Once an isolated and dying township, an influx of academics, adventurers and thrill seekers have made Scalvoris Town their home. From scholars' tea shops to a new satellite campus for Viden Academy, this is an exciting place to visit or make your home!
Packing was always something of a chore. However, Natalia found it much easier now that everything she owned, for the most part, fit in a bag. One bag. That was all she had taken from her former home. Some clothes. A few accessories. Personal items. And one very valuable thing – a dagger.
Getting ready to depart on a bit of a trip around the island, the young woman was attempting to prepare herself for anything that might arise. In doing so, she found herself thinking about each thing she packed and its significance in her life. Truthfully, if one were taking one bag of items to carry into their next life, wouldn’t it have to mean that they had some emotional significance?
The clothes were simply that – clothes. She hadn’t packed anything of great expense because she was wary of being seen as someone with wealth. She didn’t, so why project that image? It had been tempting though, knowing people judged others on how they looked…but there was a balance, she thought, that needed to be maintained. Drawing undue attention to oneself was not wise.
Letting her hand run over the material of the various dresses as she packed them, Natalia considered moments in time that she had worn each. Unlike some of the more expensive gowns left behind, none the these had negative memories associated with them – that had been important to her. The material of the dresses wasn't of extravagant quality - this she knew - but it no longer mattered. The era of extravagance had brought little in the way of positive experiences. Natalia desired to step back from that and see what would appear once the glitz and glitter of that life faded away.
Her thoughts wandered as her hands alighted to the dagger nestled within her packed clothing. A gift from her beloved, deceased grandfather, Natalia briefly mourned his loss all over again. He had been the only one that utterly understood her situation, knowing that she would have never survived the life her wealthy parents wanted to force her into. On her 16th birthtrial, away from everyone else and against tradition, Matteas Gregorios had gifted his granddaughter with a way to defend herself, should she ever need it.
Lifting the dagger from her bag, her thoughts drifted to her ex-fiancé. He had paid the price asked by her father and bought the right to marry her, shortly after her 18th birthtrial. The man himself, a waste of flesh in her opinion. Inherited wealth, he did nothing for himself, being waited on by servants and letting his mind and body rot while being more than 25 years her senior. The age truly didn’t bother her, but everything else did and as such, she had spent two arcs figuring out how she was going to escape the arrangement.
In the end, it had simply been a matter of telling her father and fiancé that the marriage wouldn’t happen. Natalia had been polite and professional during that meeting, only to be confronted with anger on both fronts. It hadn’t been pleasant in the least. Threats haunted her from the ex-fiancé but she was counting on the fact that he was too lazy to follow up on them and had already bought another for his entertainment.
And if not, and he chose to find her, she would find a way to make him leave her alone.
Last edited by Natalia Gregorios on Wed May 19, 2021 2:58 am, edited 1 time in total. word count: 580
"A girl should be two things: who and what she wants."
Packing the dagger away again, Natalia let her thoughts drift to her plans. As spoken to Liselle, the only real thing she had of physical value was the house in Scalvoris, and she was unsure if she wanted to remain in that area. It was possible she would keep running into people from her old peer group and awkward conversations would result. Would it be better to confront those situations head on…or depart for someplace else with greater freedom to find what she was looking for? She really didn’t know the right answer but hopefully a bit of space would allow her the opportunity to figure it out.
Ashan was an odd season to be sure. It wasn’t the cold and dark of Cylus – which she personally enjoyed – but it still wasn’t the heat of Saun – which she certainly didn’t enjoy. There was still a chill in the air and as such, appropriate clothing and outer garments were packed and/or set aside.
Egilrun was first on her list of places to see. She had heard some interesting things about the place and was curious what it would be like there, but it wasn’t the only place. Scalvoris island was filled with places she wanted to see – even the somewhat unknown entity of the Scaltoth Jungle. The problem was Natalia didn’t know exactly what she was looking for, so how on Idalos would she know where to find it? The young woman had been a bit sheltered in that way and that wasn’t how she wanted to live any longer. Whatever ‘interesting’ things were out there, she wouldn’t find them sitting around, waiting for them to smack her upside the head.
