[Yldria] Learning by Crystal Light

[Genuvah]

Date: 7th Cylus 717

Genuvah's waking body lay sleeping in a well-appointed inn at Scalvoris Town. He'd booked the best room for the night, thinking it was time to treat himself to a proper sleep. It didn't hurt that the feather bed made the transition to Uleuda more comfortable somehow. Or maybe it was his imagination.

It'd been over a year since he ventured from the veil of sleep into this crystalline realm. In fact, not since Qada had introduced him to the method of entering Uleuda had he even set 'feet' inside it.

As he materialized in the light of Yldria, his back turned toward it, he had a look at what passed for his feet in the realm. Qada had said that as he became more practiced in entering this realm, his form would grow more refined and less 'jagged'. His feet were little more than a few points sticking to the reflective floor of Uleuda.

There was only one instruction Qada had given him, upon teaching him the central mystery of his race. One should never give their true name in the realm of Uleuda, much less details about one's waking life. Such information could easily be used against him, and not all Yludih were well-intending toward their own brethren.

His vision became accustomed to the surroundings as the moments passed. He looked around, and listened, careful to avoid the sight of the bright center of Yldria. There were several Yludih in attendance, listening to the crystal tones of an elder instructing them. They appeared to be newcomers, although Qada assured Genuvah that one could never be certain by another's appearance.

He approached carefully, and took a seat at the outskirts. The Elder was given a speech in Ulehi, just a few words that were barely intelligible to Genuvah. His understanding so far of Ulehi was poor. Listening to the elder trill on in Ulehi, about the intricacies of their spoken language, Genuvah sat there. Hopefully some of what he was teaching would catch on.

[Yanahalqah]

It was almost over. Only thirty-odd trials left until she would have completed her punishment. She found she had done relatively well, especially during the later seasons. To say that she was done running probably was blowing things out of proportion, but she was making progress, she found. Her mind wandered less to the events from several seasons past, and had focused more on herself. She had accepted that what was done could not be undone, and dwelling on it was not going to improve her condition any. But she could learn from her mistakes, and that she did. She had revisited the events multiple times in her mind, playing them over and over, trying to imagine what she could have done differently, and what outcome it would have had.

That was then however, more recently she had turned her gaze inwards, trying to unravel herself. Perhaps she would never have without a trigger from Idalos causing her to ponder about her own self. At least there was some use for that world and its denizens.

Still, despite her efforts, the crystal forest still made her feel uncomfortable. It was to be expected, and the “exposure therapy” she had been subjected to last season hadn’t helped all that much. The only reason she’d been able to make it through that without breaking down entirely was that she’d been able to use the weapons they’d been given as a proverbial crutch. The light from the mother crystal did have a soothing effect after all, or at least she thought so. However, it was not a permanent solution. If she could not enter the forest without either a shard of Yldria, or being reduced to a terrified sobbing mess, well, then what was the point?

Speaking of the mother crystal, Yana found her feet had brought her right to it, for one or other reason. She’d been walking without real goal or purpose, and now here she stood, basking in its light. It was as magnificent as always, grand and majestic. It shone brightly, Yludih that spawned in Uleuda stepped out of the brightest area, into the crystal dimension.

Voices reached her, and the Yludih turned her head, trying to spot the source. Staring right into the light of the mother crystal had blinded her though, and she could only make out vague shapes, somehow managing to avoid collision with other Yludih as she stumbled into the direction of the voices. The closer she got, the better she could hear them, allowing her to actually listen and make out the individual words spoken. It was a class. A class about… language. Ulehi. Yana would have frowned if she could, nodding to herself. Her grip on the language was far from perfect, she knew, and perhaps attending would help her improve, if only a little.

