The Xaela tensed slightly at the presence of more masked warriors standing at the gates of the settlement. He was unconfident in the female's assurance that she would "let him know", as they had failed to agree upon any form of signal. Kasrjin made a deliberate shrugging motion with his shoulders so as loosen the sword's posture in its harness, just in case.
"Friend of yours, lass?" One of the masked warriors inquired to the pair. Kasrjin stared at him rather intensely with a piercing emerald gaze, though the complete lack of subtlety was not intentional so much as it was simply the Au Ra's way of inspecting things. Both of the warriors wore the same garb as his assailants; a curious carved mask with black markings and circular eye holes, spears tipped with bone and green leather garments.
The Xaela noted the impracticality of the mask; the circular eye holes would narrow the wearer's eyesight and deny peripheral vision. The spears were mounted on the warriors' backs with the tip pointing above their right shoulder; presumably, they armed themselves by bringing their left arms around their backs and grabbing the haft. Wouldn't they instead hold their spears in front of them or over their shoulder to bring the points to bear with greater speed and ease? The sturdy harness holding Kasrjin's blade was designed such that it would flip away from his back and flex without breaking, allowing the Au Ra to withdraw the weapon quickly with a sweeping diagonal strike despite the intimidating length of the blade. A similar concept for a spear should not have been so difficult, surely. At the least, mounting a spear upon one's back would be something that is reserved exclusively for travelling, and at a glance these idle guardians--which is what Kasrjin presumed was the role of the masked ones--likely only concerned themselves with travelling to their meals and their bed.
"Not quite," the female said in response to the masked warrior's query. She seemed to adjust her posture oddly such that she was standing in front of the Au Ra, though the top of her head barely reached up to Kasrjin's chest. "I found him wandering the forest. I agreed to show him the way to Coerthas, but we were accosted by a band of Ixal. This ah, man here fought them off and we managed to escape, but please do take care.â€
These were words that the Xaela had heard before but was not overly familiar with. Coerthas was a...town? A region? Possibly the name of the mountains Kasrjin was attempting to reach, though it was equally possible that the female was simply fibbing to divert attention. He subconsciously made a small nod of approval. Though he did not know where exactly Coerthas was, doing so would misdirect any assailants in this town from pursuing them...assuming that it was not the name of the location he was attempting to reach.
As for Ixal, Kasrjin had heard the term in passing but had not yet fully worked out what its meaning was. Clearly it was the name of a group of some kind, but the nature of the group was an enigma. They were some kind of enemies of the masked ones, however, that much he could be certain of.
The Xaela sensed the glare coming from beneath one of the warrior's wooden masks and instinctively returned it with one of his own. Perhaps this was one of the odd social practices that he had been warned about. Was it intended for him to stand his ground, as one did when facing a bear? The complexities of the western continent's culture made the Au Ra slightly dizzy merely thinking about it, so he broke his gaze quickly and followed the female into the settlement.
And so it was that Kasrjin obtained his first impression of civilization on the western continent, which had been shrouded in myth and legend for so long.
His eyes swept through his surroundings, devouring as much information as they could. There were a few denizens still out and about as the chill began to take over, and Kasrjin could not help but give them his severe gaze of observation as he did before. These peoples did not carry weapons and were dressed simply. They could not have been artisans or laborers. Fishermen, perhaps? The settlement was built upon a river, so that was possible. One of Tsanai's most frequent cautions was to avoid projecting his knowledge of his own society upon the societies of others, and yet Kasrjin's mind could not help but attempt to categorize everything and everyone. The Xaela made an extra effort to look for the pointed hats that signified peoples who possessed the potential to interpret the Correspondence, but found none with a cursory inspection.
The settlement was surprisingly practical in some ways, and rather absurd in others. It was built upon a place of the river beneath waterfalls when there was serviceable, solid land adjacent to it. There were large rock formations that hung at vantage points above the town. Assailants could easily lob missiles at the denizens from above without fear of reprisal, and it seemed there were no covers or shelters to account for this. A set of planks formed a dock that lead into the river, which was itself unguarded. The current was weak, and at this location the depth was not very much either. It would have been a very simple matter for one to swim under the cover of darkness and bypass the gates and guardians.
