Private Tales Breaking Waves

[Illyria Daemyar]

Kasim Areth

They had no real way of communicating beyond gestures. There was no common tongue to relay what each other's intent was nor where it would lead. At the same time, Illyria couldn't help her flood of curiosity. For as long as she could remember, the Eldari Council said that their island had been cut off from the rest of the world. They had ensured that this was so, for their protection and to be certain that their ways would be kept. That the Orcs, Humans, and the Elves that had turn their back on their original path were no longer a concern.

Yet here was a Human.

What Illyria didn't know is that while the combined magic continuously reinforced by the Sky, Earth, and Ocean elves to prevent ships from landing on their shores, it wasn't perfect. Throughout the years across the millennia that they had been isolated, there were a few castaways that had found their island. Their ultimate fate, however, silenced.

In this moment, however, Illyria had no knowledge of such facts. The most pressing thought was to get out of the rain. Even by a glance, it was obvious the Human was suffering from exposure. She couldn't let him die.

It would be about another ten minutes before Kasim and Illyria would reach the length of enormous cliffs. While the visabilty had lessened, it was still possible to spot the series of dark, craggy maws. They were small beachside caves.

"Tar, tolde an i rondo, hilde." her musical voice would instruct the sodden stranger towards the nearest one.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim was now shivering relentlessly.

Every time he thought he might be able to get a grip on himself another violent series of shakes took his body. He could no longer feel his skin, and in an odd way he thought that his blood might somehow had slowed. If there was light one would be able to see his lips had turned blue.

Hypothermia was cold. Even though the island was temperate the rain was not, and the storm and wind only made it that much worse. His fingers trembled, and then finally they reached the cliffs.

She spoke in that same sing song voice, and for a moment he couldn't help but be confused. His mind was slower than usual, his thoughts not quite able to land. Deciphering what she said was impossible, but his gaze fell onto one of the nearby caverns. After a moment he managed to arrive at the correction conclusion.

Shambling forward like a walking corpse Kasim moved towards the cave. Below he could hear the crash of waves, though his mind tried to block them out.

Water poured from the top of the cavern, almost forming a barrier. He glanced back at the elf for a moment, and then just sighed. It would be dry inside...he hoped. Without much hesitation he forced himself through the falling water, stepping into the relatively dry cave.

 

[Illyria Daemyar]

Kasim Areth would be glad to know that while the entryway was wet, a few more meters and the small cavern would be dry. As they stepped into the enclosure, the soft bioluminescent glow from the Eldari's hand providing a very faint illumination.

Watching him warily, Illyria gave the small space a quick survey. No tracks and no guano. There weren't any animals or critters here. It would be relatively safe.

With a nod, the Eldari motioned for the man to sit. Dark brows rushing forward, she gave him a quick overview. His lips were turning blue, his skin pale. He would need warmth lest a fever take him, and she was no healer.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim shivered, his entire body shaking violently as he wandered towards where the woman had pointed.

The cave was not any warmer than it was outside, though without the rain slashing at his skin he couldn't help but feel this was at least a slight improvement. A breath filled his lungs as he desperately tried to warm himself, shivering hands coming up to his hands as he breathed on them.

"I...I..." He shook. "Fire."

The Jester looked up at the glowing woman, still unsure whether or not she was an elf. "I need fire...something warm."

Otherwise he was going to die very soon.

 

[Illyria Daemyar]

Kasim Areth

It wasn't the words that told Illyria that the Human was cold. Just the universal shakes and shivers were enough to tell her that. However, she wasn't a Sun Elf that had domain over fire. Her gifts were elsewhere. It was the same with the elves of the Sky, Earth, Ocean, and the Moon. They each had their skillsets and abilities.

It was up to good old-fashion flint and stone. Kindling too. Motioning for the man to sit, Illyria slung her satchel off her back. It was a small traveler pack, with enough items to use along the trip. In it included what she would need to start a fire.

