Fishing for Spirits [Paragon]

[Hilana Chenzira]

She rose with him when he guided her to her feet, looking up at him. Hilana was no short creature - she had been called a gazelle by one of her friends because of her long legs. But up close like this, she was aware of every part of him - how tall he was, the breadth of his shoulders, the muscles in his arms and torso. The scent of him, the way some droplets of water still stayed in his locks. The fire and depth and warmth in those golden eyes. The way his thumb traced her newest Rune, and the way his touch sent sparkles through her as his finger followed the lines that Sivan had painted on her and her soul. In that moment, she would have sworn that Kor was caressing her soul in the same way.

The Vastiana hung on to his every word. That made a lot of sense, really; that movement, song, and dance, the exuberance and life of rituals... Life didn't need to be so orderly, so routine, so structured. If it was, who would ever know the joy of being? The Wildness that thrummed through her, all of that boundless energy that pushed her on when nigh everyone else needed to stop and rest sang in her very bones. The way it was responding to him told her insides that this was no normal Vastian in front of her, but someone who was different indeed. He had Wildness, too, and a lot of it.

Lia watched the two of them from her sandy seat, and felt a faint blush in her cheeks and over her slender throat. This was an incredibly intimate encounter that she was witnessing between her sister and the man who had been swimming in the crystalline waters of the oasis, and even she could see the sparks of green and gold that were beginning to weave around them. She stayed quiet, though she gathered her aura lenses so that she could see more without the Runes that allowed Hilana to do the same. He was a complete stranger to them, and yet... he seemed to understand her younger sister on a level that few ever did, even after years of knowing her. Those that did know her, few knew how wild and unrestrained she really could be. The joy and exultation she felt on the back of Hayima'el, or flying full-speed on a wyvern that would have terrified many others, or being catapulted kinetically into the air the height of buildings, trusting her friend to catch her when she came back down...

Hilana moved with Kor as he guided her, her steps light despite the rather full lengths of the cotton skirt that she wore. The spirits of light and shadow around them floated the hems, the sand clearing itself away just enough so that the fabric barely grazed the ground. Find her music... She had many songs, songs that she may have sang to the spirits, sang to herself, sang to her cats and her camel. What swelled in her chest was a song she knew from her maternal grandmother, a song that her mother had sung to her before she had left this life for the next.

"The waves crash in, the tide rolls out
It's an angry sea, but there is no doubt
That the lighthouse will keep shining out
To warn a lonely sailor
And the lightning strikes
And the wind cuts cold
Through the sailor's bones
Through the sailor's soul
'Til there's nothing left that he can hold
Except a rolling ocean

Oh, I am ready for the storm
Yes sir ready
I am ready for the storm
I'm ready for the storm

Oh give me mercy for my dreams
'Cause every confrontation seems to tell me
What it really means
To be this lonely sailor
And when the sky begins to clear
The sun it melts away my fear
I cry a silent weary tear
For those who mean to love me

Oh I am ready for the storm
Yes sir ready
I am ready for the storm
I'm ready for the storm

The distance it is no real friend
And time will take it's time
And you will find that in the end
It brings you me
This lonely sailor
And when you take me by the hand
And you love me, spirits, you love me
And I should have realized
I had no reasons to be frightened

Oh I am ready for the storm
Yes sir ready
I am ready for the storm
Yes sir ready
I am ready for the storm
Yes sir ready
I am ready for the storm
I'm ready for the storm"

Out in the sands, it was out of place - rainstorms were exceedingly rare off of the coast, and they were a good distance from one. Her hips moved her rhythm, to the beat of a music that perhaps only she could hear - Lia knew it well enough to know the notes that would accompany it; she had heard it last year when they had gone to the Frost Festival. But her body language had invited Kor to move with her, just as he had guided her to sway with him. All around them were the spirits, and Hilana threaded her aether through the silvery Rune on her left palm, letting it glow against her skin, inviting the Wild ones once again.

