The cool wind swept across the swaying palm trees, it's touch as smooth as silk to those it flowed across.

His hammock rocked gently to the ebbing of the winds. There Thessir laid, fast asleep under the noonday sun. He was fully dressed with the exception of his big brown boots which were two sizes larger than his feet at the least and his backpack which was really more of a sack cloth held together with wooden rods and cloth fastenings. His big brimmed hat was set pretty much over his face, the black headwear shielding him from the sun's annoyingly bright rays.

Over the sound of the trees and Thessir's snoring was the distance caw of a macaw. Approaching his site a brightly colored parrot carried what appeared to be a sort of note in it's claws. The bird flew down, landing on a sort of stick set out for it to land on. Dropping the note by what was essentially his mail box, though box is a misnomer since it really is just a stick that's appropriately shaped for parrots to land on, The bird sat on the makeshift perch and waited a short bit for him to come get his mail. When he didn't move from his resting spot it decided to announce itself.

[b]"Craw! Mail Delivery! Craw!"[/b] It hollered with it's characteristically shrill yet croaky voice.

_
Thessir stirred from his rest only slightly. It wasn't until the bird continued to beak off at him that he roused from his slumber.

"Hhh... Who sendz mail at this ungodly hour of the day?" He complained as he shifted about in his attempt to rise from the hammock. Being a light fellow it was quite easy to slip off the sometimes treacherously balanced bed arrangement that was the hammock. He even managed to keep the hat up on his head which was good because there wasn't a cloud in the sky and he didn't have his blindfold on.

Staggering blearily across the sandy beach he gave a long straining yawn as he rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes. He managed to get to the mail post without tripping over his own feet, an accomplishment for someone who was definitely not a morning person even if it wasn't even morning. Stooping over he picked up the envelope and eyed it over, looking for any identifying print or insignia. As he looked the envelope over the bird took this as it's cue to skedaddle and left back for the village post master.

The envelope had no address and the seal was a symbol he did not recognize. In that short moment he went from sleepy to intrigued. With that he cracked the wax open and freed the letter from it's papery trappings. His eyes rolled over the words, scrutinizing each sentence upon the stationery.

_
It was not a welcoming message. An invitation that much was certain but he took no mirth from the words it contained. It spoke of events it shouldn't of known, COULDN'T of known. But how? Mystery was afoot.

"Guess it's time to solve a mystery." He confirmed out loud, speaking largely to himself. Heading back to his rudimentary shelter aka a few sticks and palm leaves arranged to keep things dry during a rainfall he picked up his meager few belongings and set forth towards the quaint fishing village he called neighbors.

[b]"So you're sure he'll get the letter right? I cannot return empty handed you know."[/b]

A man dressed a darkly colored herald's uniform argued with the post master, a rather plainly dressed fellow. Behind them rows of birdcage's sat, the homes of the messengers he trained.

[b]"Yeah. Don't stress out, I sent my best bird."[/b] The post master responded with his usual air of casualness. He just assumed the man was making big bones out of a small issue, not something unusual for folks from outside the village. The herald seemed to carry this task with the impression of utmost importance but that was pretty much always the case with these sorts.

There was a sudden tapping on the herald's right shoulder. He looked over to the right in mild surprise, only to see nothing. Turning back to face the post master there was now tapping on his left shoulder. He looked over his left shoulder, this time faster than the first, but still no sign of the culprit. Attempting to be clever the herald waited, feigning ignorance for the moment, before whipping right around.

[b]"Aha! Got you- Wait, where?!"[/b] Before him was still nothing, not a sign of anyone. As he turned around however there was someone right in front between him and the post master, causing him to stumble back and briefly cry out in surprise.

[b]"Hahahaha! You sure got'em!"[/b] The post master laughed heartily at the joke Thessir had pulled on the herald.

[b]"W-who dares-"[/b]

"Szo, retuuurrrn to szzzenderrr hmm?" Thessir cut him off with his weird accented insertion, presenting the envelope he had recieved. The herald found his current train of thought halted by the new evidence presented.

[b]"A- ah, you must be Thessir. Erm, yes we are to return to the sender. That is correct."[/b] He straightened himself out, resuming a finer posture. [b]"At your earliest convenient opportunity we shall leave for the sky ports. Do take care to not linger too long, my employer seeks your audience before too long."[/b]

"Ooo, szkyzship huh? How fanzy." Thessir remarked, tucking the letter back into his coat. "Dizpell your worriez. I havez no intenshun of leavin' your employer szitting on hiz handz. Let uz move on for I am eager to meet thiz perzon." Thessir strode over to the door and gestured to the open aperture with his natural left hand. "Zshall we?"

Sparing little time the herald and Thessir both left the wooden shack and proceeded down the beach up the winding path towards the port town.

