The Realms of Ara

[liquidwritings]

A little surprised by her being in the tree then jumping to the ground, Xar stood transfixed by her. "Windshifting?" Pausing for a moment, he comtemplated what that meant. "Oh! You're a wind master." She didn't look like a wind master to him. Actually, she looked well traveled, but still looked younger than he was. She could be his age, or a little older. There was no way for him to tell. Pointing at her bandaged arm, he inquired, "Are you okay? I could take a look at that for you." Even though he didn't know how to use his powers, his grandmother was a powerful healer. She taught him how to manipulate the water in the body to heal wounds and kill off sicknesses. Looking at the girl, he recalled the fight that had taken place. He just couldn't picture the her being that agile. But he corrected himself, she was after all a 'windshifter.' "Oh, I don't know what happened back there, but thank you for helping me out of that situation. I had no idea what was getting into those people. Actually, I have no idea why they thought you were a threat to them because you were a Viclan. Um..." Oh man, he was about to sound real stupid. "What is a Viclan?" No one ever came through the village, and if someone did, he never heard any news of the outside world. So to him, this was all a blur. Now that he was thinking about, maybe heading back home wasn't such a bad idea, but which way was home.

[Kyana]

Lena stared at him. "Er, well, my arm is fine. Hurts, but it stopped bleeding a while ago. You said you don't know anything about the Vliclan?" wow, this boy is either really stupid or extremely sheltered; maybe a bit of both she thought. Lena sighed. "Well I best inform you on what you're stepping into," she said and sat down across from him. He sat down watching her. Lena explained about the different realms, their names and their elements. She told him about the different groups and the fierce hatred between different people and what disguinshed them from each other..."So I have golden eyes, the feature of the Viclan. Though I am a Windshifter, I look like a Viclan, and that is what saved me... Oh! No I mean what er didn't save me back there. I er.." Lena stammered, flustered. The truth was her eye color saved her from the terrible attack on her home that killed the entire village. "Never mind..." she said and looked down at her hands... "by the way, I never learned your name," she said looking up and smiling brightly.

[liquidwritings]

So there's a war going on...sheesh. Why can't I ever miss the bad stuff. Looking into her golden eyes, he was reminded of the ice tigers. Calm and patient, but when you trespassed into their territory, they were vicious fighters. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Xarzith, but you can just call me Xar. What would be yours?" Her smile calmed him a bit. He had befriended a tiger. And hopefully, this tiger would know where to take him to find a teacher. Although, he honestly did not want to leave her. "Oh, mayhap you know where I might find a water master?" Fingers entwined around grass, unconsciously drawing moisture out of the plant. He didn't notice the water dangling from his fingertips or the dry brown strands of dead grass.

[Kyana]

Lena looked down at his hand, her brow furling. "My name is Alena Gale but I prefer Lena. A mater?" She said more to herself. "Well you won't find any around here, or if you do their reputation is probably with the drukards more than the elemental masters." She looked up at him. I'm heading to a friend of mine up north. I need her help on a few things. She is very much a master of her element (water). Though she doesn't spend her time in the fighting arts, but more about healing and herbal readings...I guess you could call her a shaman of some sort." Lena stood. "I'm going to head that way in the morning; down to Cordrea. You could come along if you want. Maybe I could convince her to be your teacher, though it might need more than convincing..." Lena added with a thougtful smile. She put two fingers to her lips and whistled an ear-splitting shistle. A few seconds later out of the couds came Shadowfall, a small hare in her tallons. She dropped the hare to the ground and landed on Lena's outstreched arm.