With her sight slowly returning, the scarred Yludih approached slowly, careful not to fall over anything, or bump into anyone. She stayed at the back of the small class, sitting down next to what she suspected was a Yludih male. He was new, she thought, judging from his appearance. Rudimentary of shape, with very little in regards to discerning features that might set him apart from the crowd. Yana was different, though not much. Her form was slightly feminine, enough that anyone who saw her knew she was not male. Her arms showed small hair-thin cracks, and even her shoulders and upper torso did, though those were hidden beneath her robes. Her face, or lack thereof, was quite like everyone else’s, except for the one ravine running over the place where her right eye would have been. On the left side there was a rudimentary eye shape, though by no means could it be compared to those of the Ancients. Maybe if she'd had a mouth and lips she might have smiled politely at him, but now she only gave him a small nod in greeting.

[Genuvah]

Genuvah wasn't entirely without definition himself, though he was still very young. Although much of his boxy jagged body was apparent beneath the flowing, shimmering fabric of his tunic and leggings, there were some details besides. His rudimentary eyes shone under a depression that spread across what would've been his face in a visor. The 'visor' was indented in the middle like a poorly drawn impression of a frown. Even so, he had slight hopes one day of improving his rendition in this realm, but that wasn't his focus. For now, he'd rarely ventured outside of the radius of Yldria herself when he bothered to appear to Uleuda at all.

The elder still trilled on despite the newcomers' intrusion to his lessons. "Ulehi is a language within languages. We all come from different walks of life, speaking different tongues until such time as we are introduced by our elders to our true nature. Ulehi is a web couched in riddles to conceal hide half-truths." Genuvah didn't understand entirely the words that were spoken, but knew some and made up the gaps with what passed for logic. The rest of the assembly intoned word after word that the old man spoke, following it up with a syllable here or there that was out of place. He knew this because some words he understood, and they were purposefully mispronounced.

Then Gen thought he understood, they were interpreting in code themselves. He guessed the code was meant to lend understanding to those Yludih listening in, so they might know what the composition of the speech sounded like in various different languages. Perhaps there were more layers to it than that, but such things were meant for the more advanced among them. He wondered how long the elder took to come up with this code, or if it came as easily to Yludih as blinking or breathing was to the native people of Idalos.

When the newcomer entered their midst, Genuvah acknowledged her nod with an arm outstretched in her general direction, and a slight incline of his torso, trying what he supposed must've looked like a chivalrous bow. Not wanting to disrupt the lessons being delivered by the elder, nor put her on the spot, Genuvah didn't address the female, yet.

The elder trilled yet more, this speech going much rougher than the last, perhaps taking notice of the newcomers, "We escape longer and longer amidst True Light of the erudite, ascendant scions of a Tower. A Tower that has almost troubled the lights of another dawn. Gone is escape to the Tower's summit. So I transcend." The crystal chorus of mangled Ulehi followed his speech as it had for a while now.

Either the elder was getting a little crazy from exposure to so much of Yldria's light, or else had adopted a less sophisticated way of communicating, as a way of roping in the newcomers to learn.

Genuvah tried a few words there, that he was unfamiliar with, "Escapem, Ylight. Sealmost lflight is Gegonen." He thought he was catching on to this game of words, or maybe he was mangling it terribly and in the most amateur way possible. Well, they were most of them there to learn, weren't they?

[Yanahalqah]

Yana listened attentively to the speeching monk, though to be honest she was not really sure she understood just what was going on. They were talking in Ulehi, yes, and she understood the words spoken. She knew the conventional meaning of the words. But this did not seem to be conventional Ulehi at all. It sounded like nonsense. Even gibberish at times. Like a toddler speaking in riddles. She would have frowned if she'd had a brow, but now all she could do was stare blankly and blink a couple times in confusion. The scarred Yludih stared at the male next to her in an attempt to read whether he was as lost as she was, but naturally that was not how things worked here. The only thing she did see, now that her sight had completely returned, was that the person actually showed the beginnings of facial features. The eyes in particular. And an odd indentation.