[Paragon]

P A R A G O N

Kor moved with Hilana smoothly and easily. When she swayed, he swayed with her. When she bobbed, he wove. The web of green and gold spun steadily around them and as the music that resonated with Hilana’s soul reached its conclusion, the silhouette of spirits slowed in their dance.

It came with the sound of wind and wings. The air was touched by the smell of the earth before rainfall. Its form rose up from the sands to reveal scales that shone with the burnt gold of the desert landscape. Two large feathered wings extended from its body, spreading wide with a forceful flap accompanied by the distant peal of thunder. Serpentine eyes zeroed in on Hilana. Equal parts fire and lightning crackled in the winged serpent’s slit irises before settling. It held itself with the stillness of a predator ready to strike. The other spirits scattered, keeping a respectful distance. The winged serpent was easily large enough to swallow a camel whole. When it moved, its scales shimmered as though gilded with precious minerals. Those eyes remained fixed on Hilana.

Its tongue flicked curiously before it leaned forward just close enough for that tongue to lightly graze Hilana’s outstretched palm.

“There you are.” Kor’s deep voice held a warm note of familiarity.

The winged serpent touched its snout to the flat of Hilana’s palm.

A resounding crack split the air. The winds picked up and all around them, the world went dark. In the garden of Hilana's mind, they were alone. They stood there, just Hilana and the winged serpent. Above them, storm clouds gathered with lightning spearing through them. Droplets of rain fell slowly.

A storm’s fury once again filled the serpent’s eyes as it stared steadily at Hilana.

A voice like thunder echoed in her mind.

“My name, Summoner. Speak it.”

[Hilana Chenzira]

There was a balance between the two of them, a harmony of the movements between the two of them. If someone was watching, perhaps they would have thought that they had done this before. To Hilana, is almost felt that way. He saw her. Perhaps he was just that good a dancer to recognize her body language, and she wasn't being particularly frenetic in her movement, but as she moved, he moved with her, and the sparks continued to grow. She really did need to activate her Semblance Rune in order to see this properly, but with mundane eyes... it was ethereal.

She knew the sound wingbeats, but she was not prepared to see wings this big, and it just seemed to keep going as it rose from the sands. The great spirit cast a wide shadow overhead, and her brown eyes nearly popped right out of their sockets. The flap of its wings made the sunshade shake and quiver underneath it until Lia reinforced the poles with earth to keep it firmly in place so that it didn't get blown away. The peal of thunder, though... she felt the jolt inside her bones as it crashed. Storms. There were stories of spirits like this, great reptiles that heralded rain and accompanying storms, but Hilana had never seen one in all of her years in the sands. She had sometimes wondered if perhaps they were sea dragons that were passing through, and that was how the stories came to be - but this was the stuff of legend.

"Oh, Founders," Hilana breathed as she looked up at the enormous winged serpent. Lia was certainly alarmed - that was far, far too big of a spirit for Hilana to manage at this level. She could tell by looking at it that it would take nothing to sap every last bit of aether from the novice Summoner. But Kor seemed to know it, and Hilana kept her palm steady and still as a forked tongue that had to be as thick as her leg seemed to investigate the Rune. Investigate her. She met its slitted eyes, her head tilted up so that she could take the gargantuan serpent in. Like Lia, though, she was smart enough to know that this spirit was going to be far too much for her. Unless it wanted to negotiate itself down considerably... and perhaps it might - the golden-eyed man seemed to recognize it, judging by his words and his tone.

"Do you two know each other?" Lia inquired, staring in awe through the aura lenses. There was concern in her tone, though - Kor could likely tell she was rather worried about Hilana's chances with a spirit of this calibre.

