Spring 1, 122
Astra had always lived here in the desert and had a fondness for its arid and remote towns and cities. But she yearned to travel to other countries. She'd been abroad, of course, but rarely for pleasure. Laying in her bedroom she began to think of her lessons – never get too attached to people, they are disposable. Never get too attached to a place – orders could displace her for centuries. Yet she still spent a good amount of time at home. She found that strange. It made her think that she should savor the time she had in her homelands.
Nevertheless, she had a smile on her face... A good sign? Maybe... Remaining lying down, she brought the sheet up to her chest and she closed her eyes... She asked herself a lot of questions... Too many perhaps. Sighing, she decided to get up. It was still very early, but her biological clock was set like that and it wasn't so bad. She got a burst of energy and threw the sheet from her body and opened her closet to take some clothes.
After a good bath and an hour spent trying on outfits, she left to go to the kitchen where she ate in silence with her thoughts.
Finally, she decided to do something. Walking through the 'castle' barefoot, she headed towards a small corner where a violin was hidden and protected by its cover. It had been a long time since she had taken it out and seeing it still in such good condition brought a smile to her lips. It must have been several months since she had taken it out. With all her classes and other duties… she had forgotten about it.
Taking it in her hands, she started playing with the strings to check its condition. It was with a smile that she noticed that it was still in good shape. She placed it on her shoulder and she wedged it under her chin. Then she grabbed the bow to made a few notes. Getting back into the swing of things, she played a few pieces before putting it down. She had forgotten something… she had to sift through some sheet music to remember how the tune went.
Picking up her violin again, she got into position and closed her eyes to let herself be intoxicated by the music. She rediscovered the pleasure of playing an instrument after all this time. Keeping her eyes closed, she surprised herself by playing this piece again as if she knew it by heart. Putting a smile on her face, she let the sound of her violin ring throughout the room and the hallways. Everyone knew that she was a musician but few knew that she actually knew how to play instruments.
She learned to play on her father's old violin before buying her own. It is also the only valuable object she refused to sell or give away. She remembered taking great care of it because it held so many great memories.
Getting carried away by the piece, she let her right arm lead as if she and the music were one. She even surprised herself by starting to dance. She felt light as if all her worries had flown away in the span of a few minutes. Unfortunately, she heard a knock at her door. She put her violin back down and turned to open the door.
It was Khenera, her half sister. "Taking up the violin again?" she asked nonchalantly.
"I got the urge to play a piece," Astra said with a grin.
"Did you forget about our plans?"
Astra stared at her for a second then her eyes widened. "Oh, that was today?"
Khenera shook her head and sighed, "yes it was. Well, come on let's get going."
They were supposed to go out to the desert, a couple hundred miles away. Why? Partly to get Astra familiarized with the lands surrounding the kingdom. Partially to look for anything interesting, and of course to make sure that everything was safe. Not work befitting of a princess, but Astra was not just a princess. She had powers and those powers begged to be used and developed. Some of those powers could only be honed in an environment that left not witnesses. Part of her father's training was throwing her in deep end and allowing her to develop.
"Alright," Astra said with her own sigh. "Meet at the regular spot?"
Khenera nodded.
About an hour later they'd slipped through a portal and were walking through a desert as brown as it was endless. Two weeks before, they had scouted the area without even knowing what would await them. They carried weapons and had equipment with them, enough to last days even if home was just a portal away. They carried a map that would have allowed them to have a small idea of where they were going. But hey, fortunately the people in the desert were like those in the kingdom. They had the same customs, the same way of acting, the same mentality, and thank God, the same language!
In a way, trips away from Bastion and her home had done her good. The first times they'd gone out like this, it had been strange to find herself surrounded by the harsh desert. They'd gone for days without meeting anyone. Astra had learned that solitude and silence didn't suit her at all.
"Windy today," Khenera remarked rhetorically as they both shielded their eyes from a flurry of sand. Astra was dressed in clothes that protected her from the direct sunlight, and a large hat. Sun protectant only did so much when you were sensitive to light.
The wind made it hard to figure out where were, exactly. The map wasn't making much sense, knowing only that she had to continue straight, and that the next landmark was not very far away. At least, she thought so... The desert were starting to darken little by little. Astra raised her head to get her bearings in the sun but was immediately confronted with some desert trees. She would take any modicum of shade that she could get.
