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 Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 1:11 pm
History of Azum: " 439 p.n. - Devastation of Azum: An unknown acid rain erased 60% of the population within minutes and almost the same amount of all animals; strangely, the flora wasn't visibly affected; stone, metal or other inorganic objects weren't damaged either. [...] Furthermore, it was no longer possible to leave or reach Azum: natural phenomenons like storms, methan blowouts or maelstroms, whose origin no scientist could explain, cut off Azum from other continents..." " 351 p.n. [88 a.r.] - By the end of the year, radio/satellite communication starts working again. [...] From this time on, the reconstruction of people's life made great strides [...] Also, those unexplicable natural phenomenons which made it impossible to reach or leave the continent slowly vanished and most of them were gone after five, six more years. Only three large maelstroms in front of the South-West coast stayed ( Mermaid's tomb)." Otherwise, it's 'just' the sea, provider of life and death...
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 8:27 am
On board of the "Fairuza"   II.1 - Engine room 2 - Sunstrike & Prishazan (mate) 3 - Vahn & Larhien 4 - Crew 5 - Lucind & Owle 6 & 7 - Storeroom, trading goods 8 - Shankar & Yaranahe 9 - Kaled Onroy & Eshared 10 - Storeroom, crew goods, groceries etc. 11 - -  1 - Control room 2 - Conferrence room 3 - Galley 4 - Common room 5 - Captain's room
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 3:29 pm
Large clamps held a bubbling pot on a stove. You couldn't really be sure, even on a ship as nice as the Fairuza, that everything could stay steady enough, and the sea had been known to have a wicked sense of humour on the subject.
Instruments were likewise sealed down, except for one that was currently in use. The knife gleamed in happy sharpness as it sliced at a carrot. Bits of paper with ration stores neatly written down were flipped through carefully before the next vegetable was also sliced, and so on.
It was a nice little routine, really, and Sunstrike found himself a kind of contentment within the galley, carefully making what would be the first meal for the current journey.
Like the supplies in the store room, it was an uncomplicated affair of stew and bread, but, for the most part, or at least as far as he'd gathered, people on long sea voyages were rarely picky about the food that they ate.
He'd not actually met any of the people that were supposed to be travellers, and, truthfully, as he'd told Tagis, he wasn't exactly keen to meet anyone personally. Of course, in close quarters like this, he was bound to bump into someone, it was probably inevitable.
But he'd decided that unless they needed him on deck for watch or something, he would spend most of his time either in the galley, cooking or cleaning, or in his room. Among his possessions was a couple of sketchbooks and other hobby-ish items that would hopefully pass the time.
As for what he was wearing, he'd found a uniform of sorts, a white scarf type piece of cloth to keep his hair back, and his ear's, and a chief's apron. He was just pleased about how many pockets there were in that. Other then that, jeans and a normal-ish shirt were all that he'd worry about.
Later on he'd have to try and press Tagis for more information about the journey and the people apart of it. He'd hate to think anyone might actually know who he was...
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:29 pm
A sigh escaped pursed lips, even as his eyes stared out towards the vast expanse of water. The rocking sensation of the boat was a familiar one... about several hundred decades in the making.
It was sadly nostalgic, which was putting him in a bit of a bitter mood, as he hated dwelling on the past. He'd already found himself discarding the heavy jacket, and other city-esque vestiges... the open air and spray of water that occasionally happened refreshing to the senses as well as calming to the nerves... even if it did carry old memories.
He couldn't even remember the last time he'd gone swimming.
He was out and about on deck, near the bow of the ship and just sorta leaned against the railing.
"......" The entire journey was a personal one for the Siren, and she just seemed to need protection...from whatever. He hadn't traveled much from the main continent these days...how much could the world change after all?
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:51 pm
Owle, after letting Tagis know that she was willing to do whatever she could to help out, decided to take the opportunity to explore the ship from top to bottom.
