The town of Jastery having died down from the recent excitement, a lone drakna sits in a corner of the bar, papers and volumes spread over ever square inch of table before him. Continuing to pore through tomes and scrolls, his mounting frustration becomes evident, finally building to the point that with a low growl and a loud huff he casts a book to the table and brushes the accumulated knowledge back with his arm; resting his forehead against his forearm on the table for a moment as he recomposes himself and mutters under his breath:
"Jennu Drathenix- svaklar mi si..."
Sighing heavily and turning from the mass of papers to observe the room, taking up a tankard taht he'd been nursing while conducting his reasearch the drakna doesn't pay any particular attention as his gaze takes in any others who had taken up temporary post within the tavern.
Seren's eyes open, and he can be seen at the far end of the tavern, sitting at a table. His eyes glow a bright blue and a little ice shard is floating beside of him. He smiles and waves at the drakna in the tavern. "Good day, fellow! How are you today?" he says as he gets up and walks towards the drakna. He stops and looks up at the Uordeq girl in the rafters. "Having fun up there?" He says with a bright smile and he waves at the girl.
"Wraith. My name is Starling Wraith." The Uordeqi woman answered giving a short nod of her head. "As I said, I have not seen you around before, so I assume you are new, sir Drakna?"
Starling smiled at the approaching Elf and gave a nod of greeting to him as well. "Hello to you, too. I believe we've met and not exchanged names in recent times."
Watching the elf cautiously, obviously he had some grasp of the arcane within him.
"Not well- sir; this town is- strange and full of strange- creatures."
Casting my gaze back to Wraith:
"You- may call me Nightclaw- the draconic tongue is- ill suited to those- unfamiliar with it. Yes, I am new- here in this town of... Jas-ter-y? A small fleshling- named Delvin told me it's name; his stature- belied a dwarf, but his lack of beard- makes me wonder. I must admit- you have me at a dis-advantage- you know me as drakna- but I am unfamiliar with your kind-"
Looking back to the elf:
"or yours- though I have heard of pointed- ears from the dwarves- an Elf? Is it?"
Seren smiles and responded to Starling. "My name is Seren." He extends his hand out to formally greet her. "Seren Frostfire. Snow elf, sorcerer. I do enjoy my fair share of magic." He says this with a smile and chuckles a little bit. "Very pleased to meet you. That is a very nice tatoo, by the way." He says as he starts to stare at it for a while, his eyes seeming to shimmer and glow a little brighter.
Seren's eyes turn back to normal, a light blue, as the glowing starts to go away. His attention turns towards the drakna. "Yes, elf is correct...sort of. Snow elf, in fact. And it has been quite warm around Jastrey lately." He smiles and his eyes start to glow again as he looks at the tattoo on Starling's neck.
The doors to the tavern open with but a whisper. A breeze flows through the opening. In steps the Eastern Dwarf, yawning and tired from a hard days work. He walked into the tavern, stepping heavily as dwarfs do. He sat at a table and set up his tea. He glanced about the Tavern searching for his fellow citizens. To his surprise, three new faces. He sat quietly and poured himself a cup of tea.
"Pleasure to meet you, Nightclaw. I am an Uordeq, so you know." She responded politely. A moment later she locked her legs around the rafter and bent down to take Seren's offered hand. She arched an eyebrow at him as she returned to her former position. She made no comment on his remark of the tattoo, but merely replied "Uordeq Assassin, and Huntress of Nox. Well met, Seren."
Tilting my head slightly as I look at Seren curiously, unsure what he was so fixated on, following his gaze to the tattoo he had remarked about earlier, but not dwelling on it as my attention was pulled away more by the light pouring through the doorway than by the sound of the dwarf entering. Perking up a bit as I at least recognized his race, I watch him enter and take a seat before Wraith's voice and movement bring her back to my focus:
"U-or-deq- Nox? What- is Nox?"
