Living in the Past

[Ignis Glaciesque]

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

She was faced with a choice.

Stand, fight now, and lose. - Or - Run, fight then, and win.

She looked back to the sea of ashes, melted bones, and rolling waste lands. Then, she turned and looked through the multicolored smoke, into to swirling infered rainbow cyclone.

What else was there?

"We cannot defeat him here. I must go back to the root."

The voice whimpered from the darkness of the cavern walls, "Do you have any other reasons for this drastic measure? Do you know the risks? You can't come back."

"I know." She spoke with clarity and dark boldness. "I wish not to return."

"Even if you succeeded? Even if this war-"

"-I would of been treated no different."

She closed her eyes. The scent of toxins, dizziness enducing sensations, a lack of control. Was she being selfish? Yes. This was her first act of its kind, however. Even then, duty pushed her to go back for "a good cause"...

More like a good excuse.

Nothing to follow her but the clothes on her body and quarterstav hanging on her back, she lost balance.

She fell in.

She left it all behind...

~ Twelve Years Prior to the Time ~

-She woke up.

~~~

Living in the Past

[Open to at the minimum one other player. Max a small group of two or three.]

~~~

Brown eyes shot open.

She inhaled a massive gust of cool, humid air. Coated in sweat, the teen exclaimed as if the very life had been sucked out of her. For a long while, she struggled to control her breathing again. As she calmed down, the light oak skinned girl came to realize the status of her surroundings.

The sky above was coated in grey clouds. Dreary sunlight burst through the gaps of the wild, rolling clouds. Yet, the sky made it all feel cold and hollow. The sounds of distant, small creatures scurrying away resounded. The young girl blinked. She felt the abrasive, itchy sensation of rough, dead grasses surrounding her. Indeed, she saw columns of tall, yellow plants surrounding her. She felt many bugs, accustomed to a wet life, crawling across her exposes3, bare arms. She could tell they were in her hair too. And all over her clothes. She felt with her right hand, feeling familiar, wooden weapon laying alongside her. It was her quarterstav. The girl moved her hand. She pressed her hands against the chilly, dirt coated earth and pushed herself up.

As she sat in an upright position, her head pounded with the fury of a drummer boy headed into combat. She shouted, lifting her hand to her throbbing forehead. Her blond, curly hair was an absolute mess. The fourteen year old moaned as she slouched, taking her time to calm down. She heard thunder roar in the overarching clouds. A single drop of rain splattered onto her forehead as she finally opened her eyes again.

Her vision was groggy. She rubbed her eyes as she continued to groan. The child finally started to feel well again. She looked down.

Indeed, bugs were everywhere.

She grabbed her staff and used it to push herself up. She felt lightheaded as bouts of mild nausea poked her stomach. The girl stuck out her tongue, appearing to be experiencing a hangover as she struggled to keep her balance. She shook her head, using her spare arm to wipe herself off. As spiders and ticks were brushed off her gamberson and brown pants, it started to completely rain. Really, she could not stand the feeling of rain on her skin. Every drop caused some form of anxiety to arise as her entire body itched with the feeling of severe discomfort.

She really did not like nature.

The young woman reached back and pulled a zaffre hood over her head. It helped some.

Before even feeling well again, she decided to get down to business. She had to find civilization. She knew why she was here. Yes, she knew the why, but the what when and how escaped her. She needed to know where she was, what time period she was in, and how it benefited her why.

Luckily, Stonevale was just down this hill.

[Lilthis]

Rain glistened off the young woman’s onyx flesh. The precipitation propagated itself around every inch of her body. Engaging her senses was the fragrance of wildflowers while the air was perfumed with the smell of a new downpour. Lilly loved the rain, it served as a reminder of who she was, that she was still alive.

She wanted, no needed, a break from some of the locals in Stonevale. Following the past few days Lilthis required a brief respite to appreciate life. Rain cascaded down Lilly’s lips, pooling near the corners of her mouth before overflowing and emptying off the sides of her narrow chin.

A sonnet filled the humid air as birds gleefully warned of the approaching storm. Cool winds painted Lilthis’ slate skin, teasing out goosebumps and a shiver from the elf. Laying back in the damp grass and staring up into the dusky sky she felt a sense of calm as droplets ricocheted off her thin cheeks. She was happy in this moment. At peace.

Her solace was quickly interrupted by clamoring at the bottom of the hill. A disoriented teen brushed herself off, making her way to the apex of the hill.

