Welcome to Gaia! ::

Arslanian walked as if in a dream. Indeed, much of the time, she kind of was. Today was different though. It was finally her turn to approach the Grandfather Tree and seek her Gift, and every step she took felt odd, like she was floating instead of walking toward the base of the massive tree.

She had been out in the Barrens before. Both of her parents were navigators, based almost solely out of Homewood now. But in their day, they had been travelers across the vast lands of Vykeli, helping adventurers make their way across the Barrens and creating maps for scouts so they might better understand the land they were protecting. Even in their semi-retirement, they had made frequent trips out into the Barrens.

Arslanian had gone with them once she was old enough to hold her own out in the wasteland. Since her youth, it had been dreadfully obvious that she would follow in her parents' footsteps. To do otherwise would mean wasting the gifts she had been given at birth - an innate understanding of the movement of stars, a keen eye for tracks, an ability to recognize landmarks with almost-unsettling accuracy. She was wonderfully gifted in all the things that would make her a skilled navigator, and she was equally happy to learn the ropes.

It was not her first time out to the Grandfather Tree, but this time was certainly special. She was excited, imagining all the ways it could go. Her mind drifted to the vision she might get, the way she might respond - with heroism? Or perhaps just a diligence that spoke to the way she intended to carry out her profession once she was old enough to officially become a navigator. Ah, and all the adventures that would entail! Travels to far-flung reaches of the Barrens that few nouls had ever seen... and...

Arslanian came to a halt as the Grandfather Tree's familiar trunk loomed suddenly before her. She'd reached its base without quite realizing it. The doe tilted her head up, as she often did to consult the stars. This time, it was to stare in awe at the tree's majestic branches overhead.

"Grandfather Tree," she said dreamily. "I'm ready for my quest."

"Arslanian. We are lost."

The traveler's step slowed, hesitating, but not stopping. She squinted and before her, she thought she saw a jackhop sitting on its haunches, lecturing her. Real jackhop? Or figment or her imagination? Usually, she knew, but today she had no such clarity. Her mind was fuzzy and she felt parched beyond comprehension. Still, she knew one thing.

"We are not lost. It's me we're talking about. I wouldn't get us lost." Arslanian lifted her head to look at the skies. The sun was approaching its zenith and they were headed west, away from Homewood. They had been traveling for days in search of a settlement. There was talk that a guild had formed out here, a band of nouls who had decided to eschew life in Homewood and build their own outpost far out in the middle of the Barrens. If she could find these nouls... if they could establish contact with them, there was much to be gained on both sides. Arslanian had left Homewood with some vague instructions, trusting her navigation prowess to carry her through.

But now, it seemed, they had hit a snag. The jackhop was somewhat right, in that... they had gone days without seeing any food or water, and there was nothing to be found on the horizon.

"The directions said we head west, past the north-pointing skull and the half-shorn boulder. We must be getting close," she said, trying to be pragmatic. Continuing to push on though delirium, though, probably was not the most pragmatic move. "We need to find these nouls if they're out there. Just imagine the possibilities! An outpost out here in the Barrens would be huge for exploration."

The jackhop tutted at her. "It won't matter if you're dead. Look over there, that could be an oasis. Maybe that's them, or at least... food and water."

Arslanian squinted at the horizon in the direction that the jackhop had pointed out. North. For a long moment, she saw nothing, and then a speck of green seemed to materialize in the distance. A trick of the eye? Or... truly an oasis? Her shuffling feet came to a halt - probably a mistake - as she stared. Her thoughts felt muffled, as if under water, and moved with the consistency of a drying sludge as she tried to understand the situation before her.

That speck of green was far to the north, well off the path that she had marked. Could it be? The settlement? But that would have meant that she'd navigated them off-course somehow. In all her years, she had never made a mistake. To think that she might make one this egregious despite having followed the directions to the letter...

And yet, so many days without so much as a hint that they were getting closer. She felt her conviction falter. What if she had been wrong? What if...

"No," she said finally, trusting the feeling in her gut. "That's far out of our way. If we get off course now, we'll never find them." The mission was everything. They needed to find this settlement to have any hope of negotiating with these nouls. The doe steeled herself. "We keep heading west."