The problem was getting dry wood.

"Termáre- símen," she told him in that same musical voice. Stay here.

"Ni indóme search an runda."

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim shivered once again, his entire body shaking violently.

There was no controlling it. The natural reaction of his body has kicked in, fighting desperately to keep him alive. His eyes floated upward, his blue lips thinning slightly as the woman spoke in that odd sort of sing-song voice. He tried to speak, but found his throat too dry to do so.

Instead he simply nodded. He had no idea what she was saying of course, but what else was he going to do at this point? His entire body was freezing, his head felt light, and his vision started to blue. He had long ago lost all sensation in his fingers and toes, and he knew he wasn't too far from the coldness.

There was not much else to do.

Much to his dismay this woman...glow and all, was the only hope that he had for survival. His father would have laughed at him.

 

[Illyria Daemyar]

Kasim Areth

Illyria had a doubt that the Human would attempt to leave the cave. Honestly, it was unlikely he could move at all. Leaving would mean he would be exposed to the elements again. Illyria wasn't a healer, but she could tell by the blue tinge that coated his skin that he was as close to death as anyone would be.

Locating dry wood would be a problem with the rain, but perhaps if she searched under the canopy of the jungle tree, she would be able to find enough to get started. Greenwood could be used as a last resort, but it would smoke too much.

Five minutes later, the faint glow would return to the cavern, arms full of damp wood. It was the best she could do, however, at least she had tufts of wool to use as kindling.

Blue eyes went flickering up towards the Human. He was still here. Good. Setting down her wood, she quickly began to place it in order, framing it just so for it to receive airflow. A bar of flint and stone would soon set sparks against the tuft of wool she plucked from her sack. Bending down, Illyria would blow when a few sparks hit the wool, smoke slowly curling up.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim just sat there shivering.

What else was he going to do? His entire body had reached the state between numbness and pain. His skin prickled, like thousands of needles stabbing into him. The sensation was all over, like a spreading plague of some sort.

The Jester tried to think back to what his fathers physicians had said about the Coldness, but all that he could recall was the fact that eventually fingers and toes started to fall off. He shivered, though as he did so the Elf...glow lady, whatever she was came back with a stack of damp wood.

Was she going to make a fire?

Light what a joy that would be.

Eagerly the Jester watched, his heart thumping a little louder, his mind racing to joy at the possibility of actually surviving this.

 

[Illyria Daemyar]

Kasim Areth

Well, the Human was certainly perking up at Illyria's ministrations to tend to a creation of a fire. Compared to him, the Eldari was not saturated from head to toe as her cloak had kept the majority of the rainwater off of her. The first flames to lick at the wool were quick to burn, gently coaxed with Illyria's breath into larger flames. She very carefully brought it down towards the pile of wood she'd gathered, bending forward on all fours to bring her mouth close to the flames.

Due to the lingering dampness of the rainwater, it took a little bit longer to coax the flames to catch on the wood. Illyria had to use more precious kindling, the Sky Elf a little perturbed that she was using so much on the fire. None the less, within a few minutes, a small fire would crackle, providing enough heat and light to warm the hands and feet.

It wouldn't be enough for the Human to completely warm himself, not with those wet clothes. Standing, the tall Eldari's dark brows drew forward. With a motion to his clothing, she ordered, "Take tai linque clothes au-. Tye indóme atsa i quame if tye care- vamme lauca hilde."

That same melodic voice held a notion of no-nonsense air to it. Along with the hand gestures, made it pretty clear what she expected him to do.

Strip.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"I..." Kasim wasn't entirely sure how to respond. That odd sing-song tone had changed somehow, rowing even more stern and slightly...demanding? The motion of her hands was obvious, how she loomed and hovered over him. His eyes shifted slightly.

Did she?

The Jester's lips thinned, his fingers curling as he held them nearer to the heat, his body still shivering beneath the soaked clothes. There was a pause, and then he suddenly remembered all the years that he had spent practicing modesty within the walls of Vel Anir. "What..."