Normally a lost child would be someone else’s problem, but the dark elf was curious. Why is she out here? Is she ok? Lilly propped herself up at the base of the mound, water streaming down her porcelain hair. She re-adjusted her leather chest piece and let loose a low shout to the approaching lass, “hello? Are you lost?”

The straw haired girl was quite a bit younger than Lilthis. Though not an entire generation away she could tell the human girl was living in that twilight between childhood and maturity. Sometimes Lilthis wondered if she still was living in that twilight. Surely she was at an age where it should’ve been outgrown, yet the thought still lingered.

[Ignis Glaciesque]

A call brought Hanuh’s attention to the hill above. The girl looked up to see what appeared to be a dark elf, wearing a royal red outfit. Her dark skin and snowy hair drastically contrasted each other. The young woman seemed older than her – just by a little – and concerned.

The teenager's heart skipped. She was not mentally prepared for social interactions so soon. Her brown eyes widened from beneath her dark blue hood. In a flash, her staff was folded in half and hung on her back. Her hands slipped behind her back, she fidgeted with her fingers as she assumed a suddenly prim and proper posture. While still dazed, she stepped forth. She attempted to keep balance while maintaining her composure. Through the sounds of nature and the pounding of the rain, she had only hardly heard the drow. She came closer, hoping that up close her pointed ears would be more attuned.

The light rainfall still tormented her face. Her head was still flowing with nature’s tears. Many times she reached to wipe the rain off her cheeks, and readjust her hood. Every time she finished, she went back to her straight posture. Mud collected on her boots due to the wet of the ground. She felt it cling to her body, trying to root her. Yet, she pressed on, back up the hill. Soon, she was within several feet of the taller elf blood.

As the light tan skinned quarter elf stepped up to her, she cleared her throat.

How should she respond?

She was indeed lost. Not just in the area, but in time as a whole. How could someone believe she had traversed through time, however? Even compared to most magical feats seen in Althanas, time travel was a rarity. As of now, maintaining her posture, she spoke. Her voice partially seemed shaken, as if social interaction was a strange and foreign concept to her. Indeed, she was quite socially inept. Mixed with her conformist, formal mentality, however, she knew how to speak at the very least. She chose her words carefully, sounding eons older than she actually was.

“Indeed, I am lost. Do you carry knowledge of where we are? When? Time seems to... slip from my memory. Any assistance would be openly appreciated.”

[Lilthis]

Before the refined elf stood this sandy skinned youth. Awkward. Maybe nervous. Lilthis understood, she had been that same girl. Preferring to spend her days reading or crafting some new device the only times she interacted with most was at her parent’s insistence. But those occasions were never with her peers, rather she was a trophy to behave exactly as requested in the presence of other sel darthirii elite.

Then this soaking wet young girl assumed an all too familiar posture. Similar to the same mannerisms she once abided by. Arms and fingers straight, by your side. Head facing forward, still kept low enough to indicate that you knew your status. Admiring her like a dated mirror of herself, Lilly eventually saw her break posture to wipe the torrential wrath from her face before resuming the perfect image upper class ladies were expected to.

To confirm her suspicions the young woman spoke to fully reveal her heightened upbringing. Though her words a bit confusing, the manner with which she spoke pleased Lilly. It was reminiscent of her old life and she was willing to chalk the oddity of her words up to her obvious disorientation.

“When? Well it’s about midday. You’re not too far from Stonevale, on the island of Scara Brae,” the charcoal elf responded. “Are you hurt? How long have you been out here? Poor girl,” her words were soothing and soft. Clearly this girl had met with a horrid fate or hit her head or been introduced to rum by her peers a bit too early. Lilly stood beside the youth and pulled her long dark cloak over so that it covered the shorter girl’s head.

“That’s better, yes? Should keep the rain out of your face,” she informed the girl, speaking rapidly.

The olive tanned girl reminded Lilly of herself when she was that age. She hoped her kindness would prove therapeutic. She then spoke with confidence, “I am Lillian Svalesin, but you may call me Lilly. Nice to meet you.”

Lilly reasoned the girl’s parents must not be far.

[Ignis Glaciesque]

As the tall, yellow grasses blew in the cool winds, Hanuh carefully listened to the woman’s words.

“When?”

Yes??

“Well it’s about midday.”

