Knights of Anathaeum The Nocturnal Sea

[Saskia Kerraelas]

"Good spot!" Saskia grinned, carefully rushing down the hill with the others straggling behind. They each had baskets hanging from the crooks of their arms, cuttings of fresh spring flowers bundled inside. The golden haired dusker gasped as she came to the side of her the knight that spotted the hyacinths first. "Oh, what a lovely colour! Would go well with the violets we got." The wild violets filled so many of their baskets, the idea of flower crowns being made from them being the idea once they all got back to the monastery.

Saskia had suggested some of them go foraging, looking for spring time flowers to help freshen and cheer up the place after the last remnants of winter now melted away.

They had found daffodils, and trilliums, bluebells, and primroses. Violets, and bleeding hearts, wild geraniuams, and now hyacinths. Their baskets boasted a fine selection, a bouquet that would delight many upon their return.

"One of the squires said there were poppies out here too. Should we get these hyacinths and wander some more, see if we can find them?" She turned the question to the small group gathered.

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SPACES FOR THIS THREAD ARE FILLED!
<3

 

[Amelia Hawthorne]

Saskia's enthusiasm was hard to quell and harder still to ignore. So even though Amelia felt a bit overwhelmed by her energy, she couldn't help but return a hesitant smile at the Knight when she beamed at her.

If the Squire was being honest, she had taken a recent interest in the medicinal properties of herbs and certain flowers. And found the prospect of collecting specimens to be too good to pass up. The fact that Amelia was having fun watching her basket fill with beautiful blooms was just a happy by-product.

At Saskia's question, Amelia found herself calling out, "Yes! That would be me! This particular variety of poppies prefers these mountainous areas and cooler weather. You'll recognize them by their bright red petals and black centers!" To the group, she yelled out, "And be sure to pick the whole stem. I promised Syr Josai I would return with some stems so she could help me make an analgesic!"

 

[Byanka Valkas]

Byanka gave Saskia a smile as her fellow knight came to her side. Her own basket was filling quickly with beautiful flowers of varying shades and shapes as she added the violets and hyacinths to her basket.

Byanka nodded to Amelia's and Saskia's exclamations of extending the search for poppies.

Despite the bright, sunny day, the clear sky, the joyous attitudes, and the beautiful flowers, something felt... off. Byanka was likely just being overly cautious and superstitious, but after everything she'd been through recently, she had good reason to.

"I've heard that poppies can cause sleepiness, in high enough doses," she added after Amelia spoke.

 

[Skuld Zajac]

Mother and Daughter joined the others on the hill. The duo dressed in tan and green as they walked along, Friga humming to herself as she carried the heavy basket of flowers the same as the Knights.

Skuld was carrying two baskets however, one the same as the rest and laden with flowers picked by Friga while the other basket had a lid and carried the herbs she sought.

The talk of a particular strain of poppy caught her interest.

"Make sure you don't rub your eyes after you pick it either." Amusement behind the grin as Friga gave her a curious look. "What was the first thing I told you about picking herbs and flowers?"

Skuld rolled her arm to adjust the baskets as they walked along, eying her daughter intently for her answer.

"To. Wash your hands when you are finished?" Friga pursed her lips in thought, twirling around as she answered.

"Correct." A tiny but pleased smile to the answer brought them closer to the group. "Treat all that you pick with respect to what it does, or as if it could hurt you if you don't understand."

 

[Sitra]

And if Amelia was feeling overwhelmed, then Sitra Vené Tanyakoettir was positively drowning in it. She could only idly wonder as to how it was possible that she hadn't yet descended into cold sweats, panic, and just all around hysteria - even when she felt her body threatening her with the possibility. To be confronted with not only all these new faces, but with all their enthusiasm as well, was a new and strange experience that she wasn't quite certain how to navigate.

For someone who had spent the last year in the company of just one other, it was definitely jarring.

She found herself longing for the calm of the road again because of it. For the lull of a ride through some idyllic countryside where there was enough familiarity between her and her companion that no words need be spoken, and so in turn would allow her to watch the changing scenery for hours on end without the trial of being bombarded by all manner of social pleasantries.

Still, despite how a small part of her mind was wailing in despair, she could find small joys in the day. The sun was warm against her skin, a pleasant feeling that she was only too happy to bask in like some exotic lizard; her eyes closing from time to time so she could feel the warmth upon her lids when she canted her head to the sky.

And to be fair to the others, she couldn't necessarily find any good reason to be insulted by her present company.

They all seemed nice enough, it was true. The child following in the footsteps of one of the knights was downright adorable for example, and Sitra could not help but smile at the intensity of the girl's answers to their mother, as if for all the world she were in some classroom. Byanka was reserved, but not in any way she could take offense to.

