Arc 721, Vhalar 85
Twilight - the time of trial when the sun was below the horizon, illuminating the world with soft candlelight, allowing the harshness of reality to fade for a time, and occasionally revealing truths hidden by the light. Natalia enjoyed twilight, understanding the importance of not being blinded by the illusions of light, and reveling in the comfort of darkness. There were things to cherish of both, and she seemed destined to walk the line between them.
The atmosphere of Almund was an exciting mix of curious, frightening, and odd. Often all jumbled together in a mush of disarray, but it had its unique charms and uses. For a girl trying to lose herself amongst the noise and clutter of the vivid, colorful ambiance, it was an excellent place to become no one.
Of course, that wasn't true. The young woman who walked the streets, casting her serious, appraising gaze upon those who passed by her, was the daughter of Chamadarst – a Mortalborn. To others, she simply appeared to be Liselle, or whatever name she was going by that trial. She seemed as she wanted others to see her, but none of them genuinely knew her true heart and soul. Natalia wasn't even sure she did.
That trial, Natalia wasn't interested in being amongst the chaos of the city, opting for a different view and space, and choosing twilight as her backdrop. Having overheard things about the mysterious Glass Tree from various sources and knowing it was something of a spiritual or religious place, heavily steeped in lore and legend, it felt appropriate to consider her very nature at such a place.
It was easy to see the massive oak as she approached it, for it eclipsed everything else in Almund. Natalia had noted it every trial in the distance, obviously, but it wasn't until she started making minor inquiries that the stories and curiosities came to light. In Scalvoris Town, they had the Glass Temple – a place she was intimately familiar with due to Stephen Gregorios – the man she was raised to believe was her father.
Was he? He wasn't a good man, and their relationship was nothing but adversarial, so it didn't matter, but how did being a Mortalborn work? Therein lay the issue – Natalia knew nothing about the subject or even where to look for more information. There, to her knowledge, wasn't an instructional pamphlet to being the offspring of an Immortal.
One Immortal had confirmed her Mortalborn status, and another the identity of her Immortal father – Chamadarst. She had abilities that couldn't be explained away or justified any other way, so there was no confusion, but the desire to know more was overwhelming. The inability to do so? Maddening.
Even speaking of Immortals in such a blase way was an experience in itself. A few seasons prior, she had been planning her future, blissfully unaware of the supernatural baggage she carried, which surpassed the more mundane issues she had brought to the party. Now, Natalia was a part of something so much bigger and dangerous. And woefully ignorant - that was an important point.
Her eyes fell upon the shimmering glass ornaments as Natalia walked the perimeter of the tree. The devoted masses gave the beautiful sacramental offerings, decorating portions of the tree and serving as a vibrant scenery for further pondering of how she had arrived at just that moment. Seemingly reeling from one lousy situation to another - a pawn in a massive, world-altering chess game she hadn't signed up for.
She spotted Grayson arriving on the other side of the tree, not bothering to wave him over, for Natalia was quite sure he knew where she was almost all the time. He generally allowed her space when the young woman needed it, but he was fully aware that the previous few trials had been challenging for her. He couldn't do much about that, but perhaps talking it out was the next step.
Grayson, wary of Natalia's more turbulent moods, sat down at a nearby bench and gifted the young woman with his trademark smirk. "Something vexes thee, milady?" Rolling her eyes at his antics, she lowered herself next to him. "You know damn well something vexes me, but beneath if I can put words to it."
Shrugging his shoulders gently, the man folded his hands, placing them behind his head as he lounged on the bench. "I can – you're restless. Happens to the best of us, I'm afraid." Casting a look of disbelief in his direction, Natalia shook her head. "It can't be that. We haven't been here that long, and I've plenty to keep me busy." Laughing softly, Grayson cast his dark eyes her way. "Is that what you define as 'restless,' dear girl? No, no. What you are defining as 'restless' is actually being bored. You aren't bored."
Amused, he continued. "Being restless is something deep inside. Like, a jumpiness that is always there. Never finding a moment's peace or rest and not knowing why. To be fair, you are far better now than when I found you, but it was obvious that there is a deep need in you to know and learn. I hoped Almund would help, and in some ways, it has." Sighing gently, he returned his gaze to the tree, unhappy with the turn in the conversation.
"I had hoped Almund would be far enough away where you could lower your guard a bit," Grayson said, kicking a bit of dirt with his boot. Before he could continue, however, Natalia interjected. "How am I supposed to relax when any moment, I could run into someone who knows me or be randomly attacked like I was when riding from Egilrun? I know that game is far from done. Or even when I could randomly be plucked away by Immortals? I'm just…" words trailing off, taking on a note of uncertainty that was rare for Natalia.
"Restless. You.are.restless. Read my lips," Grayson said, chuckling a bit. "Which means we need to talk about our next move. Almund clearly isn't the place, and frankly, unless you hide in the middle of the Scaltoth, which I don't recommend, I'm not sure Scalvoris is the immediate answer. You need a place to breathe a bit, and I might know somewhere."
Arching an eyebrow gently, she turned to face her cousin, curiosity evident as she spoke. "Rharne? Viden?" Shaking his head, he brought his hands folded hands in front of him. "Eztos. I'm not going to lie and say it's a lovely place because it's not. It's, in a lot of ways, darker than Almund. But, that might be an advantage for us. In places like that, people tend to mind their own business. There is a real possibility that it will allow you the space you need to train and learn, plus being in an environment like that can teach you intangibles that are invaluable when one is learning how to disappear."
Natalia listened to every word, and if she was being honest with herself - and she always tried to be that - it was a scary proposition. Grayson was right about Almund being just familiar enough that she hadn't felt like she was cutting ties with everything thoroughly, but Eztos would be just that. Natalia would indeed be on her own. Her cousin would be with her, of course, but the point of his mentorship was to teach her the skills she needed to survive independently. He would need to let the leash go slowly and let her be who she would evolve into.
"How far away?" she asked, being unfamiliar with its location, although she was sure she had heard the name of the city before. Shrugging his shoulders, Grayson thought about it. "Thirty-six trials by boat, give or take. Probably a few more trials because of the cooling weather trends." Groaning, she factored the travel time into the equation. If they left immediately, that would put them into Eztos just after the start of Zi'da, when things started getting much colder, and no guarantee that they would return before Cylus.
Thirty six trials and a new adventure. Her time in Scalvoris had been meaningful, but Grayson was more experienced in the matters she was currently being challenged by, and if he said it was time to go for a bit, she wasn't going to argue with him. She trusted the promise he had made to her grandfather, and would continue to do so. He hadn't once steered her wrong in the time they had been together, and Natalia continued to believe that he had her best interest at heart.
"I guess it's time to see what Eztos has to offer then."
Template Credit: Oberan