The female's stride lead to what appeared to be a housing for animals, and she began insistently dragging a large yellow...thing out of it. Presumably it was a bird, but the wings were too short and the legs were far too long. The feathers and beak were noticeable tells but did not give Kasrjin enough information as to exactly the nature of the creature. The female pulled upon the creature's harness until they had made their wars to what was the center of the settlement.
The Xaela rotated somewhat to gain a full sense of the settlement. From this central forum area--holding an intimidating length of azure rock framed in brass that rotated upon its axis, the purpose of which Kasrjin could not discern from its appearance--there were three entryways. The bridges would make excellent choke points, and a fourth bridge extended into a large, two-story building that was presumably the center of the settlement, given its towering size over the other buildings. The large building lacked fortifications but the placement of the bridges would allow for a strong phalanx formation to defend it.
It seemed the western continent was not completely lacking in the familiar, at the least.
The female turned to face him, the first time she had done so since they had entered, and spoke sternly. “Wait here. There are items I must fetch –clothes and other sundries. I will return shortly.†With that insistence, she sauntered off.
Waiting in such an open location seemed unwise, but it was not as if Kasrjin knew better. He himself moved towards the rotating structure in order to better examine it. Some parts of it reminded him of Kaarad-El, the way that portions of the structure floated without fixtures or supports. It rotated in a curious fashion, and he reached out to touch it when a voice barked at him from behind him.
"Not from around here, I take it?"
Kasrjin rotated his head in a robotic fashion. It was a man whose appearance and clothing matched the other denizens of the settlement in genericism and therefore went undescribed by the Xaela's mind. He did not possess a weapon or a pointed hat and therefore held no bearing in one's memory.
"No," the Au Ra said in response. The man gestured to the sword upon Kasrjin's back.
"That's a mighty fine weapon. Where'd you get it?"
Kasrjin gave the man a puzzled look in the same way that one would give a look to a talking tree who suddenly asked where it was planted. "From a weaponsmith."
The two stared at each other for a time.
"You didn't mind the flowers," the man said, pointing an indignant finger. The Xaela followed where the finger was pointing to give a cursory inspection to the coloured shrubs at the base of the floating blue rock's fixture that seemed to have melted from the impact with his foot. Kasrjin was not sure what response was expected of him, so he merely stared.
This continued for a time. The man made a huff and a sigh before leaving awkwardly.
Kasrjin turned his head to poke the azure rock.
That was odd.
"Friend of yours, lass?" One of the masked warriors inquired to the pair. Kasrjin stared at him rather intensely with a piercing emerald gaze, though the complete lack of subtlety was not intentional so much as it was simply the Au Ra's way of inspecting things. Both of the warriors wore the same garb as his assailants; a curious carved mask with black markings and circular eye holes, spears tipped with bone and green leather garments.
The Xaela noted the impracticality of the mask; the circular eye holes would narrow the wearer's eyesight and deny peripheral vision. The spears were mounted on the warriors' backs with the tip pointing above their right shoulder; presumably, they armed themselves by bringing their left arms around their backs and grabbing the haft. Wouldn't they instead hold their spears in front of them or over their shoulder to bring the points to bear with greater speed and ease? The sturdy harness holding Kasrjin's blade was designed such that it would flip away from his back and flex without breaking, allowing the Au Ra to withdraw the weapon quickly with a sweeping diagonal strike despite the intimidating length of the blade. A similar concept for a spear should not have been so difficult, surely. At the least, mounting a spear upon one's back would be something that is reserved exclusively for travelling, and at a glance these idle guardians--which is what Kasrjin presumed was the role of the masked ones--likely only concerned themselves with travelling to their meals and their bed.
"Not quite," the female said in response to the masked warrior's query. She seemed to adjust her posture oddly such that she was standing in front of the Au Ra, though the top of her head barely reached up to Kasrjin's chest. "I found him wandering the forest. I agreed to show him the way to Coerthas, but we were accosted by a band of Ixal. This ah, man here fought them off and we managed to escape, but please do take care.â€
These were words that the Xaela had heard before but was not overly familiar with. Coerthas was a...town? A region? Possibly the name of the mountains Kasrjin was attempting to reach, though it was equally possible that the female was simply fibbing to divert attention. He subconsciously made a small nod of approval. Though he did not know where exactly Coerthas was, doing so would misdirect any assailants in this town from pursuing them...assuming that it was not the name of the location he was attempting to reach.
