DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Hall of Fame - Latest Top 10 completed games HWD: The Heartwood HWD: The Satin River Road

The Heartwood
The Satin River Road
Hasday, the Second Day of Tiger

Bekkah, Cesare, Daxia, Keiko, Lyric, and Tomomi

Yes, the Forest of Roth haunted them silently as they made their way around its length and breadth. Silent, however, was the key word; the woods remained such, and anything that was happening within its borders stayed there. Somewhere deep inside the Chaos Riders were rebuilding their strength, but that kept them at the Forest's heart. It was not like the Dirkwood where merely passing the treeline meant death. It was definitely safe enough to provide shelter from the weather and safely collect firewood against the season's cold.

And yes. A day's ride from Bordertown and the weather returned to its usual rain and frost. It unquestionably was the season of storms.

When their path turned more east than south some things changed. The rolling hills and scattered rocks were no longer their constant companions. Streams weren't something you crossed several times in a day but now once every few. The rocks thinned out and vanished, and the hills flattened into plains of tall grasses and grains. What was interesting was, off to their right, even further south, were the occasional herd of horses.

Wild horses, claiming these lonely fields as their own.

Every now and then they might think they'd see a mounted rider with them.

A few days later they'd discovered that their little group was being followed. Not aggressively, but they had certainly come to someone's attention.

At a distance, a group of three riders paralleled the group's course, just at the edge of sight.

That far away they were blurs the horizon. When they wandered a bit closer, they cast a strange silhouette, as if the riders had horses' heads.

Cesare

He is enjoying the slow ride with his friends, despite the rain and the frost. The seasons each bring their own weather and each is needed in its own way to further the circle of life and its renewal. He enjoys looking at the wild horses, theirs is a freedom many could envy.

Of course in his observations, his sharp eyes spot the group of riders.

"Seems we have attracted some interest, We had a similar thing happen on the way to Bordertown but I don't think these are the same guys. At least they look different."

He squints a little to try to make out more detail.

"Animal heads? Chaos Riders? Or is that just my imagination playing tricks?"

Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko
[pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]

This was certainly a new experience!

Her Family’s caravan typically spent the Season of Storms in Trundle or Kh’Lhy’Ra — both further west than they were here. Even being east of Trundle, Storm Season in Kh’Lhy’Ra was fairly mild due to the proximity of the Sea of Pearls. The year they’d been in Triah’am during Crown of Ice had been foggy and very damp. Grandfather had said it was even worse — the fog, the damp, the footrot — in Gh’orre. That was the year her middle sister Moriko had been born, and Mother had the final say on where they’d spend the month of Wolf. Although both Mother and Father had wanted to return to Kh’Lhy’Ra, Moriko decided she simply couldn’t wait to come into the world so they’d only made it as far as Caer Maeyin. Hikaru had thought the old keep had been delightfully creepy. Keiko hadn’t been of the same opinion, not entirely anyway. She had definitely agreed with the “creepy” part. She hadn’t been able to study her Cards at all during the entire three weeks they were in the area. Grandmother had said it was because there were too many talkative Ancestors gathered at the old keep and that Keiko shouldn’t worry about it. She had also noted that thirteen year old boys were often the very opposite of sensible creatures and that Keiko ought to ignore her brother’s teasing.

Their parents, of course, hadn’t let them get anywhere near the keep.

All this rain? It was new. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. She had taken to riding Ishahshnee’ah so she could wrap Tomomi in an extra layer of cloak — Mice didn’t seem to be accustomed to such long stretches of cold and wet. It made sense, of course. The Forest was a good shelter from the weather patterns of the rest of the mainland, and both Waverider’s Watch and Home were much, much farther west than their current location.

And yet, despite the inclement weather, Keiko found the land around them to be fascinating. The only thing that had prepared her for the vast stretches of open land had been their journey along the Flowered Path. The Forest of Roth was so different from both the remnant of the World Forest and the jungles of the East. In many ways — most ways, really — she was glad the Allaine and her Knight had chosen this wave to ride. While she had heard good stories about the Kierkegaards, she wasn’t sure how different the mountains of the Highgaard Reaches could be from the Black Mountains of the East or Darkdown Pass. The farmland outside Bordertown, the Forest of Roth — these were different!