As for the other two - the blonde-haired dusker and the scholarly squire she could faintly recall by the name of Amelia?

Well she could admit, privately, to enjoying the atmosphere that they provided. Their voices and excited narration of what they were looking for kept her grounded; kept her from being lost in thought and instead focused on the task at hand, and helped her body move practically of its own accord. Listening to the conversation also helped her studiously ignore the growing distress of her expensive breeches, allowing her to forget for a little while of the grass stains and all other manner of disasters being wrought upon the wool of her pants.

All of this to say that she followed the flower-laden group, nodding in reply whenever Amelia or Saskia clarified something they thought to be important. Otherwise she simply enjoyed the brief moments of nature away from the monastery; the chirruping of an endless menagerie of insects in the overgrowth, the soft sounds of a nearby brook, the very big world that she'd nearly forgotten from within the pale walls of her new home.

Until that was, Byanka offered a slice of wisdom from where they walked alongside one another.

"I've heard that poppies can cause sleepiness, in high enough doses,"

"They can be used as a mild sedative, it's true. My mother uses the seeds of poppies for a tea,"

Sitra was not entirely certain as to why she suddenly decided to part her lips and speak, not when it was something she was initially more than happy to keep relegated to her private thoughts.

With that in mind, she couldn't help but to frown at her own sudden loquaciousness. At least they could say that she was frowning in contemplation if someone noticed the face she made. Better that than the consternation and confusion that she actually felt.

"Honestly, there's so many traditional herbal uses for it in Saknne. We find reasons to boil everything, from leaf to stem."

Feeling absurdly embarrassed by her input for whatever reason, Sitra couldn't help but attempt to escape any looks that might have followed by turning again to the overhead sun with languid, lidded eyes; trying to appear as if her thoughts were a hundred miles away. And in some ways they were, to a home that she spoke of and missed dearly.

And yet another part of her was here, now. Taking part in a conversation about bloody poppies.

 

[Saskia Kerraelas]

Saskia grinned to herself, paying careful attention to gently running the blade to cut herself some hyacinths, and laying them precisely in her basket beside her. "I think these hyacinths would cheer up the Knoll, don't you think?" She asked the question for everyone to answer, simply too happy to get away from the monastery for a little while. After the challenges she had faced this past winter, the resurgence of life and colour of spring gave the Shadow Knight some hope for healing.

Picking flowers was just the very mundane thing she needed, glad to have so many join her go for a leisured walk in the wilds.

"Well, after the poppies, we can start picking medicinal herbs? Do we have a list of things to look for?" She now asked Amelia. Saskia wouldn't have the foggiest as to what a lot of them would look like, but if it meant enjoying the catches of sun shining past the treetops just a little longer, she would deem it a worthy task to carry out.

Amelia Hawthorne Byanka Valkas Skuld Zajac Sitra

 

[Amelia Hawthorne]

Behind Amelia, there was wisdom that mingled between mother and daughter and the squire couldn't stop the small indulgent smile she kept to herself at their words. Syr Zajac reminded her of her own mother—informative, capable, and most of all patient. Patient with the endless stream of questions from Amelia's youth that plagued her at every new discovery as she tried to absorb every morsel of the world like a starved sponge. The when, the why, the what, who, and where.

Eventually, they had come to a place where Amelia had grown to asking questions beyond even her mother's vast ken. And instead, she taught her daughter the power of research and how to garner her own answers with tenacity and discernment. Always questioning the validity of her information and how she gleaned it.

The power of insatiable curiosity was Amelia's deepest driving force.

Which is why when Sita brought up Saknne, the squire turned to her and encouraged, "You said that was, forgive me if I say it wrong, my tongues was made for magic runes and not desert languages, but 'SOK-neh'?" She tried to copy the way Sitra put the sound in her nose and glottal the pronunciation, but it wasn't quite there. Sheepishly, she grinned, "To be honest, I haven't read too much about it. Besides the Empire and Seluca, I don't know much about the desert cultures." Her eyes shifted to the hyacinths she deposited in to her basket. Trimmed up higher on the stem than some of the others since it would be easier to press into her field journal for later. Which Amelia was all too happy to whip out from the resident leather strap she wore across her body, where her journal hung within easy reach at her hip for note taking and magical use.

Hooking her basket into the inside nook of her arm, Amelia used both hands to flip through her journal until she got to the list that she had jotted down in short hand after checking in with Syr Josai and her medicinal needs for the Monastery. Nodding respectfully at Syr Kerraelas, Amelia handed over her precious journal, showing the knight her list. "Yes ma'am, I have it right here. Looks like we have most of the things on the list, but the poppies were one that Madam Josai explicitly requested."

