Dyakida had never really met the Ice man that haunted Kaalnia's life, but she had heard a lot about him. He was Iroia's friend, Votzhem's cousin, and – still – Kaalnia'a arch nemesis. From what she heard, Votzhem resembled him, but the two icelings (if Votzhem could be called that) could not be more different.
Ruelash was apparently hotheaded, impuslive, snarly, and angry. Votzhem was cool, collected, and dignified. Then again, he also had an element of the beast to him, a harshness that Dyakida wondered about. Was it born of his Alkidike blood or of his cold homeland? Or did it come from those years in the wilderness with Kaalnia?
And yet, Kaalnia did not have that sort of harshness. So where did it come from? She hadn't met his children, and she wondered if they possessed it too.
She was working on a staff, and Votzhem had come to mind because she'd once heard him say that, if he hadn't taken the path of the Alkidike, he would have been a sorcerer. Staves were the weapons of sorcerers. Actually, she had heard that they also served shamans and other magic users – a tool of all trades, one of the only weapons known to do so. Learning to craft the staff would help her learn to craft other magic items, and help her serve those Sisters who used magic – and those hybrid Sisters who chose to embrace magic even more so.
Sorcerers were potent, destructive forces. They could single-handedly turn the tide of battle and rain death from above. She wanted them on her side, and not on the enemy's.
It was both joyous and sad that Votzhem had taken the Alkidike path. She would have liked to have a sorcerer in the tribe. But if he hadn't taken that path, then they wouldn't have met... it was a difficult fact.
Interestingly, she had heard that Ruelash also used spells, though he wielded dual blades. Did their family have potent magic? And, if so, what of Votzhem's children? Would they one day come to her for a staff or beads? Or would they choose a different path? They were not born of Aisha, and she had heard nothing about their father training them to be Alkidike warriors, but it was still possible.
Even so, would he think to come to her for magic? She hoped so – she wanted to provide for her brothers and sisters, and her nieces and nephews. Even tangentially, they were a part of her tribe, and it was her duty.
She ran her hands over the runes of the staff, checking her work. It would also give her practice, practice she needed to serve the mystics and the sacred hearts of the tribe.
She prepared the crystal head of the staff and set it on top, securing it carefully as she chanted the words that would help attune it to channeling magical power.
Perhaps she would bring it up with Votzhem when he next visited. If he also helped her calibrate her magical weapons, well, that would be even better, wouldn't it...
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