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Growth
50/50
Its just a plant 5
Well Met with Yazeed 5
River Gifts 5
Its Dinner Time! 5
Back Alley Potions with Zyura 5

What to do with you? 5
Mischief and Mayhem 5
Travel Solo 5
Cold Snap 5
Strange Gift 5

Sometimes when he couldn't sleep he snuck out of the house and wandered into the dark to find a cozy low limbed tree to crawl under, it was a habit that his parents said he had had since he was very little. There was just something cozy about the underside of a tree, like it would watch over and protect him while he slept, and it didn't snore like his Dad did.
Plus when he was outside he was a part of the wild, when he was inside he felt closed off from everyone and nature, which was sometimes a good thing if he had talked to too many people in a short span of time. For the most part being inside sometimes gave him the heebee jeebees.
Outside he felt like he could breath, like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders that had been slowly crushing him but at the time he hadn't felt the pain, just a kind of pressure.
He didn't always feel like this, it was sporadic but the cure was always to get outside.
Apparently his parents had often found him asleep in the garden, especially under their largest tomato plants.
His parents had been told he would grow out of it and he hoped he would too, but he never planned to stop sleeping outside when he wanted to.
He curled up under a tree and hoped for a good day on the morrow. He was asleep almost instantly and his snores pierced air that was fluted by the hoots of owls and other night time animals.
He didn't dream that night it felt like maybe the branches over him were acting as a dream catcher and keeping any visions away so that they would not disturb his sleep. He felt quite rejuvenated by the time he woke to the calls of morning birds going about their business of trying to find a mate and waking up the whole darn neighborhood in the process. He shrugged out from under the bush and rose to stretch and face the day. Stretching would take about twenty minutes then he would go find some water and see what the day had in store for him.
He walked down to the beach to face the rising sun as he worked through the stretch forms that his mother had handed down to him for continued good health and flexibility. He took a deep breath and began, twisting like a long pretzel into different forms that showcased how the body can move in most interesting ways, so far it had worked for him.
Then he wandered over to where he had planted a few rare plant seeds and checked on their progress. Some were sprouted already and had been for a while, but once in a while he would see someone who was late to germinate pop their head up and stretch for the sun, unfurling their seed leaves to take in their first nourishment not provided by seed store and soil. It always gave him a solidly good feeling to see them. Some were getting yellow leaves, the seed starting medium didn’t have a lot of nutrients in it initially because he didn’t want to shock the plants by accident if they were more of a barren land or low nutrient soil type. He still had so very much to learn.
The spot leaf seemed to be pretty happy anyway, it had been the first plant he had found when he was on his adventure with Theriar. He wondered how the captain was doing, he had seemed pretty pleased at the amount of pay they had earned on their first excursion together and he was betting that the other male would take him out again for some of the same if he asked. He wouldn’t need to go for a while though, he wanted to make sure that his current plants got his full attention as this was the whole point, to be able to propagate them at home and It was harder to hover like a mother hen when he was away or too tired. It had been an exhausting day when they had explored so many islands but it had been a good day, a day worth its salt. He had felt quite accomplished by the time he had gotten his goodies back home to be placed somewhere cool and sorted.
He was surprised to find that he kind of missed being on the boat just a little bit. Maybe it was the shear amount of wood. It was a nice boat but Theriar had told him that his old one had been nicer, the one that the pirates had stolen. He hoped Theriar got the chance to kick the snot out of them one day, since they had stolen his very livelihood. It wasn’t even like he had been a merchant, his business had been fish alone. Syaa couldn’t understand how so many people chose an underhanded path of life instead of listening to themselves like he had done to chose what he wanted to do.
It must be quite a frustrating life to live as a thief or pirate and have no real solid way of earning. He couldn’t handle every day being a question mark. He needed at least mild structure in his life to set the events of his day upon.
After the plants were taken care of he went inside to eat with his family, they were here for the summer and would return to Jauhar in about a month to go visit the home that his family also held there, and to see their Jauhar friends. Occasionally someone from there would take the long trip down and visit them in Matori but It was a bit rare and sporadic. Breakfast was hearty and he ate a lot but stopped before he would be too full to move. He did that occasionally then nothing got done because he had to go lounge like a lizard in the sun to digest properly. He tried to only do that on holidays because it wasn’t very productive.
Now that he was fed and his chores were done he felt like going on a walk to see what new secrets the world had for him out there. He started of course on the beach and eventually meandered his way into the town among the people, he was a common enough visitor that he got some nods smiles and greetings which he returned in kind. There was something nice about being in a place that people knew you. He had not felt the need to adventure too far yet but he had done a lot of travel between Jauhar and Matori with his family so he had seen a fair bit of Tendaji already.