When it was just her and the spirit, Hilana took a deep breath. This reminded her of when she had met Sviras, and seen the other spirits during her initiation. But it was different - there were many more plants here, and it felt familiar. The scent of petrichor filled her nostrils, and she inhaled, almost savouring it. Rain. Rare as anything out here in the middle of the Atraxian Expanse, but perhaps not with this serpent. The lightning didn't make her jump, but it formed a melody of its own. People were so afraid of the weather that they couldn't appreciate the beauty, that rebirth, that it brought. Storms could be devastating, true, but only by facing the storms inside could one survive the storms outside.

When it spoke to her, Hilana thought about it. Did she know it, somehow? Was this related to what Sviras had said before, when he had called her Calalith? But as lightning cracked again, it came to her. "Hello, Etzalal," she offered the spirit a curtsy, even as the rain fell down on both of them, leaving translucent beads on her skin, and began to soak into her blouse and skirts. She blinked away the rain from her eyes, looking back up at the spirit once more as she straightened. If one truly wanted to dance, it would be with the storm.

[Paragon]

P A R A G O N

Etzalal bowed its head. The serpent’s wings flapped and the storm around them quieted. Its tongue flicked excitedly before it leaned forward, body shifting and coiling as it did so. The great expanse of the winged serpent’s body condensed until it was small enough to gently coil around Hilana’s arm. Around the rune etched into her palm, a silver serpent edged with gold coiled around the open eye. With a soft shimmer, it settled there.
---

In the waking world, Etzalal was coiled around Hilana’s forearm. No bigger than a garden snake, its wings folded comfortably on its body. Those eyes peered up at Hilana steadily before Etzalal lay its head down, a sense of contentment emanating from the serpent. There was a strong sense of having diminished itself, of having winnowed down the vast well of power that it had initially arrived with, all for the sake of forming the connection it now shared with Hilana.

“Yes.” Kor answered Lia with that simple affirmation. The man reached out, touching the tips of his fingers to Etzalal’s head before running them along the length of the serpent. Stepping around Hilana, he smiled.

“You will have much to teach each other.” Kor chuckled. “Every spirit will answer a call in their own way. Some are moved by the vibrancy of life. Some are solemn. Some are whimsical. Each of them are beautiful and terrifying in their own way. What you must always remember is that a spirit unbound knows only its nature. It is all they know. When a spirit enjoins themselves to a mortal, they gain the ability to understand the nuance of mortal complexity. They learn as you learn, how to grow as you grow.”

Etzalal gave an almost annoyed flick of its tongue, prompting Kor to laugh.

“You will have your hands full with Etzalal but I think you will be up to the task.”

[Hilana Chenzira]

"Thank you for trusting me, Etzalal. I will do my utmost to honour your faith in me," Hilana murmured to the spirit as it shrank itself down, keeping her arm steady and extended for it to make sure that it had a good grip on her, bringing him up close to her chest and touching his scales with a gentle, experienced finger before smoothing the feathers of his wings. Spirits, after all, deserved to be respected - they were not tools, but living things in their own right, and that needed to be remembered. They were not unfeeling automatons or weapons.

--

Lia nodded at Kor's affirmation, and she relaxed somewhat at that, and then when the great spirit made himself that much smaller and compact, small enough to fit around Hilana's arm and hang around there. He was similar in size to Sviras, which certainly made the older sister feel better. Hilana seemed to be herself, which mean that whatever compact the two had come to, such as it was, it hadn't involved Etzalal overwhelming her and taking over her. But considering Hilana was very much Hilana, and the spirit was there, only much smaller, she was at ease again. She didn't think that Kor would have allowed something to happen to her sister, but tales were rampant of summoners losing themselves to the summoned. And until Hilana grew in terms of strength, skill, and experience... she was always going to worry about her in that regard.

"Thank you," Hilana smiled up at Kor as he offered his wisdom, and grinned as Etzalal. "Do you find that that holds true for spirits from other planes? The celestials, infernals, eldritch?" She looked up at him, her head tilting. This was information that she was going to funnel away for later. "And would you say that it may change based on a spirit's classification of being?" She was not capable of dealing with those higher spirits yet, but she had found Sviras had been quite intelligent, and quite possibly, that was different from what she was expecting going forward. Etzalal, too, was surely intelligent, and judging by the way they had stuck their tongue out at Kor... definitely was. "I will do my best by them, and I know we have a great deal to learn from each other."