_
Through the streets of padded earth Thessir let the herald lead on, the two proceeding up to the docks and over to the only airship dock in town. After all, the island of Akilos did not lay in the path of any major airship trade routes and being water bound only helped to further remove it from notice by most. It largely subsisted on it's fishing supply and trade with poorer water bound vessels.

After some walking they reached the ladder up to the dock where the airship awaited. A large wooden vessel shaped not unlike a caravel was tethered to a post, anchoring it to the long wooden walkway. Instead of masts it possessed three large balloons, crew members assigned to specific torches & bellows which served to control the heat of the air therein. As the herald and his guest of honor approached the side of the ship the crew needed no signal to proceed, hoisting up a length of boards nailed together into a walkway, complete with hand rails for added safety. The hooks at the bottom of the board hooked onto the knee-high railing at the side of the dock, keeping the planks in place for those coming aboard.

Thessir chuckled a little, looking up at the ship with a bit of a smirk as the sea fresh wind tussled with his loose black hair.

[b]"Something amuses you sir?"[/b] The herald questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"Just the whimz of the zea." Thessir spoke distantly, focused more on the ship than the one talking. It was a small lie of course. Some years ago he wouldn't of been able to conjure up a clear image of the sky, let alone an air ship. Now here he was, looking upon one of the first air ships he's seen. It was a common sight for the crew but for him it was quite the wonder. Even though he had already read up on the principles behind how they operate it was still something else to witness such a large mechanical spectacle with his own eyes. It amused him that he was going to be riding one of these things now too, a Nyxian of all creatures taking to the skies. Not a common sight indeed.

_
Thessir was given his own cabin and rode with relative comfort on route to the destination of the letter's sender. Sailing over Tenebra was no pleasant sight as fields of twisted or decayed plant life were the only things to witness up to the horizon for many miles. Come the second day however they approached a dock. It was the strangest thing, a lone sky dock in the middle of nowhere in a blighted land. Nonetheless the ship eased down from the sky before anchoring themselves to the dock.

With the walkway down Thessir stepped off the ship, albeit pensively. Even if he knew the air was no longer unbreathable there were many stories of old down below which spoke the many dangers that riddled the surface. His breathing was slow just in case the air he was taking in was poisoning him.

[b]"While caution is always recommended I think you should know that the way is safe. The path has been cleared to make way for you and your cohort's arrivals."[/b] The herald assured him. Thessir gave a simple nod, pressing forward with little desire to linger. Whoever said it's sometimes best to stop and smell the roses clearly has never tried to smell a Nosebiter Tulip.

It was not long before they arrived, their destination obvious as it was the only thing around not composed of ruin or rot. The gate was adorned with a metal relief of a dragon ornately fused to it. Around many of the bars and across the tops of the cold stone walls were long thorned vines, the stems of overgrown roses and briar. Thessir took in these sights with a scrutinizing eye before the herald opened the gate for him.

_
As Thessir stepped inside the herald began to close the gates behind him.

"Not going to join uz?" He turned, questioning the man without necessarily judging him for it.

[b]"Afraid so. I musn't trespass any farther but please do enjoy your stay. As for I, I shall return to the ship."[/b] And with that the herald had bid his farewell, turning to leave the site once the gate was closed.

Thessir himself turned back to the interior of the walled location and observed an odd set up. It seemed these walls housed a lush and verdant garden, replete with many types of flowers along with stranger structures. In the center stood a fountain in the shape of a siren. Within it's hands it held what seemed to be a glass sphere, six gems housed within. In the corners of this hexagonal courtyard were six different decorative features, each indicating a different element for their space. There was a large crystal which contained a sort of light, a pillar of water which seemed to stand perfectly well on it's own, a large oak tree, a mound of volcanic soil, a standing cylinder of clouds which remain in place instead of dispersing as they typically do and lastly a strange building wrought of onyx. Lines of color themed flower bushes divided each of these decorations, the colors synced to the related element of their corner.

In the center of the out of place garden sat an elf in rough woods garb which quite clearly spoke of which caste he hailed from. Elsewhere within the walls he could observe a wolf and a crow roaming about. With those spotted he turned his attention back to the only other humanoid now in sight.

"Ahhh, a faze one morrre than none. Arrre youuu ahn Authorrr orrr ahnotherrr recieverrr?" Thessir approached, stopping within fifteen feet of the man. He stood with his hands in his pockets with a bit of a forward slouch. The brim of his hat cut off the image of his upper face, leaving only his pale awkward grin as the only facial feature to look upon. While the darkness covered his face down to the nose it also meant that the upper half of the person he was speaking to was also cut off for him.

Thessir stood and awaited some sort of indication or response of a sort, even if that response was in the form of an attack. He had not arrived unprepared for such an outcome as the shadows underneath could attest.