Welcome to Gaia! ::

Peralian was talking with his parents about Aisko. He wanted to go, find out what the map was leading too as well as to go out and test himself. Ayr was safe… well. Not really, but Ayr was home, and as much as there was mysteries still within the misted land, he wanted to see other lands! And get away from protective mother and Yrral. He was looking forward to going off on his own… though he would certainly miss his brother! And maybe his parents… though he was at that age where they were getting irritating!

Kadryn, while a little nervous he’d decided on Aisko of all places, was rather happy about the idea.
“You certainly have waited longer to leave home than either of us did! Though…” She looked at Kirosh and raised an eyebrow. He chuckled and looked at their son.

“Let’s see if you’ve thought this through more than either of us did! What is your plan of action if you have one and, most importantly, what are you planning on bringing with you.”

Peralian had expected a bit more resistance to the idea of him leaving home. Much as he’d told Yrral that his parent’s wouldn’t mind he was expecting them to mind a little!

Kadryn saw his expression and laughed. “We do love you dear…. But we also know what it’s like to want to go off and see the world. I’m just happy you’ve waited this long to do so! Learned more about fighting and magic and had battles already. I ended up… getting lost my first real flight away from home and ended up on Eowyn with ... mixed results let’s say.”

“You always get lost Mom!” Peralian said a smirk.

“Not the point! The point is I headed off before I’d really fought. I’d only ever faced small Ysali’s… You’ve faced more. I think you are ready to leave home. Though do send us letters or come back to visit!”

“So… plan and equipment?” Kirosh said as he pulled Kadryn down to sit next to him on the couch. “I’d like to know how much you’ve thought about this.”

“Um... Well, I’ve talked with Yrral a bit and there’s a Tribe ship going to Aisko to hunt for Aiskalan orbs. I figured I would go with them so I at least have a safe ride to the island as well as people who can take me to the Tribe camp. There I’ll stay near camp for a while and learn how to survive on Aisko. After a while… not sure how long but probably only a few weeks, I’ll start going hunting in the area, learn how to hunt in the snow and all that. Then once I felt confident enough, I’d follow the map.”

“More thought that I ever put into a plan!” Kadryn said with a laugh as she snuggled up to Kirosh.

“I put about that much into some of my ventures.” Kirosh said with a grin. “Sounds good to me! And your gear?”

“Well… I need winter gear. I’ve got my old cold stuff but I’ve outgrown it so new boots, cloak, probably some thicker pants and shirts as well. And a lot more socks. I think Tarlen keeps taking them!”

His parents smiled and motioned for him to continue. Peral leaned back into the pile of piles in front of the fire. “It’s autumn right now here… which means Aisko will probably be in its winter season. I’ll need ways to summon heat because I’m not sure I’ll find a lot of fire wood out in the wild there. I think Yrral has a tome for that though I’m not sure… maybe he already knows a spell. I’ll have to go copy it down if he does. Food and such I will get from the tribe as well as any gear I’ve forgotten once I’ve been there and really know what I need. As for what I’ll need when I go following the map. Rope, climbing kit since it appears to be near a cliff if I read the map right. Um… I think there’s treasure involved... which probably means locked chests or doors right? So… either a spell or a lock pick set. Don’t think destroying any chest will be a good thing…. I’ve got my weapons, and we made those enchanted arrows last week so I’ve got a supply of that. I’d like to have a set of cooking gear and I’ll pick up a small spice chest from town cause I like my food tasty and not bland.” He looked at his parents, “Did I mention everything you think I need?”

Kadryn smirked and looked at Kirosh. “Told you he’d mention the spices and cooking gear!”

“That you did,” Kirosh said fondly before kissing her cheek. “He also realized he’d need a different way to make heat than a fire and the typical traveling gear. How many sets of clothes are you thinking of bringing?”

“Um…. Three of everything except the cloak? Just in case some get wet.”