Remarkable might have been a better word for what Natalia was looking for. Something she had never experienced before. The unusual. The extraordinary. She didn’t crave a live simply for the purpose of existing. She wanted to truly live a life that she could look back on and know that for good or ill, she did more than participate in it…but that meant taking the steps necessary to do that. In her house, that wouldn’t happen. She needed to be…out there. Out where things happened.
Once packed, she drifted to her desk and decided to write her friend a letter. She still felt dreadful about leaving the beautiful dinner party, but her continued presence would have simply prolonged the uneasiness she and the others felt about her decision. That didn’t mean, however, that she couldn’t apologize again to Liselle, and at the same time, inform her of her plans.
Drawing out a piece of heavy monogrammed stationary – one of the luxuries she had managed to steal away from her former life, she grabbed the quill and began, making sure to date the letter. There was something about the feel of the paper she always enjoyed, knowing that the denser the paper, the better quality it was.
It was always about appearances.
"Ashan 35, Arc 721
Dearest Liselle,
I hope this missive finds you well.
I wanted to apologize, once again, for my early departure from your dinner party. I fear my staying would have only led to additional issues and I didn’t want those to overshadow your intention of providing an entertaining evening.
Tomorrow, I will be leaving on the trip I told you again. My first stop will be Egilrun and I’m looking forward to the change of scenery. There are a few more stops planned but I will write again once I spend a few trials there and let you know how that’s going. Truth be told – I’m hoping that somewhere out there, I will find what I’m seeking and that my presence in Scalvoris Town will no longer be necessary…but time will tell, I suppose.
Take care of yourself. I will write again soon.
Natalia."
Last edited by Natalia Gregorios on Wed May 19, 2021 2:54 am, edited 1 time in total. word count: 664
"A girl should be two things: who and what she wants."
Natalie sealed up the missive, stamped it with her gold wax seal, and without thought, sent it on its way with a courier.
There was one problem though – the missive would never find its way into the hands of her friend.
Rough hands took up the envelope, exchanging money with the courier tasked with the delivery. The cloaked man had a mission to complete, and information was necessary. Information specifically on the young woman whose hand had written the letter. It had been difficult to find her, and his employer was adamant that she be found. The target had embarrassed him by rejecting their engagement, making him the laughing stock of the wealthy set and he was determined to make her understand the depths of that error - in brilliant detail if necessary.
Scanning the letter briefly, he realized that his window of opportunity was closing, but then again, perhaps it would be best to follow her to Egilrun. Accidents happened to people traveling and if he were lucky, he could catch her alone and unaware. He knew of her reputation but she wasn't a fighter in the least - it wouldn't be hard to do as he had been hired to do. Certain people wanted the brash, foolish girl reminded that she simply couldn't do as she wished and escape consequence.
Drifting back down the street, he decided to visit his employer and give him an update. The trial was grey and bleak but he was confident that the information he had would delight certain people. After that, he had travel arrangements to make. Following her, perhaps, wouldn't be enough. Arriving in the city ahead of her seemed to be the most reasonable course of action and as such, he needed to hurry to beat her there.
word count: 304
"A girl should be two things: who and what she wants."
Knowledge:
Writing - Penning a letter to a friend
Logistics - Packing appropriate clothing for a trip
Psychology - Items leave emotional memory imprints
Psychology - Know thyself
Appraisal - Denser paper denotes superior quality
Appraisal - Judging the quality of material
Comments: I wonder why Natalia took so few things with her when she left her former home. Either way, I liked in how much detail you described her packing for her trip around the island – and that you didn’t only have her pack her things, but also had her consider what each item meant to her. That was something that I enjoyed reading about.
Her ex-fiancé sounds like an unpleasant man in my opinion. And did her father really pretty much sell her to an old man? Up until now, I thought that he was at least around her own age. I wonder what else we will find out about him over the course of your threads!
The last post was unexpected. I was already wondering what Liselle would think about Natalia’s letter, when I read that it never reached her. I’m really worried about Nalia now!