Maybe if Yana had not been in Uleuda, and if she'd been unable to understand even a single word of what was being said, she might have believed she had chosen to attend some sort of cult by accident. All the ingredients were there; a leader preaching nonsense, a choir of attendees repeating everything he said as if they were an echo comprised of many voices. Also the typical Yludih clothing which was almost identical in each individual, much like cultist robes tended to be. Lastly what was spoken sounded as if it could have been plucked straight from ancient tomes. Something about True Light, scions of a Tower, and transcending. Even though she did know the conventional meaning of everything that was said, the speech itself gave her the creeps, and if she'd been anywhere else she would have stood up and fled immediately. Heck, even now it felt as if they were chanting the necessary incantations for summoning the most powerful of demonic entities, so they could harness their power and bring ruin upon their enemies. She shivered.

While the old monk grew more and more feverish in his mannerisms and speech, bellowing and roaring with the charisma and conviction only a true zealot could muster, Yana was glad her face was still incapable of expressing emotion, as she would probably have eyes the size of saucers by now. Much to her dismay, the person next to her --who had kept silent up until now, and had appeared more … normal than the rest-- joined in, also spouting some nonsense. Though it sounded far less intimidating and insane than what the elder had been letting loose. Nevertheless, there was some positive humming coming from the people around them, and it seemed even the elder had heard. He nodded approvingly. However, he then pointed at Yana, gesturing for her to have a go.

She cried on the inside, only wanting to melt into the ground so she could observe without being disturbed. Yet, she stood slowly, knowing there likely was no way out. She could only give it her all. She coughed in her fist briefly, deciding to bring it as dramatically as possible. Though what she would bring... it was a mystery even to her. Yana decided to just start speaking in a tone fitting for one of Lord Venora's plays.

“Oh, great abomination composed of noodles and chunks of meat!”

Aelig's balls, she cringed internally. What in the world was she saying? How? Why? Just roll with it.

“I bestow upon thee, three cups of sugar and a spoonful of guano! My brethren they seek vengeance for the measles, and a large ham!”

That was probably the worst performance in the history of theater, and Yana quickly sat herself back down, staring at her feet. She was not sure what she had said, or what meaning could be tied to her words, but she was fairly sure that it probably wasn't anything good. That, or gibberish. The latter was very likely, and she hoped it turned out her words meant nothing at all. For now though, she could only wait and hope for the best. In the meantime however, she decided to ask the young male next to her about the class. "Excuse me," she whispered, "Can I ask just what we are doing?" She was fully aware that her question probably sounded ridiculous, but well, she hadn't really been around to hear the explanation clearly.

[Genuvah]

Genuvah would have quirked a brow if he could have, as the proceedings took a strange turn. The woman next to him stood to her feet and began talking about... flying spaghetti monsters... He wondered for a moment if he'd lost the script, if she was speaking in even higher riddles. As if he had it to begin with.

Or perhaps she was just as lost about what was going on as he was. His first clue was when the elder nodded sagely at their gibberish, and even more feverishly at hers, trilling wordlessly in what he could only presume was pleasure.

"Humm..." Genuvah lifted his hand to what would've been his scalp, to signal confusion.

Then the female next to him, after giving her speech about noodles, guano and ham, sat back down, and began asking him what they were doing in sensible language. He was relieved to confirm that she wasn't a part of this mob, although he could only make out a little of what she said, He replied, "Hum... I thought this was language teaching... But now thought maybe not. This elder, maybe lost mind?" Genuvah whispered as quietly as possible. The upper inflection on his last word caught the attention of the elder, who pointed Genuvah out to the rest of the small assembly. If they weren't learning languages, then what were they doing here. And why would the Ancients allow this weirdo near to Yldria?

The members of the small assembly all got to their feet, turned around and began humming in tones barely audible. It was unsettling to say the least. "Um..." Genuvah began, as the assembly singled him out and began chanting in what he could only presume was an entirely different language of the Yludih. He glanced apprehensively at the female next to him. "What I do?" Was this normal? Was the female a part of this?!

