped and turned around. She could have sworn she heard someone call her name. Her eyes scanned the sparse crowd of people. No one seemed to be looking at her in particular; in fact, those in the alley just seemed to be going about their own business as if she didn’t exist, exactly what she wanted them to be doing. But, what if it was Alikam, or one of the Priestesses from The Keep? She didn’t want to be bothered with them right now she just wanted to be left alone and not reminded of her ‘heroic’ deeds to save Irrakam and Jya, not now. Please not now. The call had been distant though, like one of those things you hear while lost in thought and react to without thinking. Perhaps it was for someone else, her name wasn’t exactly strange, there could be others in Irrakam named Ira, and it would be silly of her to think she was the only person with that name in this huge land.

Turning back around, Ira decided to ignore it. No one knew she was in Irrakam anyway so why would Alikam or any of the Priestesses be looking for her? No, they weren’t, it was just her imagination. A minute or two later and Ira was where she wanted to be, a small crossroads in the back alleys. There was a street to her left heading back towards the marketplace and another one in front of her, a well behind her. A well that Myrhia had fallen into. A well that had helped them put out the fires and been the reason why Letho dared the flames, because he’d seen Myrhia fall into it’s depths. The earth where the buildings had fallen was still scorched and blackened, but all the rubble was gone. This was where it had all started with three collapsed burning buildings trapping them in here like rats and about twenty feet ahead of her in that patch of blackened earth was where Uri had died.

Taking a deep breath, Ira continued forward until she was standing on top of the scorched earth. There she knelt down and closed her eyes sending out a few thoughts to Uri’s soul wherever it may be, hopefully at peace. A few people in the small crowd noticed her and stopped for a moment. Everyone in Irrakam knew what had happened here a few months ago and quite a few people had been affected directly or indirectly. Apparently Jya was even putting up a memorial somewhere in here to honour those that had died during the attacks and she wondered if Uriahd’s name would be on it, or Brye’s and perhaps even Eagis’s. They all deserved to be and she doubted Jya would forget to add their names. Other than them though she did not know the faces of the others who had perished here. They had all been strangers to her but out there in Irrakam there was someone who was mourning for their loss.

[Izvilvin]

A few more steps the Drow took, before some scuttling behind a series of barrels called his attention. He carefully examined them, his paranoia getting the best of his mind, when a series of quick steps behind him informed him of what was going on.

He sidestepped as a blunt object soared past his head. The man who'd swung it stumbled forward, having dedicated too much force to the attack without realizing it could miss. Izvilvin kicked his back hard, sending him stumbling into the barrels in front of them. Then he whirled around to look at the other Irrakam natives, having sprung from their hiding places when their most brave companion sprung his attack.

They talked amongst themselves briefly. Izvilvin merely waited, watching to see what they would do. The people were armed with primative weaponry, ranging from chunks of wood to crude, iron swords. When it looked as if they were going to spring themselves his way, the Drow quickly drew his kukris, bringing a gasp from the humans. The glass knives, tinted lavender like his eyes, seemed to glint menacingly in the sunlight that crept between the buildings.

The people backed off, not quite as willing to attack, even together, if Izvilvin had those sharp weapons drawn. Did they expect him to merely stand and take their punishment?

"Goddamned Drow," spat one of them, balling his fists as his tanned face grew small with rage. "Takin' our Jya to your bed and taking that purity from her."

Of course, Izvilvin didn't understand, merely taking some measure of comfort in seeing them leave. It was about as much comfort he could get at this point, when the people of the land he'd sworn to protect were turning on him. He slid his kukris back into the crossing sheaths on his back, and looked solemnly to the fallen man by the collapsed barrels. He was merely knocked out.

He tried to force the event out of his head as he made his way forward, eventually coming to a wider section of the road, where he could see the purple-haired woman standing in the distance. She looked contemplative even from behind, so he approached slowly, coming to stand next to her on this strange, blackened ground. It did not greet his feet gently, like the grass, but hard like stone.

He slowly reached into his shirt, pulling a thick envelope from a small pocket in the lining. Without turning his gaze to her, the warrior held out the letter to the woman as he looked at the moving crowd beyond.