The demand was obvious, the reasoning for it as well, but Kasim hesitated.

It was only the brush of the flames that urged him on. The wet clothing stuck to his skin, pulling the heat from his body and ebbing any warmth from the fire away. A curse slipped past his lips, and slowly he began to strip, a task made difficult by his still frozen fingers.

Illyria Daemyar

 

[Illyria Daemyar]

Kasim Areth

He at least understood what Illyria meant, however, as soon as he began to remove his clothes, the Eldari drew her gaze away. Although, it was hard not to notice the dark drifts of ink that were scattered across his blue tinted skin. There were scars there from the brief glances she could capture.

For modesty's sake, Illyria brought her hand up towards the mithril broach at her right shoulder. Unclipping it would release the moonshadow cloak she wore, slipping it off to drape across her arm. As soon as she did, the muted glow that the cloth had contained would brighten, the bioluminescence emitted from her skin providing a soft, blue tinted glow. It gave her an almost ethereal illumination.

With an outstretch of her hand, Illyria offered the cloak to the Human. At the very least the gesture would be universal in communication; it was his to wear.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kiva! She really does glow. Seeing that more clearly now was an oddity to say the least, and without her cloak her ears became far more obvious.

Elf.

He had guessed it a little while ago, but having it confirmed was something else. She was a glowing elf. What did that mean? Eirika had never mentioned that glowing elves were a thing, nor had he ever read about it in any of the history books. His lips thinned, and then he suddenly snapped back into reality.

"Err." Kasim gently grabbed the robe and wrapped it around himself. "Thank you."

He tried to look as appreciative as possible, inching closer to the fire as he did so.

 

[Illyria Daemyar]

It was hard to keep her gaze away from him. Illyria’s curiosity was peaked. From under her lashes she kept stealing glances. Even with her robe on for warmth, the Eldarai caught sight of of the spread of dark ink and pink, puckered keloid scars.

The Eldari elves primary means of magic drew on the six primal sources. The sky, the stars, the moon, the ocean, the earth and the sun. Within them, they had a special affinity towards specific ones. For Illyria, her affinity was written on her skin; that faint bioluminescence identified her as a child of the Stars.

But this human, he had no clear distinctions save for what was on his skin. What did they mean?

Part of her wanted to get a closer look, but Illyria knew that for now she had to ensure that he wasn’t going to die of exposure.

Father will know what to do, she told herself. Plopping herself down, the Eldarai elf would blatently study Kasim.

Just from where did he come from? How did he get here?

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim continued to shake violently, well aware of the elf staring at him but unable...or unwilling to do anything about it. His entire being was instead focused on the flame in front of him.

The Jester was doing his best so sit as close to the fire as he possibly could, to take as much of its warmth. As the minutes passed he could feel some of the numbness ebb away from his skin, a slow crawl of sensation reaching over his entire body. Everything still felt heavy, and the idea of walking seemed almost entirely impossible, but no longer did the Jester feel as though he were standing directly at deaths door. It was a reprieve.

His breathing became less labored, his chest rising and falling more easily. After a while Kasim was even able to curl his fingers again, grabbing the edges of the gifted robe and pulling them in closer to himself in order to trap some of the warmth that had gathered against his body.

Eventually his mind began to draw away from the fire.

He was able to think again, to look past the looming Abyss that had haunted his thoughts. A frown touched his face as he looked up from the flame for the first time in what felt like an age. His eyes wandered towards the elf, her skin glowing with an unexplainable luster

He watched her, and she did the same to him in turn.

 

[Illyria Daemyar]

Now the Eldari and the Human were caught in a curious case of the most particular stare down. There was no avoiding the rather rapt curiosity that the elfin woman had upon her expression. Illyria did nothing to hide it, Star Elves were not known for their ability in stealth or manipulation. They were already apt to be as expressive as the faint glow on their skin, not as different as the twinkle of stars spread upon a dark night.

