Blackfridayrule

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Somehow the whole celebration had thawed Ridahne's usually stony, well-guarded heart and she danced readily now that she'd been convinced to get up at all. She knew more dances than she let on. And even if she didn't know the steps or the style, she caught on relatively quickly and had a general feel for rhythm, control, and grace. It was all her sword practice that helped her. In fact, one word in the Azurei language for sparring with a blade was literally translated as 'dance'. She had bodily control aplenty and so using it to move to music instead of with a blade was only a short hop. She was less familiar with the siren and human dances and had to rely on guidance and watching others, but the elvish ones, both Orosi and Eluri, she was quite adept at. But her favorites were the Azurei ones. They were somewhat aggressive in their tambour and a little bit more primal, which suited her. She felt like she could get things 'out' that way.

An Orosi man lifted her by the waist and together they did a quick spin, though as he lowered her into a dip between his knees, Ridahne slipped. She was tired at this point and couldn't keep up with a dance that required that much control. But instead of being embarrassed about it, she broke into peals of honest laughter as she was half on the floor, still clutching the hands of the Orosi man. He laughed too. And it was the first time since she'd been in Darin's company that she'd laughed wholeheartedly like that. It was the first time in months. He helped her up and she bowed to him with her hand across her chest and stepped away, panting.

Ridahne leaned back against a support beam and looked at Darin. She gave another real, genuine laugh as she smoothed back the parts of her hair that had come out of its knot. She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. For once, things were good. And that was all either of them needed. She called for another round of the lemon-herb drink, kadih, and she and a group of five slapped their cups on the table and threw them back.

The music slowed and softened, and people began to settle in. Ridahne did too, sinking back into her chair. Ravi insisted Darin play, which got Ridahne's attention quickly. Play? Ridahne hadn't realized she played anything. The human protested and even glanced to her as if for help; Ridahne smirked and shook her head slightly. Oh no. You're not getting out of this one. But something about her expression was encouraging. They brought out the fiddle and Darin started to play, slowly and cautiously at first but then the notes seemed to just pour out of her. But then attention was turned on her. And Ravi asked her to sing. He wasn't wrong in his assertion that she could sing--she could, or reasonably well anyway. She was no bard, but good enough for taverns anyway.

Ridahne's eyes went wide. She opened her mouth to refuse, to say no. To say that no, she couldn't, not on the spot like that. Not to a fiddle--she didn't know any songs to a fiddle. She didn't know what to sing, or what fitted the occasion. She couldn't remember any in her panic. Except when she drew breath and pushed it out again, what came out of her was not 'no'. The song just sort of...came. And it followed Darin's song reasonably well, or at least the tone of it if not the exact tune. Softly at first, and then her voice rose and rose until it filled the hall, rivaled only by Darin's rhythmic sawing of the fiddle. She sang in Azurian, so most didn't know what she sang about exactly, but the emotion was there all the same. She sang of grief. Of loss. Of heartbreak. She sang of love, of passion, of fire. Of defiance. Of serenity. And while she sang, Ridahne began to dance much like she had during the first Azurei dance. The stamping of her bare feet on the wood floor was like a drum and the wavering of her hands matched the rise and fall of her voice. And Darin continued to play. The result was something that had not been done before, something new. It was the intersection between Azurei and human. Of stone and the night sky.

Ridahne sang her last note just as Darin's faded off into a soft echo. The silence hung there a moment, for it seemed wrong to disturb it so soon. And Ridahne saw just how many eyes were on her and Darin. She had a sudden expression like she'd just found herself naked in a public square and took several steps back until she had her back against the wall; she slid down and sat on the floor, wanting nothing more than to be less visible than she felt. Her cheeks were bright red even under the cover of her olive skin and tricolored tattoos. What had just happened there was...something sacred. Something pure and unexplainable and could not be replicated or understood. It just was.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Also, when you think of the Azurei dance style and the music for this dance, go look up a Maori haka and you've got the heart of it. A little different but that's kind of the vibe I'm going for.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Ridahne was surprised by Darin's mood. She realized upon a little reflection that she shouldn't be--this was just like home for her. These were her people. But still, it surprised her all the same when the human gleefully took her hand and all but dragged her into her seat. She couldn't help a tiny, tiny smile. Well, at least one of them didn't feel like a complete outsider. It wasn't anyone's fault either, that was just how Ridahne reacted to large gatherings like this. If they had set them a table with Ravi and maybe two or three others and a modest meal, she might have been perfectly at ease. Here, with this bountiful spread and exuberant cheer and many voices, she was out of her element and it showed.