[Iriah Caitrak]

Ira slowly stood back up as images of happier times filtered through her mind. No more thoughts of death and fire, gone was the horrendous noise of the buildings exploding. Now she remembered days of laughter and days of training. When they practiced their fighting skills with one another and then ganged up on Revor, only to have him and his friends get back at them in various forms of chosen punishment. She remembered The Festivals of the Dead, the times when they’d snuck out of their tents way passed bedtime to watch the adults and the rituals performed. There were the times later on when they had participated in the main event, the great dance held before the feast to mark the beginning of the weeklong festivities. Then there was this year’s festival, when Ira had led the event without Uri by her side. But she knew that somewhere out there Uri had seen it and been watching over her, after all, she hadn’t missed a single step and she knew that must have been from Uri’s watchful eye.

These were the bittersweet memories of times passed; times she wished she could return to yet knew it was not possible. Memories could haunt and comfort a person at the same time, joy and sorrow all in one image. But Ira refused to let them haunt her, she’d been happy during these moments and she was going to look back at them fondly and with a smile on her face.

So lost in her own thoughts Ira didn’t notice as the stranger slid up behind her. Only when she finally noticed something from the corner of her eye did she turn towards him and froze. Not out of fear, no, never out of fear but perhaps a slight bit of shock.

What is he?

She’d never seen anything like him before. The white hair, that was nothing unusual to her, and lavender eyes, they were beautiful and nothing new. But his skin, it was black, just pure black. He was the most fascinating creature she’d ever seen and she was damn sure her face was reflecting this fascination either in her expression or somewhere in her eyes. Her hand reached out as if to touch him, but she quickly caught herself and looked sharply away as heat seared across her cheeks.

Realizing he was holding something out to her, Ira took the envelope from the siahd and opened it. She found several pieces of paper inside, all of them written in Common and some of them stamped with the seal of the local Militia. In fact, she was rather certain that was Alikam’s signature at the bottom. Furrowing her brows, Ira began to read through the pages quickly realizing they were for a job hiring at the local law enforcement and that the mission was her and her people. There was also another sighed paper that would give them an audience with Jya. Just who the heck was this guy and how long had he been following her around? On top of that why did Jya want to open up relations with her tribe? They lived quietly and peacefully away from Irrakam and never caused any trouble, if anything they helped. And an Ambassador, her? Had Jya lost her mind? Why her, Ira was not a politician, far from it and truth be told she had no interest in becoming one either. By Suravani, there was even a description of what she looked like in here and a list of the locations rumoured for her to be, including The Rising Phoenix. This was creepy, like, stalker creepy.

Carefully placing the papers back in the envelope, Ira handed them back to the siahd.

“I’m sorry, but no.” She said it softly but firmly. She didn’t want to argue with him about this.

She didn’t want to get involved in politics, had enough to worry about dealing with the dead and he was a complete stranger, why should she trust him with the route to take to Astaka? She knew nothing about him, other than the fact that he was a warrior; an idiot wouldn’t be able to miss that one.

Ira took a few steps back away from the siahd, then turned and started heading towards The Merchant’s Walkway. With the crowd of people milling about and doing all of their shopping it should be easy for her to disappear into the throng.

[Izvilvin]

Izvilvin needed to fight back a smile while he watched Ira observe him. There was a fascination upon her face that was impossible to ignore, as if she was, for the first time, witnessing something so interesting she couldn't hope to pry her eyes away. It was leaps and bounds greater, the Drow mused, than the scrutinizing looks the people of Irrakam had been shooting him all day, let alone the ambush.

Still, she handed the envelope back to him with what he percieved to be resignation. The tone of her voice told him that she was not only uninterested, but completely opposed to the idea. He took the paper back between rough fingers, stuffing it gently into the secret pocket by his chest, then watched attentively as the woman headed off in the direction of the biggest crowd about. It was obvious she wanted to avoid him, despite how intrigued she had seemed to be by his unique appearance.

He had a mission to do. However much Ira wanted her privacy, wanted to avoid the confrontation that likely lay ahead, it was Izvilvin's personal duty to see that she was brought to Astaka to lay the foundations of peace with the Calerians. Were he the kind of man who could turn his back on a mother's request, it would have been a simple matter of turning back toward Jya's Keep and spending his day doing something else.

But the Drow didn't hesitate to give chase behind the woman, stepping quickly as she rounded a building. Rather than follow her obviously, he ran toward the corner of a home, which sported an inward angle, and kicked his way up to the roof with little effort.