"Never under Light! The Assembly intoned, slowly lurching toward the pair as Genuvah himself got to his feet. "Never under Light!

[Yanahalqah]

At least the elder seemed to like what she had said, nodding so feverishly that Yana feared his head would be sent flying. The mob broke out in whispers and pleased humming, apparently also believing that Yana had done well. Or had said something clever and profound. Or maybe they were just mimicking the monk while actually having no idea what was going on. Then again, maybe they had spent too much time around the crazy monk and had caught whatever was ailing the man.

Fortunately, the male next to her was fairly normal, though his Ulehi wasn’t all that great. He had no clue what was going on either, saying he believed they were taking a language class. Yana had thought the exact same thing before she had joined the group, but now it was clear that they were probably teaching anything but languages. Unless those nonsense riddles were supposed to be Qa. She doubted it though.

“Sounds likely,” she agreed. Wanting to say more, but she cut herself off as the people gathered got to their feet and started to hum in ominous tones. They turned all in his direction then, quickly forming a circle around the duo while chanting the same line over and over. Yana jumped to her feet, feeling very much alarmed and threatened. Were these weirdo’s slowly closing in?
“I don’t know!” she hissed in something of a panicky voice, “What did you do? Why are they surrounding us? Why am I caught up in this?”

As the scarred Yludih frantically looked around the circle of cultists for a way out, she noticed that they definitely were coming closer. She had no idea what they were going to do when they could touch them, but she wanted none of it. They had to get out!

“By the power of the grey skull!” she roared at them in her theatrical booming voice, trying to mimic the elder’s way of speaking, “The power, I am! Forsooth, my trusty mount of honor! The tenth commandment crumbles under the weight of thyne corrupted souls! Contain the urges to consume copious amounts of toothpaste!”

They ceased their movement and chanting for a brief moment, only to look at the elder who was stroking his chin as if he were a great sage.
“Light of Holy Crystal, a baptism for the newly converted. Though she speaks the words of a great prophet, we can never allow heathens under the Light!”

“Never under Light!” the group chanted, taking a step forwards again.

“Baptize these poor sinners, that they may recall their true identity and bask in the blessing of our Holy Mother! That their spirit may be freed from doubt and corruption of the waking world! That their minds may be enlightened and the path to their destiny illuminated!” He threw his arms in the air and his head backwards, facing the sky. “Bless them with the Light!”

“Blessing of Light! Blessing of Light!”

Maybe in any other place she would have thought such groups to be ridiculous, but stuck in the middle of one, unarmed and in a public place where no one was interfering for some reason, made her feel very much afraid. They needed to escape! How? What route? Which action first, what then? Think, think! Someone placed a hand on her shoulder, and she reacted out of reflex, punching them in the face without second thought.

“Forgive the confused souls their insolence, dear Mother, for their mind is weak and their crystal is filled with impurities! Do not take offense to thoughtless acts committed by the lost lambs, for they are not in control of their actions!” the monk preached again.

“Purification by Light!” the crowd chanted.

[Genuvah]

Ho boy.

This was definitely not a class in Qa. If he had any doubts before, they were quashed now. Though they may be speaking Qa, the... Well who the hell cared, they needed to get out and get out now. Genuvah tried escaping the ordinary way, practicing what Qada had taught him those few arcs ago. All he needed to do was wake up.

"Click your heels and wake to a dark room!" Went the chant from the surrounding cultists. A few moments passed by as the group formed a circle around the would-be converts. Nothing happened. Genuvah didn't wake in his inn room, dark or otherwise. What the hell... am I just new to this or...

He tried to ask the female if she knew. He tapped her on the shoulder, "Do you know how..." She punched him in the face, taking a chip out of his jaw and sending him sprawling to the ground. Sucker punched, giving some ground between them, the force of her strike was strong enough to send him nearly flying toward the feet of the cultists.