Again, she defaulted to a kind of forced composure that read more as aloof than nervous, but the closer one got to her, the more they could see her unease. She'd warm up to it eventually, she told herself. But it was just so...overwhelming! It didn't make it bad, though, just...a lot. She grew up on bread, rice, fish, and lean, hunted meats from the desert. Fruits, sweets, and fresh vegetables were foreign delicacies to her as a child. Even as an adult, she couldn't ignore the novelty of them.

Darin thrust a plate at her and was throwing things onto it with a kind of joy that was almost childlike in its purity, in its genuine honesty. She was waving and smiling and looking positively radiant in such an easy way that Ridahne almost felt a touch of gentle jealousy. In comparison, if Ridahne was a dog, her ears would be pinned flat against her lowered head and her tail hanging stiffly between her legs. Not only was the whole affair a lot to process, but it was the first time she had been so...public since her fall from grace. She did not fear the occasional glances of Tax, whom she knew understood her plight. But there were other Azurei, and though they were all acolytes of the Tree and saw her current purpose as far more than she ever was before this, she could feel their curiosity as they looked at her. The mark on her forehead signaled 'treason of a high degree' but it did not specify what she'd done exactly. But word had also reached their ears of events back home. The unprecedented situation of both a Sol and her apprentice being killed, and the remaining Sols having to choose one on short notice, was not small news, and every Azurei in Astra would know about it by now. All of them had the same question in their eyes.

Was it you?

But as she sat there, her plate piled high and her clay mug full of that light, fragrant mead, something deep within her, that flame that made her Isfahan, Fireheart, blazed. She felt suddenly a fierce defiance. You are not an exile. You are Ridahne. You are guardian of the Seed-Bearer. And, staring directly into the eyes of one of the Azurei looking at her, she took a long, very purposeful pull from her mug. Her demeanor seemed to shift from beaten dog to prowling wolf, and she finally began to eat. Really, she was thankful that Darin was putting things on her plate for her. She genuinely didn't know where to start otherwise, and never would have put that much on her plate by herself unless cajoled into it.

The food was incredible. The flavors ranged from sweet, savory, spicy, salty, earthy, from rich to light, from robust to delicate. She had never seen such a diverse spread of cultures in one place. And the mead did a little to put her at ease, too. She welcomed the flavors of home with relish, but was equally curious about the things that she did not recognize. And like the dusty Atakharan-region kid she was at heart, Ridahne ate anything that was put on her plate for as long as things were put there. The only thing she actually took from the table herself was a pitcher of a semi-clear, fragrant beverage that she knew at once. Ridahne took it at once and filled two small cups, one for her and one for Darin, which she pushed into her hand with the same kind of enthusiasm that Darin had shown her a moment ago.

"Here! You have to try this!" She actually smiled. "Don't worry, there's no alcohol. But it is strong in flavor." The drink smelled sharp and acidic, but not in an unpleasant way, and it undoubtedly was made with several different kinds of herbs, the most recognizable of which was lavender, but there was also mint and something else decidedly floral. "Do you have lemons this far north? I have not seen them. This is lemons and herbs brewed with a little honey. Where you are from, you do...this.." she tapped her little wooden cup against hers. "But where I come from, we do this..." She slapped it against the wooden table then drank, and there was a faint echo around the room of the noise as several other Azurei did the same. The flavor was at once sharp and sweet, sour and floral, bright and complex.

Ridahne was in a better mood now, less awkward looking and a bit more at ease. But she was not prepared for Darin taking her hand and practically dragging her off to dance. She smiled but said, "Ai! Wait! I don't know how!" She did not say the she could not dance, for that was untrue. She could. But she had no idea how people danced here and to music like that. Still, she allowed herself to be led away to an open space where people were dancing. And Ridahne Torzinei, fierce warrior, Hand of Death, mystical moonlit forest sprite and slayer of royalty, was blushing. It was harder to tell on her dark, inked skin, but there it was all the same. Still, she was smiling a bit. "I'm too tall for you, Darin! What do I--how..." But she followed Darin's guidance and tried to match what she was doing, and though she was not very poetic about it, she did make it through.

