[CLASS QUEST] Araie

[Suhuba]

This Quest is for Araie who is striving to become an Mage.

OOC
||. The quest prompt must be answered with a 2000 word reply (can be more).
||. Respond to the prompt given with an adventure of your own creation as long as it meets the requirements of the specific tasks.
||. NPCs may be used as long as they advance the quest in an interesting manner.
||. You cannot include any playable characters other than the quest taker.
||. Your responses will be graded with a Pass or Fail. Those who fail will have to continue with assistance from the staff.
||. Questions about quests can be asked here.

IC

After her time away from Zena, Araie had headed back home, partly to visit, but mostly to confront her parents. They insist that she follow the path that they have set for her, wanting her to serve Bergchi and stay at home with the family in Zena, not traveling. They deem it very unbecoming for a child of theirs, and claim they only want what is best for Araie.

When Araie returns, her parents seem glad to see her. They hug her and welcome her, but something about the way they're talking doesn't bode well with Araie. "Finally you're back!" her mother proclaims. "Oh good, you can start your training tomorrow."...

Quest Tasks
||. The quest should start off with her returning home and immediately being dragged back into her old life. Treated very much like the girl she was before she left.
||. She will find that her parents (without telling her) have set her up with an apprenticeship with a priest in town.
||. The training is to start the very next day.
||. Araie needs to convince her parents that she does not want this; that she has her own path to walk and it does not include becoming a priestess.
||. She can either try to turn down her parents from the beginning, or she can go through with the training for a while before she stands up for herself.
||. The quest should end with Araie standing her ground and following the path of the mystic.
 

[EtheralStarlight]

Part One: Welcome Home?

Words: 1076

Araie stood outside her parent's home, taking several deep breaths. Here she was. Home again after spending over a year out and about in greater Tendaji. It was...colder than she remembered. She had obviously gotten far too used to the heat in Tale. Then again, this place had stopped feeling like home years ago. The only thing that had made being her bearable was her brother, and he had already told her he wasn't going to be here when she came to visit. Something about being too busy with his training. It was sad. She knew that he would have been thrilled to see her, unlike her parents. Her parents hadn't even bothered to greet her at the border or even outside of town. They had just assumed that she would be willing to do all the work. Did they even remember that their daughter was coming to see them, or had they forgotten about their failure of a child already? When she had sent them the letter telling them she was coming to visit, they had sounded excited to see her again, but maybe she had been letting her own hopes cloud her judgement. Maybe they really hadn't cared at all. Wrapping her warm fur cloak around her even tighter, Araie knocked on the door. After a few tense moments, her mother opened the door.

"Araie, dear, you're finally back!" Her mother exclaimed, leaning forward to wrap the younger girl in a tight hug. Araie stiffened at the action, completely unsure of what she was supposed to do. Her mother had never hugged her before like this. She had usually kept herself at a proper distance like "a real lady" should. If her mother was in this good of a mood, it didn't bode well.

Oh, stop that Araie. Maybe they just really are excited to see you. Maybe things have changed since you left. Give them a chance. They are your parents after all. Yeah, she just needed to relax. She was always on edge around her parents. Maybe they really were trying to change for her. The thought made her smile. She awkwardly wrapped her arms around her mother, hugging her back.

"Hello, mother. It's...good to see you again," Araie muttered quietly. She was still slightly wary of the situation, but gods knew she wanted this to be true. All she could do was hope that things would be different this time. Her mother pulled away from the hug and quickly ushered her inside, causing Araie to almost trip over the step.

"We were so worried you weren't going to make it in time, with the snow storms and such. It would have been terrible if we would have been forced to delay it!" Araie's mother said cheerfully as the two made it into the main room of the house. Her father stood from the chair he sat in, turning to look at his daughter. He had his typical stern expression on his face, making him look forever displeased. Well, some things never did change. Araie bowed her head to her father and then turned to glance up at her mother.

"Delay what exactly? I didn't think there was anything going on that directly related to me," Araie asked with a tilt of her head. Her mother moved to stand next to her father, that same oddly cheery smile on her face. At this point, Araie almost wished she would go back to scolding her. Her mother wasn't supposed to ever look this happy. It just defied the laws of nature or something.

"We've arranged for you to start training with a local priest tomorrow. You had your time to run around and mingle with the other races. Now it's time for you to take your future seriously and stay here in Zena, where you belong," her father suddenly said. Cold dread shot through Araie's body and settled in the pit of her stomach. Her...training? Oh, no no no. They couldn't possibly have done this to her, could they? Ha, who was she kidding. Her parents didn't care about anything besides what they wanted. Of course they would pull something like this. The urge to scream was almost uncontrollable. Gods she just wanted to turn around and walk out of this house, swearing off her parents for the rest of her life. But no, she wouldn't do that. She had come here to try and make her parents understand, and she couldn't do that by just throwing a temper tantrum and leaving. That would just make them believe that they were right and she was just a child who needed guidance. She was going to show them that she was an adult capable of living her own life and making her own choices.

"Mother, father, I've already told you I have no desire to be a priestess. I have no desire to stay in Zena and live my life dedicated to the gods. If I did that, I would be absolutely miserable," Araie said after taking a few breaths to calm herself.

