Cylus 3, 717
The first few days of Cylus had taken Inali by surprise. Cold winds whipped around the city of Ne'Haer and sent most of the city into a state of shivering panic. Snow blanketed buildings, stables, and market stalls rapidly, and few of the Biqaj were keen on shoveling the ever growing mass of white off of anything other than their ships. Aside from quick trips to the closest butcher shop, most citizens of the city stayed within their homes, steadily adding logs to the fireplaces that warmed the walls and floors of their residences.
While the Eidisi was no stranger to the bitter cold, she had sold most of her warm clothing before leaving Viden. Her remaining fur lined coat and pants felt constricting and foreign, even though they had been staple items of her adolescence. Inali leaned forward and breathed onto the glass pane of her window, allowing her warm breath to clear some of the frost that had accumulated at the edges. She grabbed an old rag from atop a nearby table and scrubbed at the glass in quick arcs, pushing the accumulated dust to the sides before collecting it within the rag with a deft scoop of her palm. The rag was then tossed to a corner, with abundant permission to be forgotten until the weather warmed enough to clean it in comfort. Out of the corner of her eye, the Eidisi spotted a light flicker twice, then go dark. She peered into the perpetual twilight, wondering why the lantern that illuminated the street would fade so suddenly. The citizens of Ne'haer were proud of their streets and endeavored to keep the city bright and inviting. The next lantern light flickered only a single time before being extinguished and throwing the northern side of the street into darkness.
Inali's Audnev blessing sent a small ripple of energy through her, a gentle reminder that fear was a strong impairment to logic and action. Breathing in, she allowed the aura of fearlessness to stretch downward from the star mark atop her head to her fingertips, torso, and toes. Her thoughts were suddenly her own again and she shifted focus, wondering less about who could be extinguishing the lights and instead pondered their motivations. Such an act could only be deliberate - the city guards would have little mercy for a prankster or deviant sending the residential district into further darkness.
Inali grabbed her dagger off the table and held it awkwardly at her right side, gripping the handle too tightly, her arm stiff with tension. The blade wasn't for self defense - it simply provided a boost to her own confidence that she could fend off whoever was assailing the neighborhood. Raising herself to her full height, the Eidisi stood and walked to her front door, noting that it was only a few feet from the next lantern. As she opened the door, spilling light upon the street, a hooded figure crouched in place next to the lantern in an obviously practiced pose. Inali didn't move from the doorway and instead called out to the figure in Common,
"You know, those are generally supposed to stay lit. You could trip over your cloak, or a stray cobble."
The first few days of Cylus had taken Inali by surprise. Cold winds whipped around the city of Ne'Haer and sent most of the city into a state of shivering panic. Snow blanketed buildings, stables, and market stalls rapidly, and few of the Biqaj were keen on shoveling the ever growing mass of white off of anything other than their ships. Aside from quick trips to the closest butcher shop, most citizens of the city stayed within their homes, steadily adding logs to the fireplaces that warmed the walls and floors of their residences.
While the Eidisi was no stranger to the bitter cold, she had sold most of her warm clothing before leaving Viden. Her remaining fur lined coat and pants felt constricting and foreign, even though they had been staple items of her adolescence. Inali leaned forward and breathed onto the glass pane of her window, allowing her warm breath to clear some of the frost that had accumulated at the edges. She grabbed an old rag from atop a nearby table and scrubbed at the glass in quick arcs, pushing the accumulated dust to the sides before collecting it within the rag with a deft scoop of her palm. The rag was then tossed to a corner, with abundant permission to be forgotten until the weather warmed enough to clean it in comfort. Out of the corner of her eye, the Eidisi spotted a light flicker twice, then go dark. She peered into the perpetual twilight, wondering why the lantern that illuminated the street would fade so suddenly. The citizens of Ne'haer were proud of their streets and endeavored to keep the city bright and inviting. The next lantern light flickered only a single time before being extinguished and throwing the northern side of the street into darkness.
Inali's Audnev blessing sent a small ripple of energy through her, a gentle reminder that fear was a strong impairment to logic and action. Breathing in, she allowed the aura of fearlessness to stretch downward from the star mark atop her head to her fingertips, torso, and toes. Her thoughts were suddenly her own again and she shifted focus, wondering less about who could be extinguishing the lights and instead pondered their motivations. Such an act could only be deliberate - the city guards would have little mercy for a prankster or deviant sending the residential district into further darkness.
Inali grabbed her dagger off the table and held it awkwardly at her right side, gripping the handle too tightly, her arm stiff with tension. The blade wasn't for self defense - it simply provided a boost to her own confidence that she could fend off whoever was assailing the neighborhood. Raising herself to her full height, the Eidisi stood and walked to her front door, noting that it was only a few feet from the next lantern. As she opened the door, spilling light upon the street, a hooded figure crouched in place next to the lantern in an obviously practiced pose. Inali didn't move from the doorway and instead called out to the figure in Common,
"You know, those are generally supposed to stay lit. You could trip over your cloak, or a stray cobble."