Darting along the pebble-covered top of the Fallien home, the nimble Drow slid to the edge of the building and looked at the folk below, making sure to keep low and hidden behind the rising barrier which surrounded the roof. A purple-haired woman was not overly difficult to spot among a crowd of hooded, tanned men and women, so he soon saw Ira after only a few seconds of scanning. He headed onward, leaping from roof to roof.

Eventually, it seemed as if she was breaking away from the crowd. Izvilvin took this opportunity to deftly leap from his high perch, kicking off of a distant wall to slow his momentum, and land expertly in the middle of the road, surprising a few nearby patrons of the Merchant's Walkway. Ira was before him.

He spread his hands wide, keeping his eyes level and calm, and dipped into a high bow before bringing his limbs back in again. He tried to project an air of calm and disarming goodness, so that she would not flee from him again. There was no way for the Drow to plead with her to come along with him, so he merely reached out for her hand, gently, and then brought it to his face. She'd seemed interested before in learning about him, and this was as good a way as any to take away any fears she might have had. Then again, it was a long shot.

He let her rub his cheek, to feel that the texture of his skin was just like any other elf's, soft and smooth to the touch, and then he spoke in a melodic, flowing tone. "Izvilvin," he said, pointing to himself and smiling. His teeth appeared as white as polished ivory against his ebony skin.

"I good," he said sheepishly, painfully aware of how orcish he must have sounded.

[Iriah Caitrak]

It was supposed to be easy for her to disappear into the throng, unfortunately for her the person she was trying to disappear from was very persistent and good at tracking her, not that she really blended in. A girl with purple hair always stood out in a crowd with mostly dark brown or black hair. But she’d been hoping with so many people he just wouldn’t be able to spot her, yet hope was not enough for her case. When the siahd dropped down from one of the roofs to the ground below Ira did the only thing natural to her, she put herself in a defensive stance and began channelling the required energy to form her weapon into her hands. When she saw that he was unarmed she stopped before the energy materialized.

He was not going to give up so easily, but she just wanted him to turn around and leave her alone. Ira didn’t want any part of his mission, she didn’t want to be an ambassador, she didn’t want to take him back to Astaka, she just wanted to be left alone. Why couldn’t the world just leave her alone?

Surprise fused over her face as he reached out and took her hand, placing it against his cheek. She would have laughed at his following speech if she could have but she was, well she didn’t really know what she was feeling at the moment. Her fingers traveled up his cheek and across his brow, then she brought them down his other cheek and brushed them lightly over his lips before she slowly lowered her hand back to her side. The Calerian had no idea what to do. She just kept looking into Izvilvin’s eyes, the indecision evident on her face even as her swirling irises changed to a sad looking blue.

She looked away from him and ran her fingers through her hair, then she glanced back at him for a second and looked away again. If she brought him to Astaka with her, what would the repercussions be? A siahd would know the way to their sacred homeland, a siahd her instincts said was trustworthy but she didn’t trust yet. The Priestesses outlined in the mission he needed to acquire from The Keep would also know the way; anyone from The Keep could just go to Astaka at any time. However, forming some kind of treaty or bond or whatever could have benefits for Astaka that Ira couldn’t think about at the moment. Was it not for Majra and Gereint to decide whether or not some negotiations with The Jya and her Priestesses was worth it?

Ira was stuck between a rock and a hard place. This could be beneficial for her people but at the same time she’d be disclosing the location of her people, a people who enjoyed their solitude. They lived under their own laws and not the laws of Jya and Ira was unsure if that would become a problem. Perhaps it would have been best if she’d never exposed her people to this. Because of what happened the last time she was in Irrakam with Messia and Uriahd, The Jya and most the people of Irrakam now knew the Calerian tribe was still alive and thriving.

If only she had some of Gereint’s great wisdom to help her out. There had to be a way she could test the siahd to see if he was trustworthy of being taken to Astaka. Perhaps there was a way…

Stepping away from him, Ira tried to hide the smirk from appearing on her face as he took a step closer to her. They were already away from the larger crowd and with a few more steps back Ira led Izvilvin into one of the small side streets Irrakam was littered with. Not wanting to second-guess herself, Ira took a deep breath. This was the best chance she had at seeing exactly what kind of person he is. Channelling the energy into her hand, Ira formed a small throwing knife, blunt on all sides. If it hit him the worse it would do is bruise, but he didn’t know that. Convincing herself again this was the right way to test him, Ira threw the small knife at him then quickly formed her Half Swallows, their blades dulled as well. She attacked him before she even took notice of whether or not the knife had hit the dead centre target of his chest.

