The Dawn of New El'yssi

[Jakers]

After she herself finished talking, Kula couldn't help but smile a little bit as she watched the Fytali answered soon after, her eye trailing up from its previous low position that was carefully examining the little scratches in her desk. He looked like a wheyfish caught in the hunt being asked the question, and struggled to find an answer. The one he eventually found was lackluster, but... she couldn't help but like that awkwardness. There was something about it that gave Kula the feeling he was genuine and kind person. Not wanting to stare for even a millisecond, she kept her eye to the front, however.

As Caris stated his intentions for being an explorer, her eyes widened a little bit. Kyrik? She'd heard that name before. At first she thought she was making up memories in her head, but she'd definitely heard it before. She could remember Dex, her old mentor from the North, recieting that name. She couldn't remember in what context, but she'd definitely heard of it. She smiled to herself for a moment at the nice coincidence, before her eyes trailed to the floor guiltily at the thought of poor old Dex. She didn't know much about Reylla, but her reasons were what Kula would've expected. Making her own way; seizing the chance of exploration when she heard about the concept. It felt like she lived so freely. Perhaps that was one of the keys to her fearlessness.

The group parted with the strong words of the other Southern Sári in the building that seemed to leave the room in silence. Kula hadn't noticed her until now, and a little surge of some sort of good feeling went through her stomach. She hadn't seen one of her kind in what felt like forever, and it seemed rare for a Southern Sári to become an explorer; likely for refusal to leave the wonderful comfort of their homeplace, or to leave the many honoured families that lay deep within the sea. Kula suddenly didn't feel so alien anymore. She wondered what family the other girl was from. She wanted to talk about her homeland; the bluey seas, the wonderful environment, almost as if she was a child in pre-school again. Soon, however, the words of Geriza made it evident it was time to leave.

~ ~ ~​

They arrived. She heard the explanation, and it was straightforward enough, yet the addition of a catch was obvious. There would be some sort of horrid trap; some sort of disgusting beast, but Kula had come to expect it by now. She just had to stay sharp and push through whatever grime or filth was thrown at her in one of the three darkened entrances. Her body behind the elder Fytáli's as he finished talking and began to smoke on his pipe, Kula looked at the terrace for a moment, before continuing on their makeshift conversation from where he'd left it in the classroom.

"I ponder when that day will come: the one when I finally understand you, Geriza. You seem to have a habit of keeping everything mysterious." She pursed her deep silver lips, a blue eye flickering ahead like a lamp as she continued with a less serious tone. "...But, for now... what wonderful things have you stuffed in here for us, I wonder..." Kula sighed, a half-joking/half-dreading smile forming on her lips. She began to walk away, but paused, seemingly ready to say something else. All it ended up being, however, was a quiet: "See you in the morning." The short figure rejoined her two colossal allies, her eyes squinting at the terrace.

Pausing for a moment in thought, Kula felt strange. A very quiet, high-pitched hum was filling her ears; her muscles were getting stiff. It was a feeling she wasn't expecting: excitement. Grinding her pointed teeth and shaking her head slightly, she tried to throw the foolish feeling away. A state of calm was all she needed right now. Being with the two people (and animal) she knew helped with that a lot; it was almost as if their very presence was emanating some kind of soothing aura. She wouldn't have minded being paired with strangers, but being paired with one from the suspiciously disrespectful group would've been the last thing she wanted.

The young Sári tightened the bandage on the one half of her face, before taking a gulp of the woody, sweet-smelling air that calmed her nerves. It wasn't anything like the fresh and gorgeous smell of the southern seas, but this foreign smell was still undeniably wonderful.
"...Ready, then?" Kula quietly asked to her two comrades as she looked ahead of her. Whilst her eyes weren't completely purged of fear, her slender and silvery body faced forward with no signs of hesitation.

 

[becna]

The moment the elder is out the door Reylla is up, the chair at her desk crashing to the floor as a result of her velocity. Velos springs up at once and is at his Mistress's side as she jogs lightly out the door, beckoning excitedly to her companions. She kept this pace the whole way, following the elder and Velos fairly easily, though navigating the low tree branches and roots are a little troublesome; several knocks on the head later, and Reylla finally seems to have the hang of ducking while watching her feet.