[liquidwritings]

Ugh...majority of the water masters were drunkards. This isn't good. Well...even with Lena's friend's teachings, he might be able to construct his own way of handling his skills. "I would love to join you. You have no idea of how much of a help that will be." Looking to the rabbit, he held back a face of disgust. He wasn't a vegetarian, but he did not like the taste of land animals. His gaze drifted back up to the bird that perched upon Lena's arm. Something about it's eyes reminded him of Lena's. The light perhaps... Glancing to the sky, Xar wondered how much of the day they had left to waste. Had to be a good six more hours of light. I need to find another vial of water. Or a lake to practice. The little trick he performed defending himself against that mammoth man gave him a little idea on how to tune himself into his gift. "Um...I need to find some water. A pond or a lake." Bringing his hand up to run it through his hair, he noticed it was wet. How the world... Looking to where his hand had been, Xar noticed the brown strands of grass. Um...okay...

[Kyana]

Lena saw the dim look of dissapointment. "Well it's only these parts. Farsea is a beatful place. Best becareful around here, because most people hate the Viclan (especially in areas like these)." Lena said. "I'm glad you'd be joining me. I'd love to have your company." I don't know any water near by, but there should be a lake about thirty miles from here that Shadowfall saw. We've got a while until dark, so we could head that way and see how far we get..." Lena sugested. Xar shrugged. "Sure." Lena looked at him. "About traveling there... How do you do with heights?" Lena asked looking at her staff.

[liquidwritings]

"Um, heh." He didn't really know how heights would affect him. "Fine, I guess." He didn't have a problem looking off a cliff if that's what she meant. He's actually dove with the seals from ice cliffs into the bay. "Why? What do you have in mind?" He didn't like the idea that the closest body of water was some thirty miles away. And what did height have to do with getting there? Standing up, he looked over at his robe. No one would really mess with him because of his size so he decided not to bother with wearing the robe anymore. He only wore it to hide his hair to begin with. Looking to Lena, "So, when we heading out?"

[Kyana]

Lena smiled again. "Right now." And we could cut the time in half if we flew... It'd take maybe half an hour to reach the lake by air... What do you think? You willing to try to fly?" She said with a laugh. He looked unsure, but Lena walked over to him. "My staff, made by the wind people is also a glider. With some wind shifting, We can get off the ground with littles then a few minor problems... Just don't let go..."

[liquidwritings]

He shuffled about nervously. "Um...okay. One question, how do I hold on?" Glancing over to her staff, his hands fidgeted a bit before he slowly nodded. "Alright. The faster the better I suppose." Drawing himself up, he took in a deep breathe and let it out slowly. This can't be too bad. How bad could it really be?


(Really short )

[Kyana]

Lena twriled her staff. It opened into a large glider big enough for two people. "Hold on to this bar and I'll be underneath you on this bar moving us." He grabbed the bar that she told him to. "Now we're going to run a little bit. As soon as you feel us lift, bring your feet back here and rest them on this bar..." He nodded with a look of shock and being overwhelmed. "Don't worry. Just don't let go" Lena said with a laugh. They started to run. Just before the trees they lifted off the ground and where air born. The sky, a bright blue grew above them as they headed due north to Payle Lake...

[Kyana]

Lena closed her eyes and just listened the the howling wind in her ears and the feel of it on her face. She loved flying. She made small sweeping motions to keep the glider going. Lena looked for Shadowfall to follow. It was like haveing a compass but better... The land passed far below. We should make good time Lena though. we're traveling atleast 90mph She looked over to see how Xar was doing...

[liquidwritings]

He clung to the glider. Okay, I wasn't expecting this! He didn't care to be on land, but he surely didn't care to be in the air either. He felt like a fish in a bird's talons. His face had gone a little pale and he kept getting this urge to wet himself. "How much longer?" Closing his eyes, he refused to open them until they were back on solid ground.

[Kyana]

Xar's knuckles where bone wite. Lena laughed lightly. "Oh, comeon! It's not that bad," she joked. "And you see to have the hang if it... Better than than my sister and she was a wind shifter..." With the word of her sister, Lena became silent and looked out over the mountains... She felt a sudden pain. Her sister. The sooner she saw her friend to closer she was to getting back her sister....

