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soul devoted to the four winds
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28
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Lutrian
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Post by Roan Varangr on Mar 31, 2021 1:49:09 GMT -5
After having a nice warm cup of night time tea, roan was lying comfortably in a bed of furs. He did his best these days to try to make himself as relaxed and comfortable as possible. The dreams were happening more and more frequently. They had only happened sporadically when he was younger and the dreams had only been of the camp. They had always unsettled him. He saw things from a birds eye, saw people he shouldn’t have been able to.
These days it felt as though anytime he let his mind wander he would have those dreams. Ever since he had gone on his first raid the dreams had drifted out farther. Sometimes he saw those towns again. He watched the raids from above, and he watched the villagers go about fixing things afterwards. The dreams felt so real but he remembered them only in a blur afterward.
He was having one of those dreams now. His body lie in the tent, but his mind was elsewhere. In his dream he was soaring through the skies near one of the manthir villages. He could vaguely feel wind under wings that he himself did not have. The houses and trees looked quaint from this high up.
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Post by Kiili Shepherds on Mar 31, 2021 2:17:11 GMT -5
"Hey, kid, I'm talking to you!"
Kiili jumped, tearing his gaze from the dark bird overhead as the man nudged his shoulder. "Uh, yeah. Uh..." What had he asked him again? The blonde shifted his feet and glanced up and down the darkening street. The town was small. An inn with a loose spiral of houses surrounding it, a single main street carved in the dirt by hundreds of feet and hooves. The village was nestled in a span of unending fields, with most of the villagers out working in them to retrieve the harvests as summer ended.
His hesitation was taken for stupidity. "You alright, lad? It's a bit late."
He blushed and nodded. "Yeah. Just...only been here a couple times." He imagined the place had a name, but he only knew it was "the town." It was the closest point of civilization to the ranch he had grown up on and while he had visited a few times with his father or older brother, this was his first time alone. Mother was worried he would get lost or mugged, or snatched in a raid. To which his suggestion that he could defend himself was met with laughs and more concern. "I'm looking for the blacksmith?"
His family made do on their own most of the time, but metal working wasn't an easy task when it came to specific equipment, they needed a specialist. They could handle their own food and drinks and medicine and leather-working and clothes, but bridle bits and stirrups were more difficult.
The man pointed down the road, back toward where Kiili had come from. "Just watch where you stand still, eh?"
The young man finally looked at the man and took in the horse drawn wagon he was leading down the road that Kiili was in fact standing in the middle of. "Right!" he said, hopping backwards. "Thank you!" He watched the man roll past toward the tavern and general store. He thought about looking in there too, but he only had so much coin to spend and his brothers would kill him if he made it home alive without everything they needed. Besides, he was already late from the long walk and he would have to find a room there soon enough.
He walked back toward the blacksmith, trying to contain the red on his ears and not feel like the awkward outsider ranch hand that he was. His gaze drifted over the houses he passed. Most looked alright from afar, but as he walked along, he noticed most of the thatch roofs were new or in progress. Only he was pretty sure this place wasn't new? A closer inspection of one of the homes yielded some insight. Burn marks.
Well, he supposed, if they had been raided recently, it was likely the Lutrians wouldn't come back for a while? So...he was probably safe? Still, it made him a little nervous. Sure, his home was almost a days walk from here, but...it was still too close for comfort. Did the raiders walk? Or rider horse or elk maybe? He'd heard stories they rode giant wraiths or wolves but...those couldn't be truths, could they?
The last light of the sun faded and everything was tinted purple. Kiili finally arrived at the blacksmiths, drawn in by the clanging of metal and the scent of iron and burning coals. He put down his missing it the first time to his wide eyed wonder at the town. The smithy was an wood and stone covered shelter next to a small home, the warmth seeping out inviting even in autumn. Kiili paused outside, a tad nervous and not sure if he should just...go inside at this time of day? He really wished one of his sisters was here. Or any of his siblings. Why had he volunteered to go by himself again?
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soul devoted to the four winds
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28
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Lutrian
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Post by Roan Varangr on Apr 15, 2021 1:58:53 GMT -5
As Roan dipped lower and lower the detail of the little town came into view. He could see signs of raids past some recent, and villagers going about their day. The different way that the Manthirans built houses and the different clothes they wore was a source of fascination for him. He circled overhead of two men talking in the street. Even had he been able to hear their words from here he wouldn't have understood. They spoke and wrote in a different tongue. He could see a man astride a horse hitch and another a younger man. He came to rest on a branch not far away and watched the younger manthiran hop clear of the passing wagon. From this close he could make out much more of the man's face. It was quite a nice one....for a manthiran. Seeing as he was dreaming he decided to follow his passing interest in the man.
Flying low he glided behind him and came to land on a shaky bit of fence near the doorway. His beedy avian eyes watching the man hum and haw about going. From what he could see and hear it seemed like a smithy. Though from what he had heard manthiran weapons were hardly even worth stealing. He tilted his head and said a sarcastic "Well? aren't you going in?" but it came out as more of a chirpy sort of caw.
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Post by Kiili Shepherds on Apr 18, 2021 0:55:02 GMT -5
The raven cawing to his right made him jump. Kiili whipped around, searching for the source of the noise before his eyes settled on the bird. "Light..." he breathed softly. "What do you want, bird?" He asked, mostly out of irritation. Of course the think couldn't understand him. Sure, he'd heard some birds like that were really smart but they were still just birds. "Creepy death bird," he grumbled, turning back to the smithy. Though, as he said it, the hair on the back of his neck stood up and his skin tried to crawl off his arms.
Death birds. It made sense why the raven was here. Sure, the last raid had been a while ago now but...Kiili figured there were still spirits wandering about. He tightened his fist. Hopefully this raven helped whatever poor soul was in need to the the next life. "Sunset drifts calmly toward softly drifting sunset," he murmured the half prayer, half poem of guidance and encouragement.
With that, he didn't want the bird looking at him any longer so he stepped forward and knocked. He tried the door as he did and found it pushed open easily. "Uh, hello?"
"Aye, Garth, is that...oh. Hey son, it's a bit late to be running errands."
Kiili swallowed at the greeting, looking across the space and over a force at a large red faced man. A wave of heat engulted him and for a moment he was uncomfortable. Well, all the time. "Uh, yessir. Sorry, I live on a ranch a days walk from here. I-"
"It's a bit late," the man repeated gruffly, pointedly looking toward one of the small windows. "Why doncha come back in the mornin'. Get a room at the inn."
Right. Kiili blushed. The sun had just set, the sky turning a warm purple quickly. "Uh, yessir. I only w-"
The blacksmith's frown deepened.
"Tomorrow!" Kiili repeated. How did they expect him to do this in two days? He stepped back, stumbling awkwardly against the door laughing nervously at himself before finally stepping back outside. He wrapped his arms around his chest. The inn. He couldn't afford to sleep at the inn, especially not two nights.
He looked up and noticed the raven was still there. "Unless you have an bright ideas, ya can shut up," he grumbled before moving back into the center of town and the inn and tavern. Maybe they would let him sleep in the stable? That was going to be cold, he only had the clothes on his back and while the cloak was warm...well, he'd have to find somewhere with walls at the very least if he wanted to be comfortable enough t sleep at all.
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