Zwey's footsteps thump heavily as he walks into the Shady Corners. His customary white robes are missing, replaced by bright red warpaint in his face, arms and chest. Also gone is his breastplate, replaced by steel pauldrons and plates around his waist. his warhammer rests on his shoulder, and its haft lands with a solid thunk on the floor as he begins to use it as a walking stick. Spotting the new Drakna, he walks over, offering a hand, "Kenak dexazul tem vendranii! A new drakna! Always a pleasure to meet one of the scaled-kin. Zwey Gurkha, we spoke briefly before."
Blinking as Seren dissappeared, reappearing next to the dwarf; my attention grabbed by the large horned figure entering; already a bit taken aback by his stature, as soon as he speaks in the draconic tongue I sit there as if dazed momentarily as I stare up at him, finally blinking several times and shaking my head, extending a claw to him in greeting:
"Nomag dout ixen rinov valignat. Zwey- yes- Zwey- it is good to see you- again; you speak the draconic tongue?"
FuChu looked over the strange elf "You are touched by magic i see." Fu spoke thick with his eastern accent. "I am FuChu, of clan Anvilsmiter. Dwarven Samurai from the East." Fu looked over Seren's outstretched hand and smiled "A western greeting hmm?" The dwarf took the elf's hand and shook it firmly and bowed his head slightly. Fu turned at the heavy thump thumping of Zwey's footsteps "Ahh, Zwey san. How do these days find you?" Fu glanced at the drakna with curiosity he had not seen one for quite sometime.
"A little, had tribe member who came to use speaking very little common, we learned his tongue as he learned ours. And to answer your question pertaining to the Noxian over there, The Nox are a group of slavers, and are not to be trifled with, in my opinion. Blood bonds, tattoos, bad. "
Nox is my guild, that is all." Starling explained, raising a hand in greeting to Zwey, "Good day to you, Zwey." She watched as Seren popped over to the Dwarf that entered. She had seen him only in passing once or twice, but different in appearance or not... A Dwarf was a Dwarf.
"In my youth, he was the our doctor. We recovered him from the desert, mortally wounded. My mother and I carried him back to Pap, who brought him back to health. His name was to complicated to my tongue, we all called him Barkhide, he serves the Hodgepodge to this day, lest something has happened to them." Zwey looks uneasily about, "I really should go home for a visit."
Settleing down a bit as your tribe member is obviously not a recent addition, sitting back in my chair and glancing to my drink. Looking back to Zwey:
"I- am sorry, would you care- to join me and take refreshment- Zwey? It would be nice to- hear more of my native tongue, as- I appear to be alone in Jas-ter-y."
Moving to push the papers and tomes clear if he did take my offer.
Looking to Zwey sharply, tensing up as I rise to my feet at your comment of another drakna:
"Voga drakna? Svanoa drong tepohaic jaci coanwor tenpiswo? Svabol quellar tiric jaci belhal ekess?"
Huffing and closing my eyes as I recompose myself, inhaling deeply and releasing it slowly as I sit back down, taking the drink offered.
"I- I am sorry- who is this Raktivenaesiix- how long have they- been here, and from what- great house are they from?"
Taking a drink, my pupils dilate as I sit, transfixed, the flask still at my lips.
The young elf walks to the bar and orders a drink, she removes her Captains hat and places it on the bar counter. Syra's eyes catch Starling and she gives the Uordeq woman a nod and a warm smile. The then turns to the Drakna and acts almost intrigued. "Another one? The last one was blue and this one so dark and different" The elven girl tilts her head in amusement and stares at the Drakna.
"Now Zwey, tattoos are not that bad. I have one myself, I find them fascinating." Leofrick sits behind the group reading out of a black book with strange red markings upon it, He stands up from his seat and jumps up grabbing a rafter and pulls himself up and sits across from the Noxian. "It's getting harder to do that nowadays, I'm not what I used to be." Leofrick again begins to read out of his book, jotting little notes, giving little glimspes at the group and returning his gaze to his book.
Looking over in the direction of the newcomer elf at the bar:
"Blue you say? That is this Raktivenaesiix's coloration?"