As for Ixal, Kasrjin had heard the term in passing but had not yet fully worked out what its meaning was. Clearly it was the name of a group of some kind, but the nature of the group was an enigma. They were some kind of enemies of the masked ones, however, that much he could be certain of.
The Xaela sensed the glare coming from beneath one of the warrior's wooden masks and instinctively returned it with one of his own. Perhaps this was one of the odd social practices that he had been warned about. Was it intended for him to stand his ground, as one did when facing a bear? The complexities of the western continent's culture made the Au Ra slightly dizzy merely thinking about it, so he broke his gaze quickly and followed the female into the settlement.
And so it was that Kasrjin obtained his first impression of civilization on the western continent, which had been shrouded in myth and legend for so long.
His eyes swept through his surroundings, devouring as much information as they could. There were a few denizens still out and about as the chill began to take over, and Kasrjin could not help but give them his severe gaze of observation as he did before. These peoples did not carry weapons and were dressed simply. They could not have been artisans or laborers. Fishermen, perhaps? The settlement was built upon a river, so that was possible. One of Tsanai's most frequent cautions was to avoid projecting his knowledge of his own society upon the societies of others, and yet Kasrjin's mind could not help but attempt to categorize everything and everyone. The Xaela made an extra effort to look for the pointed hats that signified peoples who possessed the potential to interpret the Correspondence, but found none with a cursory inspection.
The settlement was surprisingly practical in some ways, and rather absurd in others. It was built upon a place of the river beneath waterfalls when there was serviceable, solid land adjacent to it. There were large rock formations that hung at vantage points above the town. Assailants could easily lob missiles at the denizens from above without fear of reprisal, and it seemed there were no covers or shelters to account for this. A set of planks formed a dock that lead into the river, which was itself unguarded. The current was weak, and at this location the depth was not very much either. It would have been a very simple matter for one to swim under the cover of darkness and bypass the gates and guardians.
The female's stride lead to what appeared to be a housing for animals, and she began insistently dragging a large yellow...thing out of it. Presumably it was a bird, but the wings were too short and the legs were far too long. The feathers and beak were noticeable tells but did not give Kasrjin enough information as to exactly the nature of the creature. The female pulled upon the creature's harness until they had made their wars to what was the center of the settlement.
The Xaela rotated somewhat to gain a full sense of the settlement. From this central forum area--holding an intimidating length of azure rock framed in brass that rotated upon its axis, the purpose of which Kasrjin could not discern from its appearance--there were three entryways. The bridges would make excellent choke points, and a fourth bridge extended into a large, two-story building that was presumably the center of the settlement, given its towering size over the other buildings. The large building lacked fortifications but the placement of the bridges would allow for a strong phalanx formation to defend it.
It seemed the western continent was not completely lacking in the familiar, at the least.
The female turned to face him, the first time she had done so since they had entered, and spoke sternly. “Wait here. There are items I must fetch –clothes and other sundries. I will return shortly.†With that insistence, she sauntered off.
Waiting in such an open location seemed unwise, but it was not as if Kasrjin knew better. He himself moved towards the rotating structure in order to better examine it. Some parts of it reminded him of Kaarad-El, the way that portions of the structure floated without fixtures or supports. It rotated in a curious fashion, and he reached out to touch it when a voice barked at him from behind him.
"Not from around here, I take it?"
Kasrjin rotated his head in a robotic fashion. It was a man whose appearance and clothing matched the other denizens of the settlement in genericism and therefore went undescribed by the Xaela's mind. He did not possess a weapon or a pointed hat and therefore held no bearing in one's memory.
"No," the Au Ra said in response. The man gestured to the sword upon Kasrjin's back.
"That's a mighty fine weapon. Where'd you get it?"
Kasrjin gave the man a puzzled look in the same way that one would give a look to a talking tree who suddenly asked where it was planted. "From a weaponsmith."
The two stared at each other for a time.
"You didn't mind the flowers," the man said, pointing an indignant finger. The Xaela followed where the finger was pointing to give a cursory inspection to the coloured shrubs at the base of the floating blue rock's fixture that seemed to have melted from the impact with his foot. Kasrjin was not sure what response was expected of him, so he merely stared.
This continued for a time. The man made a huff and a sigh before leaving awkwardly.
Kasrjin turned his head to poke the azure rock.
That was odd.
