Ymiden 1, Arc 721
Doran had recently returned to Hopetoun; it would be his third stay in his former student Darius Baer’s settlement. He had never thought that he would find peace and comfort in a place that wasn’t covered by ice and snow nearly throughout the arc; Hopetoun had had a most surprising effect on him though. The son of Ziell who had tried to stay away from mortalkind for a certain part of his exceptionally long life had found companionship there, and hope, and even people that might become something like friends in the near future.
Vega Creede who he had first met in the waking world during the Mummer’s Ball in Rharne – before that, they had only seen each other in dreams – had invited him to a feast in Hopetoun, to give thanks for all that had been achieved in their community. It would take place at dusk, an appropriate time for a celebration of hope. Doran found himself looking forward to it, greatly so – he was looking forward to seeing everybody again – but there was something that he wanted to do before that.
He had risen a break before dawn, when the sky was still dark and covered with numerous stars, quietly eaten and drunk something, gotten dressed and draped a cloak across his shoulders before he left the camp, briefly informing one of the few settlers that were awake at such a time where he was going. The risk of bad things happening was next to non-existent – he would be just outside the settlement – but there was always the possibility that someone might have need of his skill as a doctor or as an alchemist.
He didn’t consider it right to just leave, no matter for how long.
Inhaling the clean morning air – he could smell a hint of saltiness due to the ocean being close – the Mortalborn left Hopetoun behind and made his way to the beach, looking left and right as he did so and taking note the changes that the landscape around him had undergone since his last stay. He had last been on Faldrass in the middle of Ashan, in spring. It was summer now, there were more plants, and the harvest season would begin in but a few seven-trials – from what he had heard, the farmers of Scalvoris usually harvested the crops that had been planted during Ashan before the middle of Ymiden.
He arrived at the beach just as the stars finally began to fade – he could see that hints of pink, red and orange had started to appear on the previously dark night sky. Since there was still time, he sat down on the warm orange sand cross-legged and removed an object from the domain bag that he usually carried at his belt when he was travelling outside of Viden; a rainbow-colored shell whose inner surface had been polished until it shimmered like some sort of miniature mirror.
He took a deep breath and then another one and another one, counting them – those breathing exercises helped him attain a state of calm and stabilize his mind, just as much as the sound of the waves that gently crashed against the shore – before he lowered his head in order to focus on the shell that he held in both hands. He focused on the way that it felt – smooth, and slightly cool to the touch – and on the colors, on that and on nothing but that until all the other things around him gradually began to fade into the background, the shell became a source of ceaseless wonder, and there were utter calm, and peace.
He sat there, still as a statue, meditating, holding onto that state of peace, as the sky gradually brightened, the sun slowly appeared from behind the horizon and dawn broke. It was only then that he put the shell away again and rose to his feet in order to move closer to the water in order to carry out the ritual that he had come to the beach for.
Doran had recently returned to Hopetoun; it would be his third stay in his former student Darius Baer’s settlement. He had never thought that he would find peace and comfort in a place that wasn’t covered by ice and snow nearly throughout the arc; Hopetoun had had a most surprising effect on him though. The son of Ziell who had tried to stay away from mortalkind for a certain part of his exceptionally long life had found companionship there, and hope, and even people that might become something like friends in the near future.
Vega Creede who he had first met in the waking world during the Mummer’s Ball in Rharne – before that, they had only seen each other in dreams – had invited him to a feast in Hopetoun, to give thanks for all that had been achieved in their community. It would take place at dusk, an appropriate time for a celebration of hope. Doran found himself looking forward to it, greatly so – he was looking forward to seeing everybody again – but there was something that he wanted to do before that.
He had risen a break before dawn, when the sky was still dark and covered with numerous stars, quietly eaten and drunk something, gotten dressed and draped a cloak across his shoulders before he left the camp, briefly informing one of the few settlers that were awake at such a time where he was going. The risk of bad things happening was next to non-existent – he would be just outside the settlement – but there was always the possibility that someone might have need of his skill as a doctor or as an alchemist.
He didn’t consider it right to just leave, no matter for how long.
Inhaling the clean morning air – he could smell a hint of saltiness due to the ocean being close – the Mortalborn left Hopetoun behind and made his way to the beach, looking left and right as he did so and taking note the changes that the landscape around him had undergone since his last stay. He had last been on Faldrass in the middle of Ashan, in spring. It was summer now, there were more plants, and the harvest season would begin in but a few seven-trials – from what he had heard, the farmers of Scalvoris usually harvested the crops that had been planted during Ashan before the middle of Ymiden.
He arrived at the beach just as the stars finally began to fade – he could see that hints of pink, red and orange had started to appear on the previously dark night sky. Since there was still time, he sat down on the warm orange sand cross-legged and removed an object from the domain bag that he usually carried at his belt when he was travelling outside of Viden; a rainbow-colored shell whose inner surface had been polished until it shimmered like some sort of miniature mirror.
He took a deep breath and then another one and another one, counting them – those breathing exercises helped him attain a state of calm and stabilize his mind, just as much as the sound of the waves that gently crashed against the shore – before he lowered his head in order to focus on the shell that he held in both hands. He focused on the way that it felt – smooth, and slightly cool to the touch – and on the colors, on that and on nothing but that until all the other things around him gradually began to fade into the background, the shell became a source of ceaseless wonder, and there were utter calm, and peace.
He sat there, still as a statue, meditating, holding onto that state of peace, as the sky gradually brightened, the sun slowly appeared from behind the horizon and dawn broke. It was only then that he put the shell away again and rose to his feet in order to move closer to the water in order to carry out the ritual that he had come to the beach for.
Notes
From the Scalvoris calendar:
This trial marks the beginning of the summer season on Scalvoris. At dawn on the first trial, Scalvorians go and stand by a body of water and pour a cupful over their heads, symbolising rebirth and the dawn of a new time. It is considered a time for making big decisions, perhaps affecting change in one's life.
This trial marks the beginning of the summer season on Scalvoris. At dawn on the first trial, Scalvorians go and stand by a body of water and pour a cupful over their heads, symbolising rebirth and the dawn of a new time. It is considered a time for making big decisions, perhaps affecting change in one's life.