A new song started to play, one with more drums and without fiddles, and Ridahne gave a mock-wicked grin. "My turn," she said deviously, and pulled Darin into a now forming line. Most were Auzurei, but there were plenty of others who knew the dance as well. They did not dance 'together' necessarily, but more in sync with each other, and instead of bouncing and twirling and skipping and dipping like some other dance styles, it was much more controlled, much more sharp and precise. There was some chanting involved, a kind of call and response that resonated deeply through the hall. And the dance style could be called nothing but 'percussive'. Everything was in time with the heavy drum beats--hard footfalls, the chanting, hand movements, and occasional slapping of the arms, which echoed through the hall with a stirring crack. And suddenly Ridahne felt as much at home as Darin had been this whole time.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Ridahne could hear the clink of plates and bowls and mugs down below her, along with a soft din of voices. They really were excited, all of them. Ridahne was just glad she wasn't the fixture of all their attention--Darin had that honor. And that burden. She couldn't imagine that they would let her alone tonight, and Ridahne pitied her for that. She guessed they both needed time to think and to ponder. Time to consider their own conversations with Ravi, time to think about what came next. And Ridahne had visions to think of. Her last one had been so clear, so abruptly obvious about what it meant and what she needed to do and this one was so...vague. The first part was clear enough at least. She held on to the image of his hand in hers, the feel of its leathery warmth and the grit of sand between their fingers. Peace. Joy. But inevitably her mind was thrown back to the other part of her vision.

The contrast had been sharp. One moment she was happy and blissful and the next she was...she didn't know what else to call it besides broken, at least physically. She tried hard to think back to the other sensations, other thoughts. It hurt to breathe and her voice, when it came, was raspy and strained. She did not feel the pull of the earth upon her, nor weight on her feet. It felt like she'd been floating. And like something had been accomplished. Yes, like some great struggle was now finished. Finished, and she could let go. Of what? Let go of...

Ridahne sat up and gave a small gasp, looking around as though there was anyone to see her up there on the roof. There wasn't. Ridahne wasn't certain, but she had a feeling that she'd just seen two possible futures. One was her long distant future of peace and happiness. The other, her death. Untimely. Painful. Neither future was certain, but she disliked the idea of even knowing her own death, even in part, before the events played out. To know like she had in the prison cells of Azurei was one thing--the evidence was plain before her and events were already set in motion. For this, she had no context, and was glad she wasn't given more. She shivered. She didn't want to think about that now. For now, she should focus on getting ready for the feast. She needed to look halfway presentable and do her people some pride, at least.

Ridahne slid down the roof and down to the ground, where she found a young human woman and asked after bathing supplies. The woman gladly showed her to a place she could wash and left her to it. Ridahne cleaned up, braided the front of her now combed and washed hair back into a kind of half-ponytail, though a knot was more fitting than ponytail for what it was. The two locks of hair wrapped in blue cloth and tipped with bone beads were prominently in front of her pointed and pierced ears, the silver plates lining the helix polished bright. She put on her traditional garb--a halter-neck half shirt of sorts fringed with small bone beads and woven of tight, sturdy linen. Her knife harness was obvious and she wore the blades in it out of habit, though she left her sword with her saddlebag. She'd be more comfortable with the harness than without it and hoped no one would take offense to her wearing it so openly. She also wore her uri--the sarong-like garment made of a thin, flowing fabric dyed indigo blue that hung about her knees. Though it was sufficiently secure on its own, she also bound it at the waist with a wide band of rust colored silk, fastened with a silver pin in the stylized shape of a seahorse with its head reared. She did not wear shoes. This was her formal attire, good enough for the banquets in the house of the Sols, and good enough for here.

Ridahne emerged as if from the woodwork to find Darin, placing herself gracefully beside her just as the feast was about to begin. Her movements were controlled, elegant, and smooth. Composed. This was the only defense she had against her own discomfort. Ridahne grew up poor and was unused to the idea of banquets and feasts. Though she'd been exposed to them plenty as an Eija, she never could quite figure out how to be at ease at one. How much food was she allowed to take? Was it rude to not try everything? Was she supposed to let someone else eat first before she could start? She struggled with those thoughts even in her own country. Here, she felt lost. Everyone teased her for it back home, mostly in good fun. She found them overwhelming and left her unsure of how to behave, so she defaulted to stone-cold composure. She realized for a moment that Darin was probably thinking the same things she was, and that composure cracked a little to reveal a soft, barely concealed smile. She leaned down close to the human's ear.

"Is this as overwhelming for you as it is for me? I feel like a pig brought from the mud and set in a chair at table..." She was not ungrateful, not in the least. Just nervous.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Ridahne didn't answer verbally, but she did nod. There was some similarities there, more than she'd considered. But still somehow at their core, they were two different people. Darin was quiet, thoughtful, and pure-hearted. Ridahne was jaded, loud, aggressive...and she did not see her heart as anything near pure. A hundred years of fighting made her...difficult. Fighting with others, fighting with herself, fighting for respect, for truth, for dignity, for pride. Always fighting. And for just a moment she wished bitterly that she could be more like Hadian, who had the back of a duck--everything just kind of rolled off him. Compared to her, he was passive, quiet, introspective, and his life was nothing short of honest. Good clean work with his hands and his back. And she wished so much that she could just be that kind of person. Calm. Passive. But...no. That wasn't who she was. She was a fighter. She was fire and stone, she was the wind in a storm. She was what the Azurei called Isfahan. Fireheart. A term for those with drive, passion, and ambition.

