[h1][u]Act Two: Scattered to the Winds[/u]____  __  _   _[/h1]
[h2][u]Chapter One: Kith & Kin[/u]______  __  _   _[/h2]
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[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/1pRMPSB.png[/img][/center]
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[color=a36209]"You speak like Eskandr, you know,"[/color] said Alian, spitting into the fire. [color=a36209]"All rough and sharp."[/color] He was a rather stout and scruffy man of Kressia who held little love for humans, his fellow yasoi, or - really - much of anything except his beloved jam'bys. In truth, none of the others had ever seen him without one of the flavourful seeds in his mouth: sucking, chewing, spitting, his teeth stained with its tar. [color=a36209]"People 'round here,"[/color] he continued, [color=a36209]"they've let some Parrench into their tongues: big, expressive vowels, those weird 'r' sounds."[/color] He tossed another log into the fire. The sun had sunk beneath the horizon and the forest was now starting to experience a second sort of life: a sort that humans, in their instinctive fear of the dark, never got to experience. [color=a36209]"You'd best practice,"[/color] he grunted. [color=a36209]"Don't care how, but you'll give yourselves away."[/color]

Dinner had been served: rabbit and wild turkey caught on the trail, in a stew with some herbs and root vegetables. Then, there were the tiims'archa - starlight snails. As the final bit of daylight faded, the forest lit up with them: sparkling points of light in a dozen different colours. [color=7ea7d8]"Quite q-b-beautiful,"[/color] remarked Jyluun, [color=7ea7d8]"Are-aren't they?"[/color] She was small and odd: with long whitish-blonde hair that formed threadbare curtains about her face, and a penchant for random trivia. [color=7ea7d8]"Th-they were actually um... brought to to Parrence by Loriindton'soi for... farm-farming and ssuch."[/color] She shrugged, taking a quick sip of her herbal tea. [color=7ea7d8]"Then they went feral."[/color] She sipped again, falling silent, eyes darting between the others. Around them, the light show was just beginning, with thousands of the invasive snails twinkling in the dark with their bioluminescence.

There were other lights too, of course, and the small group of six people wasn't blind and deaf to the presence of other groups of travelers in the night. In this deepest part of the Parrench woods, there were few enough towns and inns, so the safe drinking water, plentiful game, and location about a half-day's ride from Loriindton combined with the ethereal beauty of the tiims'archa's nighttime displays to both give the Île Scintillante its name and make it a popular stopping place for traveling parties.

In the distance, from the trees close to where another fire had been not twenty minutes prior, Calitan, Eliis, Alian, Jyluun, Ashon and Hylani could hear someone whistling a familiar childhood tune: Niico Fayil Luun'ithan (Three Yellow Roses). It was a song and a game. One person would say the first line, placing the three yellow roses in some unusual spot, and the second player would begin the second line by repeating that spot and have to rhyme the ending. Then, they'd make up the first line of the next verse, and the original first player would rhyme. 

Then, out of nowhere, Jyluun raised her voice. [color=7ea7d8]"N-niico fayil luun'ithan, y-yca duul hax!"[/color] she called into the forest. There was a long pause, and the others looked her way with varying expressions. Then, a faint response from up in one of the trees. [color=598527]"Yca duul hax, ela tajuup yax?"[/color] It was basic, but the other party was willing to play. [color=598527]"Niico fayil luun'ithan,"[/color] it called out, taking the lead, [color=598527]"pen juu Escan!"[/color]

Ashon rolled his eyes at the irony, but decided to respond. [color=82ca9d]"Pen juu Escan? Senii shoi a'lan!"[/color] A couple of his companions snickered. [color=D70040]"Niico fayil luun'ithan,"[/color] Eliis eagerly began, [color=D70040]"pen juu Reluuz!"[/color] 

[color=D4E637]"Pen juu Reluuz?"[/color] came the response, [color=D4E637]"shoi in'yr duuz!"[/color] It looked like they were going to kill off all of the poor little roses tonight and then both groups would seek sleep. [color=D4E637]"Niico fayil luun'ithan, Senii shoi al'yr!"[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"Senii shoi al'yr? aly'goi thiir!"[/color] another of the six chimed in, finding the perfect rhyme. For all that they were in a war and on potentially hostile territory, this entire unexpected exchange had been a mirthful moment and a reminder of their shared yasoi kinship. [color=D70040]"Niico fayil luun'ithan,"[/color] added Eliis, not yet wanting it to end, [color=D70040]"Hoam'a yrash'osmax."[/color]