As the elder stops and tosses out the bundles Reylla snatches one from the ground, interested in inspecting it even as he speaks. However it seemed a lot less exciting than she'd anticipated so she holds it loosely in her hands, forcing herself to pay attention. Survival sounded like an exciting venture, especially since all three of them were out of their element.

Finally released, nods to Kula's question before giving the Fytali a pointed look and a grin. "One o' these days sir, we'll share a pipeful." She then turns her attention back to her companions, walking away from the other groups to study the equipment they'd been handed. Velos sits obediently at her side, no longer seeming wary of the two Sari. He had gotten used to their presence by now, and seemed to view them as - while not friends - definitely not a threat to his mistress.

"Glad I got you two." Reylla announces cheerfully as they approach the entrance that the elder had pointed out. "Always nice to camp with people you know won't slit your throat in the dark!" She claps them both on the back, seeming to think this was something to laugh about. After her chuckles subside, she rubs her nose excitedly, glancing between them before looking over the less than friendly team. "Let's get down quick before that lot gets ahead of us and sets traps. They look like the type, eh?" She looks around the terrace, trying to determine whether they were to go around it somehow, or straight over the side to get below.

 

[TerraBooma]

The elder's laugh but Caris on edge for a short time, he'd been expecting criticism of his grandfather's quest for awhile, but the potential of it begin so soon was still a bit of a shock. Fortunately before he could send out a bitter retort the elder continued to speak, and from what he was saying, his grandfather had some history with him. He didn't remember him from and of his grandpa's stories...but maybe there was a reason for that. The names were always changing with the stories, and Caris had a hard time dealing with remembering all of them. Vin was someone he only remembered after he introduced himself. Still...the elder was an enigma to the northern Sari, and he made a mental note to ask his grandfather about him whenever he got the chance to visit. Visiting would be tricky, but if he could walk all the way to the trials, he could walk all the way back. Maybe Kula could even get her fancy ride again! Caris was still kinda suprised that she had access to the carriage. Were they more common in the south? It struck Caris he didn't really know much about his closest friend, and even less about Ryella. The others had honorable intentions for joining, and he nodded softly as they each responded. Something bugged him a bit about Kula though, why had she hesitated? Caris simply shrugged it off, whatever the reason was for her hesitation, it wasn't his business to pry.

The journey to the vines felt a bit boring to Caris, he wanted to find new building site,s not stare at plants. They had been interesting enough on his way into the region, and they were a contrast to the snowy abyss of his homeland, but the snow was kind of comforting, and all the vegetation made Caris feel cramped sometimes. The trial was just something he had to get through to access Guild libraries, and he was confident it would be worth it.

When it came to groups, Caris was glad that he was still with Kula and Ryella. He chuckled softly at Ryella's throat slitting comment, but he also didn't want to be in a group with the snobs anytime soon. He knew he could trust Ryella, Kula, and even Velos with his life. They weren't quite friends yet, but they'd been through too much together to be anything less than good comrades. Fighting for your life against giant slime balls could do that he supposed. When he found a break in the conversation, Caris agreed with Ryella's sentiment of speed.

"Time's going to work against us here, we need to be fast. Picking a direction is probably something we'll need time for, and the faster we go the better the campsite. I don't know how useful I'll be here without a giant lake or some kind of ice glacier appearing out of nowhere, but we'll see what I can do with brute force." He let out a hearty chuckle and pushed ahead of the others. "Water based environment is probably our best bet right Kula? Long as Ryella and our dog friend here can swim well enough, that would be the idea situation. Or we could always just pick a direction at random. That works too." Caris started moving through the opening that the Elder pointed out, which he found pleasantly surprising to actually big as big as the elder claimed. As the group moved, he decided to try and make some small talk to pass time on the way to the divide.

"So then, what's life like in the southern sea? Is it as warm as they claim? Is there really no icebergs? I couldn't stop by on the way here. It was kind of a long enough journey as it was. And Ryella, how's your homeland? Just as cold as I'm imagining?"

 

[rechonq]

The Fytali's response was pretty common knowledge, at least to him. He already knew their were endless combinations of concoctions just waiting to be discovered by him. It wasn't long before he just upright announced the groups and walked out of the building. Sergey was a little worried about not even knowing his group yet. He barely managed to pick up most of their names when he greeted everyone with their question, but he didn't think most of them would know his. Some sort of formal greetings would be necessary when there was a break. With this guy it didn't seem like there was ever going to be a break though.