Illyria gave a slight cant of her head to the right, peering at the man. She had caught glimpses of runes upon his skin. Was he some sort of mage? Is that how he managed to reach our shores?

There were so many questions running through Illyria's mind. It was at least two days travel before she made it to the Moonshadow Elves forest. Even then, she knew that this revelation would require the Elder Council's review.

There was also the problem that he had no way of understanding her and it appeared vice versa as well. Which was frustrating enough as it is. Illyria had a few talents, but that of the ancient tongues was not one of them. There had been no need to learn it; the Isles have been separated from the rest of Arethil for millennia.

They could try to cover some basics at least. Illyria's curiosity could outweigh her wariness.

"Mana na-your esse?" that singsong voice went floating over to Kasim Areth, inquiring of his name.

The lack of a common tongue between them would be a hindrance, but civilizations have been managing to find common ground one way or another.

How long it would take, however, was a different story.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"What?" Kasim said inquisitively, not really sure what she was asking him.

A frown touched his lips and he searched those odd eyes for a few moments, trying to puzzle out just what she was trying to say. The odd sing-song voice didn't help, and that language...what was that? There really wasn't any sense to it that he could tell. He'd heard Elvish before and this was close but...not quite the same.

Not that it would matter if it was, Kasim didn't know elvish either. At one point he had asked if he could learn, but his father had said he'd be taught that slur over his cold dead corpse. The old man had always been rather...reluctant when it came to anything that had to with elves.

He cursed the man now.

"I'm warming up." He offered, waving the blanket like cloak for a second. "This helps a lot."

Surely that was what she was talking about. "What's your name? Who are you?"

The Jester pointed, though as non threateningly as he could, at the woman. Gesturing with an inquisitive look on his face, hoping she'd understand.

 

[Illyria Daemyar]

Now they were going somewhere, but it was fairly evident that there would still be going to be a few glaring concerns. Communication to be exact. There was only so far gestures would get them.

Illyria could only grasp what she could imagine the human meant by gesturing over to her. Granted, nothing he said, in turn, made her believe that perhaps that included his name.

Her delicate, angular face would twist in a confused expression. What was he saying? Was he asking for my name?

Bringing her hand up, the Eldari pointed to herself, "tye mime esse?'

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Mime? Is that your name?" Kasim said, gesturing to her inquisitively.

There wasn't really much to go on, but...that sounded right for an Elven name. Granted the only elf he had ever talked to at length had been Eirika, though the name she'd given him had apparently been a humanized version of her true name. A frown touched her lips.

He gestured to himself. "I'm Kasim."

A paused, and then he reiterated.

"Kah-seem." The Jester pronounced his name hard, gesturing to himself so that the glowing woman would understand that he was naming himself.

Briefly he wondered what his old linguistics tutor would make of this scene. The man had always stressed the point of certain words and the intent of language you used but this...well he imagined that this wasn't exactly what the man had in mind when giving those lessons.

 

[Illyria Daemyar]

Kasim Areth

There was a new furrow growing over Illyria's brow, a puzzled expression settling in. What? Was he mimicking me? Or was he trying to figure out what I am asking him?

The blonde gave a shake of her head, that thick braid that sank along her back giving a slight shake. Her cloak had kept the majority of the rainwater off of her face, but there were damp spots here and there where her pale blonde hair seemed to clump up along her temples.

"Ni, tye meme esse?" she began only to pause, brows drawing closer together.

"Na- i esse?" a gesture would point over to him anew, glowing finger and all. "Na esse? Kah-sheem?" even her melodic voice seemed to have some trouble with the pronunciation. She wasn't a mimic after all.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Kasim." The Jester repeated once more.

He wondered briefly how long this elf had been out here. He presumed that she had a tribe somewhere along with her, there was no way she'd be out here by herself. There was always a chance of it of course, but...he didn't think it was likely.

