- Messages
- 275
- Character Biography
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Zeri missed her shot. Again!
And the small herd of Delta Zebra scattered and ran from the watering hole. Retreating away from the grassy clearing and running back among the trees.
Zeri sighed. Stood from her hiding spot among the bushes and the trees at the edge of the clearing. And started toward the watering hole to retrieve her arrow.
It was a joyous time back home, in Bhathairk. The Coming of Spring, known throughout the city as Luuruk-Hur, was upon them. It heralded the end of winter and the soon-to-be arrival of the summer's warmth and vibrance. The orcs of the city did not themselves rely upon agriculture, as did the other races of Arethil, but the livestock they raised did so rely upon it for feed. What was not traded to these other races along the Bystra or Wda rivers was fed to their pigs, their chickens, their cattle, and all the rest, fattening them for the slaughter or growing them into hardy beasts of burden. So while the orcs were indeed carnivorous, they, too, had ample reason to welcome the Coming of Spring and the harvests that would follow.
Bhathairk would be awash in blues and purples. Gardens bloomed with bluebells, grape hyacinths, and crested iris flowers, and many would comb the grasslands and forests in Bhathairk's vicinity to both pick these flowers and plant the seeds of new ones. These flowers would adorn the doors of most homes within the city, and women would fashion for themselves leis of these prized symbols of spring. By tradition, the women of Bhathairk--tribesorcs as well as tribeshumans and the rest who were part of the tribe, and even those who were travelers or otherwise were not, should they participate--are only allowed to make one lei per year. To give their lei to someone was to bestow a great honor: it may show the love of a parent or sibling, a display of romantic interest or a bold proposition of marriage, a warm welcome to an esteemed traveler, acknowledgement and deep gratitude for a service rendered or favor given, and generally things of such genial character.
And before Luuruk-Hur, a Great Hunt. The culmination of the festivities was the day of the equinox, as told by the Circle of Shamans. On this day, a city-wide feast. In the weeks between the blooming of the bluebells and the grape hyacinths and the crested irises and the approach of the equinox, the excitement stirred and built within the air. But it was the day of the feast that was the true holiday, Luuruk-Hur, the day in which spring had truly begun.
It was this Hunt that Zeri had embarked upon.
Many tribesorcs from Bhathairk went out far and wide for the Hunt of Luuruk-Hur. South into the Reach, west into the Taagi Baara, east into the river forests and further into the Spine, and--as Zeri did--north into the rugged forests and grasslands roughly between the Ra Gnamb Sea and Gulf of Ryt. Zeri did not go this far, but settled in the Delta Camp, close to where the combined river of the Bystrza fed into the Ra Gnamb. She was in the company of some fifty tribeorcs in the camp, not all of whom were hunting but merely had come to tend to and support the camp.
The Delta Zebra, found on both this side of the Bystrza and the Steppe side, were a prized kill to make. Their meat was a delicacy, and worth much in bartering in the Great Bazaar. Zeri had gone alone, promised her Ma and her Pa that she would bring back a Delta Zebra for the Rekani family and for Bhathairk, and she had embarked on the Hunt with their blessings.
Only, in the worst spree of awful luck she had ever suffered, all her attempts had been fouled. First, by a strike of lightning, then, by the sudden appearance of a crocodilian lurker (a monster which plagued the rivers flowing from the Spine), and lastly by several instances of bad wind or just purely misjudged aim and distance. She never had this kind of trouble before! She wasn't the greatest shot with her bow, but she wasn't bad. True, she thought herself better with her spear, thrown like a javelin, but it was almost impossible to sneak up on the Delta Zebra. This small splinter group of them had broken off from the main herd that the others from the Delta Camp pursued, and Zeri knew she could get a kill of this rare and prized beast on her own, she knew it!
She just needed...oh, she didn't know. Luck? The blessing of the Spirits? Something. Maybe it was her nerves. She had never felt such anticipatory pressure like this on a hunt before. Maybe...well, maybe that was it.
Zeri crouched down and picked up her arrow from its place in the grass by the watering hole. Stood up straight. Slid it back into her quiver. About her neck she wore her Luuruk-Hur lei, the necklace of blue and purple spring flowers. If only it gave her the luck she needed.
She was almost a day out from the Delta Camp. And the smaller herd was roaming farther and farther away. Bringing her kill back to Camp could be a...problem. Big problem.
And Zeri, with a hand shading her eyes, surveyed the sun. Reckoned the amount of time left in the day.
