Maiden Refuge (South), Yaralon
64th Ashan, 719
64th Ashan, 719
Tio coughed and sputtered, spitting gobfuls of salty water out of his lungs and replacing them with shaky breaths. His hands clawed their way up the muddy sand, dragging him bit by bit out of the ocean until at last the tide relinquished it's grip on him. With an explosive sigh he rolled onto his back and stretched out across the muck, giving his aching muscle a much needed rest. Yet even as he lay there in the filth, bruised and bedraggled, the wolfish grin on his lips refused to fade away.
This had to be the most fun welcome to a new land he'd ever had.
In hindsight taking a ship to Yaralon, a place well known for it's impossibly harsh climate, had probably been a bad idea given that his curse drew trouble towards him like moths to a flame. Just half a trial ago the ship he and his apprentice Tasha had been on was sailing merrily along, troubled by nothing more than the boredom of a calm sea. Then in what seemed like the blink of an eye a storm materialised directly above them and smashed them with unforgiving winds and monstrous waves. The ship was snapped in half like a twig before anyone had a chance to ready the lifeboats.
Luckily for Tio his defiance spark had begun to tingle with excitement the moment the first specks of clouds began to gather in the sky. His spark loved to be in the presence of the power of the elements, and had given him and Tasha the forewarning needed to grab something buoyant from the cargo hold, wrap a fishing net around it and tie themselves to it. Or more accurately it had given Tasha time to prepare it, since as the storm grew Tio had been tickled to the point of hysterical laughter by his spark's excited squirming. He had been beside himself with maniac giggles for the whole time they'd been trapped in the ocean, being bashed about by the rain and waves, and had even had a smile on his face when the storm finally died away and they'd been allowed to black out for a little while. When they came too they'd found that the tide had taken them close enough to the shore of some kind of swamp to swim to, which led them to their current situation; Tio sprawled out across the mud while Tasha scrambled up to shore next to him.
“You mad bastard. You mad bloody bastard.” Tasha hissed as she collapsed next to him, trying to be furious but too exhausted to do so. “You actually enjoyed that didn't you? Who enjoys being shipwrecked?”
Tio let out an apologetic sounding groan in reply since his jaw muscles were too sore from overuse to work properly. They lay in silence for what felt like breaks, waiting as their bodies did the best their could to recover, but eventually the pangs of hunger became too strong to ignore and the light turned orange as dusk started to settle in.
“We gaha go. Cah'n be ou’ in da open when naght falls.” Tio moaned, wincing as his face protested to the movement. If they didn't find shelter before night set in then they'd be blind as well as exhausted; easy pickings for whatever nocturnal predators lived out in this swamp. They also needed to find fresh water to drink, since the salt water they'd swallowed during the shipwreck hadn't done them any favours. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.
The defiance spark within him perked up to life again, and for a second Tio feared that another storm might be about to hit them. Yet this time the spark felt different; elated still, but in a calm, helpful way rather than in its previous hysterics. Instead he felt a tugging sensation, like a string attached to the centre of his chest was being pulled on, and the faint whisper of trickling water far away in the distance, too far for anyone to normally hear, reached his ear. Was his spark telling him that there was drinking water in that direction? Wow… he hadn’t known it could do that. Still this was very helpful; where there was fresh water there would be animals, and a small blast of fire should be enough to kick them out of whatever shelters they had and claim them for themselves.
With a grunt of pain Tio pushed himself to his feet, and offered Tasha a hand up. Once his head had stopped swimming from the effort he put one foot in front of the other and began to take short, shambling steps in the direction his spark called him to, leading the way into the swamp. It was going to take a lot more than one little shipwreck and a few swamp critters to take him down damn it! He hadn’t fought his way through three different magical initiations to let himself fall down here! He and Tasha were strong, they wielded powers most people could only dream of! They were going to survive this, and they were going to reach Yaralon no matter what!
This had to be the most fun welcome to a new land he'd ever had.
In hindsight taking a ship to Yaralon, a place well known for it's impossibly harsh climate, had probably been a bad idea given that his curse drew trouble towards him like moths to a flame. Just half a trial ago the ship he and his apprentice Tasha had been on was sailing merrily along, troubled by nothing more than the boredom of a calm sea. Then in what seemed like the blink of an eye a storm materialised directly above them and smashed them with unforgiving winds and monstrous waves. The ship was snapped in half like a twig before anyone had a chance to ready the lifeboats.
Luckily for Tio his defiance spark had begun to tingle with excitement the moment the first specks of clouds began to gather in the sky. His spark loved to be in the presence of the power of the elements, and had given him and Tasha the forewarning needed to grab something buoyant from the cargo hold, wrap a fishing net around it and tie themselves to it. Or more accurately it had given Tasha time to prepare it, since as the storm grew Tio had been tickled to the point of hysterical laughter by his spark's excited squirming. He had been beside himself with maniac giggles for the whole time they'd been trapped in the ocean, being bashed about by the rain and waves, and had even had a smile on his face when the storm finally died away and they'd been allowed to black out for a little while. When they came too they'd found that the tide had taken them close enough to the shore of some kind of swamp to swim to, which led them to their current situation; Tio sprawled out across the mud while Tasha scrambled up to shore next to him.
“You mad bastard. You mad bloody bastard.” Tasha hissed as she collapsed next to him, trying to be furious but too exhausted to do so. “You actually enjoyed that didn't you? Who enjoys being shipwrecked?”
Tio let out an apologetic sounding groan in reply since his jaw muscles were too sore from overuse to work properly. They lay in silence for what felt like breaks, waiting as their bodies did the best their could to recover, but eventually the pangs of hunger became too strong to ignore and the light turned orange as dusk started to settle in.
“We gaha go. Cah'n be ou’ in da open when naght falls.” Tio moaned, wincing as his face protested to the movement. If they didn't find shelter before night set in then they'd be blind as well as exhausted; easy pickings for whatever nocturnal predators lived out in this swamp. They also needed to find fresh water to drink, since the salt water they'd swallowed during the shipwreck hadn't done them any favours. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.
The defiance spark within him perked up to life again, and for a second Tio feared that another storm might be about to hit them. Yet this time the spark felt different; elated still, but in a calm, helpful way rather than in its previous hysterics. Instead he felt a tugging sensation, like a string attached to the centre of his chest was being pulled on, and the faint whisper of trickling water far away in the distance, too far for anyone to normally hear, reached his ear. Was his spark telling him that there was drinking water in that direction? Wow… he hadn’t known it could do that. Still this was very helpful; where there was fresh water there would be animals, and a small blast of fire should be enough to kick them out of whatever shelters they had and claim them for themselves.
With a grunt of pain Tio pushed himself to his feet, and offered Tasha a hand up. Once his head had stopped swimming from the effort he put one foot in front of the other and began to take short, shambling steps in the direction his spark called him to, leading the way into the swamp. It was going to take a lot more than one little shipwreck and a few swamp critters to take him down damn it! He hadn’t fought his way through three different magical initiations to let himself fall down here! He and Tasha were strong, they wielded powers most people could only dream of! They were going to survive this, and they were going to reach Yaralon no matter what!