Besides, the Highgaard Path had a far greater likelihood of the group finding the Nakano Family caravan. It wasn’t that Keiko wanted to avoid her family... she had just been instructed by the Elders to avoid all the Caravans. She was quite sure that Festivals would be the only exceptions they would allow.

When the group crossed the Satin River to ride the southern Rhoni Road, Keiko broke out into a wide smile despite the rain. She never expected to travel all four of the Rhoni Roads in her lifetime, and now she was riding along the third of four. Only the easternmost one was regularly traversed by the Gaija, and they called it the Road East. She knew that Michi’s family often traveled the western part of the Road — from Red Rock Village to Sherman’s Village — but even they rarely covered the Road from Sherman’s Village to Talesan’s Village. Perhaps Michi would decide to travel that route occasionally once he had his own Caravan.

The thought made the young Card Reader smile.

She’d seen the horses, appreciated and even admired their beauty, and decided that watching for them was another good reason to be riding. She wasn’t sure she’d have seen as many if she’d been walking.

Keiko had noted the riders, as well, but didn’t feel it was necessary to say anything. She assumed that the hawk-eyed Warrior had seen them and dismissed them as an immediate threat. She merely shrugged at her kinsman’s comment.

“I think it might be very difficult for them to be the same, Cesare. Those not of the Clans are unwelcome on the Plains of Kaa without an invitation, and the Clansmen tend to be at least as secretive and far more insular than the Rhoni,” she said with a smile. “Besides, I believe this is the territory of the Nehrimstel clan — they’re considered odd even by the other Clans.”

She turned away from the sight of the riders to look at him. “This used to be the route your father’s Family took during the Second Age. It was they who established this trading route in the First Age. You have a strong heritage — this Road runs from Snowgate Pass at its eastern end all the way to Sherman’s Bay in the west.”

Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter
[Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]

Storm Season ought to involve either majestic drifts of snow and the sounds of sleigh bells or the presence of a happy Korie lord. That was just Daxia’s opinion, of course. All this rain was for... well, for the benefit of the Coven Deities, really, as well as Risha and her followers — vitally important, but unpleasant for travelers. Mud that froze at inopportune times? At least the weather seemed to help keep the Chaos Riders in the Forest of Roth. That was a blessing, particularly as the group rode along the Greenland Path toward the forest. No sane farmer homesteaded this close to the path that the Chaos Riders used on their frequent raids against Bordertown. And that meant camping out in the open — in the rain and frost and frozen mud.

In better weather, this would be a beautiful ride. Khorall Innocence and Lord Danton’s decision to make a circuit around the forest before their wedding all those years ago suddenly made much more sense. It wasn’t just about greeting their people — how many times would they have been able to travel after the wedding? Perhaps more than most, given that Danton was the Kierkegaard Heir.

She looked over at Kisa wrapped in her cloak against the rain and wind. Would her liege ever venture out of the Vale again except to attend Midsummer Councils? Likely not.

Daxia smiled from the shelter of her own hooded cloak. She was glad that she’d been able to share a part of her journey with Kisa.

She actually felt sorry for Morning Star, though. Despite his claims to the contrary, he looked miserable. Riding across the farmlands toward the Satin River had meant cleaning his hoofs at the midday break and at night. He never complained; in fact, he persisted in his teasing of her. In fact, when they finally made it to the river, he had practically danced across it like a colt, causing her to laugh and be grateful she was walking at the time. True, the makeshift bridge that ran across the water was slippery, but she was convinced that she remained dryer thanks to her distance from the splashing, playful unicorn.

Satin River was nothing like Silk Creek. For one thing, it was not at the bottom of a deadly ravine. It was reasonably easy to ford in most places, which was handy since the trail — Keiko had called it the Rhoni Road, one of four such Roads, apparently — stayed on one side of the River and the Forest stayed on the other.

She would have preferred riding in better weather, of course, and not only for comfort’s sake. At this time of year, there was no chance of meeting Gilly on the road. If she had wintered in Dawnview — unlikely, given that neither Daxia nor her sister Kassia was there — she’d be behind the wall of snow and ice that was Snowgate Pass until the spring melted most of it by mid-Tiger. Of course, if she had spent the winter near Skaefla Plateau — Redrock Village, Daxia thought, although Gilly had mentioned Crossington once or twice — she was far behind them.