Confound it! Like that is useful…

“You’re not too far from Stonevale, on the island of Scara Brae.”

Now that aids me!

The girl perked up upon hearing she was in Stonevale, on Scara Brae. She was on the island where her family had once been! Question was… were they even here now? Hanuh had no idea what year she was in. As far as she was concerned, her then teenaged mother could not of even conceived her yet! She was almost sucked into an intense internal thought process, when – the drow wrapped a large cloak over her.

“Are you hurt? How long have you been out here? Poor girl.”

Hypersensitive to touch, goosebumps covered the younger girl's entire body. Shockwaves vibrated through her body as she visibly winced – then, an idea… As this Lilly introduced herself by name, Hanuh realized that she had no idea why she was dazed. She could… feign amnesia.

As the rain dropped over the huddled figures, the girl pulled her hand to her still throbbing head. Luckily, the symptoms of what could be hangover or concussion had no need to be faked. Hanuh hated it. “I – uh… just woke up. I must thank you, but…” She shook her head, “I have completely lost my touch with reality, how I happened across this area. Well…”

She looked up to the dark elf. Her obvious clinginess to her upbringing shone through as she silently turned down calling her by nickname, “Svalesin, tell me everything you know.” Urgency ran rapid in her voice. Her mission must be attended to with haste! Her panting was in a rush as she started to sweat, “What year is it? What major world events have taken place? Do you know of a – Ow!”

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness caught her off guard. She lost balance and fell right into Lilly as she moaned. She was overtaken by the shakes. Words of warning echoed in her mind of how the side effects and consequences of time travel were unknown. For the first time in her life, the girl felt like she was drunk, with the flu, and drowning all at the same time. She could not even process the rain anymore as she grew hot. She fell to the ground, feeling as if she could fall unconscious, as she moaned, “Svalesin, please…”

She obviously was crying for help.

[Lilthis]

Odd.

Something was obviously not quite right with the bashful teen. The manner in which she had recoiled at Lilly’s approach... had this girl been abused? Neglected? Or maybe Lilthis was much more daunting than she realized. Most weren’t intimidated by the alluring and thin dark elf woman.

She tried to put herself in the younger gal’s shoes. If she was dazed and confused and then approached by a strange older woman she may have felt uneasy at that age too.

As the rain continued to pollute the pair’s surroundings the youth referred to Lilly by her false surname and explained, “tell me everything you know. What year is it? What major world events have taken place? Do you know of a –“, the sandy skinned one crashed into Lilthis.

Instinctively she wrapped the girl in her arms as she collapsed trying to plead for help. The impact knocked Lilly a bit off balance, causing her to go down to her own knees with the girl. The Aleran did manage to keep her makeshift umbrella over the youth, continuing to shield her from at least some of the rain.

The soil they fell into was damp. No longer dirt but not quite wet enough to form mud just yet.

“Shh, try not to talk. You are not well,” she said, trying to conceal her cluelessness. Despite the numerous subjects the dark elf prodigy had studied, medicine was not one of them. What to do to remedy memory loss was sorely lacking from her knowledge. Lilthis reasoned that answering her questions may help jog her memory.

She did not follow world events or politics too closely, they were traditionally dull subjects in her opinion. Still, the shaded elf informed her delirious guest of a few recent events and very obviously stated the year, “...does any of that ring a bell?”

As another clap of thunder struck in the distance every scenario to help the disoriented girl began to run through Lilly’s mind. Can she walk? Should I go and get help? I hope she doesn’t vomit. I do not like vomit.

Please don’t vomit, she thought one last time.

[Ignis Glaciesque]

Her vision grew grainy. The dreary landscape seemed to pixelate. She closed her eyes, instead focusing on the words Lilly spoke. She was sure it would all click later, but as of now she just focused on memorizing everything – especially the year itself. The child continued to lean on the drow, “I thank you.”

The misty rain started to fall harder. Hanuh could hear it pounding against the ground. She could feel its pattering against her cloak and hood. As the ground transitioned to mud, she shakily tried to stand up.

“Where is the nearest inn?

The biracial girl's legs wobbled as her head swirled in chaos. Why did she feel this way? Why did she feel so weak? She realized she needed to set up shop in an inn, check herself over, and figure out a game plan. She needed to collect herself. Once she did, her mind and body would be better prepared for the trepidation ahead.

“I-“ She choked before continuing, “- Rest is essential. Please?”

