Kiyo had begun her journey from Lifan on foot, having attempted to simply get on her way with starting her Rites on her own terms--despite the fact that it was a familial obligation for her to be recognized as the heiress to the Reijin family, it was something she had simply always wanted to do. Much of her childhood had been spent poring over tomes depicting the lives and actions of the legendary heroes, describing the war they fought and what was at stake. It'd left her with a deep appreciation for the esoteric and powerful, and there was no better way to understand the nature of the world than to walk it as its greatest heroes once had. Before she could get particularly far, however, her parents had sent an armed escort with her--forgetting, conveniently, that she was almost thirty years old and had fought in a war--and she had been escorted to the high speed rail going to Ward. The journey to Ward was fairly uneventful, though she got her fair share of stares from passersby and other such travellers. Perhaps not because they recognised [i]her[/i], because few recognised the less notable members of the Great Families, but because she had an armed entourage--which was extremely rare, even amongst the nobility.

Upon arriving in Ward, Kiyo dismissed her armed entourage with as much fervor as she could muster. She thanked them for their service, but now that she was in the West their presence would only stir up discontent among the populace. Few would know who she was, and fewer still would care, so their presence was wildly unnecessary. She boarded another train down to Toran on her own, sitting peacefully in a cabin with a steaming pot of tea and some of Ward's regional cuisine--an "artisinal" beefburger, stacked with six different kinds of cheese and at least three sauces, none of which Kiyo could accurately identify. She stared at the burger, a little uneasily, before pushing it gently to the side and offering it to the next member of staff that passed by her on the train. She cradled her hands around the porcelain cup, letting its heat infuse into her palms, as she watched the countryside and the vast forests of Toran roll by alongside her.

When she departed the train, Kiyo smiled to herself and immediately begun to wander. It had been a long time since she had simply been free to do as she wished--not since the war, really--and she spend the first free afternoon she'd had in almost a decade wandering the nearby forest. There would be plenty of time for the formality and the due process later--she was from Lifan, through and through, due process was no stranger to her--but for now, she simply wanted to relax into having a good time. She strode through the forest gingerly at first, unused to the wildness of it all, but quickly found a rhythm. It was, in some ways, like riding a bike--it brought back memories of the war. She'd had enough time to come to terms with what had happened, and though the horrors of war were not something one could ever forget, she had not done or seen anything horrific enough that it had really stayed with her. She was thankful for her background in moments like these, lost in thought, that she had been spared from the worst of the conflict simply because of the name that she bore. She offered a silent prayer to Seiryu before walking into a tree, letting out a confused yelp that startled a nearby flock of birds. 

It was there that she came across a Mythari, darting playfully through the air, and she reached out to it with her mind.

"Have you ever seen the magic of Shadebinding before, Mythari?"

It did not respond to her mentally, but it flitted slightly closer to her, curious and cautious, and precariously rubbed its nose against her outstretched left hand. With her right, she summoned forth the well of inky blackness deep within her and allowed the magic of the Pernicious Infusion to accumulate in her hand, almost like a tarry-black sea of pitch dancing gently around her fingers. 

"It is a powerful magic of endings that few know. There is a lot of magic in this world that we don't know about, Mythari. Would you like to come and experience it with me?" Kiyo asked, withdrawing the magic back into herself as she finished. Though there was no direct verbal assent, the Mythari gave a beat of its wings and then nodded, the runes on its wings flourishing with brilliant energy. Kiyo nodded, taking a relic from a pocket in her robe, and holding it up to the creature. With a ray of brilliant white light the Mythari allowed itself to be bound by the relic and was then immediately summoned, following alongside her.

"Shall we take flight, and see if there anything exciting in the forest?" Kiyo asked the Mythari mentally, beginning to hover off of the air with her Windspeaking, and with a great surge upwards it noted its assent.

"Your magic of shadebinding is interesting. I would like you to show me more, when we have finished." Mythari responded as the two flew steadily over the forest, looking for anything interesting happening.

"Of course. When we retire to Toran, I shall show you everything I know. When night falls, there are rituals that I will be happy to show you." Kiyo replied, and the two resumed their search of the forest. After having not found anything for a solid hour, the pair decided to make residence in Toran. The two had chatted mentally about all things magical, Kiyo revealing the secrets of Shadebinding that her family had kept and Mythari speaking about the nature of magic in the wild. The pair sat with one another in the central square, waiting until nightfall proper so they could begin the nighttime excursion that Kiyo had promised.

Meanwhile, Kiyo had booked a room for the two of them in Toran's finest hotel. She, personally, had no desire to spend the night somewhere so opulent--but her family had a reputation to uphold, and had insisted that for Toran, at least, they make a display of giving Kiyo the greatest luxury.