[liquidwritings]

The hang of it! How the hell was he getting the hang of it! The wind shuffles his hair, throwing it in his face. Some strands snapped across his eyelids. He had to fight the urge to open them to see what was happening. "How much longer?" Xar was fighting back the urge to let go. When does it end? Never has he ever witnessed this kind of fear. Heights are NO good. Never again! Never again! He was not about to put himself through this again. It was like torture to him. Maybe he should make her travel underwater and sea how she likes it. He could breathe beneath the skin of water, and he knew that she couldn't. Well, he assumed that she couldn't.

[Kyana]

Shadowfall gave a shreek. Lena looked down, there below her was a huge lake. The dark waters looked smooth as glass, but she knew better. She was always careful when carrying a non-windshifting passenger not to fly too high where the air thinned to almost nothing. Her people could handel it, but a normal person would faint with the slim amount of oxygen. Lena knew that her body could take in the oxygen and process it differently so she would breathe slower, smaller ammounts. They started to asend spirling downwards towards the shoreline. "Xar, look. We're coming down. Get ready." Lena said as she started to instruct him how to land. A great relief came over him and he seemed to relax as they landed.

[liquidwritings]

Kneeling on both knees, he lowered himself to the ground, clutching the sturdiness of it. "Blessed land!" His eyes glanced over to the water. Thrill filled him to see such an amount of the liquid again. Dashing up off the ground, he ran to the shore line and looked in. It was pure. Thanking the gods, he pulled his shirt off over his hand and set it on the ground behind him. Looking to Lena, he smiled, "I'll be right back." He caught a glimpse of her nodding as he bent down to unstring his boots. Slipping them off, he made his way into the water. It gradually came up to his waist. The feel of if around him awakened every nerve in his body. With a quick glance back, he grinned as he lowered himself beneath the surface of the lake. Listening to the rhythm of the current, he slowly kicked his way through the water until it was deep enough for him to right himself without touching the bottom or surfacing out of the water. Recalling the movement of his fingers he used to make the water freeze into small spears, he began to play the motion over again. This time, he concentrated on the current. He wanted it to spiral around him making a whirlpool effect.

[Kyana]

Lena walked over to edge watching. The water looked inviting from the hot glare of the sun. She would jump in later she decided. Better not to disturb Xar. She could see he had potential and raw tallent that diffenitly needed taming. Lena walked out on some large bolder away from the shore before sittingdown and dipping her feet into the cool depths of the water. She smiled and started to enterain herself by using the wind to create waves along the water...

[liquidwritings]

Xar could feel the tension of the current pulling his way. It's working! Thinking of the power behind the small pattern he began to ponder. What if I made it a bit more elaborate? Closing his eyes, he thought of the way the waves moves along the ocean and the tranquility they brought. That was the true nature of water. Slowly, he began to move his arms. Moving a little faster, he quit the pattern he was doing with his fingers and focused on the use of his arms and the shape of his hands. Gods above, I'm doing it! The current began to swell around him, bellowing its fury around him. Power the current fed him began to swell in his hands. He had no idea what to do with it. The current spiraled faster around him pushing up to the surface. The scary part was that he was moving extremely fast. Breaking the surface, the water kept pushing him up, a water spout coming out of the water under him. Scared, he dropped his hands to his side, the side-effect to this was that the current suddenly stopped. The water dropped back into the lake and so did he. He managed to yell before he hit the water.

[Kyana]

Lena had watched with interest and had appered there immeditally on one of the large outer bolders a few feet away from Xar. As Xar resurfaced Lena managed not to laugh, but smiled brightly insetead. "I was just thinking." she said. "Water is very much like air and watching your movements; they're almost exatly alike...." She trailed off thinking. ""Maybe....no. Well possibly I probably could help you. What do you think?" lena said, looking up.

[liquidwritings]

He swam to a boulder protruding from the water and pulled himself up on it. "That would be wonderful! Just as long as it doesn't require going back up there." Xar pointed to the sky and smiled. He never wanted to go back up there again. But this is good, maybe she could help him.