[OOP Note: Also- before next season I'll likely be getting another morphsuit in red to replace the black one - if we want to go ahead and call me red for consistency :P]
"Exercise a little more, it'll help. Practice will build the muscle back up." Starling chuckled at Leo after giving Syra a cheerful wave. "Interesting isn't it? I'd never seen one before Raktilvenaesiix, now there are two of them. I believe he said his name was Nightclaw."
At Nightclaw's question, she nodded, "Yes. He is colored blue, last I saw."
A glittery mist soon overtakes the tavern. A gathering of locals has caught the attention of Tashika. Upon her closer observation of the company containing more than one Dark Eye and a Horned One. The fairy decides to just play a simple tune for the beautiful Drakna and continue on her way, leaving the group feeling charmed.
"You may call me Nightclaw, and I shall answer to it."
The Drakna furrows his brow and sits back in his seat as the elf drew closer to him.
"Where we 'things' come from- varies as much as your kind I'd imagine. I cannot answer for this- Raktivenaesiix's origins. My own are unlikely to aide you- if I do say, nor can I tell you in which direction- nor how far I am from my old home. *Gesturing back to the piles of papers and books on the table* I have been trying to figure out where this- Jas-ter-y lies in relation, but my search has been unfruitful thus far."
The drakna's eyes narrow as he watches the fairy with caution until it departs.
"All I do know is that those wretched things brought me here!"
Starling nods as he explains the answer to Syra's question. Her green gaze breifly lighted on the Fae girl she had seen around town a few times before returning to the Drakna and observing his cautious reaction to the winged, glittery creature. She chuckled and smiled down at him, "Not a fan of the Fae, Nightclaw?"
Huffs.
"No - all I know is that I was running and suddenly there was a flash of light- and i found myself in the woods near Jas-ter-y; myself, a dwarf, a gnome, and four fairies who were- standing in a cirle. Obviously they are the ones who brought me to this place! Likely to fight off those ogres-"
Huffs again,taking a drink:
"I should have just let them eat the winged rats- the cowardly creatures wouldn't even heal their forced defenders, leaving the gnome to die on the trail."
Zwey picks up his hammer holding it about a foot off he ground before letting it fall, the haft making a sound thumping sound. " Watch that temper, Drakna. Not all citizens of Jastrey are brave heroes walking in. For some, it takes time. And do not accuse an entire race of cowardice on the actions of the few. I can guarantee you will be corrected by another of that race, and probably in a not so fun way."
"I think you jump quite easily to conclusions, oh scaled one." Starling remarked, obviously amused. "Did you even stop to think they could have been transported there as well by whatever accident caught you? Not everyone is made for combat. This world, shattered or not, contains all kinds. Zwey is quite right. You can't judge many by few."
She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in hand. "There are far worse things out there than a few scared pixies. Far worse. I think you should just be glad you made it out and away from the ogres in one piece, instead of worrying about the little winged ones."
She chuckled again, "Immortals no. I came here on my own. Was sent here, in fact, by my guild leader. I've heard quite a few different stories as to how people got here. It seems to just be a magnet for adventurers."
The drakna furrows his brow again.
"There is a Jas-ter-y in Nastal according to my- searchings, but also one in Sardia-"
Sighing and taking a drink.
"If this is Nastal- it looks like the mountains ended up partially on this shard, and partially another; because there is no way that- is the entire range; I know them like the back of my claw."
Taking another long drink:
"It matters a great deal to me- those mountains are- or rather were- my home. Not that them being on this shard- would bring them any closer to me..."
The drakna stares into his tankard for awhile, a somber look about him. After a long pause he quietly adds:
"Ekess sia woari itov..."
Downing the remainder of his drink, the drakna rises to his feet and heads toward the bar.
"You... I have not seen around before." A quiet voice with a light desert sounding accent drifted down from the rafters. Above the Drakna and a few feet behind, the form of an Uordeqi woman dressed in black with a red ribbon in her dark hair and a tattoo on her neck rested her back against a support beam and looked down at him. She casually toyed with a small dagger, and a smile was on her features.