 

[Byanka Valkas]

Having collected all the loveliest flowers in the field, the women shifted their focus to medicinal plants, specifically for Syr Josai.

Byanka was quiet as she followed beside Saskia, Amelia, Sitra, Skuld, and her daughter Friga. The others talked enough for her, and she was content to just take in the fresh air and the lovely company. She wished vaguely that Gruki was here, she knew the she-orc was rather talented at making flower crowns and necklaces.

She cleared her throat and her mind, forcing her attention back to the event at hand. Syr Hawthorne certainly seemed more well-versed in plants than Byanka herself was.

Skuld Zajac Sitra Amelia Hawthorne Saskia Kerraelas

 

[Skuld Zajac]

Friga hung on every word within earshot of her little form. Gaze darting between then ladies as they spoke with the occasional glance to her mother to see if she was either surprised, also just as interested, or to confirm what had been said as if she were some great encyclopedia. The slight grin never left Skuld as she side eyed her daughter. Giving the appropriate nod or sense of attention and elder might.

Her attention however came to a point of warning as they spoke of Poppy Tea. A familiar thing in her house as her father had used it on days when his joints ached beyond what simply lazing in a chair might alleviate. Her mother placed herself in charge of administering his tea however after she had found him slouched over and one foot in his grave.

"Drinking poppy tea can alleviate aches and pains as well as easing the mind. Too often can lead to problems however, as a word of caution. My father, and by proximity myself, learned this the hard way." Her voice called for those ahead of her as if simply reminding them of a later chore. Friga whipped her head round to stare at her mother and spoke in a worried but hushed tone behind her hand.

Skuld's brow rising as her face showed a rising humor as she shook her head before turning to speak in a lower tone.

"Love, this was some time ago. Papa is well. He saw us off, remember?" A laugh lacing her words of comfort as Friga let her worry brighten her eyes even as she nodded. A soft sigh from Skuld before she turned her attention back in time to hear a pronunciation of a foreign word. Interest piqued momentarily as the conversation drifted to a topic that left her somewhat sore.

If she remembered correctly, the giant that had assaulted the Templar rally point had been or still was the king of the desert region in some way. God-king or some such.

The humor about her fading quickly and replaced with a sharp frown at the memory. Having to save her hide by leaping from the watchtower to keep from learning what it felt like to catch a concentrated fire spell in full plate. That had been a less than pleasant experience after the fact. Entirely unsure if she would have to peeled out of her armor or be stuck inside it until the made for a proper town with a team of smiths to cut her out.

Lost in her own thoughts, Friga ended up pulling on her mother's hand to keep them both at pace with the rest of the group.

 

[Sitra]

Sitra watched and listened as the conversation flowed about her like a river; sometimes it was as swift as any rapids, while other times it trickled with the leisure of a brook that wandered and weaved aimlessly between mossy stones. No matter which it was, she was happily content to let the conversation pass over her as if she was no more than another stone beneath the current, unchanging against the ebb and flow of a discussion she admittedly had little to add to beyond making noises of agreement to whatever was suggested.

"I would like to see hyacinths blooming on the knoll, they'd look beautiful." Sitra had always enjoyed spring flowers, and the hyacinths had instantly reminded her of the lilacs her mother had asked her to help dig up - or otherwise take cuttings of - so that they could be planted in pots and carefully tended to until they grew large enough to be re-planted elsewhere, to grow larger still. "They'll add a little more colour, in any case... what else would look nice around them, do you think?"

The question was as much for herself as it was for Saskia, and perhaps even Friga given the small smile she returned to the child after posing it to the rest of them. She doubted they'd have enough to pave vast swaths of land with uniform hyacinths, and she wasn't quite sure what they went with when it came to a more assorted arrangement of spring blooms - daffodils, maybe?

She imagined the contrast of colours in her mind's eye, and had liked what she saw. All of them sitting amongst the blankets of wild grass; the colours shining richly against the backdrop. But then again, maybe not.

She would've actually continued with the inexplicable way the topic had grabbed her attention, yet she was held from saying anything further by Amelia's query; the other squire's contribution permitting a vague smile to grace Sitra's lips at the hearing of it. Both at the surprising accuracy of the other woman's inflection when it came to her home city, and the surprising inaccuracy of where it lay.

Nonetheless, her gaze was warm; her eyes met Amelia's own, and her lazy smile was largely unchanged.

There was perhaps a bit of amusement to be found there, but offense? No.