The foliage of the trees and cactuses was too dense to see anything in the wind. Astra hadn't even noticed this change of scenery until they cleared over a dune. She stopped for a few seconds and contemplated the surroundings. There were so many trees here. Desert trees, but still. It was so beautiful that it seemed supernatural, almost bewitching.
Shaking her head to pull her gaze from the beautiful surroundings, Astra looked for a quiet place to set up camp. Khenera's job was to help with those sorts of things, take notes on what they found, and to act as a portal slave to get them back to the kingdom in a pinch. She made sure to start a fire then went off to go collect some dry branches in case they needed them later.
Once her things were set up, Astra sat down and sighed with pleasure to finally be at rest, when she heard a noise. Almost inaudible at first, it repeated itself. More distinct this time coming from beyond the winds. But impossible to tell if it was human or animal. Frowning, she grabbed her sword and bow, not sure which one she was going to use. She decided to carry both for now and to tiptoe towards the source of the noise...
A second. A minute. An hour. A day. Bennu had completely lost track of time. She had no idea how long she had been walking in this desert. All she knew was that she was completely disoriented, she could no longer even read the simple map she had obtained with so much difficulty. On top of that, she only had a poor dagger to defend herself in case of an attack. One thing was certain, if this dagger couldn't protect her, it might serve as a toothpick for one of the desert monsters.
For the moment, Bennu had not come across anyone here, just a few animals here and there. She cursed her decision to come out here when she saw where it led her. Everything looked the same, which greatly accentuated her impression of going around in circles again and again. As time went by, the desert grew darker. The sun would soon set, and tonight again, she would sleep under the stars, with the fear of being attacked in her sleep. The stress caused huge dark circles to sit under her eyes.
She eventually happened upon the place where Astra was, but thought that she might be too exposed if she camped there. She continued on her way, desperately hoping to find a place to spend the night, which was fast approaching. The beauty of the desert vegetation that surrounded her was incredible, but Bennu was so tired that she didn't even realize it. She pushed through the wind and she saw things lying on the ground, like a sort of small camp. So, she wasn't alone in this desert, but it remained to be seen if the person or people in this camp were still around. Cautious, the young human took out her dagger, and began to explore the surroundings.
Astra walked with her guard up. She discovered that there was another clearing nearby and she could have sworn she had seen the glow of a fire in it. She was going to go check it out until she was interrupted by the cracking of branches... The young woman stopped dead and listened... The same cracking was heard. Then the slight whistle, almost imperceptible to a human ear, of a blade being drawn from its sheath. This noise was not coming from the next clearing over. Her enhanced senses drew her eyes on the source of the noise - It was coming from her own camp.
What to do? Maybe it was one of the other campers, but who would be out here? A poacher? A bandit? It was then that she decided to return to her camp, making a slight detour. She sheathed her sword and got her bow ready. She approached slowly until she was only a few yards away. Close enough for her enhanced ears to hear her enemy's accelerated breathing, far enough away not to be seen in the storm.
It was then that she saw from behind what looked like a young woman, who didn't look very threatening, with a dagger in her hand. She looked around, saw she was alone, then held out her hand when the woman passed by. She drew her bow, pointed the arrow at the stranger and said in a cold and threatening tone while emanating an aura of fear.
"Don't move. What are you doing here?"
Bennu stared into her opponent's eyes. Astra's appearance was anything but ordinary. Astra didn't seem very mean and yet Bennu couldn't help but feeling scared. That tended to happen when someone pointed an arrow at your face, even if her form was completely off. Bennu guessed that the bow was probably only used to defend herself. On the other hand, there was a glow in her eyes, a glow impossible to describe, and therefore impossible to decipher. That damn glow was still slightly worrying to Bennu...
"Ah, someone's at this camp," Bennu said in a really uneasy tone. "I'm not alone in this desert after all!..."
Her voice cut through the air. Of average height, she had a childish face that made her look a little younger, although her physique and posture made her look about twenty years old. She had a look that revealed a certain maturity. Despite her somewhat casual words, she seemed fairly scared.
Astra said, "yes, I am here with someone else and you are to stay away from our things."
She went to her bag and her meager supplies and took a quick look at its contents. "Nothing is missing," she said to herself with relief. She sized up the girl again. Astra thought Bennu looked even less dangerous up close. She finally lowered her bow, released the string and said, in the same tone, "You didn't answer my question."