It didn't hurt to ask, after all - and it was information she would write down later and keep in mind. There was so much to learn, and she was excited -to- learn it. When you stopped learning, you stopped living, or so the proverb went. Vasilei had told her that no one understood anything until they learned it more than one way, and the more teachers she had, the better off she would be. She was not so arrogant to think that there was nothing she could learn from those outside of her home - she had found many incredible teachers who were peregrini, but she had learned so much for them. Kor was a traveler, and he looked similar enough that he could very well have been one of her people, and he spoke perfect Vastian.

"Do you have a place to stay while you're here?" Hilana inquired. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. "You did say you were interested in finding mages who could scrutinize souls to the last detail, and the best place to find them is in the capital. You could stay with me, with us," she smiled down at Etzalal, "if you'd like."

Lia couldn't fault her there. If Hilana hadn't offered, well, she might have.

[Paragon]

P A R A G O N

“Celestials emulate our highest virtues; honor, valor, justice, mercy. They are the brightest side of what is within all of us. However, they can often be rather unyielding in their perspectives. Absolute valor without nuance can lead to arrogance and pride. Mercy without wisdom can lead to cruelty.” Kor strode over to his belongings. He picked up the chickpeas, neatly folding up the pouch so that he could return it to the ladies.

“Infernals emulate our inner conflict; vengeance, hatred, greed, slaughter. They are the dark reflection of what we are all capable of. They compel us to embrace the parts of ourselves that we temper with lived experiences. Vengeance unrestrained becomes paranoia or wrath in the face of the smallest slight. Greed can arise from a place of trauma born from a lifetime of living without.” Kor shouldered his pack, turning to look back at Hilana as he contemplated the nature of the eldritch sphere of spirits.

“Eldritch spirits are deceptively easy to behold at first glance. Creatures that see the creation of the Dragon Gods and are either apathetic to it or intensely curious. You will understand them only if they want to be understood but that does not mean they do not have things to offer. What they desire is unique to each of them. What they will ask for in return may sometimes seem trivial to you at first…until it isn’t.” He met Hilana’s gaze as she posed her final question. Quirking his head, he smiled at her offer of hospitality.

“I would be a fool to turn away from such immaculate company.” He gave a sweeping bow. “In return, I shall make myself useful. I have little in the way of money but I have many skills that will be yours for the taking while in your home. Carpentry, masonry, gardening, all of these things and more can I offer in return.”

Kor lifted a hand. As he did so, the small bird that he had whispered to returned to his hand carrying something crystalline and shimmering in its beak. Kor brushed his fingers over the bird’s feathers, prompting it to fluff up in delight. He retrieved the crystal from its beak. A shimmering blue-green crystal that turned a shade of amber at its base. He extended it to Hilana with a smile.

“A gift, for your hospitality today.” His smile became a smirk. “I would tell you what it is but I rather think you will enjoy discovering that on your own.”

Lifting his hand he released the bird.

“Well then, ladies. If you will excuse me? I have a bit of business to finish but once I do, I will happily meet you in a place of your choosing.” Once Hilana and Athalia gave him a place to meet them, he gave the two young women a polite bow before taking off into the desert, humming softly as he did so.

R E W A R D S

Name: Hilana
XP: +15 XP. Can be used for Summoning.

Note(s): Hilana has met a fine gentleman. Koraellon!

+1 Winged-Serpent Spirit. Please submit Etzalal's desired specifications to me directly and I will review and sign off on them.

+1 Blue-Green Gemstone. Cursory inspection reveals that it is a dragonshard of some sort. It is Average in Quality. It is roughly the size of a catseye marble.