Open Chronicles Come and Hear the Word

[Kalia Oro Khastan]

As far as Abtatu went, he was unsure. He grew up in the Kalitian desert and knew of the diety from the sand elves. He was not certain where such a god fell in the grand scheme of things as he knew them.
What was that light and those shining gates? What God makes that eternal domain its home? And, more importantly, what kind of beings are accepted there?
The vast realm of torment was easy to discern in its various levels of darkness and flame, cold and desolation, a land of punishment with gates of darkness wide open to allow beings in but never allowing them out, just as eternal as those blinding bright gates.

His own vie for godhood was almost defeated when he first looked into the void. If such a paradise existed and such a God of light truly existed, then he should instead be subjecting himself to such an ultimate being rather than trying to reach for the limited godhood the other gods so enjoyed...
But there was still much he didn't know.
Who is the God that lives there? What is his name? Who are his followers? What are his laws and creeds? How does anyone reach that ultimate paradise?
These questions are why he continued to strive for godhood, to understand, to look into the void again but of his own volition.
But he already had one suspicion... Out of all of the gods of the pantheon or the deities of the heavens, not a one of them have a factual claim for the creation of humanity.
Whatever it was he wanted to know, and if possible model his own teaching after that God.

Kiia expressed her need for sleep and he nodded with a chuckle.
"I don't need sleep... But I dream of a day when I can close my eyes and wake up with a full night past and new strength in my body... Time crawls so insufferably slow for a being incapable of sleep."
He took his hand off of her shoulder and sat back on his heels. His dramatically heroic mannerisms and speech returned.
"Go and sleep in blissful peace, for tonight the Adventurer Kalia Oro Khastan watches over you and your house! Never fear while I am on guard, for my eyes (unfortunately) never sleep!"

 

[Kiia Sidra]

Kiia laughed at Kalia's renewed theatrics. It was a sweet, melodious thing that flittered through the air, and she brought her hand to her open mouth in practiced etiquette. "I have never been more at ease," she joked back, but she did feel quite safe in his company. He was an honest man, if nothing else, and she did not feel any need to be wary of him.

She covered the fire with a heavy iron lid, snuffing the flames within. The plants hand mostly furled their leaves and flowers for the evening, and Kiia simply lay back on the colorful rugs and small pillows, and closed her eyes.

Her dreams were more vivid this night that most. Sunset colors predominated, and she walked the sands. The wind was vicious, with cutting edges and blinding spray. She felt that she was being watched from above, and looking up she saw hundreds of pairs of eyes staring down at her. They filled the sky like stars, but they stared without beauty. A chasm opened up before her, inky black and full of teeth. A narrow path formed from stone before her, and it was all she could do to keep her balance against the rushing wind. The path was thin, jagged, and crumbling, and as she moved she wobbled precariously. She knew she mustn't fall, for if she entered that blackness she would never return.

The morning came shining through a central skylight over the firepit, and the cool night air began to warm with the fresh rays of the sun. Kiia awoke, rubbed the sleep sand from her eyes, and pushed herself up. She saw Kalia, and was only momentarily confused as to who he was before the memories of last night came rushing back from the haze of sleep.

"Good morning," she said. Her voice was still pleasant, but sleep had given it a roughness. "I trust there were no threats to my life in the night?" A small, one-sided smile graced her lips.

 

[Kalia Oro Khastan]

The night passed slowly for Kalia, as usual. He could lay down and pretend to sleep, but that didn't serve any purpose whatsoever. He resigned himself to the boredom of waiting out the hours in stillness, as he'd done ever since he walked disguised into his first village and human contact.
Other ancient undead might have developed the patience of immortals, the patience granted by existing for hundreds of years without rest.
But Kalia was comparatively new in the realm of undeath, and only by necessity was he able to summon up that kind of patience, though the frustration still vexed him every moment.
An undead traveling on the road was beneficial, being able to travel all through the day and night without rest made the journey shorter. But it wasn't the stillness that bugged him most, it was the waiting.

Hours passed without event, he was tempted to pace around the room but didn't want his clinking armor to wake his gracious companion. Listening to the prayers of his people usually provided him some small solace, or at least gave him something to focus on to while away the time.

After a while the sky brightened, the sun would be up soon and when it did usually the living arose as well.
It wasn't long after the first rays of the sun crested the dunes and filtered through the fire vent that he heard Kiia begin to stir.
When she awoke and saw him he hadn't moved from the spot she last saw him in, and still remained in the same position as well. He nodded at her sleepy greeting and replied in a more gentle and less jolting version of his heroic mannerisms.
"Good morning, Lady Sidra. The night passed uneventfully while you slept and the sun has only just begun it's climb into the sky. I would have put on some tea for you this morning, but I didn't want to wake you and I didn't know where you kept your supplies."

 

[Kiia Sidra]

Kiia gave a cat-like stretch at his words before fetching and pulling a silken azure shawl over her shoulders. The fire had gone out in the night, and while the desert was rapidly warming, she often felt the slightest of chills in the morning.

"I appreciate the thought," she said kindly, getting to her feet. She was actually quite surprised that he had managed not to wake her at least once during the night. Abtati slept lightly. Their ears were tuned to the finest disturbances of the desert, and their nomadic lives demanded attention at a moment's notice. Kalia must have remained completely still throughout the night. How fascinating.

"I have not slept quite so well in some time," she said, scooping water from a small basin near the wall and plucking a few leaves from a number of small plants along the wall. "It was nice to feel so secured by your presence." The smile she gave him was coy. Was she teasing the mummified giant? If she was, it was with warm familiarity.

It took some time to restart the fire and boil the tea, and as she worked she hummed an old tune. "I believe my time in this village has come to an end," she said as the water bubbled and fragrant steam wafted forth. "Abtatu's will is like the dunes, ever shifting, always moving. I must be the same." She drank deeply of the concoction, savoring the spices and mint.

"If you will permit me the day to prepare, I should like your company on this journey. I must confess, I am eager to see your tomb." It felt odd to say the words. How fantastic, this world, where she could visit a tomb in the company of its patron. "If you are ready to return, that is." She could not say how it would feel to be in Kalia's situation. It didn't take much thought to recognize that visiting your own burial grounds might evoke some unpleasant emotions.

 

[Kalia Oro Khastan]

Kalia wasn't a creature prone to emotion, though that might be hard to believe given their recent conversation, it struck deeply or not at all.
But it wasn't for emotional reasons that he couldn't go back yet, in this new world he had met people and made friends and promises that he had to keep. Kiia wasn't the only person who wanted to go with him to his tomb city, he had to send word and gather them all together as friends before they set out to Djedi Akhmis.

"I appreciate your willingness to come with me, but I'm afraid I'm not going to visit my tomb just yet. I have debts to pay and my other allies have agreed to come with me as well. It will be a time yet before I return to my home."