- Messages
- 40
- Character Biography
- Link
The bite of the wind was almost cold as the last rays of the setting sun dipped below the horizon. A cloudless starry night shone overhead, the bright light of the moon bathing the world in long dark shadows of deep blues and blacks. At the pristinely arrayed camp of the small Beddoon tribe of Abtati herdsmen the day was coming to an end as lamps were lit and people began to settle into their tents for a night’s rest. The herds were contained and only the tribesmen having night duty stood watch amongst the makeshift mobile village. The soft whiney of a horse or bray of a camel were all that broke the stillness of the night.
Against this backdrop, a solitary figure, no more than a shadow, slipped from the camp. Zara’s work for the day was done and while the sunrise would bring a new day’s labors, a quick exploratory jaunt into the Forbidden City was an excitement that the girl could not pass up. They had just arrived to the area earlier in the day seeking nourishment and refreshment from the long abandoned wells of the city. That would not happen tonight though. Zara had heard tales of the city, of it’s mysteries, and she was too excited to wait.
And so, with the deftness of a cobra, she flitted across the sands leaving nary a trace of her passing. Her dark blue robes helped her blend against the light of the moonlight and their heaviness, a shield against the heat of the day, now held her body warmth within to fight off the cold bite of the cloudless night’s falling temperatures.
Even though the Beddoon camp was almost on the horizon when viewed from the edge of the city, it took Zara only the better part of 15 minutes to traverse the dune-staggered distance between the two. There, at the edge of the crumbling monolithic citadel of a bygone age, Zara paused, leaning against a single crumbling pillar that once marked the demarkation between city and sand. This section of wall had long fell to the ravages of time, leaving the pillar standing as a skeletal sentinel in the sky; the sands having started to consume it already wearing down it’s once brightly decorated surface to a smooth grayed surface.
Zara’s breathing, heavy and rapid, was all that interrupted the world about her until somewhere in the distance a echoing snarl of some unidentified desert cat broke the silence. It was enough to snap Zara out of her contemplation. The girl’s eyes scanned for the source of the sound, not seeing it anywhere nearby; nor had it come from the direction of the camp. surely the night watchers had heard it as well.
Shaking her head as if to cast out any distraction, Zara looked towards the city itself, or what remained of it. Much of it was buried in the ever shifting sands. A smile played across the girl’s face beneath her heavy veil. This was fun. Her knives were safely tucked away in her robes. Zara doubted she would need them, but as a child of such a fierce workd as the Amol-Kaliy, she knew better than to not be prepared. As such, she carried a bladder of water and a small satchel of food, just in case.
Gingerly stepping within the city’s invisible limits, a gust of cool desert air swirled the elf’s robes about her. It did little to persuade her though. Zara pressed inwards cautiously, her footsteps carrying with them an aura of excitement. What excitement would she find there? Danger? Treasure? Friend? Foe? Only the endless night sky knew.
Against this backdrop, a solitary figure, no more than a shadow, slipped from the camp. Zara’s work for the day was done and while the sunrise would bring a new day’s labors, a quick exploratory jaunt into the Forbidden City was an excitement that the girl could not pass up. They had just arrived to the area earlier in the day seeking nourishment and refreshment from the long abandoned wells of the city. That would not happen tonight though. Zara had heard tales of the city, of it’s mysteries, and she was too excited to wait.
And so, with the deftness of a cobra, she flitted across the sands leaving nary a trace of her passing. Her dark blue robes helped her blend against the light of the moonlight and their heaviness, a shield against the heat of the day, now held her body warmth within to fight off the cold bite of the cloudless night’s falling temperatures.
Even though the Beddoon camp was almost on the horizon when viewed from the edge of the city, it took Zara only the better part of 15 minutes to traverse the dune-staggered distance between the two. There, at the edge of the crumbling monolithic citadel of a bygone age, Zara paused, leaning against a single crumbling pillar that once marked the demarkation between city and sand. This section of wall had long fell to the ravages of time, leaving the pillar standing as a skeletal sentinel in the sky; the sands having started to consume it already wearing down it’s once brightly decorated surface to a smooth grayed surface.
Zara’s breathing, heavy and rapid, was all that interrupted the world about her until somewhere in the distance a echoing snarl of some unidentified desert cat broke the silence. It was enough to snap Zara out of her contemplation. The girl’s eyes scanned for the source of the sound, not seeing it anywhere nearby; nor had it come from the direction of the camp. surely the night watchers had heard it as well.
Shaking her head as if to cast out any distraction, Zara looked towards the city itself, or what remained of it. Much of it was buried in the ever shifting sands. A smile played across the girl’s face beneath her heavy veil. This was fun. Her knives were safely tucked away in her robes. Zara doubted she would need them, but as a child of such a fierce workd as the Amol-Kaliy, she knew better than to not be prepared. As such, she carried a bladder of water and a small satchel of food, just in case.
Gingerly stepping within the city’s invisible limits, a gust of cool desert air swirled the elf’s robes about her. It did little to persuade her though. Zara pressed inwards cautiously, her footsteps carrying with them an aura of excitement. What excitement would she find there? Danger? Treasure? Friend? Foe? Only the endless night sky knew.