Watching the horses in the Plains reminded her of Kadri and the way she and Lisica had seemed to fly a handspan above the ground when they road. Dominic had gone out of his way not to mention her. All things considered, Daxia suspected that Kadri had not died in her Lady’s good graces. That made the Dayalan sad. But she had long thought that Kadri might have made a better follower of Dayala than Arilys — she was just a little too bold, just a little too intent on seeking justice and defending others against bullies. But Dazi also remembered Lady Kara’s words about the kindness of Krysta and knew she didn’t really need to worry about Kadri’s soul. Eventually, she would find her True Path, be it the next life or the one ten lifetimes from now.

The first time she noted the riders, she had exchanged a glance with Kisa, who had merely raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly. Daxia had smiled and shaken her head. “Not kin of Lord Janfri, then, I gather,” she’d said, referring to her mother’s consort and her sister’s father.

When Cesare and Keiko mentioned them, however, she fell back slightly to ride abreast of them.

“Chaos Riders would have found us two days ago at the large glade. And Keiko is right — they wouldn’t be out on the Plains. The headgear, though?” She shrugged. “One of the Amber Lords — of Clan Halahbrah, I believe it was — mentioned that Nehrimstel only recognized Lloshad. Remember? When everyone was recognizing Kay as an Imperial?” She chuckled. “Well, maybe you don’t. That’s fine. Anyway, as far as I’ve been able to research, Lloshad’s is supposed to be one of the oldest of the Spirit cults. Maybe even the oldest.”

Lyric rode along quietly. She wasn't much in the mood for playing or singing. Instead she held her reins with one hand and bundled herself more tightly inside her heavy tarnan cloak with the other. She did not like this weather much, not at all. It reminded her of unpleasant things, unpleasant people, unpleasant memories that seemingly stretched as far back as she could remember, and all the way to the pronouncement that she would be stripped of her titles, her holdings, her bonds and oaths, any remnants of her kinship and clan standing. That was followed by the Hunt where she was the Quarry and then the moment where she faced the moment of certainty that her life was at an end.

But it wasn't. And then finally Exile. She had a new title now. She was Banished.

Lyric did not like the wet and the cold when they combined like this. Wet was good. She loved it. But Cold was... unpleasant. Yes, that was the word she felt described her feelings about Ice. There were stronger words that applied, but this one was how she felt today, sitting upon a horse that probably didn't like the cold and wet and wind that bit and cut and pulled at the edges of fabric, tearing at her grip, relentlessly trying to find a way to break her hold and get inside her cloak... and it was succeeding all too well. Unpleasant.

Lyric's thoughts were preoccupied as well. Past things, recent things, had been given new lease in her mind after speaking with Broke. The word from the Guardian of recent events in Waverider's reach was troubling... unresolved. Lyric didn't like unresolved, but sometimes there are other things that are more important that force lesser things to remain... unresolved.

She ate. She spoke quietly. She did the chores she had become accustomed to during the journey from the Reach to Bordertown. She was not the leader and did not bear the weight of the responsibility for decisions. She offered some thoughts when asked , but she quite readily admitted she knew too little to be of any value in terms of advice. Her little Village of Kethy's Woods was remote and isolated. Her companions from before had been told this often enough, but the Dayalan and the Noble were new to Lyric's presence.

Mostly she just tried to keep the chill of the cold from her body and thoughts of Ice from her mind.

But the Riders on the Horizon caught her attention and she watched them. Silently, watching, letting Lisica lead her her, follow the others. Lisica knew what to do better than Lyric. Not that Lyric was unskilled as a rider, quite the opposite, but her attention was needed elsewhere and Lisica might be one of the best bred and trained horses in the group. Lyric watched the horizon in silence.

"They are trying to spook us," the minstel finally said in a quiet moment when no other voices competed. It wasn't as though she waited for a dramatic moment though. Lyric spent a lot of her time in her own head, envisioning things and playing out scenarios. It was how she filled vast stretches of time without actually knowing that time was passing. She simply spoke aloud when she believed she had something to say.

"They are testing us. Watching us. They want us to adjust, change, act, do something. That would reveal something to them. If we do not, they will change the pressure. They might even be pushing us toward something... too soon to know that."

Cesare

After the raid at the keep, Cesare has learned that Lyric's judgement tends to be sound on these sorts of things.