"Let that fire run free, Ridahne, and it will consume you. Or, if not you, those around you."
"What you mean is that I need to be quiet. Be obedient. Demure." The young Ridahne crossed her arms across her chest, but her mentor, Talena, snatched her wrist and pulled her close.
"No," she said firmly. "You mistake me. A traveler alone in the forest lights a fire, even though it hasn't rained, and the entire forest could go up in flames because of that fire. But he lights it anyway because if he does not, he might freeze. He might be attacked by hungry wolves in the night. He must cook his food and boil his water. He needs that fire. But he knows it can do great harm if left unchecked. So the traveler places stones around the fire, he keeps it contained, and keeps it focused on its purpose. This is what you must do, Ridahne. You have a fire in you, and that is admirable. But if you let it run wild, your forest will burn. You must find a way to keep it contained and focused. Find a way to make that fire work for you."

Even as Ravi spoke to her, she could hear the voice of her old mentor as she recalled their two-week trip into the Dust Sea for training. She was very different than Darin, though they shared a similar history. But she had to use that to her advantage. Their advantage. Somehow. She didn't know how exactly, though she knew for a while now that a kind-hearted Seed-Bearer wouldn't make it far without someone to show her how to use her teeth. Their initial meeting was some proof of that, and their encounter with Mark showed that the Seed Bearer needed someone on her side who could fight--in every sense of the word. Ridahne needed to be that person. She WOULD be that person. Somehow.

The elf shivered at Ravi's touch, though she wouldn't look at him directly. In Azurei, the Ojih were sacred and to damage one was unspeakable. As a result, there was a kind of taboo about touching other people's faces. It wasn't completely disallowed among society, but it was not something done lightly. It was not an unpleasant, vulgar sort of moment, but it did feel intimate. Tears were streaking down her face almost uncontrollably by this point. Ravi had cut to the quick. She was not an exile. She was Ridahne. In her head, she repeated this to herself again and again, hoping that if she beat it into her brain a few times, it might actually stick.

Suddenly Ridahne's steadying grip on Ravi's hands slackened, and her hitched breathing slowed and smoothed as though she were asleep. Her eyes, wide open and still glistening with tears, went suddenly vacant. She slumped forward a little into him as she was pulled into a vision.

An ambient roar that comes and goes in a pulsing pattern. Splashing. Gentle hissing. The crash of waves, yes. Ridahne tasted salt. Wind scrambled her hair into her face but she made no move to brush it aside. Someone else did. An old (by elf standards) man with a crisp ojih and even crisper wrinkles. His face is grim and stern looking when he contemplates the undulating of the sea, but when he turns and looks at her, his smile is easy and soft. He is a study in contrast. Though the face has changed, she knows those eyes without a doubt.

Ajoran.

She takes his hand; her skin is just as wrinkled as his face, lined with centuries of hard use. They speak no words, but he leans over slowly to kiss her forehead, where she bears not just the mark of her betrayal, but the mark of her redemption. They lay back and enjoy the heat of the sun in pleasant silence.

Back a few hundred years. She is young again, in the flower of womanhood, yet her body feels less whole than when she was elderly. It feels broken. It is dark. Breathing hurts and her voice nearly does not work but she mouths a simple Azurei song she learned as a child about a man who falls in love with the spirit of the sea.

Ridahne was still murmuring this song softly into Ravi's chest when she came to. Blinking, she took a moment to ground herself in the present. She did not need to explain to him what had happened--he knew all too well, as he'd likely had countless visions before and knew what they were like. She was glad. She didn't feel like explaining. After a few breaths, she wiped her face clear of tears and stood, brushing the dirt off her knees. She wanted to tell him what she saw, but she needed a moment to process it for a bit before she trusted herself to speak.

"Darin was given the seed three months ago. I had my vision four months ago, and I have spent those four months without much direction or hope in succeeding. Even now that I have found her, I have not had much hope in what lies beyond this quest. It has been so, so long since I have had any hope at all. But...I have seen it. There is hope for Astra. There is hope for me. I know visions are possible futures, not certain ones. But..." For the first time, she turned and gave the faintest, tiniest, barest ghost of a smile and it was not tainted by derision or bitterness. "They are generally likely futures." She allowed herself to enjoy that thought for a moment, to hold it close like a talisman, before she frowned slightly and said, "I saw something...else. But I can't make sense of it. I have to think on it." Ridahne bowed low. "If you are finished with me, Ravi, I would like some time to myself. I have much to think about." It was then that she felt a familiar warmth press into her hand; Mitaja was purring beside her and leaning heavy on her leg. Ridahne obliged and stroked her silky fur.