"You were very close! More than most people, at first try. The pronunciation was actually quite good, and I know those who usually speak in the trade tongue have some difficulty with our language."

Sitra took a moment to recollect her thoughts as her lips puckered impishly at the innocent mistake, she honestly could not fault Amelia for being partially right. And it did not help that Sitra was as dark as any native-born Kaliti.

"As for it being a desert culture?"

She took one final look at the other squire before again turning her face skyward; finding her next words carried by the idle rhythm of the walk as she thought how to best put it.

"I know we took a great deal of inspiration from cultural expats, like my mother, but it is actually an Allirian trade city found upon a river tributary of the Spine, close to the Ra Gnanmh Sea. Still, I'm aware there are also many Kaliti naming conventions, not to mention Cortosi." There were others as well, Ankatollian for example - and several Steppe cultures such as the Kurwiqe - that had joined the initial convergence of Kaliti and Allirian cultures. But going into the history of the city would have been an endeavor worth more pages than Amelia's journal held; she did not welcome the idea. "So it's very much a unique and somewhat confusing culture. Perhaps I could tell you more of it some day, if you'd like to learn?"

While her face was once pinched in a moment of wandering, idle concentration, it quickly reverted to her own sheepish example of a smile. Her eyes wandered from Amelia, to her basket, then finally to Skuld's words of warning which she could do no more than nod in grim affirmation towards. The former templar was correct, and perhaps she should've clarified - but Sitra was exhausted. Physically, emotionally, and now socially. And so she allowed another to convey the dangers of overindulging in poppy tea.

The social butterfly exhibition was once again closed, someone died. Or it felt as if someone did.

Still, despite both the exhaustion and the uncertainty of how her careless words might be taken, she still made eye contact with Amelia after Skuld had finished scolding them. Sitra didn't want to make it appear as if she was offended, or had the intention of insulting the squire for the knowledge she lacked. Indeed, she seemed to have known more than most. Most certainly more than Sitra.

She was never an effortless academic like others, every piece of knowledge was a trial.

 

[Saskia Kerraelas]

"Well then, we shall see to it that Syr Josai gets her poppies!" Saskia grinned at Amelia, turning back to rejoin the group with her usual winning smile. "We right to go then? Poppies and then back to the Monastery?" Already the day had been as fulfilling as she had thought it would end up being, and it was a great opportunity for her to be around a different group of Squire and Sworn. The Shadow Knight plucked a single flower from the hyacinth bunch in her basket, slotting it behind Friga's ear.

"Hm... I think you are in desperate need for a poppy instead. Two, for each side." The dusker would insist them all to wear flowers, but she was not sure if the current selections were the right fit for each of them. Saskia herself liked the sunflower, it's petals her favourite colour. "Lead the way, Amelia!" Grin stretched at her lips, a face that was quick to do so.

They did not rush to move back towards the poppies, not when they all wished to enjoy the sunshine as much as they could before calling it a day. Saskia played with her shadows, the bright sun offsetting dark enough shadows for her to each of their shaded silhouettes dance or skip in a circle. It was truly a wonderful day.

Nothing could spoil the tranquility.

"Have you been to Alliria then, Sitra? What do you make of it?"

Amelia Hawthorne Byanka Valkas Skuld Zajac Sitra

 

[Amelia Hawthorne]

"I know we took a great deal of inspiration from cultural expats, like my mother, but it is actually an Allirian trade city found upon a river tributary of the Spine, close to the Ra Gnanmh Sea. Still, I'm aware there are also many Kaliti naming conventions, not to mention Cortosi." There were others as well, Ankatollian for example - and several Steppe cultures such as the Kurwiqe - that had joined the initial convergence of Kaliti and Allirian cultures. But going into the history of the city would have been an endeavor worth more pages than Amelia's journal held; she did not welcome the idea. "So it's very much a unique and somewhat confusing culture. Perhaps I could tell you more of it some day, if you'd like to learn?"

An eagerness lit Amelia's face, and she inhaled sharply through her nose in an effort to keep her mouth politely closed and her deluge of questions safely tucked behind her teeth. The last thing she wanted to do was overwhelm the woman. Especially since the squire found kinship in the clever dark gleam of Sitra's gaze. "I would be delighted! There's a cafe that's in Astenvale that makes an especially quality cup of tea. I sometimes go there on rainy days to study."

"Well then, we shall see to it that Syr Josai gets her poppies!" Saskia grinned at Amelia, turning back to rejoin the group with her usual winning smile. "We right to go then? Poppies and then back to the Monastery?" Already the day had been as fulfilling as she had thought it would end up being, and it was a great opportunity for her to be around a different group of Squire and Sworn. The Shadow Knight plucked a single flower from the hyacinth bunch in her basket, slotting it behind Friga's ear.