"What would you suggest? Do we stay our course, try to take some avoidance action or do something unexpected? Do you think they are a threat? They may be just curious."

He doesn't look at the riders again, keeping his vision focused within their group but he can see them in his peripheral vision.

He looks relaxed enough as he rides along, his new pouch at his belt, scarf around his neck and a flower tucked into an eyelet in his armour.

The Heartwood
The Satin River Road
Hasday, the Second Day of Tiger

Bekkah, Cesare, Daxia, Keiko, Lyric, Kisa, and Tomomi

Mice did not like rain. It made their whiskers droop, and their ears flatten. One particular Mouse kept herself all tucked up in her travel cloak, not because she was hiding from any person because of mouse-ness, but from the cold and heavy drops that she swore were bigger than she was. When the group paused, the Dayalan often found herself with a new companion — probably because Daxia provided a little more shelter from the cold breeze.

But she didn't forget her forever-friend. She'd grab Keiko's hand and draw her along to share the Dayalan's protection. Although once pointed out, Tomomi would realize that Morning Star actually was a better umbrella.

The look the drenched unicorn gave Daxia sent Kisa into immediate chuckles.

The heiress, for all her keep-bred sensibilities, didn't seem to mind the rain or the cold. The resistance to the cold was natural. Like Daxia and Bekkah, she too was brought up in the high places of Dawnview Vale. The rain, however, she accepted — perhaps even enjoyed it.

"The clouds are just like everyone else. If it weren't a good day, they wouldn't be out."

This rain, however, was not something that was at all flattering to the Atteran Priestess. Her long blonde locks were more suited to bright, happy summer days filled with sunshine. At the least, she had her new pendant to provide warm memories. And her water-soaked locks did something that genuinely bothered a certain black unicorn. Her drenched-ness out magnificence-ed his.

...later...

Kisa pushed her horse forward to ride, for the moment, next to the Lost Rhoni.

"Dazi and Keiko are correct. These are Nehrimstel Priests. They have come to the Keep occasionally, wearing masks crafted of wood and cloth, mimicking those they worship.

"They have peculiar views on the ownership of horses. The last time they came to demand our herds. They said we could keep the unicorns since they weren't really horses."

The heiress paused, however, when Lyric spoke up. Brows raised, breath caught for a moment, she looked out across the plains to the horses and their herders.

"Lyric has it right. Considering where our horses come from, they would be very interested in them."

Lyric, of Minstrels and strategy... or not

"I have no suggestions Cesare. I don't know these people, these Nehrimstel Priests, not their customs nor their motives. I only know what they are doing... right now. Stalking us."

She rode quietly for a little more time.

"But sine I don't know enough, I would suggest we do nothing more or less than we are already doing now. If we react to them, then they will know they have leveraged us. But, please understand, I don't know what lies ahead of us either. They may be waiting us out until we reach terrain more favorable to their needs," she said with a casual glance around herself. "Although I can't imagine a less desirable place for us to be in already. At best, doing nothing simply delays the inevitable. We could attempt to quicken our pace and make a run... but to where. Correct me if I am wrong, but we are not anywhere near snow yet, Ja? It is unlikely we will be able to outrun on open ground. So maybe we stop here as an alternate idea. See if they will come to us."

"If anyone can be more clear as to how firmly they will demand we yield to them, that might help us determine a course of action and how firm we will have to be in our resolve to resist them."

Cesare

He nods.

"We do outnumber them but I don't know their capabilities either and of course they could be just advance scouts."

There is a pause and he adds in a determined fashion..

"I'm not giving up Storm to anyone."

He had wanted a horse for so long, a dream he'd had that had seemed so far out of his reach as to be less than unlikely. But now he had a horse and had grown more than fond of Storm. He is not about to give up on that dream easily. He leans forward and pats Storm's neck.

Bekkah

Probably to nobody's surprise, Bekkah showed no concern for the riders following them. Dazi of course knew that her older sister firmly believed that none would ever hurt her. Even the rain did little to dampen the healer's outlook. Her cloak kept some of the rain off of her, but her blond hair was plastered to her head and the new holy symbol she wore was proudly displayed. She also wore the flower Lyric had given her in her hair. She said little as they traveled, her thoughts were generally far away.

Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter
[Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]

Note: I am going back, for the moment, to the Kahallan Method of posting. It’s the only way I could manage to get this post written.