Ridahne spoke in Aurian softly. "I thought I told you to stay with Darin?" The cat made a chittering sound and curled her tail around Ridahne's knee. The elf looked up and glanced around, and in the distance she could see a lone figure on a magnificent brown horse. Her heart sank a little. Ah, so she'd seen. Darin had seen her on the ground in vulnerable, feeble collapse, and that made her cheeks burn in embarrassment. She did not like others to see her in moments of vulnerability or weakness. Especially not her. She felt like she had to be a kind of anchor, a steady, strong rock which Darin could lean against if she had to. And in that moment she'd been anything but. Sighing, and with Mitaja close by her side, Ridahne made her slow way back to the farmhouse.

She didn't speak to anyone as she entered, slipping past the bustling people in well-trained silence and stealth. She could not go unnoticed, not here where she was very much a stranger in a tight community, but she could go without incident and without eye contact. Ridahne grabbed a wooden cup full of clear, cool water and, holding it in her teeth, she scaled the roof and perched against the chimney where she could feel the wind and breathe in the sweet smell of hearth smoke. And she contemplated life in silence where she could have a moment to be alone.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Ridahne gave Ravi an anguished laugh as she looked up at the bright sky from where she still knelt. But she turned to look up at him, and her honey eyes were on fire. She was a creature of passion, and whatever she felt she felt it deeply. Joy, hate, fear, anger, sorrow. "If I had no sorrow, would I feel sorrow now?" She snorted. "No, I dare say I wouldn't. But it's more than my black deeds that mar my history. My murder of Khaltira-Sol and her successor, and my partner, that is merely the worst thing I have done, second perhaps only to the people who are now dead by my hand for reasons that may or may not have been true. No, my failure goes back farther than that, Ravi. I was supposed to be a fisherman--my entire family has been fishermen for ages. But I got into too much trouble. Fought too much. Drifted off too much. Argued too much. I wanted to be a tattooer, but I wasn't skilled enough. I watched my mother succumb to illness and die. My father drowned at sea. I was sixteen and orphaned, and it showed. I was uncouth, unladylike, uneducated, unwashed, and poor. I was told I would never find a husband because I was too tall, or too loud, or too fiery, or too dirty and ugly, or too unruly. I became an Eija and it was the one thing I ever did right. I was good at it. So I dedicated myself to my training, and you know where that got me? I became an Eija-alihn, a hand of death, and every time I thought I was doing what was right and good, I was really just doing it all wrong. Always wrong. And now I am here with this chance to redeem myself and to help in the saving of Astra, to do the most good and decent thing I will ever do in my entire life, and still somehow I manage to screw that up too, in some small way."

Ridahne hung her head, her fire spent. "And now, instead of being compelled by love and loyalty and purpose, I am bound by sharp command. A slave with some fragment of honor. A willing slave. But a slave all the same, and all because I am a study in bitter inadequacy. No, Ravi. To erase my sorrow would be to erase everything that I am. If I did not have the burdens and cares I do now, I would not be Ridahne Torzinei. I would not be here." There was an odd mix of defeat and defiance in her tone, like she was both lamenting her hand in life and yet she knew with some measure of defiant pride that she was born of strife. And despite her bitter ramblings, she was still determined to come out the other side. Tax had a point. No potential guardian in all of Astra was more motivated to see this through than she.

"As for Darin..." She breathed a long sigh. "We do not understand each other. Every attempt to do so has ended in disaster. I want to. I don't want to be bound to a person who loathes me, and I don't want to resent her. I'd venture to say she wants the same. But neither of us know how to get there, I think. I don't know what she wants from me. Nor do I understand fully why I was chosen to do this task." And then, in a very small voice as though it was hard for her to admit it, she said, "I don't know where to go from here." And she did not mean geographically.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

It’s Rid-ah-nay Tor-zuh-nay

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Ridahne followed, giving a polite farewell nod to Tax. It was good to talk to someone who she could really relate to, who understood her language and manner of speech. Someone who didn't completely hate her. The list of those types of people in this world was growing very thin, and she counted Hadian and Ajoran the only two that would stay on that list for certain. Darin perhaps didn't hate her, but there was not yet any kind of love. There might never be, Ridahne told herself. She could not hold her breath waiting for that. Or for anyone. Even if Hadian and Ajoran abandoned her, she wouldn't be surprised. Heartbroken, yes, but not surprised. Not after all she'd done.