She could will herself to walk, but that was probably it. Her eyes were still glued shut. As the sound of distant thunder cracked the air, she powerlessly waited at the mercy of Lilly Svalesin.

[Lilthis]

Normally someone moving into her personal space so flippantly would have bothered Lilthis. She typically did not like physical contact from strangers. This was a bit different though... the teen was not in a good place. Furthermore, the youth reminded Lilly of herself.

It was difficult enough to be that age but to also be expected to behave a certain way by higher class parents and go through whatever fate the teen had faced just now must’ve been unbearable. If someone had harmed this girl intentionally Lilthis decided right there in the deluge that she would make them pay. For now the dark elf simply yearned to help the child. However she could.

As the rain’s presence further enveloped the pair, and Hanuh mentioned an inn, the Alerian reasoned this girl was correct. They needed to get indoors.

“Right. We need to get you warmed up, get you a place you can rest without getting wet,” Lilly expressed her inner dialogue aloud.

The Graceful Bark was the closest inn. But Lilly did not want to go back to that place. There was a different inn one block over. Lilthis reasoned she could take the tan skinned girl there. It was less crowded and crowds were the last thing either young woman needed right now.

Lilthis attempted to stand with the girl, trying to lift her arm over Lilly’s shoulder and carry her as best she could. As mud slid under her boots, making a sloshing sound, the elf struggled to support the weight of the teen. Though Hanuh was very light, Lilly was not particularly strong.

“If you can walk at all, lean on me and we can head west to that inn.”

As the animals quieted in the storm the approaching thunder cast an eerie mood for the pair. Boots shifting in the mud sounded similar to the kneading of wet dough. Meanwhile, the rapid tip-tap of rain droplets helped stress the urgency of their situation.

[Ignis Glaciesque]

Hanuh tried her hardest.

She was, well, an obsessive type. Once she fixated on something, she found it hard to get it out of her mind. Right now, her focus was bent on her mission. To get her mission taken care of, she needed to pull through. Thus, the groggy, double visioned girl leaned on Lilly for support as they slowly staggered into town.

She rarely caught any of it. The sound of shoes on gravel pounded in her head in echoes. The smell of horse dung, bonfires, and the mine’s disgusting woes all was just too much. She felt all of her senses get pounded into. It was one giant mesh of terror until – suddenly –

They were in a building.

She could barely process the change in environment. It was, in reality, a tiny and quiet inn. The smell of candles, hearths, beer, and food would have been pleasant if the child was not overwhelmed. She barely saw through clouded eyes how Lilly checked in for rooms. With no sense of mistrust, the girl blindly followed the drow down the winding, oak hall. The floorboards creaking felt like an earthquake to the girl. She was sure she was blacking out here and there. Finally- finally- a bed.

She fell away from the thankfully reliable Lilly's hold. As soon as her head hit the straw mattress, she was out cold.

[Lilthis]

As the two waltzed into the hotel room the sandy skinned teen flung from Lilly’s arm into the nearest bed. Sleep took to the girl as quickly as the rain had beset them earlier. The dark elf made her way to the remaining bed, removing the blankets and placing them over the slumbering younger girl. Don’t need you to get sick. Keeping the girl warm and letting her rest was of the utmost importance for now.

However, Lilly also was unsure how long the olive skinned girl had been out there. As the youth dreamed the dark elven girl quietly snuck out of the room and descended down the oaken staircase. The lobby of the inn was quaint, it had only a few tables with white fabric tablecloths, and candles were aglow on top of the tables. As Lilly progressed through the lobby towards the bar she asked the barkeep, “may I get a plate of food? And a tankard of water?”

Ascending back up the stairs the dark elf carried a dish housing a piece of sausage, a biscuit, an apple, and a bit of cheese. She grabbed a sampling of everything, uncertain what the teen liked but knowing she most likely should eat something upon waking. The mug of water should also prove to assist in the girl’s recovery. Depending on how long she had been out there dehydration could be a threat.

Lilly placed the refreshments on an end table by where the girl slumbered before grabbing a pillow off the remaining bed. She propped herself up against the door of the room, using the feathered pillow for support. The Alerian had been through a lot in the past twenty-four hours and needed rest almost as badly as the young Hanuh. Her main concern was that the girl may try to wander off alone and it was unlikely Lilly would notice... hence her positioning by the room’s exit.

She closed her eyes and let sleep finally take her too.