He wondered what Belrea was like and if he would ever have and excuse or indeed the drive to visit there. He felt like it would be an alien place, they had so many contraptions which were fascinating on one hand and somewhat terrifying on the other. It was mixed magic and weapons which they did have he supposed, there was just something so alien about the design. He would like to examine one one day.
1216

Class Quest

He was running around trying to get prepared for his coming of age ceremony where he would declare what his career path would be. He wanted inspiration so he went for a walk and looked at people’s gardens for ideas. It was hard for him to think while he was stayingstill. He didn’t have to be going fast necessarily but it was way better when he was ambling even.
His eyes would scan and then rest on anything interesting he found around.
He came across a house that was rearing a bunch of seedlings. That was it!
He crossed to some wild rose bushes and pulled off a rose hip which he chewed open to get at the seeds before heading off to get dressed up.
He knew exactly what he was going to do.
The preparations went smoothly and he was able to create the effect he wanted in private, he was ready to perform his statement.
He appeared before his parents and his close friends and family. “I have chosen what I want to pursue and I will show you all a demonstration of what I will be able to achieve later on a greater scale.
He stood proudly before them all, assemmebled officially to hear what his career path would be so that they could celebrate his passage into young adulthood.
He held his hand straight out at first and then making a fist he tilted it upside down and held his hand open to reveal the seeds resting on his palm.
He concentrated on those seeds with all of his might and eventually a smallish trickle of green magic emerged. He had been practicing for a long time with a teacher to achieve this.
The seeds in his hand sprouted and unfurled their little seed leaves. So sweetly cute. He hoped to one day have enough power to bring it to a flower but for now instant germination was pretty darn good for someone who was beginning. It drained him really good to perform it and on days where he had to practice he usually slept like the dead but he had definitely found his called.
“I have chosen Nature Domain Cleric as I feel like it most matches with my talents and my interests in life.” He placed the new seedlings in little cups that the people who had arrived could take home and plant in their yards. He wanted to bring good to the world and had he chosen Tempest domain he wasn’t sure what he would have done if he had accidentally zapped someone with lightning. Besides plants could be excitingly toxic so there was danger and intrigue enough among the nature kingdom, plus he found animals quite interesting too.
“I finally feel like I have a decent direction in life as ethereal as it turned out to be.” He hadn’t been sure he would choose magic but it had chosen him in a way. Anything that helped him to better understand the natural world in which he lived in. He hoped that the class would teach him to look even at the smallest of things like moss for significance in the big picture of the ecosystem. He would be a beneficial part of that ecosystem.
543
Blurb
Standing up in front of everyone and pulling off a magic display was a big step for the formerly quiet and mostly shy prentice. But he faced those that meant the most to him so it wasn’t as hard as he had thought. This marks the beginning of him stepping out of his shell and eventually out of his comfort zone. Its time to put some miles on those feet and get some jobs to broaden his horizons. He is learning that people aren’t always that bad. Eventually he will enjoy teaching young ones about nature.

Syaaryn was ready for a new adventure, he loved his life at the ranch with everyone but he felt like perhaps he lacked a certain edge of danger that everyone here seemed to carry. He should go on an adventure and find himself. He felt lacking in certain areas and antsy and stressed. It was time for a change. He went to the records room and begged the attendant for a map of tendaji and looked at his travel options. He shrugged, he had only one direction to go if he didn’t want to go by boat and he liked looking at the changing landscapes. He let those important to him know he was going on an adventure and that he had no idea when he would actually be back. Irregardless it was time to go, he had enough supplies to get him to the next target settlement, it was going to be a long journey but he was ready for a little rustic living in between. He knew deep in his bones that he had to do this in order to mature as a person. The last thing he wanted was for Nykinae to become bored with him. He needed to add some spice to his life and travel was the only way to do it otherwise he would never leave the cozy little garden that he and Nin maintained scrupulously.

He set out and felt the road beaten below his feet, he set a good ground eating rhythm and his long legs whisked him across the miles between himself and his destination, wherever he eventually decided that was. He wanted to see more of tendaji, he had thoroughly seen Matori and had been to both Jauhar and Yael, now it was time to see where the other half of Ny had come from. Eventually he knew he would end up in zena but there was also Oba, Tale and Sauti that he would also like to go to. It was going to be a very very long walk but life would go on here just as it always had, births, deaths, new beast to train, new family sprung forth. He wondered if there would be new life around when he came back. This was a prolific family after all and one day he too might get to bring forth new life.

He walked until dark was about to fall and then he set up a makeshift camp for himself. He was happy to have made decent progress today. He was closer to the wilderness that his soul craved. He usually did his wandering with others but this time he felt he had to prove something to himself, that he was grown up, that he was ready for more responsibility and all of that. There was a time in every man’s life when he had to branch out and explore and find himself. Now Syaa found himself on that path, his heart raced with glee. Dinner was ready a simple soup and good crusty bread. He ate in silence and pondered all of the sights he had seen that day. It was going to be along time before he was home again, and a large part of him was sad about that but he would bear through it.

