The Pull of the Waves

[Fethryn]

32nd Ymiden, 712th Arc

The soft crunch beneath his feet matched the cool, salty breeze as the Biqaj walked across Cyrene Bay. He could sense a familiar feeling rising up in his gut, that feeling of need, the need to sail the sea once more. But, for now, the Biqaj, Fethryn, had forsaken that life. Forsaken his family, forsaken his father, for the chance to explore Idalos more personally. But that feeling of want, that feeling of yearning and need, had never disappeared. He walked across the bay, eyes glazed and staring into the beauty of a sparkling ocean. He felt at home on the beach, like he was in the presence of a parental figure, whose only gift was love, eternal.

This was the way of the Biqaj. Sea dwellers by hereditary necessity, he could feel the pull of the void, caressing his mind to submerge himself once more in it's salty depths. But his mind pulled his heart from this luring oceanic maiden, and back to reality. He sat, looking around him, at the beauty of the bay, rather than the beauty of the ocean before him, and could see someone about twenty paces to his east. A woman, who seemed to have no company. As a social creature, Fethryn raised himself to his feet, and approached her calmly. "Greetings, m'lady." He stated, his posture lax, his smile never wavering. "Would you care for the company of a seaborn?" He exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head to show he was not arrogant in his demeanor.

"The sea is beautiful this time of year. It sparkles like the finest jewels in Idalos." He stated with some whimsy in his voice, the Biqaj charm somewhat prevalent in his speech.

[Elyna]

Elyna had been dreaming of the sea. She’d been sent with another couple of Airmen and Women with a pair of Knights to the coastal villages of Venora and had fled their company at the first opportunity to spend some time alone on the beach. Her borrowed horse was fed and watered, her kit and bedding roll was neatly stowed and she wore her new sword proudly at her side, gleaming. Her trousers were rolled up to the knee though and her shirt was loose in the consistent ocean breeze.

She loved the call of the waves as they whispered back and forth on the shore. They took her thoughts in their retreat, and her love. She smiled to herself, cheeks flushing as she watched the retreating tide. Yoreth was out there somewhere, on his ship. Love was new and fresh like an opening flower and she missed him like she’d miss her own arm. How many trials till he returned? Thirty at least, he was returning from Ne’Hear. So she sent her love with the tide and tried to imagine the sailors ‘Hangman’ on the other side of the world.

Her attention was caught by the approach of another man and she grinned at him, “it is,” she agreed and looked back out, “it shines, doesn’t it. Like it’s got it’s own light coming up from the depths,” the young woman glanced at him once more, “you’re Biqaj?” The race claimed half of her own blood.

[Fethryn]

The Biqaj smiled, his eyes changing to a greenish hue, somewhat like a sunlit river. "I am Biqaj." He stated, smiling at her inquiry. "Seaborn in blood, somewhat human in attitude." He said with a mild grunt, thinking about his father chastising him for wanting to travel the land instead of the sea. "The sea is a treasure finer than the gems hidden in the mountains of Idalos." The Biqaj exclaimed, smiling at the woman who had greeted him. His politeness was not forced, for the Biqaj were social creatures and making a friend and comrade out of someone was their past time, as much as making enemies to blow out of the water with their many artillery cannons was too. "I'm known as Fethryn. Fethryn Nji'hadi." He stated plainly, enjoying being in the company of another person, especially that of a woman. "What's a woman like yourself doing alone in a place such as this?" Fethryn stated somewhat flirtatiously to the woman, mainly for comedic effect.

He gazed out, looking as the waves lapped up in surfs of various heights and lengths, and his mind drifted back to his mother, the last vestige of care that he had received from a family member before he abandoned them all. He looked at the horizon, and it strengthened his resolve. One day, when he had seen all Idalos had to offer, he would try to find his family again. Someday.

But for now, he was comfortable talking to the woman on the beach. "If you know I am of Biqaj heritage, may I ask the same question of you, m'lady? It seems only fair." He asked casually, that famous smile never leaving his lips.

[Elyna]

“A pleasure to meet you Fethryn,” Elyna smiled and gave a short curtsey, forgetting for a moment that she was wearing trousers instead of skirts and the action probably looked a bit strange. It would also betray something of her heritage and she felt heat rising in her cheeks. She was always doing or saying something foolish, it seemed unavoidable really. However, her smile remained as she introduced herself, “Elyna Burhan.”

The Airwoman tilted her head to oneside, considering his answer. Giving and outright and honest answer would be foolish and betray too many of her secrets, but she wasn’t one for lying either. The words held on her tongue and she chose to answer his second question instead, “I am of Biqaj blood, the blood of the sea as you say…well part of my heritage anyway,” she nodded and looked out at the vast and beautiful vista. The ocean was a lure, a pull, but it didn’t have the same power over her as it did other Biqaj’s she knew, including her beloved brother. He’d been destined for the Ocean, he loved the waves more than life itself, she suspected.

“And I could ask you the same,” she retorted, an answer coming to mind. Elyna turned to face the man, resting her hands on her hips, “what business does a man have wandering along the beach alone?” Her smile remained, she was teasing him in kind and she quickly relented, “I’m accompanying my Skyrider Sergeant to Venora. They want us to train here for a few trials…I think he just wanted out of the city if I’m honest.”

