• Solo • A Morning at the Beach

[Doran]

Saun 8, Arc 721

It was still relatively early in the morning - the second sun had just risen a couple of bits earlier - when the son of Ziell packed his things and left the elite room at the Knight's Rest Inn and Tavern that he had rented for the duration of his latest stay on the island.

He wouldn't start to teach until the late afternoon that trial - he had travelled to Scalvoris in order to hold a series of guest lectures which was something that he did on regular basis.

For that reason, he had decided to go to the beach where it would hopefully be more bearable than in his room again.

In his home of Viden where the temperatures varied between very cold and very, very cold most of the time, he tended to wear elegant, bespoke suits, usually in black or grey, or various shades of deep red or blue. Doing such in the Scalveen summer would likely only cause a heatstroke though.

For that reason, he had opted for a loose-fitting suit made of linen instead, in white - darker colors, he knew as a scientist, tended to absorb light and turn it into heat which would be counterproductive on a trial like this one.

On his head was a straw hat that would shield his face, another necessity on a trial when the light was unusually bright. It was, perhaps, not the most flattering article of clothing; when it came down to it, he preferred to dress appropriately for the weather to looking fashionable though.

His bag did not only contain something to drink, a blanket and his writing materials this time; he had also put a box with some snacks into it as he planned on staying at the beach longer. The box was inside a bigger box that was filled with green sand which would hopefully keep its contents sufficiently cool. Even though he had become more adventurous when it came to food, he had no interest in mushy hot snacks, he had to admit.

He wanted this to be a pleasant experience.

He walked through the city slowly – there was no rush, after all, no need to be at his destination at a certain point of time – and took in the sights and sounds around him, the people heading to work, the children going to school, the elderly couple that sat on the bench at a side of the road, enjoying the Saun morning and eating what appeared to be rolls – they seemed to be very much in love. There was, he decided, something special about it.

There was another reason for his heading out so early, besides the need to escape the worst of the heat – he wanted to sit in the spot under the tree at the edge of the beach again – he had cleared it of stones two trials before. He was aware of the fact that nothing here truly belonged to him, but he had come to think of it as his spot, nevertheless.

A part of him enjoyed having a place on Scalvoris that he could return to on a regular basis, a place that was more than just a room at an inn.

[Doran]

The beach was not as crowded as it had been when he had last been there yet, Doran noticed, when he finally arrived. There were a few people that were resting on blankets, under parasols, a few children were playing in the shallow water, and but a handful of people were actually swimming. It was still comparatively quiet. He raised a hand in a greeting to a couple that were sitting nearby – he didn’t know the man and the woman, but in his opinion, greeting them was the polite thing to do – before he moved to his spot under the tree and spread his blanket out on the ground.

A few moments later, just when he was about to remove the food and the drinks that he had brought with him from his bag, something occurred to him, and he briefly stopped. After a while, water tended to become lukewarm, especially when it was hot, and while it was still perfectly drinkable, it didn’t exactly taste good anymore. He had not put his water bottle into a box with green sand – he had not found a container that was big enough – but there was a trick that would hopefully ensure that his water would not become too warm.

It was, in essence, a little survival technique, one of perhaps only a handful that he had managed to pick up over the course of the arcs. He had never been someone who enjoyed spending a long amount of time in the wilderness particularly – he had been perfectly content in his icy laboratory, or in the library, brooding over books. The idea of gathering the reagents that he needed for his alchemical experiments himself rather than buying them – and perhaps even taking a couple of students on a field trip – suddenly began to appeal to him though.

He had, he thought with a hint of amusement as he began to dig a hole into the sand next to his blanket with his bare hands – seemed to have become a little stir-crazy. Llyr, who had been his lover as well as his mentor for a while, had made him realize that there were still entire worlds out there that were just waiting to be discovered. He had had a lapse of judgement over their course of their romance – Famula had fortunately removed the arcane parasite again – but all in all, he still treasured the memories of their time together, and he always would.

Digging a hole in the sand took a certain amount of effort, but not too much, at least not for him. Before long, he had managed to dig a hole that was, by his estimates, sufficiently deep and placed his water bottle into it. He did not remember if he was supposed to bury the bottle completely, but he decided to leave the top sticking out of the sand in any case, so that he would be able to find it again more easily. With that thought in mind, he closed the hole again and rose to his feet, wiping the sand off his pants as he did so – he had been kneeling.

