the future and what we make of it

[vielle 6671]

CHECKPOINT—

LONG SUMMARY:

Samael and his companion Ephah comes to Taen, taking up an invitation given to him by the Empress. He then becomes a ward of the Parálios Dynasty, making his residence in Cair Loeren and securing a deal with the Parálios family in exchange for clemency and protection. He learns wildlight under the direction of his Mork’Outh mentor Nan’aiy, who teaches him how to forgive himself and become a better individual as he travels through the realm helping others. Soon after, under the instruction of Pallas Parálios, he travels to the mouth of the River Sine, and some distance south of it, he erects a worldrift gateway built from a variant of cottawood and powered by a pure lazurum crystal, thus creating a portal from Taen to the location. Afterwards, he sculpts a cove from the coastline. Using the powers of earth and water from the essence of a god he had obtained from his travels before, he bends the seabed to create terrain suitable for a deep-water harbor. He then furthers the expansion of the new port by sculpting a road from the harbor to the main roads leading to Inns'th in Yh'mi, connecting the two locations. He also clears an area near the harbor to serve as the foundation for an airship port that is to be built in the future.
 

SHORT SUMMARY:

Samael is taken under the wing of the Parálios Dynasty of Eridianus and constructs a new port under Taen jurisdiction called Dycaslarin Harbor to facilitate the transport of goods and manpower from Taen to Yh'mi.

 

@Csl

[Phoebe 1739]

The cold and padded soles of leather boots thumped along the muddy coastline, caked in a thin layer of moist sand. Addison's gaze drifted toward the skyline and for a moment, her piercing gaze seemed to shine through the elaborately prepared facade of grim and soot rubbed onto her face. Her complexion was significantly darker than it had once been, all in an effort to prevent herself from being identified, though it was unlikely that the people of Taen or Yh'mi would recognise an up and coming conqueror from across the world.

As she plodded on restlessly, a strange sense of serene calmness descended over her like a wave of love and life. She felt her tensed shoulders easing and her mind clearing on their own and a familiar presence seemed to hover over her head; a presence she hadn't felt in a long time. As grass began to sprout left and right and the white sandy beaches gradually transitioned into bays of stone leading into fields of flourishing grassland, it became apparent as to why this was so.

Samael had used the Goddess's power.

And suddenly, the beauty of the landscape began to haunt her; an artwork painted from blood; a masterpiece made with unimaginable cost. And in the distance as the loud celebratory cheers echoed on, all Addison could imagine was the silent suppressed screaming that she released in her mind. Her fists coiled up and she mentally steeled herself for the encounter that was to follow. As a figurehead to her people, the Master Knight rarely had the opportunity to let out her pain and catch a breath of air. These few calms between the maelstroms offered much needed time for recovery. And as she strode, her eyes reddened and her soul seemed to darken just a little bit more. An unsettling aura seemed to descend about her, each step thundering with rage, guilt, and resolve. But in the distance, the land of her enemies called out like a light in the darkness.

The time to meet the Godslayer had come.

@Diremast

Edited May 4, 2020 by Phoebe

[Phoebe 1739]

Every past calculation and action had led up to this moment. She had reached this point in her mission with the invaluable aid of her companions, but the path no longer offered space for them any longer. She had to see the end of the mission on her own. It was just too dangerous. She couldn't risk anyone else walking into the mouth of the enemy.

Before proceeding with her trek, Addison left a small escape craft within the waters adjacent to the coastline. At a point where the depth of the water fell abruptly, a small aquatic transport cloaked in reflective material awaited her return. In its back was a large compartment covered with anti-magic runes and engravings. Leaving the vehicle in hibernation, she took a deep breath, gazing off toward Yh'mi. She had been here once before, just barely enough to give her some leverage in navigating to where she wished to reach. For a moment she hesitated, but her resolve overcame her fear. It would be tenfold more difficult to extract the Godslayer from his home in Ursa Madaem, where their advanced technologies would be rendered useless.

Taking one last glance at the watercraft hidden beneath a shimmering layer of cloaking, Addison turned and made directly for the newly fashioned port.

@vielle

[Csl 5748]

• • •

 

Pallas approves his request to remain at the harbor, much to his delight.

There is no obvious need for him at this point; he's sculpted the coast, planted the portal, and laid the foundations of the terrain. The construction of the port and the growing harbor town came at the hands of Taen's biomancers, geomancers, architects and engineers. Samael had watched as the wyldlight mages grew of pillars of cottawood from the seafloor. Vines and tendrils, hard as iron, served as the support of the wooden dock ("It won't rot," one of the biomancers had assured him, when she'd caught him studying the half-submerged logs). Crystals insets placed at the edges served as beacons -- and at sunset, their glow painted the waves blue-white.