Bennu regretted her words... That gleam in the rusalka's eyes had been right to worry her. Might as well answer that question, anyway there was no choice left. "I got lost actually. I've been walking for days and I came across your camp. I approached in the hope of finding signs of life other than these dry trees...
Astra did agree that the desert seemed endless. But unlike her, she felt no need to find company. Astra was usually sociable but running into people out here usually meant trouble. Especially for young women who could barely use a weapon. Of course, one should never trust appearances, but her growing bad mood was unfortunately taking.
"Well, there you go, you've found signs of life. Now, I'm tired. And if you would be so kind as to leave, that would make me very happy." It was probably the longest sentence she had said she'd come out here. She blamed herself for being so cold. But that was how things were out here.
Disappointed at having lost her only hope of finding a group to shelter with for the night, Bennu preferred not to say anything. She put away her dagger, and began to walk away. But since she hated leaving like that without saying anything, she turned to the rusalka and said to her, in a tone filled with disappointment, "well, good luck... Goodbye! Oh and by the way before I leave you for good, do you happen to know how I could get to the nearest town? I feel like I'm going around in circles and that's not how I'm going to find what I'm looking for…"
The first thing Astra wanted to do was roll her eyes and say, "godheads, save me." But a noise made her prick up her ears, like the string of a bow being tightened. Motionless, she tried to determine the source of this disturbing sound Bennu continued to speak...
"Shhhh," she said impatiently. Then in the same breath she murmured, "I think someone is..."
An arrow split the air and whizzed itself just a few inches from Astra's ear, cutting her sentence short. The shock only lasted a few hundredths of a second. Astra reacted immediately and shot an arrow towards the general direction that had shot at her.
"Get down!"
Bennu was stunned and didn't know how to react. Her mind was running in slow motion. It took her a few moments to understand that she was being attacked. Not by Astra, but by a third party that probably wanted them all dead. The young human immediately got down, avoiding a flurry of arrows that were coming at them. She immediately reached for her dagger.
She said to herself, hesitantly,"how am I going to manage to get out of this with a dagger?!"
But in these moments where seconds mattered, one shouldn't think. She saw motion in the wind coming dangerously close to her and Astra. Astra was busy shooting arrow after arrow but she wasn't hitting anyone. Or if she was, they weren't making any noise. Realizing this was pointless, Astra drew her sword and got into a fighting stance while staying behind cover. It had been ages since she had done that. Astra shook her head. This was not what she wanted to be doing with her weekend.
It was at that very moment that two men came out from behind the trees to see if their targets had been killed. Seeing the motion from the women they drew their weapons and rushed towards them. Astra raised her sword, ready to defend herself, then took a quick glance to the side. Bennu was terrified... Without thinking, Bennu threw her small dagger towards these shadows, hoping to aim well and to everyone's surprise it got one of the men in the shoulder. She had barely noticed that it was a nice throw when the crash of weapons violently pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Oh you're pretty," said the one who attacked Astra. "It would be a shame to damage your pretty little face..." His foot lifted and hit her crotch which made her wince and fall over to the side. The man bent over here and tried to shove his blade into her stomach.
It was at that point that Astra saw the fear in his eyes. She had forgotten for a moment that she was radiating an aura that made people around her fearful. Maybe this person might not have attacked to begin with if she hadn't provoked them. Her options seemed limited. She could make the fear even stronger, but the man was overpowering her at the moment… or maybe she could force him to be calm and hope for the best.
She went with Option C – she roared in anger and tore an artery open with a burst of absentia. Her attacker's throat jerked to the side as she forced blood out at an unnaturally quick pace. He was too preoccupied with what was happening to him that he dropped his blade and started clutching at his throat.
Astra funneled the red liquid into her own mouth, gulping every last drop before finally pushing the corpse off of her. She shivered – feeding was never a pleasant experience for her, especially when she had to do it like that.
She turned to see what else was going on. Bennu was still working on her own foe, oblivious to what had just happened with Astra. And Astra's sister wasn't in view yet. Where the hell was she? How long could it possibly take to collect firewood? Astra got to her feet, trying to figure out whether she should help Bennu or not, or allow her to wear down her opponent. Astra was in no position to be wasting her reserves if she could help it.
2.33 – 0.11 Emanate Journeyman Cast -0.33 Expert hemomancy = 1.89
NPC:
0.33 - 0.11 J portal
NPC:
0.33 - 0.11 J portal
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