"Hm... I think you are in desperate need for a poppy instead. Two, for each side." The dusker would insist them all to wear flowers, but she was not sure if the current selections were the right fit for each of them. Saskia herself liked the sunflower, it's petals her favourite colour. "Lead the way, Amelia!" Grin stretched at her lips, a face that was quick to do so.

Looking to Saskia's bright cadence, Amelia tucked a white trillium behind her ear with a demure air at the Knight's insistence. Amelia felt a little silly, but the warmth that radiated from the Knight was indeed like sunshine amongst them and Amelia found she didn't mind so much after all.

Touching along her belt until her fingers found the shape of the silver herbal knife she had brought with her, Amelia adjusted her grip on her own basket and began making her way to the edge of the hilly meadow, where the long shadows of the alpine trees towered in scattered groups. "Right then! I believe our best bet will be to check in the woods first. Keep an eye out for Cosmos! It's another wildflower that grows closely to poppies. So, if you find one, you'll likely find the other."

The wind danced in the long-stemmed grasses around them, their sound carrying like a den of overlapping whispers. The words just beyond their knowing.

Sitra Saskia Kerraelas Byanka Valkas Skuld Zajac

 

[Byanka Valkas]

There was a bounce in Byanka's step, attributed to the beautiful scenery and the lovely women she was spending her afternoon with. She had plenty of pretty flowers in her basket and in her hair (she wasn't exactly sure how those had gotten there but she liked them anyway).

She nodded after Saskia spoke, the girl's radiant joy infectious. Byanka had a certain fondness for poppies- their properties were quite interesting and their petals beautiful. She wanted to add one to her hair.

Making sure the flowers in her basket were secure, she followed after Amelia and Saskia towards the woods. She could hear the birds and the rustle of other animals in the forest, and the clear sounds of nature were like a soothing balm to any headache that threatened to ruin her outing today.

She kept her eyes out for the red petals of the poppy as she walked through the woods with the other women.

Sitra Skuld Zajac Amelia Hawthorne Saskia Kerraelas

 

[Sitra]

Under the impression that it was just as much of an order as it was a friendly suggestion by the smiling Saskia, Sitra had found an inconspicuous looking cosmos nearby; its lavender and white petals blending in rather nicely with the myriad of spring flowers that dotted the field around the travelling women.

Then came the question from the golden-haired dusker.

For a moment Sitra had simply fiddled with the stem of her flower, brushing back her hair so that she could tuck it neatly behind her ear, only to give up after a few heartbeats of useless fussing. She instead dropped her hand close to her chin, letting the petals graze her skin as she turned the question over in her head, looking contemplative.

"I have been to Alliria, yes. I think in some ways it reminded me of Saknne; they both thrive on maritime trade, and they're both wonderfully diverse because of it," Sitra had tried to remember what it was like, but how many years had it been since she'd been to what they haughtily proclaimed as the grandest city in the world? It was almost certainly before she turned seventeen. Before everything else that happened. "I will admit, I've only walked through the inner city, and only seen a fraction of it with my own eyes, but that was enough to leave me speechless."

The ports especially, where the confluence of so many peoples and so many styles and so many foreign tongues was more than enough to occupy her attention for days. The fact that someone could spend the entirety of their stay scouring the docks and harbors and still find a new experience, or a shop tent that sold things one could find nowhere else, was an utterly one intoxicating to her.

"... And, I wont lie, but I spent so many of my days at the marketplaces down by the harbor. When I grew bored with that, I really had little time left to explore the rest of the town." The words spilled from her lips like a water from a particularly open-meshed sieve, before she reined herself in, tilting her head to the side wistfully rather than allowing herself to blabber any further.

Obviously she wasn't paying much attention, her mind still trapped in Alliria, that she hadn't noticed what she was still holding in her hand when Amelia made the comment about cosmos and poppies; she looked to her prize again with renewed interest, then to Amelia with a quirk of her lips. She held the flower aloft, a little further away from where it was originally, as she coughed politely.

"I believe I found one," was what she finally decided to say, her gaze flicking to where she saw it originally.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't be so lucky as all that - all she saw was the occasional cosmos, and none of its accompanying poppies. So instead she shrugged as if to apologize for the mercurial fortune of mother nature, as if that was in anyway her fault. Then, as she made a final and successful attempt at tucking it behind her ear, she nodded politely at what Amelia had said earlier.

"And I would love that. The cafe, that is."

Her smile was a little wan, reaching only partway across her lips, but it seemed heartfelt enough.