There was a pause on the other end and, for a moment, they wondered if their mysterious counterparts had given up. [color=598527]"Hoam'a Talit'osmax? Omei! Et ap nax!"[/color] Faintly, they could hear the sounds of distant laughter, but the knowledge of who it was coming from robbed it of any pleasantness. The responder could've just been making a joke, but the actual Lady Talit had been present at Relouse and it was not unreasonable to think that she could also be headed to Loriindton - her hometown - at this very moment. Suddenly, the half dozen Eskandr-aligned yasoi found themselves at the crossroads of both great peril and great opportunity. There was, potentially, their greatest enemy, mere shouting distance away. She was, by all accounts, a fifth wheel monster who had cleaned house at Relouse, but their own abilities were not inconsiderable, and perhaps combat was not the only way to approach her. The question now became one of their next course of action: should they remain hidden, fight her, spy, or perhaps take the opportunity to ingratiate themselves with her? However, before they had more than a minute or two to discuss and prepare, the choice was taken from them.

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[hider=Eskandr-Aligned Action Opportunities]Feel free to play out any of the following:

1) Meeting with Hrothgar and (if you're part of that organization), Tar'ithan people. Base this on our VC conversations from a could of weeks ago and information in this thread. Basically, he wants more yasoi among the Eskandr. He seems them as a valuable part of his country and people. The Tar'ithan are an ally of convenience. Both they and the Eskandr are using the other with plans to discard them when convenient. The goal here is to undermine support for Parrence and possibly drum up some for Eskand. To that end, it is hoped that the Eskandr yasoi can establish a tar'ithan cell that will either draw the ire of the Parrench crown and demonstrate that humans are not friends or else be effective in subterfuge.
2) What was your journey here like? Were you excited, dreading it? What do you know of Loriindton?
3) Any preparations or actions you took.
4) Got any Niico Tayiil Luun'ithan verses? Time to rhyme in yasoi!
5) You're presented with a choice at the end in terms of how you approach Tali's group. What'll it be?[/hider]
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Talit had heard that there was an eerie beauty to the nighttime forest: an ethereal quality, if you would. The people who'd said so were humans, though, and she didn't much understand it. Yanii eyes were their strongest sense, but even those were poor: limited in detail, light-hungry, and able to see only false yellow. Their hearing and smell were muted and imprecise at best, and so the dark, which robbed them of their one half-decent sense, inspired only fear. 

The yasoi lay there on a branch: right where it was wide and met the tree. One arm dangled over the edge and the bare skin of her foot pressed gently against the rough bark of the trunk. Most of the others were up here with her. She could see their cloaks draped over nearby branches. Some - those who had lived among yanii long enough to pick up their habits - used the Gift to make small lights as they read or looked around. Others slept on the ground, a profoundly vulnerable position, and it then became their task to keep watch over the horses. Animals of the open plains, they were ever skittish and uneasy in the trees. Rolling over, Tali gazed down at the little area where they were kept, picking out Pishcar. He was a dear big beast: sweet-tempered and well-trained, willing to tolerate her copious use of the Gift and the way that she sat slightly skewed in the saddle. 

Shifting again, Tali dangled her leg into the empty space below, swinging it idly back and forth. She'd had a bit to drink, inadvisable though it was, but she needed the comfort. Her birthday was in two days and she would arrive home just on time for it. Twenty-four years, she'd been alive, and a tightness invaded her stomach. If she were Oirase, she'd ascend within the next year. Like all good yasoi, she kept the gods, but the thought of giving up herself, of being subsumed by the goddess, was not truly an appealing one. The idea that her memories, her personality, and everything that she was would make up only one tiny part of what she would become... in truth, she would be lost. Yet, Tali was almost certainly [i]not[/i] the Bringer of Life. If she was a vessel, as her ability for magic suggested, then she would be Vyshta. If the idea of ascending taunted her with unease, then being the Uncrowned Bringer of Fortune was a fate far worse, for her vessels never lived to twenty-five. They were killed by Damy and Exiran. [i]What have I done to deserve your ire?[/i] she asked them silently. [i]Is a destiny beyond my mortal control enough to condemn me?[/i] She still had the bottle, and she lifted it to her lips, melancholy. She could not let the others see her like this, of course. They already thought her half a child. [i]Three quarters of one, more like,[/i] she thought wryly. [i]Fuck it.[/i] She took another sip of the melon wine.