"Child," her father began, the nickname making Araie bristle, "you need to stop with such foolish notions of adventuring and exploring. We let you engage in such silly actions for awhile, but you're getting older. You need to become an adult. You've always known that we expected you to settle down here in Zena and become a proper young lady, living your life in service to the gods." Araie shook her head and tightened her pack on her pack. This was just too much.

"I can't believe you. I really can't. I need some time to think. I'll see you later," Araie sighed as she turned around and walked outside, ignoring her parent's protests. Perhaps just walking off like this was immature. Perhaps she should have stood her ground right then and there and made her case. But she didn't think she could at this exact moment. She was still having a hard time processing what her parents had done. After almost an hour of walking, she found the familiar hidden spot she had discovered with her brother years ago and settled down. There was a small break in the rock, hidden by snow. It wasn't big enough to be considered a cave, but it was large enough to fit two people comfortably and it was hard to find. It was a good place to think in private.  

[EtheralStarlight]

Part Two: Confrontation

Words: 1106

She had wanted to be a mystic since she was a little girl. She had seen one practicing his runes and had been absolutely enchanted with his magic. She had barely been old enough to start learning how to write when she had started practicing runes. While her parents had never really supported her, they had never outright forbidden her from trying. When had that changed? Her parents acted like she had no future as a mystic, but she knew she also had no future as a priestess. Her faith wasn't strong enough and she would hate her life if she was stuck in Zena forever. Why was the path that she had chosen for herself such a bad thing in her parent's eyes? Why go so far to push her onto the path they wanted?

Maybe...maybe she could try. She could go to the training with the priest for awhile, see if it was something that she could enjoy. It would make her parents happy after all....no. No, she couldn't do that. If she did that, her parents would think they had won. They would think that her desire to become a mystic was nothing more than childish fancy. She would never get them to understand that runic magic was what she truly wanted to study. It had been her greatest desire for as long as she could remember. No, she would go back and she would tell her parents that she wouldn't do it. That she knew what she wanted to do and nothing was going to stop her from becoming a mystic, not even them. They may end up hating her for it, but she would hate herself forever if she let them force her onto a path she didn't want to follow.

Araie sat there for awhile longer, unsure of how much time had passed. An hour, maybe two? Perhaps her absence would give her parents something to think about. When she finally felt like she was calm enough to make her case, Araie stood up and began the trek back home. She wasn't going to allow herself to be pushed around any more. She was going to make the situation very clear to her parents, even if it left their relationship in ruins. It was time for her to stand up for herself. By the time she made it back, the sun had started to sink and the air was even colder than before. Maybe she had been out there lost in her thoughts longer than she first thought. She pushed her way into the house and glanced around, finally spotting her parents seated in the living area, apparently caught in a deep conversation. When they heard her entrance, they both stood and approached her.

"Araie, we were worried sick! You can't just take off like that in this cold!" Araie's mother scolded. The younger Ice Earthling simply shook her head. If she didn't start talking now, she was going to lose all of her nerve. It was now or never.

"Mother, father, you are my family and I will always love you. I came back because I hated the fact that things were so tense between us. I wanted to make things right, but I see now that I'm the only one willing to put forth that effort. You don't seem to care about me or what I want at all. All that you care about is having the proper, perfect daughter, and that's not who I am. I'm no proper lady and I'm certainly no priestess. My heart lies with the open road and studying the magic of runes, like a Mystic. It's one of the few things I'm actually really good at, and I don't want to give that up. Now, you can either accept the fact that this is who I am and we can try to work this all out. Or, you can try to keep forcing your wishes on me and I will walk out that door to live my life and you'll probably never see me again. There. I've said my piece. It's up to you now." After Araie had said everything, she couldn't help but bite her bottom lip with fear. What if they refused to accept her? What if they decided she was no longer worth the trouble? She didn't want to lose her family, but she couldn't be the person they wanted either. The next few moments felt like years as her parents looked at each other, seeming to communicate in complete silence. When Araie's mother turned to look at her once again, there were tears glistening in her eyes.

"Oh, Araie, we never meant to push you so far. We honestly just wanted what we thought was best for you. We thought that your desire to travel was just a childish whim, but I see now that was never the case. This is what truly makes you happy, isn't it?" Her mother's words surprised her, but they filled her with incredible hope. They were actually listening to her!

"Yes, more than anything," Araie nodded, hoping that her parents could hear the passion in her voice.

"Then do what makes you happy." The sound of her father's voice surprised her and when she looked at him, he also seemed to be struggling with his own emotions. "We were so intent on forever seeing you as our little girl that we were blind to the woman you've become. Do you think you'll ever be able to forgive us?" The way her father's voice choked on those final words made Araie struggle to swallow the lump that had developed in her throat. Her parents really did love her. They didn't see her as a failure of worthless. They truly cared about her.

"Of course I can! I want to be a family again, even if we have to relearn what that means. But why change your mind now? What's different this time?" Araie asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Good. I'm so glad. We made be stubborn old fools, but you're our only daughter. We don't want to lose you. And you know, there's a mystic or two in town. I'm pretty sure we could get you apprenticed to one." Araie couldn't help but laugh at her father's words as she practically threw herself into their arms. As both of her parents embraced her in a tight hug, Araie felt a sense of peace she hadn't felt in a long time. Her parents finally understood and they had accepted her. She was finally free to walk her own path.  

[Suhuba]

Class Quest Result

Pass!

Araie has passed and received a rank of Mage!



Congratulations Araie!

EtheralStarlight