His sleep was steady, disrupted by a dream here and there but no nightmares. In the morning he emerged and made coffee. He would have to pass through Oba first, a place that was hostile with many specialized plants. Great big blooms but they truly hated water and so in cultivation you had to be aware of that. Cactai were of slightly less interest to him than almost everything else because they were finicky and he tended to love them a bit too much then they would sulk or get root rot from too much water. Frustrating to say the least. Plus they were often night blooming as their pollinators couldn’t really stand the heat in daytime either. They were large flowers but he was diurnal and it was less fun to appreciate them at night with a torch.

Eventually the land started to change and get more deserty, quite a few days later he was in Oba proper. He found a nice hotel and decided to enjoy the provided water baths which was pretty much the only way he could thrive in this awful heat. He was used to Matori but there the wind worked to keep the ambient temperature bearable to a certain extent, not so here, he supposed this was what he should have expected from the desert. He would stay for a few days and rest before heading out and making his way to tale and then Sauti and Zena, at least that was the plan, who knew what would happen further down this seemingly endless trail. He missed home already but he would at least have some good stories by the time he went back to Matori. It was certainly different scenery. Sand, wind, mostly treeless, at least anything resembling a proper tree. So different from anywhere else he had been for any length of time.

Walking around town and the market he stuck out like a big blue thumb. Everyone nearly seemed to have various shades of chocolate skin except some other foreigners like himself. It was mostly Obans but there were a few exceptions too. Most of them not nearly as tall as he, this might be a difficult place for those with kahikinian lineages to adapt too baring living in the water baths like he wanted to while he was here. The cool water and covered architecture was beautiful and the markets were spectacular, anything you wanted they mostly had, including some very good seed vendors that carried seeds from all kinds of places.

He slid into the cool water of the pool attached to the hotel and sighed in bliss. This was relaxation, he felt good at an appropriate temperature for a change.

He felt all the built up stress trickle away from him. His skin instantly rehydrated and put him in an instantly better mood. The intense heat of the desert made him miss home fiercely, but the food lured him into staying. It was full of spice and seemed to restore one's health nearly immediately after it was ingested. The locals were impressed with his appetite, as well as his ability to handle at least some of their more potent spices. Most outlanders food had to be special made quite bland, but Syaa could handle more culturally accurate foods, which at least gave him a bit of an in with the locals. He ate a lot too, because of his large frame.

He mused over many things in that bath; how far he had come on this first leg of his journey, and the memories of the travel, as well as what he missed that he had left behind. He was gone just for now so that he could well and truly find himself, he had gotten too stagnant and boring. So far his experiment was working beautifully in his favor. He felt more alive and oddly more relaxed for all the travel and miles he had come.

Travel really was an effective balm for the weary soul. He was truly surprised at how swiftly it worked, almost immediately upon reaching an undefined distance from home, and magnified once he had his own place to stay at an Oban Inn ,who knew that having a different place to sleep was such a mood changer?

He swam around the pool, checking out its edges and details of its workmanship, while he enjoyed the gentle, soothing pull on travel worn muscles. As his body relaxed, so too to his did his mind, which in turn relaxed his body further and so on and so forth, until he was a very happy hybrid, wondering why he hadn't done something like this many years ago. How long had he wasted just waiting for something to happen? Granted, having a big garden sort of tied him down for much of the season, but roads were not great for travel in some places during winter. Oh well, he was here now, and he would enjoy Oba to the best of his abilities, tomorrow, after he had more time to rest. Quite a bit of it done in this pool, he was sure. He would venture out to the local market. He had caught a glimpse of it coming in, and it looked quite attractive with all of the extremely fancy open fabric that seemed to flap from every nook and cranny in the place, bright saturated reds and oranges, warm colors for an exceedingly warm climate, he wondered how this rugged people had adapted so well to such a spicy climate and not only survived here, but truly thrived with a burgeoning population.

There were some Matorian faces here and there, so he didn't feel as out of place as he could have. Eventually, he got tired of the pool and ventured off to his room for what was a very well deserved nap. Besides, from the look of things, nap time was how the locals managed to beat the worst of the midday heat. Why fight it? Why not sleep through it and conduct your business? When the evening cool period took over, it was brilliant. Besides, he could really use the extra sleep. His traveling sleep had not been the greatest, and it was still a bit hard to fall asleep in the hotel room, as it was a new place for him. That was the other side of the travel coin; relaxed, but slightly on edge from the unknown and being alone. He was tall, but it was a laugh to say that he was outnumbered here, deep down, he was a warrior, and a good warrior was aware of the risks of their surroundings. He was not yet sure for how long he would stay in Oba he supposed until his feet, decided to take him back on the path to his next adventure; Tale. He was rather hoping that he would run into a scorra there.

1705

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