The harbor town itself begins as an amalgam of Taen's cities. Cottawood apartment from Lunaris, walls tinted with soft, warm hues. Sunsteel warehouses from Neatia. Lucentglass greenhouses and towers. The simple road he's carved in the earth is quickly paved with stone, wickbloom lamps set along it at even intervals. For those 

There is no obvious need for him, yet Samael finds purpose in assisting those that came after the harbor's completion, putting his otherworldly (even by Taen's standards) powers to use. He is no leader here - barely even a regent - but with title or without, there is work to be done. The power to shape the earth becomes particularly useful - the geomancers, skilled as they are, are grateful for his help in parting the ground to build foundations.  Arcturon's architects seek his hydromancy for constructing an irrigation system. The Khartes Medical center gives him a cake for helping save a man's leg - the poor fellow had found himself wrong end of a felled tree; with no talika-healer in vicinity, Samael had stepped in, healing magic coursing through his veins.

Even the force of Zatrikion assigned to guard the harbor take a liking to him. They try not to pry, but their curiosity of him is near-palpable - Who is this child who has earned the King's favor, who wears a Paralios ring on his hand? Where do his awesome powers come from? 

He realizes they recognize him from whispers across Taen. The Wanderer. He finds no shame in who he was, now - it is eclipsed by the peace that resides in his chest, the contentment in who he has become.

Barely a week after the harbor's completion, he sits atop the grassy knoll once again. The portal is never empty these days. In a month's time, he's heard the workers say, they'll begin sending more support to Yh'mi.

It comes as a surprise, then, that a lone figure approaches Dycaslarin Harbor from the north. Samael tracks his gaze on the lone woman, watching from afar. There have been few visitors to the Harbor from outside Taen, particularly since the place is brand new. Perhaps she's an adventure, Samael supposes. There are more than enough of those around, each striking out into the wilds to find fame or fortune.

Whatever her purpose may be, she is headed straight for the harbor. Has word of it spread so fast across Eridianus? Leaping to his feet, Samael draws on one of the many skills his time in Avylon has granted him. The air shimmers like a curtain. Samael steps forward, stomach lurching as space folds before him, and finds himself transported before the woman.

He greets her with a smile, curiosity bubbling in his chest but held at bay, a simple salutation spilling over his lips. "Hello! Are you headed to the harbor?" The name Dycaslarin still doesn't sit well on his tongue - he prefers to simply call it the harbor, whenever he must.

[Phoebe 1739]

"Aye!" Addison exclaimed gruffly in response, wiping a small smudge of soot off her cheek. Striding forward to meet the boy, she shot him a curious glance before looking back toward the harbor in the distance.

"I've come to seek an audience from a boy," she indicated, stopping within speaking distance of the one who had greeted her.

"I hear he lives here. Or at least he resides here as of the present moment. I hear he's been to places which men twice or thrice his age could never fathom venturing to. Do you know of a boy who goes by the name of 'Samael'?"

@Csl

[Csl 5748]

• • •

 

The stranger speaks her intent sharp and clear - she is looking for him. I hear he's been to places which men twice or thrice his age could never fathom venturing to.

Samael hides a smile. That much is true. His reputation, it seems, precedes him.

Then he remembers what he has done to deserve such a reputation. It is a sobering thought.

He wonders where she has heard of him - more so, how she has learned that he now resides at the Habor. The port itself has only been completed barely a week ago. Those who have arrived come only through the portal, only a select number of men and women from Taen, assigned to assist in the town's construction.

This woman is the Harbor's first visitor from outside, and she has come looking for him. There are no other settlements this close to Yh'mi. The nearest town along the coast is Azureveil - this, he remembers from when Pallas first showed him the map of Lagrimosa, marking the point where the new port would stand. The nearest kingdom lies in the Moonwood, in the realm of the Faeries, where no mortal has ever stepped foot. Perhaps this is one of the citizens of Tethys?

Samael takes a closer look at the stranger. She looks disheveled, but there is no sign of fin or scale on her.

Cautiously, he asks: "Why do you seek an audience with him?"

[Phoebe 1739]

"I'm an aspiring adventurer," she proclaimed, wiping specks of soot off of her face as she broke into a cheerful grin. "I want to be his friend. I think there's a lot I can learn from him and a lot that I can show him too!"

She gestured to a small woven bag strapped around her hips; the humble rugsack of a thrifty traveler.

"I've spent most of my life exploring the world and I have a great deal of stories to tell. Do you live here?"

She looked onward into the beautiful rolling hills of grass.

"Perhaps we could exchange stories. I'd love to be a little less ignorant of this land's history when I finally meet Samael."

@Csl