When Daxia stopped Morning Star and turned him around to face the group, her expression and posture were unreadable. For Kisa, it was something she had gotten used to in the eight years Daxia had spent in her mother’s court.

“Let us pause a moment to consider your words and our future actions.

“Amber and Allaine have a generations long alliance that may go back to the First Age for all I know. Yes, the Nehrimstel are peculiar. Yes, they covet your horses. Yes, they often act in ways that are not in accordance with the compact Halahmbrah and Alhahnah and Terilanquel made with Allaine and Corliss and Kierkegaard.

“So there is merit in the observation that they are here to spook us.

“Let us not be spooked.

“They may well want us to do something.

“Let us not do what they want.

“They may mean us harm, they may be looking for a reason to say we are in the wrong.

“Let us not give them a reason to fight, or to claim your horses as a prize.”

Dayala’s Priestess looked at each of them — from Heir of Allaine, to Imperial Priestess, to Rhonis, minstrel, and Mouse — before nodding once.

“I am going to cross back to the Forest side of the River up ahead at the next ford. The Heir will accompany me... won’t you, Dama? The rest of you, of course, are free do do as you will. I have no command over you. I can only suggest a prudent course of action. However, I would like to make camp and give my companion here a chance to dry out a bit,” she said, patting Morning Star’s neck.

Then she looked directly at her sister, sighed, and rolled her eyes. Finally, she nodded to the Heir.

“Kisa?” she inquired as she turned Morning Star around again and headed for the ford several fullhands of paces to the east.

Lyric, along for the ride

Daxia did indeed offer a better understanding of the Why of things. Lyric understood that they were being followed, watched, stalked. The mystery riders might well have a plan and were in the process of tightening the snare of it... or not. She did not pretend to understand more than she described. She was just the Minstrel. The Observer of Great and Epic Events and those people who rise to the challenge of such things. Lyric believed she travelled among such people.

Lyric spoke even as Daxia started away from them. Her words were just as much for herself and her friends as it was for the Dayalan and the noble she protected.

"I travel where my friends travel, I do not know where we are now nor how we will get to where we hope to go. Asking me for a plan is pointless, so I am grateful that someone has one to offer. What do we do?"

Cesare

"Go with Daxia of course."

For him the solution is easy. He trusts her.

So he urges Storm forward in her path, wondering if this is to be one of those interesting times again.

Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko
[pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]

Keiko was surprised — and felt as though she probably shouldn’t have been — when Lady Bekkah’s sister stopped and said her piece to the rest of the group. Of course, she had been paying more attention to the riders themselves than what Friend Lyric and Cesare had been saying about them, although she grasped the fundamentals of what they’d been saying.

She furrowed her brows at the Dayalan’s actual words, however. Not because she disagreed with the woman, but because...

...be where your opponent is not...

Because, for a warrior, Daxia thought an awful lot like a Rhoni.

Keiko shrugged to herself and smiled at Friend Lyric as she spoke, tucking her cloak around Tomomi again where the wind has snatched it loose. She nodded to Cesare.

“We ride the waves. And it would seem Lady Bekkah’s sister is creating quite a powerful one.” She chuckled. “She reminds me of the Grandmothers,” she said as she urged the horse forward again and steadied Tomomi’s hands on the reins.

“I suppose it shouldn’t be remarkable that one so young has such a strong presence,” she noted as she came abreast of Cesare. “After all, she’s an Allaine.”

Bekkah

She'd go with her sister of course, but she offered another solution.

"I could go and speak with them. Perhaps, they are in need of healing." she said considering it, probably frustrating her sister and possibly others.

[ooc: Couldn't help it. This is how Bekkah thinks :)]

Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter
[Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]

Daxia had a handful of words to say in response to Bekkah’s proclamation — in Ancient.

“Kisa,” she said, pointing toward the ford. “Go.”

Then she wheeled Morning Star around and slogged back through the puddles of rain on the hard-packed earth of the road, doing her best to avoid the worst of the mud. When she came abreast of Bekkah, Morning Star turned them around again, and Daxia reached over and took Bekkah’s reins.

“You know what, my dear sister? I don’t need the tiles in Kisa’s head to know that you giving your horse to the Nehrimstel is a bad idea. It’s a very bad idea. Nothing good can come if it, Bekkah.

