81 Ymiden 720
It was a place of death.
A great expanse of scorched earth and sulfuric waters. Made up monsters, bandits, and thieves. Yeva had heard the stories, the warnings. As a girl, she had never so much as ventured off the paths in its direction, and now as a grown woman, she feared it still. Most did. Few Rharnians would venture to its borders and for good reason. It was a place of sorrow and unpredictable danger, where Faldrun himself burned away the land, a place where life feared to return. And now she marched to seek it out.
Sitting atop her mount, Yeva gripped the reins, looking over at the mighty Ithecal that traveled with her. He was, by all intents and purposes, a terrifying creature to behold. Standing over twelve feet, he made her feel slight, even atop her hafrein, a creature as large as a horse with great antlers that rose to the sky. Varlum dwarfed them both considerably. In another context, she might have even been scared to be near such a formidable individual, unfamiliar with his race, but knowing that they were working at the same objective soothed her girlish nerves. It was comforting to know that the biggest thing around was on her side.
Well...
Not hers. Rharne's.
"Faldrun burned this place; Long ago, he had intended to destroy the city," she had never wondered why, until now. Yeva wondered what could have driven the fire god to show such fury, "Ilaren and the Lightening Knights met him for war. It is said she drew the entirety of her power to drive him back, a battle fire and lightning," With the attacks on Storm's Edge, was it possible another war was on the horizon? Stroyski continued his walk, hooves beating against the packed dirt. The grass had begun to thin, in the distance, the greenery faded. They were getting closer, "My mother and father used to warn me about coming here."
The redhead gave a tug of her reins but Stroyski paid her no mind. She frowned, pulling harder and he shook his head in annoyance. Determined not to be ignored, Yeva persisted and with a stubborn halt, she managed to climb down from her saddle, checking the bags for the notebook she had replaced last season, "We should probably search for signs of the Flameborn, although it might be difficult..." she began to walk in front of the animal, eyes trailing down to the grass that had all but disappeared. The color of the dirt had turned amber and an uneasiness made her glance wearily at her companion. Their mission was one of research, of scouting. Record changes to the geography, seek signs of the unusual. Why did she feel the urge to turn back?
"Varlum," Yeva's voice was empty, speaking the Ithecal's name for the first time since introduction. Her throat wished to steal its whisper, a shout in the otherwise silent expanse. Hundreds of miles laid before them, creviced and cracked. And nothing... Nothing beyond the border...
Nothing was alive. He must have seen it, heard it. But she spoke anyway, her breath an echo on the battlefield, "Look."
A great expanse of scorched earth and sulfuric waters. Made up monsters, bandits, and thieves. Yeva had heard the stories, the warnings. As a girl, she had never so much as ventured off the paths in its direction, and now as a grown woman, she feared it still. Most did. Few Rharnians would venture to its borders and for good reason. It was a place of sorrow and unpredictable danger, where Faldrun himself burned away the land, a place where life feared to return. And now she marched to seek it out.
Sitting atop her mount, Yeva gripped the reins, looking over at the mighty Ithecal that traveled with her. He was, by all intents and purposes, a terrifying creature to behold. Standing over twelve feet, he made her feel slight, even atop her hafrein, a creature as large as a horse with great antlers that rose to the sky. Varlum dwarfed them both considerably. In another context, she might have even been scared to be near such a formidable individual, unfamiliar with his race, but knowing that they were working at the same objective soothed her girlish nerves. It was comforting to know that the biggest thing around was on her side.
Well...
Not hers. Rharne's.
"Faldrun burned this place; Long ago, he had intended to destroy the city," she had never wondered why, until now. Yeva wondered what could have driven the fire god to show such fury, "Ilaren and the Lightening Knights met him for war. It is said she drew the entirety of her power to drive him back, a battle fire and lightning," With the attacks on Storm's Edge, was it possible another war was on the horizon? Stroyski continued his walk, hooves beating against the packed dirt. The grass had begun to thin, in the distance, the greenery faded. They were getting closer, "My mother and father used to warn me about coming here."
The redhead gave a tug of her reins but Stroyski paid her no mind. She frowned, pulling harder and he shook his head in annoyance. Determined not to be ignored, Yeva persisted and with a stubborn halt, she managed to climb down from her saddle, checking the bags for the notebook she had replaced last season, "We should probably search for signs of the Flameborn, although it might be difficult..." she began to walk in front of the animal, eyes trailing down to the grass that had all but disappeared. The color of the dirt had turned amber and an uneasiness made her glance wearily at her companion. Their mission was one of research, of scouting. Record changes to the geography, seek signs of the unusual. Why did she feel the urge to turn back?
"Varlum," Yeva's voice was empty, speaking the Ithecal's name for the first time since introduction. Her throat wished to steal its whisper, a shout in the otherwise silent expanse. Hundreds of miles laid before them, creviced and cracked. And nothing... Nothing beyond the border...
Nothing was alive. He must have seen it, heard it. But she spoke anyway, her breath an echo on the battlefield, "Look."
