Ssarak Dyreackthanose

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[color=f7941d]"I do believe I can relate to that, actually."[/color] Ssarak responded, looking over the cupid rose which Meirin had given him. In the strictest of terms, Djarkel and the Scorched Lands were quite different from one another, but they held similarities in the ways that outsiders viewed them. Both of them were often considered harsh places to live, where beauty is but a foreign concept. To the former, he could agree, but for his homeland at least, he knew it well enough to know its redeeming qualities. 

After pausing a moment to eat some of his meal, Ssarak continued. [color=f7941d]"I believe your homeland and mine are similar in at least one respect. I think visitors have a hard time seeing it for anything beyond what it appears to be, though it is understandable. Both are harsh, barren; they do not have all the color and vibrance of a place like this garden. I know for my homeland, one has to look far beneath the surface to find its admirable qualities, and for Djarkel, I will admit that even I could not see the beauty you describe when we were there. Although, we were only there for a short time. Perhaps, in the future, I will have the chance to see Djarkel in the same way you have; perhaps you can be the one to show me?"[/color] He commented, smiling at the prospect.

[color=f7941d]"Regardless, for your question, I can say that the Scorched Lands are a...complex place. It is a greatly difficult place in which to survive, certainly. Everything of use is scarce. I know it is somewhat different in the city, but in the villages, like where I lived, we are taught from the day of our hatching to make the absolute best use of every resource we have. Wastefulness is quickly punished as a child. Food, water, clothing, supplies, weapons, and even living space are all given to each individual according to what is absolutely necessary to survive. Anything in surplus is saved and stored for use when it is truly needed. The villages move around with the shifting landscape, following the underground sources of water we use to sustain ourselves, as there are no significant bodies of water on the surface. No rivers or lakes, unless you are counting lava, of course. I believe that is why I find myself so obsessed with swimming now."[/color] He said, interrupting himself with a chuckle. [color=f7941d]"In my village, we both traded for and hunted our food. It is impossible to grow plants, or at least useful ones, in the Scorched Lands without the aid of a skilled herbamancer, and even then, it is better to grow them on the more stable land around Felldor. All of that does make it seem like a wasteland, and in a literal sense it is, but, just as in your homeland, I can say that there is a certain grandeur and majesty to the landscape. The jagged mountains and valleys, the shifting plains and sprawling lava fields, it is a land unlike any other in Tiien. The animals can be even more impressive. The predators are exceptionally resilient and deadly, while others can consume plants that would kill even an Esyire if we were to attempt to eat them. Those few kinds of plants and fungus that do grow in my homeland often thrive in hot springs and thermal vents that would melt my scales if I ventured too close. It is a...different kind of beauty, to be sure."[/color] As he thought more on his homeland, he did wish that Meirin could have the ability to experience the land in which he grew up, but unfortunately, the air itself was lethal to non-Esyire. To travel in the Scorched Lands, they had to rely entirely upon specialized runes to keep them alive, which carried its own collection of risks.