23rd Ashan, 719
20:23rd Break
The harmonic thrumming of the heavy rain soothed Zephy's soul. Snuggled under fluffy, fur blankets and beneath the protection of their cart's thick tarp, she felt as though she were in a separate world to that of the outside. The weather had been dreary for trials, the rain almost nonceasant, but laying cosily near the rear of their mobile home, Zephy felt at peace. Her mother was busying herself drying and putting away the cookware after their simple evening meal, when her voice rung through the stillness, "Are you ready darling?"
Zephy was drawn from her private thoughts and blinked; it took a bit for her brain to come back to reality. When she realised it was time she gasped and leapt out of the cocoon of fur, "Oh yes! Is it really time mother? Do you really think I'm ready?" The glee was hard to contain, it threatened to split her face in two. Her mother chuckled as she put away the last dish in a solid oak chest. Closing the lid, she turned her body towards her daughter with a serious demeanour, "I do, but don't be disheartened if you aren't able to make it tonight. It takes discipline."
Zephy's eyes shot wide as she inhaled her delight. Ever since she had found out what she really was and that there was a secret hidden city full of more of their kin, Zephy couldn't wait to go and meet them. All her life it had only been her and her mother, not that Zephy ever minded. However, on trials when she'd catch a glimpse through the kitchen windows of a homestead and see a whole family sit around a table feasting and storytelling, Zephy did feel a twinge in her heart. It wasn't jealously, she knew, just a distant longing for connection - true connection.
Zephy inched closer to the middle of the cart, throwing away the winter blankets and crossed her bare legs. Her mother cleared a space between them and lit a tall candle, placing it in a bowl in the centre before giving her daughter an encouraging smile. "Alright, you know how at night other people seem to drift off somewhere else and become oblivious to their surrounding world?" Zephy nodded slowly, not sure where her mother was going with this, "Well we, as Yludih, are slightly different. We don't sleep, as the other races would call it, but we aren't that much different either, we simply, just go to a different place during the night."
"Uleuda?" Zephy guessed.
Her mother nodded in confirmation, "Uleuda. It's a sacred place, a safe place for people like us. It's somewhere we can all meet and confer, no matter where we all are in Idalos."
Zephy gasped, "You mean, Yludih from all over the world can meet in this one place? How?" She was simply flabbergasted.
Her mother chuckled, "It's better to just show you. Here, relax your shoulders and ease your muscles," Zephy shook herself, flinging out all the stiffness from their days work and rolled her shoulders back. "Now close your eyes and focus your mind," Zephy eased her eyelids shut and sunk into the blackness of her mind, the rain outside pounded and trickled, but the softness of her mother's voice rung through the white noise, "Ignore the outside, ignore the inside, listen to nothing but your own breath."
Zephy sucked in a long, drawn breath and held it a moment before releasing it slowly. With her breath she let her mind sink deeper into the black of her still mind. She listened to her heart thrum in her chest and eased into her own body - snap! Zephy jerked with the sound of a snapping twig outside. Suddenly the relaxing thrumming of the rain became an incessant hounding on the tarp above her head. The wind rustled the bushes outside and the crinkle of the leaves only irked her ears even more as she attempted to ignore it.
Zephy shook herself and again drew in a deep breath to calm herself and restart the meditation. Hoo-hoot-hoo-hoot! "Ugh!!!" Zephy huffed and slumped, slapping her hands on her knees. "It's no use. Everything outside is distracting me!"
Without opening her eyes, her mother smiled, "Try again," She soothed. "Maybe this time focus on the smooth flicker of the flame. Watch it dance in harmony with the wind and in turn harmonise your mind with the world around you."
Zephy looked upon the stillness of her mother with awe. She was always so patient and contented and Zephy admired how her mother never seemed frazzled with anything. Grunting out the last of her irritation, Zephy smiled inwardly, relaxing her shoulders and back and again rested her hands softly on her knees. This time she did as her mother suggested and watched the candle's small flame dance elegantly in the light breeze. It was pretty, the oranges and reds melding together and shaping around each other in unison. The more she watched the flame the more it reminded Zephy of her mother, dancing around the world. Zephy began to sway her body with the grace of the candle flame and found that by focusing on the serenity of the fire, the world outside began to melt away.