[Fethryn]

"The sea is both a nurturing mother, and a form of relief. I come to the bay, I look at the sea, and I realize whatever problems I have are never as large, as grand and infinitesimal, as the oceans of Idalos. The sea beckons to all of us in some way, whether it to be to distill and drink from it, to swim in it, or to become one with it, like the Biqaj and Mer." Fethryn exclaimed, calm in his demeanour as the woman mentioned her surname, giving away her heritage.

"So you are nobleborn? I have yet to meet one with such an illustrious title. I apologize for my lack of ruffles and petticoats." Fethryn exclaimed with that familiar world-weary snark of his, smiling at the woman. She declared herself a Skyrider. Another illustrious title to add to a woman of high standing. One could almost color Fethryn quite intrigued.

"Those of oceanborn heritage are friends of mine, in my book." Fethryn exclaimed with somewhat childlike innocence. He felt like he was enjoying this process of "making friends in high places", as it was often called by commoners in Rynmere. "What entails such a title as Skyrider, Elyna? Surely, from how it sounds, it must be a rigorous toil."

[Elyna]

“I think…I’d just take freedom,” Elyna moved forward, letting the waves wash over her feet to the ankle before the water retreated in quiet hiss over the sands. It was a rare and peaceful beach on the coast of Rynmere and the Skyrider was quickly deciding that she should return more often. Fethryn wasn’t wrong, there was something about the call of the Ocean that spoke to most hearts, much like the call of the van wilds.

She laughed at his apology and looked at her own rough clothes with a shrug, “well…in that case I apologies for my own lack of ruffles, I hate to disappoint your idea of nobility,” she tilted her face up towards the sun, the smile still playing over the features of her face.

“I’m not much of a noble to be honest, if you’re expecting fine manners and fancy clothes, but I have cousins that might better suit your expectations…” she saw something glint on the sand and bent to collect the shell, turning it over in her fingers. She took a moment to brush off the dry sand, but then put her finger inside the tail of her shirt, to dig out he rest that had settled within and hold it up to the light.

“I’m not a Skyrider, not yet…” her expression lit up though, clearly excited at the prospect, “I’m an Airwoman…like a squire? I’m sworn to the Iron Hand, the army of Rynmere and once I’ve completed my training I’ll be able to ride a Volarean, or Jacadon if one will bond with me,” she grinned, imagining the future, “imagine how far I will be able to travel, when I can fly,” the smile dimmed a little and she realised she should probably be a bit more serious than she was, as an official representative of Airmen, and Nobility. She shifted restlessly on her feet and turned, looking down the beach, “hey…Fethryn…do you run?”

Mischief flashed in her eyes.

[Fethryn]

"Is freedom not something that we all seek? Freedom is the epitome of the search, the epitome of want. We want to be free. Free of restraint, free to believe, free to travel. Free to love. Free to live. Free to be." Fethryn exclaimed, waxing philosophical in the style of his ancestors. Elyna explained to him her own apology for her lack of ruffles and petticoats, but Fethryn merely gave an understanding nod. "You do not have to appear noble to me in dress that restricts simply to please my image of nobility. I have yet to experience the nobility of the land, for all I know is maritime governance." Fethryn explained, as he watched the shoreline.

"A squire in an army, hmm? What an interesting position. My father had a book about the Jacadon he used to read to me as a child. Is it true they grow to the size of a horse? That they breathe fire and grant wishes?" Fethryn stated innocently, a smile of child-like nostalgia on his lips.

His eyes, however, turned a curious ice-blue when she mentioned running. "I have run from port to starboard on the Faebreath many a time, but never across land. I suppose you would like a challenge?"

[Elyna]

“They certainly get very big,” Elyna answered his questions about the jacadon, she shuffled her feet in the sand, burying her toes in the damp grains and enjoying the sensation. She’d been up close to a few of the flying creatures by now. They were fearsome and more than a bit daunting with their size, “I don’t know anything about breathing fire or wishes though,” she smiled and turned to look down the shoreline.

“Oh…I always want a challenge,” she winked at the young man and checked that her breaches were still rolled up securely to the knee, “I’ll race you to the tree down there? On the shore?” She bounced on her toes. There was something in the fresh sea-air, the wind and the wide open space that just made her want to run, or fly, or just keep moving. She looked across at her companion before setting out, feet padding across the sand as she started running.

The Skyrider took long strides, hands clenched as she ran, body upright and balanced as she simply enjoyed the speed and the strength in her legs. Sand flicked up behind her in a spray and she felt it settling on the back of her neck. It was going to be all down her shirt, but she didn’t care. She laughed aloud and tilted her head up to the sun.

[Kingdom]

[columns=2]

Fethryn

Knowledge:
Basic
Location: The Docks
Elyna Burhan: Mixed Biqaj
Elyna Burhan: Of noble birth
Elyna Burhan: Skyrider
Elyna Burhan: Not your average noble
Specific
Jacadon: Bigger than a horse

Loot: n/a
Injuries: n/a
Fame: n/a

Story: 2/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5

Elyna

Knowledge:
Basic
Yoreth: New love
Yoreth: Travelled to Ne’haer
Fethryn: Biqaj
Fethryn: Loves the sea

Loot: n/a
Injuries: n/a
Fame: n/a

Story: 4/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5[/columns]
Comment: Fethryn you have been marked down on story for leaving it unfinished, the biggest crime in Idalos! Haha. I enjoyed this, it moved at a nice pace, just a shame it wasn't completed really.