“They don’t need a healer, Bekkah. They don’t even want one, I’ll wager. They want your horse. They want Cesare’s horse, and they want Keiko’s horse. They probably want Lyric’s horse, too. Most of all, they want Kisa’s horse.”

Daxia gave Bekkah a tight smile.

“They’re not getting any horses, da? None.

“Could you have healed Lord Random of his obsession with names and cure his clutter? No? I didn’t think so. You’ll have no more luck healing the religious fervor the Nehrimstel priests.

“Now, come along. NO! You are not getting the reins back until we get to the camp. I don’t need you wandering off, and our Khorall doesn’t need you wandering off. Da? Da.”

She looked over her shoulder at Cesare, Lyric, Keiko, and Tomomi.

“Feel free to laugh. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to drag Bekkah back from one of her flights of fancy.” She turned back to her sister and grinned. “It was right after we went to the Temple... well, not too long after, anyway. Kassia was so mean, and I felt like crying all the time, and you got to go sit in the orchard while I had to sit in her study and write out my letters and draw pictures of the stars and... Well, I cried at the end of every day when you weren’t there to tell me stories and sing to me like Mama used to.”

Daxia was silent for a moment, during which Morning Star tossed his mane majestically.

“No, you would not have liked to see me back then, Sir Snooty,” she said with a smile.

“I guess Kassia sent one of the initiates off to fetch you the first couple of times, but then she made me fetch you myself.

“I’d grab your sleeve and try to pull you along. You’d pretend I was really strong like I was going to pull your arm right off. Do you know that it took until you left for me to figure that out? No wonder Kassia thought I was a cobble block, huh? Gilly said I might not be the fastest horse in the stable, but I was certainly the sharpest nail.”

She looked head at Kisa, who was just crossing the river.

“Can I trust you not to go running off?” she asked Bekkah. “Probably not. I got faster, you know. Last year, I probably would have let go and trusted you to follow along like the excellent sister I know you want to be. Now? Oooh, Bekkah, you are so naughty! I felt that spell you and your Lady concocted half the way to Talantal! Fine, we weren’t that far yet, but your spell did reach Talantal.

“Come on, there you go. Get across the river. Don’t make me invoke our parents’ names, Bekkah. Go.... get...”

Lyric, a spectator

Is this what it is like to have a sister?

Lyric watched the dynamic between the two mounted women named Yurisdotter play out before them. It was all that she could do. She cocked her head slightly to one side and regarded the Aterran Priestess sister when she proposed a direct encounter with the very folk that the Dayalan Priestess sister had advised to avoid. Then cocked it the other and slowly looked to the Dayalan as she rode back to her sister, and took up the reins of her sister's horse as she made her point more clearly.

Cesare had already moved forward to follow Daxia and so he was a few paces removed from Lyric, Keiko, and Tomomi but=maybe not out of earshot

It was mesmerizing to the Minstrel and her facial features clearly showed it. A smile would form, head shifting left then right, the smile would fade a little and then reform. The patter of thoughts inside her own head must have been playing out in her expressions.

Absently she spoke softly to Keiko and to Tomomi who was on the other side of the Rhoni, "I so wish that I had a sister."

Bekkah Yurisdotter

Bekkah had turned her horse towards the strangers when the reins were sharply pulled from her hands and her mount turned away from her target. The source of this disruption didn't completely surprise her, but it still made her exclaim.

"Daxia Yurisdotter!" *What are you doing?* she asked or at least had meant to ask as Dazi began to drag her away.

As she spoke, she looked back towards the strangers, wondering if that might be the case. The thought certainly never crossed her mind, it just wasn't how Bekkah's thoughts flowed.

"How rude." she exclaimed, whether she meant her sister or the strangers.

"Fine, I will do it your way this time. Now give me back my reins. I am not a child to be led." she said trying to sound like the elder sister that she was. Instead her radiant smile that came out made it quite clear that she wasn't angry in the slightest. This wasn't the first time that Dazi had thought Bekkah too trusting. She knew from past experience that her baby sister was usually correct.

As Dazi spoke of their past encounters as children, her smile grew and she laughed thinking back to old moment that she hadn't thought about in a long time.

"Of course, you can trust me and I did nothing that you could have felt, that was entirely my Lady."