Between the thick canopy and some cloud cover, there were no stars to be seen tonight, but the hundreds of tiny points of light that lived with Tali in the forest became a replacement: tiims'archa - starlight snails. The nearly twenty-four-year-old heaved herself into a seated position, stuffing the cork back into the bottle and scooting along until she could stuff the bottle into her pack. They'd been eating the slimy gastropods earlier, roasting them on the fire until they popped and sizzled. Some burst in showers of glowing colour. Others lit up the party's cheeks and traced brilliant lines down their necks and into their stomachs. Red, orange, gold, and purple stained their fingers and pulsed through their veins in turn. Each lasted only a couple of minutes, and it was best not to mix colours or you'd end up with a smudgy brown. Tali glanced at the others and a handful were still stirring. A few had been sour sports, but most had gamely eaten the horribly bitter novelty food. Maybe the relief of their nearness to Loriindton had helped, but they'd done eating dares: could anyone hold a Green Meanie on their tongue? Would anyone eat a Red Razz or a Thundersludge alive? Lyen had nearly hurled but, by Damy, she'd done it! In retrospect, the dares were probably why Tali had started drinking. She liked to win and always had: almost as much as she liked to be liked, but she wasn't a fan of consequences. She and Lyen had gone through most of a bottle. Otios was big and glowered at anyone who tried to take some of his. Esmiin had passed out and they'd nestled her right in the bole of a tree for safekeeping, where she curled up like a little kitten. Tali had joined Jaxan in drawing... things on her face, but a couple members of their group had actually traced their tetsoi with the tiims'archa juice. 

In truth, it had all been a little bit calculated: the probable vessel of Vyshta was under little illusion that things were grim. The Eskandr were running rampant in Parrence and an army was headed even this way, most likely to issue subtle threats, but it was going to be here nonetheless. And then, five days ago, she'd stood beside literal [i]piles[/i] of dead, as had Otios and Lyen, Esmiin, Adric, Jaxan, and Selest. It had been an unusually quiet ride in some ways.   

Such foolery as tiims'archa and a few good drinks had been sorely needed. Tali wasn't so naive as to believe every aspect of the yarns that Old Nan Merit liked to spin. 'Golden ages' are often golden only through the rose-tinted lens of nostalgia and reminiscence and, even then, only for [i]some[/i] people. The young woman grinned. She wet her lips and began to whistle. It had been her third great childhood obsession and so she was unusually talented in that regard. She started with 'Nyra Went to Market' before moving on to 'Three Yellow Roses'. It wasn't her own group that took up the song, however. Instead, there came a faint reply from one of the few bonfires still lit, some hundred or so meters away.

[color=7ea7d8]"Niico fayil luun'ithan, yca duul hax!"[/color]

Tali realized that she didn't actually have a response prepare, but she managed to bumble something acceptable out. [color=598527]"Yca duul hax, ela tajuup yax?"[/color] She snorted in mirthful embarrassment the moment she was done singsonging, but she had a better opener ready for the next verse, and maybe a bit of news with it. [color=598527]"Niico fayil luun'ithan,"[/color] she called out, [color=598527]"pen juu Escan!"[/color]

There was a pause, and her eyes found the distant twinkle of that other group's fire. [color=82ca9d]"Pen juu Escan? Senii shoi a'lan!"[/color] She could pick up distant laughter, and a few of her own people perked up. [color=D70040]"Niico fayil luun'ithan,"[/color] said a different voice - a male voice - this time. [color=D70040]"pen juu Reluuz!"[/color] They had accents that she couldn't quite place.

