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"And, what of the mana which floats in the air?" She asked, almost sounding disappointed when he mentioned taking the diluted mana from the river. She could have 'filtered' the air as well for the energies, her abilities lying with both of the elements which made her homelands as harsh as they were.

"I would prefer to sift through the air at the mana's source, than waste water at the river's edge." She replied, again in a cheerful tone as she smiled once more behind the black lengths of her head-dress.

Lifting one gloved hand over the top of the vial, the cork stopper came out with a slight twist and pop, a few moments later a dim green glow dotted with blue began to collect as a light mist in the center. Hardly anything and not gathering quickly, it was still mana and it was still from the source. She would probably venture back into the inner chambers later, Eithne was only holding the smaller vial now in one hand, but there were at least two others she wanted to fill before taking her leave of the temple.

Celestra looked about the bustling city.
She thought it better to wait till it got cooler and less bright for her to travel.
While she's at it, she might as well purchase a beast of burden to accompany her though this trip.
She brought with her precious jewels and metals found in the mountains of her home. They should bring quite a good sum of money the elders told her.
Carefully inspecting the beast she stopped and fell in love with a rare breed. Almost as if it were there for her.
A pure white horse with sapphire eyes.
"I'll choose this one."
The horsemen thought her poor and tried to make her choose something cheaper, if not useless. Till she dropped a precious jewel that shone with the sun's light did the man shut his mouth and hollered for the stall boy to clean up the horse and have him ready for the young lady before him.
Petting the horse gently and cooing in an unknown languaged, she named her first beast.
"Aja. The horse that rides our goddess. A fine steed you will be. You and I will be together for a long time now."
Aja looked at his new mistress with a gleam in his eyes, nuzzling to her hands. He confirmed that he indeed chose this human to be his rider.

(I'm at the market Sunny. Well my character is. PM when you get in, I should be on for awhile I hope.)

As her steed was being prepared.
Celestra went to a local tavern to have her breakfast.
Managing to get a newer map of the world.
She was amazed at how large it was.
So many cities, towns, and nomads about that she's never heard of.
Clearly, she had a few days to learn them if she's going to find what her people needs.
Sighing out loud.
"It's much to big out here.'

(( gonk I took to long with my other application then, didn't I!? crying

Byebye, Scar!!))

The small vial had filled itself to the brim with the slightly glowing energies of green and blue, the cork being twisted and pressed into the bottle's slim neck to prevent the mana from being lost. The cork was runed as well to keep the energies from simply moving through it of course.

She was smiling behind her scarf as the vial slid back into her belt pouch, clearly pleased as she looked towards the acolyte cheerfully. That was enough for now, she'd return later for more.

---

Weaving through the croweded market streets, the sour stenches of animals, warm aroumas of cooking foods, and heady sents of spices mingled in the air as a lithe man in a plain outfit of greys moved about. In his hands were a pair of riens which were tugging along a mule, which in turn was tugging a cart. Within the cart were bushles of produce from the small village the man had come from, but amungst cuts of bamboo and vegitables, a small girl was seated, hands clasped around her knees as her blonde head was a rare sight in the islands. Another man of a similar build was following right behind to make sure nothing was dropped or stolen.

The girl was clearly foreign, very young, and not looking very clean, the man leading in the front was constantly calling out, "Goods for sale! Undamaged! Fresh! Goods for Sale!" The hawking cry didn't mean just the produce either. They could unload good later, but their first order of business was removing the girl from their company and from being a burden on their village. Both of them had been told to take the girl to the Temple in the city's heart. But it wouldn't bother them if she was replaced with a bit of gold or a flash of sliver along the way instead.

The man walking behind the cart gave a whistle to get the attention of his companion, the mule and cart both pulling off to the side and out of the main flow of people as he turned towards the woman who'd walked up. He offered her an open smile as his dark eyes lit up at the prospect of a customer so soon upon entering the city.

"Of course, Fair Lady," He replied in a polished tone, and not stretching the truth much at that as he took in her appearance, more importantly the flash of gold in her palm; she was a rich client too!

Turning towards the cart the blonde girl sitting amungst the baskets looked up before quickly scooting off to the side to allow him to reach the bushles of fruit. She said nothing, but her hands were moving now, a few pieces of twine from the burlap sacks twisting in and out between her small fingers. She didn't look up nor around at the adults, forming a small chain with what materials had fallen onto the bottom of the wagon. She didn't even fight back as the man at the front of the cart came around and jerked the fibers from her hands, tossing them to the ground with a grumble about not stealing things from their wagon.

"Here you are, Miss," He replied, showing her two pump red apples, their tight skins reflecting the light of the sun slightly to show that they were indeed ripe. For the money she was offering she could have bought a great deal more than the two pieces of fruit, but he didn't feel a single pang of guilt for swindling the woman out of her cash. However... "Would the Fair Lady be in the market for a pair of hands to aid the burden on her animal?"

The child blinked up slightly at the woman's warm touch, listening to what was being said before beginning to scoot off of the cart. Reaching back she tugged on a small sack which gave a slight clanking noise as it rolled along the cartbed before she dangled her legs over the edge. When neither man stopped her she plopped down and quickly found herself scurrying behind the woman's legs, one small hand coming up and grabing hold of the white material of her cloak. The girl's green eyes didn't look up, simply going straight down to the filthy remains of what had once been a pair of high-quality Lyran shoes, the brass buckles tarnished after bathing in sea water and the leather already becoming worn.

"Glad to be rid of her." Was all he said in short reply, nodding his head towards his companion, who simply nodded at the reply and began to tug on the mule's riens to get them moving again. The woman seemed a tad strange to them, and her hair and dress were unsettling. With the child gone though then they could focus on parting with their produce instead, which was easier. "She doesn't have a name! She doesn't talk!" Actually, the Elders of their village probably knew her name, the shipmen who had washed up with the girl on the beach had known it, but the two men hadn't been told, or had forgotten. Cart, Mule, and men all vanished into the crowd hardly a moment later.