With difficulty, she resisted the urge to fly right on up to the crow's nest, deciding to stick to what passed for the ground for now. It had been a long time since she was aboard ship, despite her living next to the ocean. She marveled at each new sight she came across, even if it was just an oddly shaped cloud. More than anything, though, Owle was hoping to run across someone to talk to.
Oh. Vahn.
"..."
He was a few feet in front of her, as she'd wound up near the bow of the ship. He just seemed to be staring off into space, lost in whatever thoughts might be in his head. Probably still worrying about that girl they'd left behind...thank the gods for that.
Owle didn't exactly cherish the thought of being in close quarters with someone who'd try to kill her with no reason. If it was someone who tried to kill her for a reason, maybe, but no reason? Forget it.
...she had nothing to say.
Owle passed Vahn in silence, wondering if there was anyone else around and obviously not busy. Lucind and Kaled were on the top of her list of desired conversation partners at the moment, though she was sure Lucind was busy, and she'd no idea where to find the Siren warrior. She would stop if Vahn called out to her, but otherwise, Owle would continue her circuit of the ship, acting more like a child on a field trip than an adult on a dangerous mission.
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 12:42 pm
An hour later.
After assisting getting the ship ready to head for the open sea, Kaled had joined Tagis in the control room: together with Lucind they checked their route. It would take them a while to leave the sea traffic behind. A belt of several sea miles around the continent was set up by the international association of Gaian navigation and controlled by the local offices in cooperation with the port's supervision.
In another hour, they would rarely see another ship or ferry anymore.
Alone out there...
Lucind liked the thought. But she knew it was a plus their equipment allowed them to contact help, likely from anywhere on the ocean. If someone was in reach then, if needed to be, was another question. Right now, however, the woman didn't worry about any possible troubles. She had had a reason for asking Vahn and Owle to accompany her. Tagis and Prishazan, who was steering the ship manually at the moment, were surely able to take care of themselves..or to fight - the rest of the crew were 'normal' men, as far as she could tell, but their endless knowledge of the sea made them just as worthy.
And the Azumerian Sirens... Well, truth to be told, Lucind hoped a wee bit for some trouble to arise soon: she was more than curious to get a sample of their abilities.
Finally, the Half-Siren left the control room to first search for Vahn, then for Owle - or maybe she'd run acroos both of them at the same time - to ask them if they'd like to have a snack of some sort. In any case, she went on, she wanted to give them the chance to bring up any questions they might still have.
"The Azumerians are under deck," she stated without adding any comment.
Meanwhile, Tagis asked Sunstrike to prepare something plain for everybody, so for thirteen persons, him included - if he was hungry at all.
"Dunno if my friend and her pals wanna have something, but we've got the comfort in from of a huge fridge so..." She shrugged and smiled. "And the sea always makes hungry." As if it was planned, the captain's stomach made a growling, gurgling sound. "o_O See..??" Tagis laughed, patted Sun's shoulder - she almost had to stand on her toes to do so - then left the galley.
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 6:06 am
"He-wai-EH?!"
Tagis was...like a walking mini whirlwind, Sun barely had enough time to shout a few disjointed questions before she breezed out of the galley, leaving him with a spatula and turned down ears. Which was cute, even if he did have an eyepatch on.
Twitch.
Sighing he set about getting to work on what was needed. Simple, effective, sandwiches seemed best, he wandered out of the galley and back to the storeroom several times before finally he had a huge pile of the lunchtime snacks. Now all he needed was a way to deliever them without....he snapped his fingers.
Common room was the best, then if he could just spread it through the crew that there were free sandwiches in there, he wouldn't have to worry too much about hefting a huge plate everywhere like some kind of pack mule or waiter.
He settled the platter on his shoulder, and pushed through the door into the hallway. He had a partially eaten sandwich in his mouth as well, after all, Tagis had said he could eat as he liked.
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 1:45 pm
He wasn't so absorbed into his thoughts that Owle's presence went unnoticed, at least not for long.
He raised both eyebrows, turning his head to the side as she moved along quietly.
"....I'm sorry I didn't call."