And the small herd of Delta Zebra scattered and ran from the watering hole. Retreating away from the grassy clearing and running back among the trees.
Zeri sighed. Stood from her hiding spot among the bushes and the trees at the edge of the clearing. And started toward the watering hole to retrieve her arrow.
* * * * *
It was a joyous time back home, in Bhathairk. The Coming of Spring, known throughout the city as Luuruk-Hur, was upon them. It heralded the end of winter and the soon-to-be arrival of the summer's warmth and vibrance. The orcs of the city did not themselves rely upon agriculture, as did the other races of Arethil, but the livestock they raised did so rely upon it for feed. What was not traded to these other races along the Bystra or Wda rivers was fed to their pigs, their chickens, their cattle, and all the rest, fattening them for the slaughter or growing them into hardy beasts of burden. So while the orcs were indeed carnivorous, they, too, had ample reason to welcome the Coming of Spring and the harvests that would follow.
Bhathairk would be awash in blues and purples. Gardens bloomed with bluebells, grape hyacinths, and crested iris flowers, and many would comb the grasslands and forests in Bhathairk's vicinity to both pick these flowers and plant the seeds of new ones. These flowers would adorn the doors of most homes within the city, and women would fashion for themselves leis of these prized symbols of spring. By tradition, the women of Bhathairk--tribesorcs as well as tribeshumans and the rest who were part of the tribe, and even those who were travelers or otherwise were not, should they participate--are only allowed to make one lei per year. To give their lei to someone was to bestow a great honor: it may show the love of a parent or sibling, a display of romantic interest or a bold proposition of marriage, a warm welcome to an esteemed traveler, acknowledgement and deep gratitude for a service rendered or favor given, and generally things of such genial character.
And before Luuruk-Hur, a Great Hunt. The culmination of the festivities was the day of the equinox, as told by the Circle of Shamans. On this day, a city-wide feast. In the weeks between the blooming of the bluebells and the grape hyacinths and the crested irises and the approach of the equinox, the excitement stirred and built within the air. But it was the day of the feast that was the true holiday, Luuruk-Hur, the day in which spring had truly begun.
It was this Hunt that Zeri had embarked upon.
* * * * *
Many tribesorcs from Bhathairk went out far and wide for the Hunt of Luuruk-Hur. South into the Reach, west into the Taagi Baara, east into the river forests and further into the Spine, and--as Zeri did--north into the rugged forests and grasslands roughly between the Ra Gnamb Sea and Gulf of Ryt. Zeri did not go this far, but settled in the Delta Camp, close to where the combined river of the Bystrza fed into the Ra Gnamb. She was in the company of some fifty tribeorcs in the camp, not all of whom were hunting but merely had come to tend to and support the camp.
The Delta Zebra, found on both this side of the Bystrza and the Steppe side, were a prized kill to make. Their meat was a delicacy, and worth much in bartering in the Great Bazaar. Zeri had gone alone, promised her Ma and her Pa that she would bring back a Delta Zebra for the Rekani family and for Bhathairk, and she had embarked on the Hunt with their blessings.
Only, in the worst spree of awful luck she had ever suffered, all her attempts had been fouled. First, by a strike of lightning, then, by the sudden appearance of a crocodilian lurker (a monster which plagued the rivers flowing from the Spine), and lastly by several instances of bad wind or just purely misjudged aim and distance. She never had this kind of trouble before! She wasn't the greatest shot with her bow, but she wasn't bad. True, she thought herself better with her spear, thrown like a javelin, but it was almost impossible to sneak up on the Delta Zebra. This small splinter group of them had broken off from the main herd that the others from the Delta Camp pursued, and Zeri knew she could get a kill of this rare and prized beast on her own, she knew it!
She just needed...oh, she didn't know. Luck? The blessing of the Spirits? Something. Maybe it was her nerves. She had never felt such anticipatory pressure like this on a hunt before. Maybe...well, maybe that was it.
* * * * *
Zeri crouched down and picked up her arrow from its place in the grass by the watering hole. Stood up straight. Slid it back into her quiver. About her neck she wore her Luuruk-Hur lei, the necklace of blue and purple spring flowers. If only it gave her the luck she needed.
She was almost a day out from the Delta Camp. And the smaller herd was roaming farther and farther away. Bringing her kill back to Camp could be a...problem. Big problem.
And Zeri, with a hand shading her eyes, surveyed the sun. Reckoned the amount of time left in the day.