They finally did reach a rocky terrace and were given the mission to survive. It didn't seem like that difficult of a mission. Even without any food for the night, he could certainly survive. Getting water though might be a problem. He had his own water pouch that was still mostly full, but he wasn't sure about the others. Finding clean water might be a good first idea. After hearing the mission, Sergey went ahead and grabbed the map and light. He examined the stick to see what made it light and it seemed to be a pretty basic compound. He then turned to find the ragtag group that was supposed to come together. A Thari, Fytali, Southern Sari and Synthi, they seemed like a pretty diverse group. He tried to sort of gather them together for an introduction. "Hey, so I guess we're going to be working together on this. My name's Sergey Ailein, but you can just call me Sergey or Serg, or whatever you want really. Anyways I feel pretty ready to just go, but I didn't know if any of you wanted anything first. I don't think we'll be the first ones there, but we should be fine. We'll just follow them to the division." Sergey saw the other groups setting off already, but thought they could just clear any dangers before the division for them.

 

[Jakers]

Walking with her two - technically three - other group members, Kula let out a quiet wheeze as the big clap on her shoulder from Reylla knocked her forward slightly. Looking up at her, Kula also chuckled at Reylla's comment, though she herself was chuckling nervously and in a slightly forced manner. That... was a joke, right?
"Um... I suppose that's one way to put it...?" Kula quietly replied as her quiet, awkward laugh died down into nothing as Reylla bought up an importance of going first she hadn't thought about.

"Traps? I certainly hope not. They wouldn't dare do that." Kula took a glance behind her for a moment. Would they really do something like that? They seemed impolite at best, not actually evil. "If they did pull a stunt like that, they'd regret it. ...But I know what you mean, about them seeming 'the type'. The fact they refused to even acknowledge an elder teacher makes me wonder why they're actually here. Best to keep an eye on them from a distance. ...Still, perhaps they're not so bad." Kula murmured as she trailed her eyes back ahead of her. Caris then began to talk; something he said made Kula frown a little.

"Don't put yourself down, Caris. You don't need glaciers to be useful. Need I remind you that I'd be dead if it wasn't for you?" Kula quietly mentioned, lightly bopping the side of the Northern Sári's leg as she continued to walk with the three. "And... um... yes, whilst water-based environments would be our best bet... perhaps we should stick to terrain we're all totally comfortable with. Unless, Reylla, you and Velos are more aquatic than meets the eye?" Kula asked half jokingly, before replying to Caris' question about the Southern seas.

As she answered, Kula's shining blue eye trailed towards the ground with some sort of reminiscing look. It didn't take a psychology expert to assume the Southern Sári was feeling a little bit homesick. She could cope, for sure, otherwise she wouldn't be an explorer. Being so far away from home, however, was something she just wasn't used to yet.
"Haha... well, there are certainly no icebergs, I can promise you that." Kula began in reply to Caris. "I suppose most people would consider it a hot climate, but... the water always felt just right there. And not just in terms of warmth. It always felt so... clear. If you went to the right places, the water felt so fresh it was like you were simply swimming in air." Kula smiled to herself weakly for a moment, before adding: "...I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the southern seas even a little bit. Standing on landmasses that aren't beaches or islands still feels a little weird to me. But I suppose there's still a chance I can return, even for a little bit. Maybe I'll be able to take you there someday."

 

[iiSaralaxyii]

Cerelia, as usual, was ready to go soon as said. Her father had trained to always be ready to go cause you never know what might happen. Soon as she saw the Fytali open the door and make his way out, she was on her feet and following. As the group trekked the meadow, however, she fell behind the rest of the group to admire the forestry. Living your whole life underwater left much to be said about the land. Her eyes watched the leaves, seeing them sway when she wind breathed life over the lands. A smile fell on her, before Cerelia looked up and saw she was falling behind. Cursing herself, Cerelia jogged up to everyone and stayed where she was, refusing to fall behind again. Though she did look at the world around her, which is why she noticed quickly when it became darker and the light had a harder time passing through. Immediately, her guard was up and Cerelia tensed. She kept an eye out and listened for anything that could potentially harm her. However, nothing happened in after a short while the group stopped in front of a large rocky terrace.