They walked in silence for a bit until they were really alone, and then Ravi asked how she'd gotten Seed-Chained. Ridahne didn't know how much he knew already but she didn't doubt that if he wanted to find out all the gritty details of her life, he could. There was no sense in hiding it and besides, now that she had told her story to one stranger, doing it again would be less difficult. "They are one in the same, in a way," she said. And she began by explaining a brief history of her life and how she came to be an Eija, a law keeper, and how she was elevated to Eija'alihn. She told of the corruption of Khaltira-Sol and the moment she knew without a doubt what she had guessed in her heart for some time. And she told him how she decided to fix the problem, of her ordered execution and her vision, and her sudden journey into the wild and brief travels and struggles with Darin.

"We misunderstood each other gravely. I believed beyond any doubt that she would be angry and would cast me out. And who would blame her? I am of little worth to anyone, and my deeds are beyond forgiveness. I deserve nothing more. If she cast me out, if she sent me away, I would be honor bound to return home, seek out the Sota-Sol, and tell her of my failure. My execution would be carried out, and Astra would be rid of me at last. I knew that. And I truly believed that Darin would want to send me away, but I feel in part like she took me on as a guardian in the first place because she knew what my fate would be if she didn't, and she did it out of pity. I thought perhaps she would struggle with condemning me to death, even though she wanted to. So out of a sense of duty, I offered. I offered to see her to safe hands and then leave her alone and go home to meet my fate, and thus allow her to find someone more worthy of the task. She misunderstood me, thinking that I wanted to leave her, that I was running from responsibility. And I had misunderstood her. She did not intend to send me away. Needless to say, she was furious and in that fury named me Seed-Chained--I can only guess at the full meaning of that--and commanded me to stay. She accused me of many things, and not all of them I deserved. Of always running from responsibility, and of abandoning the man I was supposed to one day marry. But if she believes those things then she does not know me. She does not know Us."

By this point, Ridahne was getting riled up again, and something about this Ravi fellow made her feel like she could (and should) pour out her soul to him. Secrets would not avail her now. Hot tears streaked her face. "Once again, I make life difficult for myself. If I had known her intentions, I never would have suggested it. And if she knew anything of mine..." her lip quivered. "If she knew how deeply I only wanted someone to find me worth their effort and time...if she had only said that after all I've done and all that I am, she still wanted me, I would have fallen to my knees and kissed her damn boots but NO! NO! Somehow I am forever cursed to always toil bitterly to do what is right and forever cursed to ALWAYS DO IT WRONG. Somehow, no matter what I do, I am always the one to set my own house on fire!"

She wanted to throw something, or break something, or go for a run, or do something with all this pent up energy but she couldn't. Instead, she fell to her knees and broke down in severely uncharacteristic sobs, clawing at the tilled soil with her slim, calloused hands. She did not wail and was silent except for the occasional sharp intake of breath or sniffle. "You'll not...speak of this t-t-o anyone. N-not if you have any mercy," she snarled between sobs. "It was for y-your ears only, Ravi. Speak of it to n-n-no one. No one but Darin," she pleaded.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Tsura, excited by all the commotion, reared slightly and stamped, tossing his head in the sweet breeze. Ridahne was equally as uneasy, that is, until Ravi actually came. For one thing, when the elf came towards Darin, Mitaja did not impede him. Instead, she circled around him, rubbing her face into the back of his knees as if she had rejoined an old friend. That alone was enough to sway Ridahne; in the first years of her hunting training as a girl, the first lesson she was ever taught was to trust her cat. They were better hunters, and their ancestors had the land before any elf ever did. They knew it and its seasons, its winds, its shiftings and groanings and blossomings. And they were good judges of character, too, and were said to have untold senses that none of the three races possessed. But more than that, Ridahne felt, like with Mark, that she knew what this man was about. Unlike Mark, he did not espouse sickly sweet but empty words in the hope of gaining something he wanted. No, this elf's words came from an outpouring of joy and he did not care who heard them. The warrior sheathed her blade and stilled Tsura with a few whispered words, then dismounted and walked to Darin's side.

The elf was no longer bristling with wrath and fury but seemed more at ease. After all, she had guessed that these were good people, though putting a knife to her charge's throat was a serious misstep. She chalked it up to no more than that, though, and no longer held them to blame. And she had no doubts about Ravi. She guessed that he was Eluri--He had to be. He was very obviously not Azurei and the Orosi did not receive visions unless they had mixed parentage. And as he spoke of his vision Ridahne's lips twitched in an only mostly concealed smile when he mentioned Darin had punched a guard in the face. Her little Darin? Punching a man in the face? Ridahne couldn't have been more proud. At some point, she wanted to speak to Ravi of her own vision, as she had longed for the wisdom of an Eluri in the matter but had never had the time to pursue it. For now, she merely bowed slightly. She had no will to argue with being left behind. It was only right, and she knew it.