It was a weak effort, even as he remained where he was, staring out to the sea. He'd always been known for disappearing for lengths at a time... but after he had left her at the library, to enter Guldor and get Sun... He hadn't exactly gone back to her.
Things always felt strained between the two of them and he wondered more often than not if what happened between them was just a stroke of luck or an anomaly.
A blip on someones celestial radar.
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 2:57 pm
Owle stopped. She turned to face him...and found he wasn't looking at her.
I'm not. The words in her head sounded too bitter to speak aloud.
"If that's true...then why keep leaving me behind? I'm sorry, Vahn, but..."
I can't keep chasing after you.
She trailed off, the words stuck in her throat. And, once Lucind approached, they were going to stay that way.
Owle agreed, somewhat dejectedly, to having a snack, though her eyes lingered on Vahn. She did want to know a lot of things, still, from both him and Lucind, only...
There was only so much tension between her and Vahn she could take.
She did seem to perk up a little when Lucind mentioned the Azumerians, glancing down at the deck as if she could look through it to where they were. Owle wanted a chance to get better acquainted; talk to them, learn what stories they had to tell her. Besides, the more friendly sorts she knew in a strange land, the better. Certainly, Owle knew they could well turn out to be her enemies...but in that case, it was only more important that she made an effort to be friendly now.
((Vahn, if you want to continue the conversation longer, feel free and I'll edit (or jump back in time in my next post to respond.) Just hoping to speed things along here.))
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 1:06 am
I had to go back and bury the dead from my Clan and I'll admit to running away like some kid because I didn't really know what to do with myself, and then I had this friggin' big a** head ache and burden of power to deal with that was trying to rip my head open so I wandered around trying to lose myself and distance myself from everyone I knew. Then I got hired to stop some competitors and get some Shade samples and I got mad and started swinging my swordy bit all over the place and blew up a dam then got assaulted by a giant gorilla that still though suspenders and horn rimmed glasses were still fashionable only to go and take out my anger on an entire camp of people with guns and ripping the head off the leader and wandering around the mountains until I thought I found you only it wasn't you and then I got all better.
A pause, and instead of the immense nascar-esque race of thoughts that bled through his mind, his mouth opened and he said-- "Well...."
In true male fashion.
Although she was very well justified in her feelings. He had done nothign short of simply running away, trying to come to terms with what exactly he was doing with his life. He had always tried to play the role of the 'hero', wanting to save lives--- but coming to the realization that no matter what for every life he saved, ten more were still extinguished. He couldn't do it all.
He had even failed Sunstrike, his best friend becoming nothing short of perverted and used as a battery for some sort of magic devouring machine.
He felt as if he had failed the world, and so he had tried to lose himself in the world and have it forget him.
Lucind had come in, and Vahn simply stayed shut, feeling a bit foolish in even trying to reconcile with Owle when he had been the one to push her away in the first place. She didn't have to deal with his nonsense.
"I'm not really...hungry right now."
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 3:00 pm
"Well."
Too little, too late.
If he had explained, shared with her what he was going through, he might have earned her sympathy, but not her forgiveness. After all, hadn't she done the same thing after both Morgan Flare and Bob Roberts had betrayed her? She had lived for six months in the woods, as a wildcat, avoiding all who were familiar to her.
...but even if she understood, she couldn't keep chasing someone who did nothing but run away when she needed him most.
Too little. Too late. Even so...
The aborted attempt was better than him saying nothing.
"..."
She opened her mouth to say something, urge him to eat, it would be better for him to keep food in his belly and...
...she stopped short, closing her mouth again and looking away. Deep down, she felt as foolish as he was, wanting to change things but not knowing how...and not trying.
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 3:14 pm
"Okay then..."
For a moment she wondered if she should better leave them alone - but that would've only put more emphasis on the problem at hand, thus Lucind strolled ahead to the very bow of the Fairuza, up the landing and over to the mast. There they could find several wooden boxes - filled with rope, by the way - and with a sigh the woman flopped down on one of them, stretching her legs and yawning softly.