[Izvilvin]

Showing his intentions was something Izvilvin knew he'd had to do. Defending from an attack, however, was an unexpected hurdle to leap. Pure instinct alone drove him to lean away from the soaring dagger, which he caught a quick glimpse of as it passed by.

She was upon him quickly, an exotic weapon in each hand. The Drow didn't hesitate to pull two sai from his belt, spinning them about in his fingers before her blades came at him. One high and one low, Izvilvin parried both strikes before shifting his momentum and stepping forward to close what little space there was between them.

He slid his sai back into his belt as quickly as he could, and gave her a perplexed look. Despite her attack, something about the whole thing told him she was still not convinced he was some evil being. Perhaps it was the look in her eye, which still held that fascination he'd detected before.

Izvilvin couldn't hold back a slight smile. If her swallows came in again, he'd need to dodge desperately, but again, something about the woman suggested she was toying with him.

"Stop," he said, lifting his hands in a disarming gesture. "Doer xuil uns'aa ulu Astaka," he finished, on the off chance that she could understand him.

[Iriah Caitrak]

When he said stop, she did. When the other words poured out of his mouth she just looked at him in confusion. She’d known he was not very good with Common from the way he’d spoken to her but now it was absolutely clear that he barely had a grasp on the language and she had no idea what he was saying to her now. She didn’t even know what race he was let alone what he was trying to say. All she heard was Astaka and even then it took her a moment to realize he’d said the name of her home and not another weird sounding word. Then again, both Common and Fallien must sound like gibberish to him. And he was smiling at her. He knew that she was just testing him the little—ohh, if she could wipe that smirk off his face she would.

Relaxing her position, Ira let her weapons slip from her fingers. They hit the hardened dirt and then disappeared, dispersing the energy she had focused to create them.

Her test of him had proven that his own instincts and reactions dictated defence. He protected himself from her attacks but would not attack her back and faced with a sudden assault one always goes by their instincts. But she was still left with her dilemma of whether or not to take him to Astaka. Ultimately it came down to the fact that a possible beneficial treaty with The Jya was not her choice to make, but that of Majra’s and Gereint’s.

Glancing towards the sun, Ira noted its location. It was too late in the day to set out for Astaka; they wouldn’t make it to the first rest area before dark hit. They’d have to wait until tomorrow morning and head out early.

“We’ll have to head out tomorrow morning, it’s too late in the afternoon now, we’ll never make the first resting area.”

She didn’t know if he could understand her or not. Perhaps the words coming from her mouth sounded exactly like gibberish to him the same way his language sounded to her.

“Come.”

Ira grabbed his hand and began leading him through the twisting side streets of Irrakam. She’d learned to navigate her way around the city rather quickly out of necessity, because she’d gotten lost quite a few times travelling from The Outlander’s Quarters. Taking the side streets cut their time in half for getting back to The Outlander’s Quarters too and soon enough, Ira was leading Izvilvin into The Rising Phoenix.

“Hey, you’re back early.”

Ira smiled to the Inn owner and cursed herself for she still couldn’t remember the woman’s name and felt bad about it.

“Yeah, I—”

“Who’s that with you—is that a Drow?”

Ira looked from the woman to Izvilvin, “What’s a Drow?”

“Oh, they’re a race of elves from Alerar. You’ve never seen a Drow before?”

“Nope, I haven’t been around Althanas much. Do you speak…whatever language they speak?”

The woman raised a brow, “They speak Drow, sweety and no I don’t. Why, doesn’t he know common?”

“No, I kind of wonder what he thinks we’re talking about at this moment…”

“He’s probably checking out your butt.”

Ira laughed, “Hardly, he’s only here because I’m part of some stupid mission he seems intent on completing even though I wanted nothing to do with it. Anyway, could you give me a bigger room with two beds, please?”

“Sure, no problem. Just stay down here and have some lunch and I’ll get some of my girls to move everything over for you.”

Ira smiled and nodded her thanks then moved to one of the booths in one of the corners of the tavern area. It was still early in the day and the large drinking crowd that gathered here had yet to emerge. There were a few people in the tavern but for the most part it was empty and quiet, just the way Ira liked it.