"Go, Ri'atal. There's nothing to fear from him, if you want my opinion on such matters. I will wait for you." Ridahne spoke a few words in Azurei to Mitaja, instructing her to follow Darin wherever she went, then went and took Tsura's reins.

Ridahne felt like a black stain on this sacred land, and if she was honest, she was eager to get to the farmhouse and be away from so many eyes. Somewhere to hide her own shame. And then, as if fate had one last cruel trick to play on her, Tax stepped up, and she saw he had the dark skin, golden eyes, and inked face of an Azurei. The two looked on each other in silence for a moment, as was the custom. She noted his Ojih was short with only a few basic marks, and she guessed that he had decided to become one of these acolytes of the Tree at a young age. If his resembled a delicately twisting garden vine, then Ridahne's was a patch of briars, tangled, thick, and overlapping. She took a deep breath. It was the first time she had seen one of her own people since she'd left Azurei four months ago. Since she'd...

"Come. This way." He began to lead her towards the farmhouse, and during the trip, they were silent. People came to take Tsura and tend to him, and Ridahne was set in a chair and offered a mug of a pale yellow variety of mead with a delicate flavor. It was not a strong mead and was low in alcohol content, the sort of drink one has daily after a long toil in the fields to refresh the body and ease the heart. She sipped it slowly; it was very very good.

Finally, after an excruciating silence, Ridahne broke it. "Stop staring at me and let's just get right to the point," she growled. "You've heard news of recent events from home, I see."
Her gruffness didn't bother him; they were cut from the same cloth, though they had lived different lives. Tax released a breath and sat back in his own chair. "It was you, then?"
Ridahne closed her eyes and took a long slow breath. "Yes."
"And now you're the guardian of the Seed Bearer," he said with no small measure of amazement--something Ridahne mirrored in her own thoughts too.
"Fate likes irony, it seems."
Tax was clearly struggling to find words or to sort through his feelings on the matter. There was so much to it, he knew. More than could simply be guessed. "I'm going to assume by your association with the Seed Bearer that you aren't the crazed madwoman the rumors make you out to be."

Ridahne laughed. It was a pained laugh, a derisive laugh, a bitter laugh. She wasn't surprised there were stories about her, but somehow knowing it felt like a knife to the heart. She couldn't hold back the single tear that welled up in her eyes and dripped down her inked cheek. "The truth is never so simple, Tax Anaiadi. The truth is no less ugly, no less gruesome, no less painful, but it is never so simple. Those stories will never tell you why. Nor will they tell you all that I sacrificed in the name of justice. There is nothing left for me. Anyone who believes that I brought that on myself out of foolish madness is an even greater fool than I."
"Justice?" He asked. This intrigued him greatly. Being somewhat removed from Azurei for many years, he could look at the situation with a cooler head, and for this Ridahne was grateful. "What happened to you, Eija'alihn, that brought you on this path?"
Ridahne looked hard at him, searching his comparatively unmarked face. "Many ask for truth but do not want it when it's given to them. It's a bitter medicine they no longer want to taste. Do you want it, Anaiadi?"
He nodded gravely. "Yes. I do."
Ridahne sighed, taking a sip of the cool mead before proceeding. "Khaltira-Sol, beloved and honored and wise, was a corrupt, heartless bitch who cared nothing for the lives of her people. She used me as her tool. She trained me to seek justice and to carry it out to its bitter end but somehow thought that didn't apply to her. I am a tool. And I served my purpose." Her voice was low and hard, like a cold mount of unmovable stone.

Tax's dark cheeks flushed red and he looked anywhere but at those fiery eyes. Each breath was measured and controlled in an effort to steady himself. "Torzinei!" he breathed, as though she had just said the most scandalous curse in all of Astra. In Azurei culture, she very nearly had.
Ridahne's palm slammed down the table, rattling her mug, and she rose from her seat. "You asked for the truth! Do not scorn me for giving it! I am tired of being pressed for truth and bound to some shred of honor and yet kicked for doing only what I am asked! Have I not suffered enough!? I will take it no more!" More tears glittered in her eyes but they were like drops of burning sun, aflame with anger and passion.