Making her way to the front of the group, Cerelia watched as the elder pulled some things from a large pouch. She was curious about the equipment, however, listened up when he began speaking. Hearing what he, Cerelia narrowed her eyes slightly and looked ahead. If the old man didn't have something planned, then he knew what was out there. If she had been younger, immature, and naive, she'd have been terrified. That was then before she went to the Academy. Before she learned. Now, she knew, if even a little, what to expect. Her gaze switched the elder as he sat down and piped some more, before nodding to their gear. While the first group grabbed their gear, then a Synthi who was no doubt with her and the others, Cerelia just watched. She had been watching the first group with interest, her light orange eyes shining with curiosity. That changed however as her gaze shifted to the Synthi who was introducing himself and getting their strange group together. Hearing his little greeting, Cerelia was amused and guessed him to be the awkward type. Walking past him, Cerelia grabbed her gear and turned to the Synthi. "Suppose so Tech Boy. I'm ready to go as well. All of you, hurry and grab your gear or you're getting left behind." She said, looking over the group.. "A mile takes around 20 minutes to walk, though it's probably going to take longer with anything we run into, and we have to survive till morning which means we can't just get it and come back." With her calculations finished, Cerelia turned and started walking towards the entrance before the had to choose a different path. Eyeing the group, she guessed they'd take a water route due to the two Sari's. Which meant they couldn't. Damn. I work best in water too. She thought, narrowing her eyes, before turning to look at her group. A Fytali is good with nature, Synthi are tech freaks, and a Thari probably prefer land any day. Thinking about it, Cerelia guessed they should take a path with trees that offer thick foliage in case of rain. The Fytali probably wouldn't mind, Tech Boy keep his gadgets dry, and the Thari probably wouldn't mind. At least, that's what she thought. "We'll take a foret path, or something similar. I think it'd work well with this group. Better for some, more than others." She told the group, checking to make sure they agreed with the decision. If not, they could speak up, though Cerelia doubted there would be a better option.

 

[AutumnWyvern]

Zahnii nodded at the elder's words to her. She was well aware of the peculiarities of her Tribe, and how over the years that has caused then to be pushed towards the brink. But, there was strength to be found in the struggle for survival. Though to her eyes this was not enough. If there was no clear way to best the other Thari tribes, surely the solution was to find glory elsewhere? She couldn't understand why the others could not see this, but she was sure that they will thank her and see the err in their judgement once her name and the Manul Tribe is known throughout the lands!

After being addressed Zahnii found a place to sit as she waited for the others to make their way to the strange classroom hut. She selected a desk near the window, spending her idle time tracing the paths of birds with her eyes. She wasn't completely unaware, though. Anyone observing her could notice the movement of her ears, twitching and swiveling whenever someone came through the door. On occasion she would glance over at what was going on, but otherwise she couldn't be bothered to care for the motivations of others. Her attention only being diverted when the elder lit his pipe, the scent immediately noticeable to her keen nose. It wasn't unpleasant, just a bit jarring. She soon enough went back to watching the wildlife, waving away any smoke that came near her face with a paw.

There wasn't much more idle time before the rest of her peers had made their way over and the group had to dash off once more. And, just as before Zahnii had no trouble keeping up. She had noted that others who had initially arrived late put in some extra gusto not to fall behind in the pack this time, which was fine by her. She didn't need to prove her prowess in the same skill twice over. Upon arriving at the terrace and given their mission she couldn't help but grin. Survive was what she did every day of her life since she was but a kitten who could barely open her eyes. She just had to hope that the others in her group had enough survival instincts not to drag her (or the rest of them) down. She eyed Sergey as he attempted to rally their little group, though her attention soon shifted to Cerelia who was taking on a much more bossy leader roll with her calculations and planning. Zahnii snorted.
"I am ready." She spoke up. "But... Too early to be choosing a path. We must see them first." She thought it foolish to decide on something that none of them knew existed. What if there was no forest path? And there was one other matter that bothered her... "Manul Tribe have special way of hunting, requires patience. Know when to attack, how to look at world... If I understand we not need to be 'first' just survive? Do not waste strength on useless thing like 'first,' slow down and have better survival." She was aware that she was not the best at articulating her thoughts (it was something she had come to realize during her travels), but she hoped the others would understand what she was trying to say.