Specifically since she spoke in a different language, and apparently didn't know the common tongue.

"I am Kasim." He pointed to his chest again, gesturing and trying to identify himself as best as he could. He really wished that one of his fathers linguists were here. Perhaps they would have been able to talk to this woman a little better, actually understand her. "And you are?"

He gestured towards her, trying not to be rude about it.

This was going to be difficult, not the least because he had absolutely no idea where he was or how he was going to get back to...well civilization.

 

[Illyria Daemyar]

Kasim Areth

Gestures would have to do, Illyria told herself, giving an expressive sigh of mild annoyance. Her shoulders went rolling up near her neck, the Eldari Elf adjusting herself in that half hauched crouch of hers.

From what she could gather, one of those words was likely his name. Likely the one he kept repeating over and over. Kasim. Or Kasheem. The accent was off. Rough. Nothing like the melodic tones that her native tongue sang.

If Kasim was to be his name, best get to what is mine, Illyria thought. Mimicking the man's motions, the pale blonde also made a gesture to her chest.

"Illyria -o Daemyar."

 

[Kasim Areth]

Ah. Now they were cooking with pig fat.

He smiled slightly, though wasn't exactly sure what his next step was. He frowned for a moment, and then gestured towards himself. "Kasim."

Then he pointed to her.

"Illyria." There, not too bad. They at least knew what to call one another now...even though they had absolutely nothing else going towards communicating. A shiver ran down his spine, and he pulled the blanket just a little bit closer to himself. The fire helped, feeling was returning to his fingers, but half of him was still out of it.

"Where am I?" He asked, frowning for a second and then attempting to gesture all around them, pointing outside. "Where?"

He tried to do his best to make her understand.

 

[Illyria Daemyar]

Well, that's one way to start, Illyria told herself, shoulders rising as she took a deep breath. The scent of wet stone would fill her nostrils, coated with the hint of moss. It was the time of the year where the Elves of the Sky would would in tandem with those of the Ocean to bring forth the nourishing rains of the season. It also, however, would prompt the series of torrential storms as well.

The dark blonde slash of brows went furrowing over the bridge of her nose, a quizzing expression forming as the woman made the attempt to decode just what the stranger's words meant. The finger gesturing could only mean by process of elimination that it just might very well be their location.

"Eldar." the musical intone would float over towards Kasim Areth. Whether or not he knew what that is would be up for debate. So far, he didn't seem to be dangerous; but this wasn't an Eldari elf she was talking to.

Crouching further, Illyria did her own bought of finger gesturing, pointing towards his ears. "Tye a hilde?"

 

[Kasim Areth]

Elder?

Was she old? How old was she? No... Maybe she had answered his question after all. He frowned for a moment and tried to think of a place on the map called "Eldar". After a few seconds he decided that no such place actually existed and he wa stranded in a fairy tale.

It was about as reasonable as any other thing.

When she gestured to his ears a frown touched his lips for a moment. "they're...Ears?"

What about them? She had them too.

"You have them." Albeit a bit more pointy, he gestured towards them, shrugging as if he didn't quite understand the question.

 

[Illyria Daemyar]

Kasim Areth

All Illyria had to work with were facial expressions and gestures. Tone could provide a bit more information for her to try and process what Kashem was saying, but when one didn't have a common tongue, it just make it all the more difficult to determine the nuances.

Take in point, the query on his ears.

A mite bit of frustration would line Illyria's forehead, nostrils flaring as she made a mental calculation on just how to elaborate. From his expression, she could gauge that it wasn't a positive answer or a negative. In fact, she was met with more confusion than anything, pointing towards her own.

" ni have tien too. Mal ni am an eldari. Theime misca. Tye difera." indicating that while hers were pointed, his were certainly different from the elf's.

Was it a fluke or a racial difference?

"Tye an moriquende or hilde?" Was he an elf or was he human?