Tax held up his hand. "Peace, Fireheart," he said softly. "I did ask. You delivered. It is simply a lot to consider. I think..." he said slowly, mastering himself. "I think I understand, at least a little. And if I understand rightly, I pity you and the road fate has put you on."
"I didn't ask for your pity," she snarled, though the volume of her voice did drop and she settled stiffly back into her chair.
At this, Tax smiled bittersweetly. "No, Torzinei. One such as you wouldn't. But still I give it to you. I...assume you will find your way eventually back home? In your travels?" When Ridahne nodded he sighed. "That won't be easy. I doubt the people of home will be so understanding as I. They lack some perspective on the situation as a whole. You are committed to this task?"
"With all that I am."
Tax nodded, satisfied. "Good. Perhaps...perhaps you were chosen for this task because you are broken, Ridahne Torzinei. You who have lost everything. You who have paid the highest price for the least glamorous side of justice and truth. There is nothing now that can be held against you, nothing that can sway you from your duty. You have been disgraced, and this gives you all the more motivation to not fail in your task. Do Azurei proud, Child of the Night Sky. Ni talihn un'derras."

Go forth with blessing.

The words hit Ridahne to her core, and tears unbidden came again to her eyes. But she mastered herself, and a less hostile silence fell upon them. In true Azurei fashion, once the yelling was out of the way, amicable silence came easier. When Darin eventually met up with her, Ridahne had some faint evidence of tears but was now speaking with Tax in their native language, chatting casually of home and of the spaces beyond.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Once again a growing fear and dread weighted upon Ridahne with every step. Partly it was because it would be difficult to see the state it was in, knowing what the Tree's demise would mean for all of Astra. But mostly she felt it was because the Tree pressed guilt onto the guilty, shame upon those who had done wicked deeds. And she had. She felt it all now, twisting and rising in a horrible torrent of anxiety, guilt, and fear. Ridahne was silent most of the ride, in part because she had little on her mind she thought needed sharing, and partly because she feared a level of emotional vulnerability if she dared open up the door to expression. She wasn't ready for that at the moment.

Nor was she ready for the sight they found when they crested a small hill and saw the Tree standing tall and regal amidst a sea of cultivated land. The landscape was green and dotted with bits of color according to the kind of crop or plant that grew there. Stalks swayed in the wind, leaves tilted towards the sun, and bees hummed. It wasn't anything like what she'd seen in her vision. The same space of land, perhaps, but it had been different. Ravaged by decay and withered by drought. She had not seen it as it was currently, but what it would be in time. She felt a kind of deep, primal shudder as she beheld the tree even from such a distance. What she saw there was worthy of awe and wonder, and she could feel a kind of power resonate through her very bones as though she and the earth were one.

The sensation left her the moment she registered that Darin had gone sprinting headlong into the field. "Ai! Darin, wait! Darin!" But she was gone, either out of earshot or in such a fey mood that she didn't heed her calling. Ridahne muttered a curse and started to go after her, when she heard with her sharp elven ears the swick of a blade being drawn and saw the steel flash in the sunlight just behind Darin. Few things could jumpstart Ridahne into action quite like that sound. She kicked Tsura with her heels and he charged, leaping forward with a neigh as he plunged down into the valley like an avalanche.

Only a brief moment before the cry went out for Ravi, the workers could see and hear Ridahne charging at them with her bright scimitar held high in the morning sun. She and Tsura were thunder and lightning, and Mitaja by their side was a breath of swift wind. One farmhand tried to block her path, thinking that if he set himself in front of the horse, its rider might check him. She did not. Her will was iron and Tsura was glad to follow; the pair moved in a straight, unbroken line and were not deterred by this one man. He blanched and leapt aside almost at the last moment. Ridahne only checked Tsura when she reached Darin, who was no longer held at knifepoint but was delicately bleeding and still surrounded by an array of people. The elf spoke in her native tongue to Mitaja and at her word, the cat slid silkily to Darin's side, and if anyone tried to approach her, she would move to stand between them. Ridahne, meanwhile, worked a larger perimeter and would squeeze Tsura between Darin and anyone else nearby. She had her blade in hand and ready, though she did not use it wantonly. They had released Darin and that earned them some points in Ridahne's favor, but the blade remained in hand as a warning and a simple reminder: We are not your prey.

"Anyone else touches him without permission and you'll have me to answer to. Keep your distance and we'll have no quarrel," She barked, still circling Tsura around. At this point, she began to hear whispers from some of the workers about someone named Ravi. Ridahne desperately wanted to demand answers about who this was and why these people were hostile, but something in her moved her to stay quiet. This was not her battle but Darin's, and Ridahne was merely there to back her up. The elf would see to her safety, but Darin would need to handle the rest of this situation on her own.