“Always a smart thing,” Kadryn said approvingly, “What about boots?”

“… Do I need two as well?”

“What do you think?”

Peralian paused and thought. Two boots? Well.. it made sense if one got wet than swap to the other… but he’d have to carry it all!
“What if.. I got water proof boots? And just brought a lot of extra socks to switch out of if things get wet?”

Both parents nodded. Two boots were okay… but they were clunky and one set if treated properly would be fine. Kirosh grinned. “You mentioned cloaks. Why only a cloak?”

“It can double as a second blanket.” An looks cool, Peralian thought to himself.

“So… not a hooded poncho over a jacket?” Kadryn’s voice was teasing.

“Both?”

“You know how cold it is here?” Kirosh asked, “Well Aisko’s is worse. The wind will go right through most cloaks so a second layer in addition to your clothes is advisable. Also two sets of gloves and two socks worn at all times.”

“That’s…. two gloves? How am I supposed to use my fingers?”

“The outer layer is thick leather… and fingerless.” Kadryn held up her own gloved hands and wiggled them. They covered the scars along her palms but left her fingers open. “It is freezing there… Better to be too warm than too cold. You can always take off a set if it gets too hot. If you are wearing everything and still cold... Well you’ll be miserable.”

Perlian thought about it and it did make sense. “Guess… a poncho also doubles as a blanket…. OH. I’ll need a different bed roll won’t I? The one I have is warm,… but from what you’re saying I think I’ll need a new one.”

Kirosh nodded and pointed to the closet by the stairs. “Go open that and take what you need. And pack it right now so we can see how you do.”

Peralian swallowed his sigh and went over to the closet. Parents! Always wanting to make sure… But it did mean he was getting gear free! Right?
Inside was a pile of stuff… A lot of stuff. Looked like winter gear, desert gear…and….
“Is this.. new?” He looked at his parents, “You knew I was leaving and bought stuff?”

“Sort of.” Kadryn dimpled as she smiled; “We knew you and Tarlen were getting to that age and figured if we got you the gear we’d at least know you had what you needed and it would be one less worry.”

Peralian picked out the winter stuff he thought he needed. The poncho he decided to go for was a pale grey and white one that was slightly too large for him. It’ll mean I can wear it as I grow, he thought. Same with the jacket, though he picked the black one with the thick soft down on the inside. Two scarves, the dual set of gloves, thick woolen shirts and a leather pair of pants as well as a baggy set made out of an odd material.

“What’s this?”

“It’s woven from Trolender fur, mostly water proof and meant to go over a second pair of pants.”

He put it on the pile and added the new shirts to the mix. Apparently his parents had decided to completely re-clothe him and his brother! From there he added the pot with a small bowl, plate, knife and a cloth he could feel magic emanating from. It was the same type of cloth his mother used! The one you could use to bake bread in the wild! And, he grinned happily; a spice chest! Small enough to fit with the other cooking stuff inside the pot! Perfect for packing… He added the rope and climbing gear he found as well. He found, at the bottom, a sturdy pack and thick bedroll wrapped with a second blanket around it.

After he piled everything he needed he sat back and sighed. It was.. a fair amount. Kirosh had left while he was going through the closet, so he looked at his mother and smiled.

“Thanks for the gear mom! I was going to trade in an orb or two for what I needed.”

“We figured as much, but since I’ve got this stash of orbs I never use…I thought to get you and your brother stuff and let you save your orbs for when you really need them. I like buying my boys stuff!” She reached out to ruffle her son’s hair. “Now get packing! Let’s see if you can do this!”

It took him three tries to get everything put away into the bag and his belt pouches. He had only a small amount of space left at the end, much to his surprise. Enough to pack a few personal items! His crafting hammer he hung on the side of the pack, maybe he would need to fix something.


Kirosh came back at the end of it, finding him sitting satisfied next to a full pack and belt.

“You look satisfied! See if you can find room for these!" He handed his son a staff, book and small leather case.

