4 Ymiden 720 | Azrael Blackfire | Fensalir
He spent most of the gap between his meeting with the spirits and the fourth of Ymiden spending a little time with Talissa and Thorn. She'd taken over a little more because her housing was reliable but Azrael did his best to make sure he spent time with the little Ithecal. He took Thorn anywhere he thought he could go that wasn't dangerous and unfortunately Azrael thought he was about to engage in the dangerous sort of fun. He'd gone a little bit back to his roots, treasure hunting, and decided that it would be best to spend time getting to know the people of Melrath a little more... intimately.
At the back of his mind the spirit's words lingered- things were coming in this season that would make the Children of the Forest more willing to accept him and the Embla on his face would get him the rest of the way but there was a vast distance between that moment and the current one. Azrael already had a foot in the Ragnari though he'd never be willing to commit to the group. Adrian Aldwick, Talissa's father and the man who'd initiated Azrael into what he considered the most boring magic on Idalos, was a member of the Syns so Azrael asked Tali to see if her father would be willing to show him around. Adrian said that unless Azrael was looking for training in his magic or willing to join the military, he wouldn't be able to set the time aside.
It was disappointing but Azrael knew he should have asked in person rather than sending Tali. In truth he didn't want to go through Adrian or the Syns but there were a decent number of other branches in the military for him to find someone to show him around. There were some branches outside as well. He and Tali met while out trying to help the Ydalir, more or less, so he considered them but he didn't know any of them. Options were limited but only if he wasn't willing to socialize and ever since he'd been given the embla it seemed like getting a foot in the door wasn't the problem- it was not putting your foot from the door into your mouth while you spoke to people.
Azrael found himself looking for a Ydalir who would be able to show him around the forests in Fensalir. Raelia was a big place with a lot of useful things but Yanish, a friend Azrael had done a favor for in return for information, told him all the rangers came from Fensalir. Tali confirmed that the old city was where their headquarters was located and Azrael decided to pay them a visit. The weather this time of year wasn't ideal for travel but Azrael wasn't sure the weather in Melrath was ever ideal. It was cold, now it was humid and wet. He endured it a little better than most due his mark but he still felt uncomfortable at times. The journey took longer than he wanted and he spent far too long into the morning sleeping in his bed in the tavern.
Getting ready took a little longer than he wanted as well. He spent a few bits too long looking in the mirror and wondering if he wanted to make his eyes a little more blue or a little darker. Darker eyes would match his outfit better but blue eyes were gorgeous. Did he want his hair longer? If he did, he'd probably have to find some way to tie it and that seemed like too much work so he'd keep it at its current length. What about his beard? He liked it as well even if he thought he would have to reduce the corners a little the next morning. There was something more pleasing to his eye in a sharp beard than a fluffy one. In the end he didn't make any changes, he just spent about ten bits looking at himself and wondering if he would change anything. He spent another five bits looking at the in the intricate crow wing stretching out from his temple across his brow. Every time he saw the Embla, he'd have sworn the little head of the crow sticking out from beneath the wing winked at him but not a single person thought it odd. He loved it but he couldn't admire himself forever so he set off.
The streets of Fensalir and natural design of most the buildings made Azrael realize why Tali called it the old city. It looked, in some spots, like it had grown into place. While Raelia was marked with blue stone walls that comprises a gothic sort of architecture, Fensalir seemed to be made of woods and ivory with emerald green adorning it. Azrael wasn't sure an outfit packed for Raelia would fit in in Fensalir but no one seemed to mind after looking at his face.
Azrael started his trial in the Juniper Hills, one of the two districts in the upper city. There was a landmark in middle of the district- the Ydalir Village. He saw it on the map Brent had given him but Azrael had to spend a while walking around it to make sure it was indeed the spot on the map. It was a little difficult to translate locations in the world to the depiction on the map in his head, but Azrael put it together slowly. He had no intention of waltzing into the village itself and looking for a guide. Anyone in the village was probably more concerned with duty or their next promotion than anything else and Azrael wasn't looking to be recruited. He just wanted someone who would show him around in their off time. Someone who's connections made them reliable... someone who could get him out of the forest if things went wrong. Where did a man go at the end of his trial? To answer that, Azrael asked where he would go and realized the answer was a tavern.
He looked at his map again but there weren't any labeled on it. Damn. He walked one way for a few bits looking for anything that seemed like a tavern on the street and the turned and walked back the other way, crossing in front of the Ydalir village again but not entering. He repeated the same back and forth trek about three times before he was ready to resolve there were no taverns in the Juniper Hills serving anything good- or at least none that were full of people. He saw smiths, bow makers, a few shops he was sure he'd want to stop at before going into the wilderness, and a few places with cheeses, jams, and smokes meats... but no good alcohol. On his fourth pass by the Ydalir village, a blonde man with a scar stretching across his face roughly the shape of Azrael's embla, stopped him.
"Are you lost, friend?" The blonde man asked with a friendly grin on his face. He didn't seem like a thug sizing up a target but Azrael never really could tell until it was too late.
"How could you tell?" Azrael asked. He didn't see a reason to deny it.
"Well I was on tower duty a little while ago, couldn't help but notice you've just been walking back and forth." The man said, "Seemed like you were looking for something, need any help?" Azrael felt a small impulse to ask the man who he was but he knew that doing so would probably lead to too many questions about names and so he decided to let it rest for the moment. It seemed the man thought Azrael was where he should be, just lost. He wasn't entirely wrong.
"Awfully generous of you." Azrael said with a little suspicion behind his voice.
"I don't see it that way," the man said, "The way I see it, I'd have been terribly rude to know and not offer help." Azrael grinned. This one seemed good of heart but they'd only just met so Azrael could not be sure. He still believed most people who approached him had a singular want. It was too early to test this stranger but Azrael couldn't deny his interest had been piqued.
"Do you know how to hunt?" Azrael asked, the first question which prompted a strange look from the man. "A friend told me I should start to get the lay of the land, said they'd help but they aren't here." He wasn't technically lying. "Once I realized they wouldn't show up, I decided to find someone else to help but..." Azrael didn't want to lie but he knew he had to deceive to some extent. "I haven't had any luck." It was true but it was not all of the truth. The root of a good deception.
"You think hunting is the best way to learn about the land?" The man with the scar seemed amused. In truth, his friendly demeanor came from the fact that while he wasn't attracted to Azrael he still felt the allure and it made him curious. Watching Azrael pass back and forth like a lost dog made him even more curious and he wanted to figure out this stranger who seemed to fit right in.
"I think it's a way to make a few extra nels while I do," Azrael said, "I am open to suggestions." The blonde man with the scar seemed amused by Azrael for a few trills before he looked back towards the place he'd come from. He seemed to be weighing a decision in his mind before resolving to act.
"Alright, I have to get back to work but if you stick around for another three breaks or come back, I might have an idea for you."
Azrael grinned, "I'll see you in a few breaks then."