"So, if you've got any questions, now's the chance to get rid of them."
About five minutes after Sun had finished preparing the snack, Tagis sent Kaled who would thank the redhead and take a good share of the sandwhiches with him to serve them his fellows.
Another couple of minutes later, Tagis would rush in - whatever room Sun would be in right then - munching on her second or third sandwhich. The woman herself wasn't really in a hurry, nor did she feel like she was hectic. She needed this, zooming around for a while until she had brought the ship on its right course.
"So darling, please be so kind and bring out a small portion. Four, five sandwhiches will do. Dun worry, ye won't act as our servant the whole time, but right now I think everybody needs to be pampered a bit..just until everyone's really left the land behind..." She winked - and gone she was again.
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 3:25 pm
"Yes but whe-" And she was gone. Sunstrike's ears lowered again as he looked at the much smaller plate. Everything was happening so fast, he was liable to get dizzy trying to sort all the individual requests and thank you's.
Guests. Right.
He sauntered up the stairs, and opened the outer door, blinking his eye at the sudden daylight and taking stock of who was were on....deck?
Sunstrike found himself staring at three of the least likely people he'd ever hope to see...on the open sea. There stood Owle, her brown wings sticking plainly out of her back, blue hair shining. Lucind, her ears that were startingly like his own and those surprisingly yellow eyes, to...
No....way?!
He stood there, dark hand on the railing, jacket open, looking for all the world like he belonged there.
Vahn...
There was no way the other man would miss the redhead he'd blown up a whole ruin's for, no way the snakes over Owle wouldn't react to the presence of the drain alarmingly, and absolutely no way Lu would miss the intake of breath or the curse.
The plate smashed to the ground as Sun turned on his heel and dashed out of sight.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:46 am
"......."
It was really getting weird now, and the stretch of it was starting to get the best of himself. He wasn't the type to just lie down and die or something.
Lucind was still there--- and even that was starting to not matter right now.
The hell is wrong with me... acting like some flustered idiot in his school prom! Just shake her by the shoulders and yell your sorry and punch something! Be a man! Rip your shirt off and twirl it, then weigh anchor and set sail for----wait what?
He shook his head and stared after Lucind as she moved.
"I still don't understand why me of all people would be called to help you--- aren't I the last thing your people would even want near them, andalsoOwleIwannatalktoyoula----" He had said it so fast and with such a swell of his chest as he stood at full height, as if mustering all his inner strength, that the sudden break of a plate was all it took to break down his quickly summoned demeanor.
He turned in the direction of it, not even catching sight of the scallywag, but feeling a slight pang in his head. "....?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:18 pm
Alarmingly was the wrong word. Enthusiastically was more like it.
Both Vahn and Lucind would see four ethereal snakes emerge from her back and head eagerly, if cautiously in Sun's direction. A smaller, fifth one soon followed, simply radiating curiousity.
"S-"
Owle bit her tongue down on the name, reigning her snakes in before they went chasing after him. Disapointed, they returned to her side, and she was left staring at a plate of broken sandwiches.
If Sun didn't want Vahn to see him, Owle wouldn't betray him.
Even if Flare hadn't shown her how he'd reacted to Vahn's presence during the battle for the Vale, Owle had been asked not to mention Sun's visit to the Firebrand to Vahn. It didn't take a brain surgeon, or a mind reader for that matter, to figure out that Sun was avoiding the flame elemental.
Owle turned, strode to the remains of the plate, and picked up two sandwiches...mostly just for something to do while she regained her composure. She immediately stuffed one in her mouth; did anyone really expect a girl who caught and ate rodents in the forest to care much about things being dropped on the floor?
And, with her mouth thus preoccupied, she walked back over to the two of them, hopefully in time to catch Lucind's last words to Vahn. Chew, chew, chew...swallow.
And then she remembered Vahn had been trying to say something to her.
"You know where to find me," she said without much feeling, not about to go anywhere at the moment but referring to the "later" Vahn had mentioned. Did he really intend to chase her now, after running away and ignoring her for so long?
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