Then, a loud trilling cry sounded from high above them. What looked like a winged steed in crystal form was flying toward the group quickly. It alighted to the ground where the cultists had the two circled. It neighed superficially, and then looked toward Yana, nudging its head toward it's back as if to say, "Need a lift?"

Genuvah just lay there looking at the huge chimerical creature. His jaw would be agape if he had formed an illusory mouth in this realm.

The cultists seemed to be given pause by the appearance of this newcomer, and stood back still chanting in their strange way while the Monk in charge of them shouted instructions. "Never before has there been a time in which a Toddler could cast great cream over a Forest demon!"

"Forest Demon!"

[Yanahalqah]

“Oh!” Yana gasped as soon as she turned around to see she hadn’t punched a cultist, but the unfortunate Yludih who’d been caught in the middle of it all, just like she had been. “Sorry! You startled me!” It was less of an apology, and more of a defense, a justification, but it would have to do. He shouldn’t have grabbed her by the shoulder in the first place, not in this situation. How could she have known it was him? Not at all. He should have read the mood, really.

She did reach for his forearm to yank him back to his feet though, preferring not to sacrifice her companion for the sake of her own skin. It would weigh on her conscience. Probably.

All of a sudden, a winged beast descended, the sound of its wings filling the air with vibrations, the shriek of a wineglass. If she’d had a mouth, it would probably have fallen agape by now. Yana had absolutely no idea what was happening anymore. This whole series of events made no sense whatsoever, but was just too fantastical to be something her mind had come up with. Thus, there was no way for it not to be true. Still, her mind wondered if she had somehow ended up intoxicated by imbibing hallucinogenic substances. Not that she could remember taking any. Never mind that, were Yludih even affected by drugs?

“Hop on!” A familiar voice called out to her, popping the bubble of daze Yana had fallen into. “Hurry!”

The cultists were still closing in, hesitantly now, unsure whether the beast that had descended was going to attack or not. Yana did as instructed, launching herself at the back of the beast, managing to drape herself over it. A pair of hands helped her in getting to a more comfortable sitting position, the color of which jogged Yana’s memory.
“The Pink Girl?” she muttered, not sure if she was really awake or not. What was she doing here, and how had she gotten this mount?

“Quickly, get your friend!” the girl ordered, nudging Yana anxiously. The Cultists were getting way too close, threatening to overrun the mount if they did not leave soon.
“Grab my hand,” Yana called to the male, proceeding to pull him on the steed’s back if he complied.

The Pink Girl wasn’t patient enough to wait for very long though, and as soon as Genuvah was on the flying creature’s back in one way or another, the mount took off, vaulting high into the air and soaring through the sky. The ground beneath them grew further and further away with every beat of the crystal pegasus’s wings, though not as quickly as Yana had expected. In fact, it appeared as if the beast had to put a whole lot of effort into maintaining its flight altogether, and soon enough they were done ascending. Instead, the mount held its wings spread out to glide.

“Is this normal?” Yana asked nervously, having noticed they were not going forwards as much as they were falling anymore. It was still enough to qualify as gliding, probably, but the way the ground was closing in was worrisome.
“Not exactly,” the Pink Girl squeaked, “I think three people are too heavy for him.” She patted the Pegasus’s neck, whispering kind words, trying to encourage it to not let the bunch of them crash into the forest. “Hold on! We’re going to land!” the girl yelled over the rushing wind. “It’s going to be fine… I hope!”

Now that was not very reassuring.

[Yanahalqah]

Yana held on for dear life, her knees digging into the flanks of the Pegasus, and her arms nearly squished the Pink Girl into a crystalline pulp. Behind her, she saw Genuvah do something similar, though she couldn’t be too sure, as he attention was drawn to the scenery below. It was approaching terrifyingly fast, crystal trees growing larger and larger, air rushing past in a thunderous roar. The Pink Girl was desperately trying to encourage her mount as it started beating its wings feverously, though its efforts were largely in vain.