 

[Arlathina]

Braniath Oakenwreath

❧ The ample sunlight slipped through the leafy filter above them like spears of ivory thrusting themselves into the skin of the world. Standing amidst those to whom, by fate's hand, he had been bound, Braniath felt a strange sense of affection and amusement with their emerging personalities. The Sari took charge almost immediately, directing the group to pick up the necessary gear while determining the best path that the group should embark upon. Braniath felt it decidedly ironic that someone who looked better suited to life in a fish tank was calculating the amount of time they would need to reach their destination by land. The Synthi, on the other hand, only appeared to introduce himself, seeming to be quite nervous amongst this odd assortment. Braniath could sense the slight fluttering in his heartbeat, his desire for acceptance that was both endearing and petulant; he appreciated his vulnerability nonetheless. Lastly, the Thari offered a few cautionary words to the ambitious Sari woman. Although it was apparent that she was still learning much herself, her advice on this subject sounded quite sage-like, even if it was articulated in the strange way that many of her kind have of speaking. Braniath simply looked on at the group in his quiet, analytical manner, his musings veiled under the composure of his facial expression.

 

[rechonq]

Sergey sighed as he took in the various dynamics of the group. It's was nice to know that either he was the only one that knew his name, or he was just completely ignored. More than likely the latter was true. He had already picked up the flare and map, and it looked like the sassy fish was headed for the entrance already. Her calculations were pretty accurate, but he found them to be sort of useless. Like the fluffy Manul said, they just had to survive. Well they had to get the artifact too, but it sounded like that might be easier for some reason. The stoic plant just stared at them all with a pretty still expression. Sergey wondered if he felt they were beneath him, or was just to wrapped up in analyzing them to say anything. Either way he wasn't much help. The Elder did say it was only half a mile to the split, but after the split he had no idea how far it was to the artifact. He thought it might be best to reach the artifact first and then come back to the safest point along their trek, even if that was right here. There was no mention of where they had to survive.

"I guess, we'll just figure it out as we go." He said as he followed the sassy fish and the other groups. It was a short walk to the entrance of the cave, but the walk to the split was certainly longer. "Ha, we probably won't even need this." He stated as he held up the flare. "The other two groups are going to be marking their paths, and we're going to get what's leftover."

 

[becna]

Reylla follows Caris closely, happy that the opening was wide enough for her to pass through as well. Some of the doorways of these little people made her nervous, though she hadn't gotten stuck yet. "Never much cared for swimming, but maybe that's because every lake I ever been in was covered in ice." She chuckles heartily and Velos growls in response, making the large woman reach down to scratch his ears, "Sorry Vel, know you don't like the idea. But we're guild members now, gotta do all sorts of potentially unpleasant things. And if we gotta swim, we gotta swim. I say we pick the path with the best smelling air." She shrugs, thinking that if the paths are random, this might at least give them a jumping off point.

She looks to Kula, keeping her voice low so as not to be heard by the other groups. "I think they would dare, and here's my thinkin'. They passed the guild test that everyone else died in except for us, right? So who do you think they have the favor of other than our... you know. Our buddy Vin. Especially if they don't even acknowledge the elder." She looked over her shoulder at the group, finally taking the time to size each of them up. She wondered which tribe the Chitos man hailed from. Maybe they could find some common ground...

Reylla grins widely when Caris asks after her homeland. "Colder, probably!" She laughs, "You people - non-Chitos I mean - always underestimating the cold. She's a harsh mistress the ice, and many a little people been found clinging to a blanket, frozen solid." She listens to Kula's description of her homeland with rapt attention, intrigued by the idea of water that was naturally warm.

Her face softens, and she places a very gentle hand on Kula's shoulder. "I'm feeling the same way Kula. It's strange to wake and not check the newest snowfall, or be surrounded by so many who can't meet my eye. Your home sounds lovely, no shame in missing a good place." She releases the young Sari from her large though comforting hand, Velos jealously nudging her for attention and pets. She strokes his head as she continues thoughtfully, "I want to see the whole world over. Every little corner of it. Meet everyone and find critters no one thought possible." She grins at her companions, "I'd love to see your homelands. Either of them. What about you Caris? You missing home?"