[color=D4E637]"Pen juu Reluuz?"[/color] called Lyen, [color=D4E637]"shoi in'yr duuz!"[/color] Tali grimaced. Between Eskand and Relouse, it looked like the poor little roses were doomed this time. They wouldn't survive their adventure. It actually made Tali kind of sad, but she'd always been an overemotional drunk. Then, Lyen had more. [color=D4E637]"Niico fayil luun'ithan, Senii shoi al'yr!"[/color]

[color=ed1c24]"Senii shoi al'yr? aly'goi thiir!"[/color] another new voice replied, finding the perfect rhyme. For all of the uncertainty that surrounded them because of this yanii war, even coming out in their rhymes, exchanges like this were profoundly reassuring things. Her people remained her people: stubbornly refusing to close themselves off. [color=D70040]"Niico fayil luun'ithan."[/color] It was one of the earlier voices, and its conclusion made her smile. [color=D70040]"Hoam'a yrash'osmax."[/color]

[color=FF9900]"Well, that's all you,"[/color] remarked Otios from nearby. He'd lived long among the yanii and had clearly been at least somewhat uncomfortable among his fellow yasoi at first, but he had a wit about him that popped up on occasions like this. [color=598527]"Hoam'a Talit'osmax?[/color] Tali chirped in reply to their distant friends. [color=598527]"Omei! Et ap nax!"[/color]

That drew a few laughs and the 'Lady of Loriindton' bowed at the waist, still seated. She'd be home tomorrow, with much to do and Arcel relying upon her again, but her first day was going to inevitably be given to sleep and her second and third to the mette'stiroi for Old Nan Merit's 172nd birthday and her and Dyric's 24th. [color=598527]"Hey Esmiin!"[/color] she called. [color=598527]"You up?"[/color] 

[color=f49ac2]"How can I [i]not [/i]be?"[/color] came the reply. 

[color=598527]"Adric, Jaxan, Lyen?"[/color]

She received a chorus of affirmatives. Talit scooted forward a bit more. Slinging her bag over her shoulders, she swung down until she was dangling from a small nearby branch. She let herself hang, though, for a long moment, allowing hesitation to seize her, but she brushed it aside. This was the very essence of being yasoi: not to live in a little bubble of fear and need, like humans did, but to venture, and to [i]want[/i]! [color=598527]"We should go meet with them,"[/color] she recommended. [color=598527]"I'll see to good beds for everyone in town tomorrow, and we can sleep whatever happens off."[/color] Letting go, she dropped the ten or so meters to the forest floor, breaking her fall with some Force magic and landing in a deep crouch on all threes. Placing her hands on a fallen log nearby, Tali drew from it, crafting a new pair of crutches and slipping her forearms into the cuffs when they were done. Around her, she could hear others hitting the ground. 

From the direction of the fire came raised whispers. The fifth-wheeler knew that her name preceded her. They were likely now going on about what she'd be like, or else scrambling to come up with a welcome. Feeling a bit impish, Tali took off at a brisk jog, or at least her best approximation of one. All these bipeds always outstripped her unless she leaned into the Gift, but they arrived more or less at once. Around the other fire were another group of mixed age and gender: fellow distance travelers by the look of their clothes and supplies, as opposed to locals out on some errand. [color=598527]"Hello, rhyming partners!"[/color] she chirped, pulling a bottle from her bag. [color=598527]"I'm guessing you know who I am."[/color] She grinned ruefully. [color=598527]"But my companions are Otios'yyia'thala, Lyen'ivhere'zulc, Adric'miito'calan, and Esmiin'altan'venduul.[/color] She paused, smirking and jerkin a thumb in Jaxan's direction. [color=598527]"And this guy who just sorta showed up."[/color] He shot her a glare. [color=7bcdc8]"Jaxan'orad'anthii,"[/color] he corrected. [color=7bcdc8]"And you?"[/color]

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[hider=Parrench-Aligned Action Opportunities]Feel free to play out any of the following:

1) What was covered in the conversations with Talit that brought you here? Why are you picking a side and joining instead of opting out of the war after the horror of Relouse?
2) What was your journey here like? Were you excited, dreading it? What do you know of Loriindton?
3) Any preparations or actions you took. Did you eat all the flavours of tiims'archa? Feel free o make up your own!
4) Got any Niico Tayiil Luun'ithan verses? Time to rhyme in yasoi! Or... you can be a spoilsport.
5) You're presented with a choice at the end in terms of how you approach the other group. Do you recogniie that accent? Are you suspicious? Is Tali being a stupid kid? What'll it be?[/hider]
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