“Another staff?”

“Yrral and I were talking, and we feel you should be able to transfer the orb and power to your own staff. It’s a Staff of Burning, so you’ll be able to summon fire. The tome is for a Spell called ‘Heat Flux.’ Yrral said you would find it useful.” The leather case, Peralian saw when he opened it, was of a nice set of lockpicks! Trust Da to find it!

“Thank you.” He said with a grin; loot! He was going on an adventure! To explore!

Peralian was a bit miffed by the treatment he was getting; so he was young! Didn’t mean he had to be treated like wet behind the ears brat by this hunter! Peralian had managed to kill the creatures that had attacked him… except for that last one which had been gotten by this hunter. He ought to feel grateful, but all feelings of gratitude had left him when the silent Oblivionite had shook his head and sighed with something like disgust.

“You are not old enough to be here.”

Came the quiet voice from under the thick white pelt that cloaked his supposed savior.
Peralian wriggled out from under the body that had fallen on him as he’d killed it. Glaring at the Oblivionite he responded; “I was judged old enough by our shaman and my parents! Who are you to judge me?”

“One who has walked this land longer than you’ve been alive.. brat.” The older man, bearing a bow that was elegantly simplistic, walked over to toss a pelt at the young hybrid. “Wear that. Your father sent word you were coming… I had expected you to at least go to town instead of trying to wander in from the beach.” He said in a tone that suggested he thought the boy was a foolhardy idiot.

Peralian hide a pout; his father had sent word? Is he trying to keep me safe? I don’t want safety! I won’t grow strong that way!
“I’m not here to be wrapped in wool and kept safe.” Peral said to the other man… though he accepted the cloak since his had a huge rent in it and was drenched in blood. “And you still haven’t said who you are.”

“You should have gone to Eowyn… this land is far too dangerous for an untried brat.” The hunter smirked. “I am Charon. GIve me a reason as to why I should not march you back to town and send you back home?”

Peralain reached into his bag to grab forth his orbs; “I was going to hand these over as proof to the chief….. They ought to be enough reason.” His eyes were narrowed and he felt anger stir in him. Just who was this arrogant man to insist on proof?
In his hands lay two orbs, one glittering golden with barely contained electricity the other a misty orb filled with grey swirling clouds.

All he got was a hurmph as the hunter turned away. “Not impressive… but it is enough to get you access to the tribe….” He walked off and Peralian had to grab his things quickly to follow. I hope he’s actually leading me to the camp, Peralian thought with worry as he looked around. The landscape was white and blue, blindingly bright as the sun reflected off of the snow. The winds blew loose snow around. THe land had little to no landmarks… which meant no one would be able to find him if he got lost and died out here…

“The camp can be found by the obsidian markers.” Came the quiet words after hours of silent walking. Peralian had noticed the black rocks and wondered if it’d been like the pale rose quartz the Ayralian tribe had used.

Charon said no other words as he lead Peralian into a camp that appeared suddenly out of the snow; it was filled with round tents made from hides. Far more barbaric in appearance than the Aryalian camp had been. He pushed Peralian into a tent, where an older Dovaa was waiting for him.

“You must be Kadryn and Kirosh’s boy.” Came the amused greeting. “I am Loresha, chief of this tribe. Don’t mind Charon; he thinks anyone under twenty shouldn’t be allowed out here… and considering how many young ones get claimed by the snows it’s not too surprising.” Her face was a weathered tan with bright red scales along her nose and cheeks. Curling black horns came out of slivered red hair; one of them was broken and capped with silver.

Peralian offered the orbs with a challenging glare.

“Oh? I take it Charon must have said something along the lines of you being too young and needing proof?” Loresha said with a laugh as she accepted them. “It is good enough for now. But please do not leave without a hunter with you until you get used to the land! You will be staying in my tent with the others your age until you earn a tent of your own.” She said before giving him the rundown of the camp and rules.