For a while after that, he simply sat on his blanket, enjoying the view, and breathing in the salty sea air, but eventually, he stood again. He exercised on a regular basis – his exercises were mostly focused on balance and flexibility, things that would aid him when it came to his swordsmanship – and a beach seemed like a more pleasant place to do so than most.

He took his shoes off so that he would be able to feel the sand under his bare feet and positioned himself on his right leg while raising his left leg, an action that required a certain amount of focus. After a couple of moments, he spread both of his arms in order to be able to maintain his balance more easily and proceeded to raise them slightly. After a while, he began to gradually shift his weight – he tried to make the transition comparatively smooth, but he did not succeed entirely - and finally switched to his left leg before he changed his position again.

Besides being a way to improve his balance, there was an almost meditative quality to those simple and repetitive movements, he decided.

[Doran]

Eventually, Doran sat down again, took his suit off so that he was only wearing a pair of shorts and made his way to the water – more people had arrived at the beach in the meantime, he noticed. He waded into the water until it had reached his belly and bent down, staying like that for a few moments and enjoying the cool and refreshing sensation, before he made his way back to his tree, draped a towel over his shoulders, removed his notebook from his bag, pulled his bottle out of the hole in the sand, took a few big gulps and finally started to write.

He was still working on his history of the Forging – that particular project would likely keep him busy for quite some time, for a variety of reasons. His goal that trial was to edit what he had written so far, an activity that was perfect for a trial like this one when it was hot as it required less concentration than actually writing the story itself. He spent the next break like this, writing, trying to correct spelling errors and grammatical errors, drinking and eventually eating the snacks that he had brought, feeling quite relaxed.

When it was time for him to leave again – he had put his suit on once more, of course – he did so with a strange feeling of regret. He loved Viden, greatly so, but there was a part of him that would miss Scalvoris with its beaches and its multitude of strange plants and animals. Besides, he had an even deeper connection to the island now – he had become one of the Forged and had sworn to protect Scalvoris. Perhaps, he thought as he slowly walked back to the city and the inn, it would be possible to combine both aspects of his life though.

The Eclipse Portals constituted a relatively fast means of travel between the two cities, and as a professor, he was allowed to use them. His plan to strengthen the ties between Viden and Scalvoris, and Rharne, his guest lectures and his research would give him a reason to visit on a regular basis. He would buy a house here, he decided, a vacation home of sorts that was close to the ocean, maybe even with a little private dock, in case he eventually decided to buy a boat.

He was not sure what the future would bring and where he would eventually end up, in Viden, Scalvoris or an entirely different part of the world – his life had changed so much over the course of but a handful of arcs that he was quite reluctant to make any kind of prediction. For the time being at least that kind of arrangement seemed perfect to him though – a union of his life in Viden and his new and unexpected connection to Scalvoris.

[Pig Boy]

Player Name: Doran

Points awarded: 10 xp
Magic xp: none

Knowledge:

Athletics: Standing on one leg
Athletics: Spreading your arms improves your balance
Fieldcraft: Using green sand to keep things cool
Fieldcraft: Dressing for hot weather
Fieldcraft: Burying your drinks in the sand insulates them against heat
Strength: Digging a hole in the sand with your bare hands

Renown: n/a
Loot: N/a
Injuries/Overstepping: n/a
Wealth Points:n/a

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriately to PC's level

Notes: I enjoyed the description of Doran's suit and straw hat. I could very easily picture him in his white linen clothing and a nice straw hat to keep the sun out. I would have to disagree with Doran however. I think a straw hat is the very height of fashion!

A picnic at the beach isn't what I think of when I imagine a fieldcraft training thread, but the ways you used your surroundings and prepared for the outing seemed to be appropriate knowledge for fieldcraft. I didn't consider that the way you dress is part of fieldcraft, but it makes a lot of sense in retrospect.

I found the thread overall to be a very reflective and introspective journey through Doran's current mindset. His weighing his responsibilities in Viden to his newfound loyalty toward Scalvoris, the past of his life and romance with Llyr to his now contented solitude. But Doran can live a long time, and I'm sure he can be patient in waiting to meet back up with Llyr. Who knows what the future will hold?

Great writing.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this review, feel free to PM. Enjoy your rewards!