She closed her eyes and breathed deep.
Zephy was drawn from her private thoughts and blinked; it took a bit for her brain to come back to reality. When she realised it was time she gasped and leapt out of the cocoon of fur, "Oh yes! Is it really time mother? Do you really think I'm ready?" The glee was hard to contain, it threatened to split her face in two. Her mother chuckled as she put away the last dish in a solid oak chest. Closing the lid, she turned her body towards her daughter with a serious demeanour, "I do, but don't be disheartened if you aren't able to make it tonight. It takes discipline."
Zephy's eyes shot wide as she inhaled her delight. Ever since she had found out what she really was and that there was a secret hidden city full of more of their kin, Zephy couldn't wait to go and meet them. All her life it had only been her and her mother, not that Zephy ever minded. However, on trials when she'd catch a glimpse through the kitchen windows of a homestead and see a whole family sit around a table feasting and storytelling, Zephy did feel a twinge in her heart. It wasn't jealously, she knew, just a distant longing for connection - true connection.
Zephy inched closer to the middle of the cart, throwing away the winter blankets and crossed her bare legs. Her mother cleared a space between them and lit a tall candle, placing it in a bowl in the centre before giving her daughter an encouraging smile. "Alright, you know how at night other people seem to drift off somewhere else and become oblivious to their surrounding world?" Zephy nodded slowly, not sure where her mother was going with this, "Well we, as Yludih, are slightly different. We don't sleep, as the other races would call it, but we aren't that much different either, we simply, just go to a different place during the night."
"Uleuda?" Zephy guessed.
Her mother nodded in confirmation, "Uleuda. It's a sacred place, a safe place for people like us. It's somewhere we can all meet and confer, no matter where we all are in Idalos."
Zephy gasped, "You mean, Yludih from all over the world can meet in this one place? How?" She was simply flabbergasted.
Her mother chuckled, "It's better to just show you. Here, relax your shoulders and ease your muscles," Zephy shook herself, flinging out all the stiffness from their days work and rolled her shoulders back. "Now close your eyes and focus your mind," Zephy eased her eyelids shut and sunk into the blackness of her mind, the rain outside pounded and trickled, but the softness of her mother's voice rung through the white noise, "Ignore the outside, ignore the inside, listen to nothing but your own breath."
Zephy sucked in a long, drawn breath and held it a moment before releasing it slowly. With her breath she let her mind sink deeper into the black of her still mind. She listened to her heart thrum in her chest and eased into her own body - snap! Zephy jerked with the sound of a snapping twig outside. Suddenly the relaxing thrumming of the rain became an incessant hounding on the tarp above her head. The wind rustled the bushes outside and the crinkle of the leaves only irked her ears even more as she attempted to ignore it.
Zephy shook herself and again drew in a deep breath to calm herself and restart the meditation. Hoo-hoot-hoo-hoot! "Ugh!!!" Zephy huffed and slumped, slapping her hands on her knees. "It's no use. Everything outside is distracting me!"
Without opening her eyes, her mother smiled, "Try again," She soothed. "Maybe this time focus on the smooth flicker of the flame. Watch it dance in harmony with the wind and in turn harmonise your mind with the world around you."
Zephy looked upon the stillness of her mother with awe. She was always so patient and contented and Zephy admired how her mother never seemed frazzled with anything. Grunting out the last of her irritation, Zephy smiled inwardly, relaxing her shoulders and back and again rested her hands softly on her knees. This time she did as her mother suggested and watched the candle's small flame dance elegantly in the light breeze. It was pretty, the oranges and reds melding together and shaping around each other in unison. The more she watched the flame the more it reminded Zephy of her mother, dancing around the world. Zephy began to sway her body with the grace of the candle flame and found that by focusing on the serenity of the fire, the world outside began to melt away.
She closed her eyes and breathed deep.