The Pegasus whinnied in terror, doing its best to stop their fall, but the ground was coming dangerously close now. People yelled along with the beast, just as frightened as it. Yana pinched her eye closed, cutting off the visual information in a futile attempt to deny the situation as a whole. The sensation of her asterism ascending into her throat, as well as the sensation of falling to one’s doom did not allow it though, and before long her eye was open again, going wide at the sight of the intertwining crowns of the crystal trees spreading out just below. The Yludih braced themselves, and the next moment they crashed into the branches, smashing right through them. Numerous cries of breaking glass echoed through the forest, the trees singing in grief for their lost appendages. The impact of the crash nearly sent Yana flying off of the mount, but before she could, they crashed a second time.

This time they hit the ground, the Pegasus trying to absorb the impact with its legs, but the weight on its back was too great, and it collapsed, one leg snapping in half. The force of the crash made an indentation in the forest underground, the mount skidding a couple meters forward before it came to a stop. Somewhere along the way, Yana had been thrown off of the back, landing hard in a tangle of limbs. She’d tumbled and rolled, dispersing most of the impact, leaving her mostly unharmed. Her whole body did hurt though, and one knee gave away when she tried to put weight on it. She cursed, fell on her face, and cursed some more.

“Lean on me,” the Pink Girl’s voice came. Looking up, Yana saw a hand being extended towards her. She grabbed hold of it immediately, and was pulled onto her feet by the unexpected strength of the smaller Yludih. Her non-existent features must have communicated her surprise somehow, since the girl commented on it as Yana used her as support.
“I’ve started to work out more since last time,” she grinned, “so I can be of help when something like that happens again.”

Yana didn’t say anything at that, instead intentionally choosing to focus on the placement of her feet as the duo walked towards the Pegasus. There was an awkward silence for a couple moments.
“Sorry I brought that up,” the Pink Girl said, her tone having lost a lot of its bubbly cheer.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get over it.” She did not meet the other Yludih’s gaze. “Eventually.”

The two of them watched as the Pegasus broke into several different crystal creatures, which scattered in all different directions. Some flew, some burrowed. Some jumped, and others just ran. There wasn’t much said after that. It wasn’t that Yana wasn’t full of questions; why was the Pink Girl here? How had she known where to find Yana? Where did she get that winged horse? But all those questions were not important right now. Neither of them were in good shape physically –Yana had hurt her leg, and the other Yludih’s left arm hung limp at the shoulder—or mentally. The Pink Girl did her best to hide it with her natural bubbly nature, but it felt too forced, too much an act to be anything but. She might have talked pretty lightly about it before, but the girl was not over it herself. Yana could see it in her movements. In the way her head snapped from left to right. She could hear it in her voice when she spoke. Neither of them were ready to be in the forest. Not by themselves, nor together.

“Let’s find your friend and go back to the city. We need to get ourselves patched up.” The tone was light, almost cheerful. It was only a little off, but a little was more than enough for Yana to notice.
“Yes, let’s,” the scarred Yludih agreed, wrapping her arm a little tighter around the other girl’s shoulders, placing a little more weight on her than necessary. She felt the girl’s hold of her grow stronger as well, keeping her close. If she’d had lips, Yana would have created a quivering smile.

[Djinn]

Yanah

Rewards:
Knowledge:

1. Unarmed Combat: Sucker Punch
2. Detection: Locating a sound's source
3. Linguistics: Qa
4. Qa: sounds like nonsense
5. Qa: coded language
6. Investigation or Intelligence: Recognizing the signs of a cult
7. Rhetoric: dramatic voice
8. Endurance: Bracing yourself
9. Acrobatics: Roll to disperse impact from falling
10. Endurance: leaning on someone to walk

Loot: None.
Injuries/Overstepping: Minor injuries.
Fame: None
Devotion: None


Genuvah, please submit your request and it will be added to this thread.