"Now behave and give me back my mount." she said grabbing back the reins, pulling them from her sister's grasp, assuming Dazi let go of them of course. Then she kicked her horse forward to cross the river. She didn't notice if the others were smiling or not.

Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko
[pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]

Keiko, too, had been watching the sisters. As someone who had not only three younger sisters but an older brother as well, her smile could rightly be described as “fond amusement.”

“I can’t imagine life without my siblings,” she said to Lyric. “What Lady Bekkah’s sister is doing? That’s something I remember my brother doing to me... to all of us, really.” She chuckled. “And it took all of us — Hiraku and Junko and Moriko and me — to keep Yuri from falling into rivers or trying to pet the Hunting Beasts she’d see. But she’s only two years old... well, I suppose she’ll be three by now. So curious.” She smiled brightly at Friend Lyric. “I think you’d like her. She likes berries as much as you like cinnamon.”

She looked at the two laughing women, amazed at how different they were. And yet, they were similar in not particularly obviously ways, similarities that came as much from a shared history as from shared parents. Then she tilted her head to one side, studying them more intently.

“Their mother had a Rhoni name. That alone is not a remarkable thing among the families of the Black Mountains. But seeing that both her daughters are priestesses who are favored by their respective Deities... well, it makes me wonder about this Yuri of Dawnview Vale.” By this point, Keiko was mostly just talking to herself as though working through a particularly interesting puzzle. “There is a certain logic to the names some families use — the families of the Vale like the ancient names, those that were popular in the First Age. And the Allaines? They are ever so fond of flowers. Yuri is the Rhoni’s word for lily. I wonder if their mother was Festival Born. Those in the Vale are said to be pleased when they have Festival Born children. Rhoni names are more common there for those children.”

She paused a moment as she continued watching the sisters. Then she shook her head and chuckled.

“Sisters are a treasure, that is true more often than not.

“And it is something that I’ve seen, Friend Lyric, that friends — over the course of many, many years, or even after very little time at all — can become as close as siblings.”

The Rhoni hugged Tomomi with one arm and reached out to Lyric with her other hand.

“It would please me if we should become such good friends, the three of us, that we think of one another as sisters.

“As Cesare mentioned to Tomomi, sometimes it is the heart that decides these things.”

Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter
[Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]

Dazi laughed at Bekkah’s predictable pique. It had turned into a game they played so many years go — Dazi acting bold and bossy whenever she wasn’t around Kassia and Bekkah pretending to be annoyed. It wasn’t a phase that had lasted especially long, perhaps only the first year or so that they’d been at the Temple. In retrospect, that was probably the seed that blossomed into Daxia’s insistence that Bekkah would grow up to be the most wonderful Lady of Attera the world had ever seen.

“Yes, yes, of course, Bekkah. You didn’t do anything at all, Bekkah. Your Lady just decided all on Her own to suddenly grant Her mercy to the Forest Folks in Her overwhelming compassion. I believe you, Bekkah.” Dazi paused to giggle. “You know I don’t believe you, of course. I’m almost entirely certain that Lady Attera wouldn’t have done what She did if you hadn’t asked Her in your most humble and loving way to take a peek at the people you noticed needed Her help.

“Mind you, I don’t disagree in the least with your decision to help them. No, no. I met Broke before that momentous day, and could see so much strength and courage there! It made me sad that my Lady couldn’t see her. But what could I do? Nothing. And then you did the one thing that allowed all the Deities to see them! Well, that might not be the best thing... you know, to have the attention of certain Deities. But for the most part, I think it was utterly brilliant on your part.”

As they came to the river’s edge, Daxia released Bekkah’s reins. “Of course, you’re not a child, Bekkah! You’re just...” She smiled as she sighed. “You’re the embodiment of your Goddess, and you see the best in everyone and everything. It’s my job to keep you from getting eaten by tigers and such.”

Dazi glanced at Kisa as Bekkah cross the Satin, but stayed on the river’s bank until Bekkah was across.

Then she leaned down and patted Morning Star’s neck. “You’re both lucky — you and my dear sister — that I love you. You would both, individually and together, cause me to tear out all my hair if I didn’t, and is something that might make Kisa sad. It’s never good to have a sad Khorall, at least in my opinion.”

Cesare

He hears the interchange behind him and as he is ahead of everyone except for Kisa who is not looking back, he doesn't have to smother his grin. Life is never quiet with Daxia around.