Exertion of the Sea

[MayRndz 1128]

Spoiler

 https://youtu.be/BmfLlIumkBE

 

 

𝔼𝕏𝔼ℝ𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ 𝕆𝔽 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕊𝔼𝔸
"The ocean blue is a feat of its own scale... the stature of both warrior and healer. To understand it you must live akin to the tides'' - Raiwen Av’velulaei



How strange it felt as time passed on, the young ‘ame thought as she trudged along the shoreline of the eastern wilds. The miniscule grains of sand fell way beneath her feet, the sun that slowly slid down over the western horizon warming her face. She didn’t quite have a sense of how long it had been just that this journey helped her understand more about herself. It was the way  of the Av'velulaei to take such a step forward in life, and so she did. A certain maple-wood staff rested in the sweaty palms of her hands, blue carvings of the ocean adorning its shaft, a tendril of lilac flowers twisting around. Planting her staff into the loose ground she took shelter beneath the weeping willow that leaned over the waterside. 

It’s no complication understanding that Zaelyn was an ‘ame of curiosity and recklessness. She spent her days growing up as a prankster of Arvellon with a knack for causing trouble, but with growth comes change, change both for the better and worse. The young druid lived with little care for others, her empathy lacking for the longest time - nonetheless many sought to change that... in such you can say that some succeeded.
 

Her gaze scanned the horizon, watching muted waves lap against the rock filled shoreline, the way the white tips curved and crashed back down into pools of blue. The forest green orbs that made up her visage stayed locked in a back and forth scan, ears twitching at each crackle of a twig and chirp of a bird. “Maln, I still don’t understand why” the riptide druid muttered in a quiet tone. She never had a chance to know her father, in fact he abandoned her long before she ever could even remember the slightest bit of his face. The fact of being abandoned was never what irked her though, what did was why. What was so wrong with the red head that they would throw her overboard and into the crushing torrent of waves? She didn’t hate her maln for it, and honestly she couldn't. Without the turn of events that led her to where she was she would have never met Becclain and surely wouldn’t have become a druid. One always struggles to understand something in life, and perhaps she never would understand why he had let go, but it would never leave her mind. It was something to forever be pondered upon.

Leaning over she began to drag her fingers through the sand, lifting small handfuls and watching mindlessly as it cascaded slowly back to the earth. She began her time wandering out into the forest; she came without a thought as to why, and disappeared without a word as to where. Somehow the ventring became purposeful, a chance to ponder upon the wonders of her life, to discover who she was and who she wanted to become. At first she didn't know how long it had been since thinking of herself for a change, having spent a lot of time defending others in this life. The loss of her leg is what spiraled her into a state of this realization.
 

The night it happened she walked along the forested roads, autumn leaves crunching beneath her feet with each and every movement. A friend ventured beside her just as clueless. Two orcs jumped out from the bushes blades drawn… and from that sight two friends fought back to back for their lives. “I’m sorry I couldn't protect you better.” her voice quivered as thoughts swirled within her mind remembering everything up to the point of falling unconscious at Axilya’s feet.
 

When she had woken up she had been bruised and beaten, bagdages adorning a multitude of wounds, one in particular at first being an injury, then simply a nuisance that lacked any feeling. Everything from her knee down on her right leg no longer served any function besides dead weight. With that being said the ‘ame grieved for many weeks before falling into a state of acceptance, later having it replaced with a limb that served much more of a function. The only thing left lingering in the end was a brief thought of wonder… why? Why couldn’t she protect both herself and others? From this stemmed nothing but motivation that kept her going, to become stronger than she already was. 

A softened zephyr blew up against her face, drawing her fourth from her thoughts as she watched the sun finally sink down below the horizon. The sky filled itself with colors of purple, red and orange… it brought peace to the forest that surrounded her as everything seemed to fall silent. The only sound left was the swish of the water near the tips of her toes. Over time as the moon and stars began to dot the sky, her eyelids fell heavy drawing her closer to sleep.Even in dreams the young ‘ame could not find the peace she sought out. Instead nightmares of her past would flash in her mind 

“Vex” a shrill screech rang out in her head through the darkness. The druid had once agreed to venture into danger to assist the other woman, falling into a trap that rendered her useless while she watched the other meet her demise. She knew the danger stepping into it many had told her not to go, but to heed others calls and ignore her determination was not an option.

Not long after she had woken up just outside of the grove, a feeling of sorrow washing over her a direct understanding of what had happened to make her feel such a way. Perhaps she never spoke of it in the present time, but it was still something that haunted her. It haunted her to know she watched another die and could do nothing to stop it.

 

Through the nightmare of her dreams she may have wept, yet it would never draw her into a state of wakefulness and remembrance. Instead she would wake each morning with only a blurry memory of her dreams to suffer them in a loop.







On the 7th month she began her descent home, shoulders slumped forward out of tired energy. Her movements became more of a stammer… it wasn’t a surprise to find that the adventure had drained her but at the same time after so much thought she found herself at peace within her own mind.

Upon all of her journey she never expected to find herself returning to one specific person, but instead of going home towards the mother grove she approached the gates of talons port greeted by the friendly face of someone she had not seen in awhile.