Log Date: 11/2/95 Log Intro: Finally back at the Palace of the High Ones, Rayek has found his return rather traumatic. His aged mentor Ekuar has tried to heal the old rift between them that caused their years-long separation by promising to never abandon him again -- but Ekuar has also hesitantly confessed that Rayek has blasted and injured Lursa, which Rayek does not remember, due to his previous fevered condition. And if that hadn't been enough to rattle the airwalker, the Glider Ktai admitted to being in love with him, only moments after Ekuar's revelation about the wounded Lursa. Stunned, Rayek reeled from _that_ confession, feeling several things in response, but primarily shame and the conviction that he is hardly an appropriate target for affections. Ekuar tried to soothe him as best he could, and finally coaxed his troubled charge into something resembling rest. That rest turned into an exhausted sleep that lasted for two days, during which Ekuar and Savah quietly tended Rayek's wounded ankle. And at last, Savah came to visit her former pupil.... ---------- Savah enters, looking perfectly at home in the alien environs of the Palace. She smiles warmly in greeting, finding a seat near Rayek. Rayek rolls over, groggily, and peers up at Savah. "Eh... Savah..." Gaze heavy with sleep, he yawns. Savah's voice is warm and low. "You have slept a long time, dear one." Rayek scrubs a dark hand across his eyes, trying to wake up. "How... long?" Savah says "The sun has set twice, since you fell asleep. How do you feel, dear one?" Rayek blinks a few times, and frowns down at his ankle. Moving it slightly, he hisses at its seemingly heavy weight, and he says huskily, "I feel... less tired..." His voice sounds exhausted, though, still. Savah says "You should rest awhile yet, dear one. It is a long journey to Sorrow's End, but there is still time before the Festival" Rayek pales a little, lying back, and looking disconcerted. "Yes... Ekuar.... mentioned." Savah speaks as softly. "You have worked hard, and long. Though you are both gifted and strong, there comes a time to rest, and regain your energy." Rayek doesn't quite meet your gaze, and seems to study a fascinating spot on the wall as he murmurs, "Ekuar... asked the same of me." Savah says "Ekuar is wise. And cares deeply for you.. as deeply as I, dear one." Rayek tenses, unconsciously, at the word "cares," and whispers, "I... told him... I would come, for a short time..." Savah smiles, and says only. "I am glad, dear one." Her expressive eyes note each hesitation and tension, but she does not comment. Rayek says hoarsely, "When... do we go to the village?" Savah leans foward, stroking a stray wisp of hair from your face. "Not for another two days, dear one. We must all rest from the journey to the jungle of the catelves." Rayek closes his eyes. "Alright," he acknowledges, lowly, tonelessly. "I... will try to prepare..." Savah says "Rest, my brave one. Ekuar, Suntop and I, we will do what needs be done." Rayek does not look at you, but the set of his reclined body veritably shouts tension and frustration. But all he says, as if by rote, is: "Alright, Savah..." Savah waits a while, quiet and patient at your side. Finally, she asks softly. "Something is troubling you, dear one." Savah sits with her former student, letting him take his own time about speaking. Or not. Her warm eyes are understanding and calm. Rayek finally covers his eyes with a forearm, and sighs. Of course Savah would know. He turns toward her where he lies, but still does not look up to her. Savah speaks softly, at last. "Will you share your thoughts?" Rayek's expression twists, pained. He looks up, amber eyes wounded in his brown face. Savah smiles quietly, in affection. "It is not easy, is it?" To the Mother of Memory's acute senses -- and her own knowledge of this proud elf's emotions -- Rayek's uncertainty can be palpably felt, a tangle of long-suppressed emotions that have lain within him, pushed down, for so long that to prod at them now is a dull ache in his chest. Mutely, abashed, he nods. Savah says "Restoring the Palace..and dealing with those who come her. For..many reasons." Rayek swallows hard. "No," he agrees, lowly. "It is... not." Rayek admits, finally, "I... have forgotten how to... deal with living elves. Savah looks up, at unseen spirits. "It is so easy.. to leave the flesh behind. To know only those who are free of all bounds. And yet, we choose to remain." You say "Or have no choice but _to_ remain..." Savah smiles, looking back down at you. "There are always choices, dear one. Though some are not so easy to see." Rayek scowls. "You... see more clearly than I, Savah." Savah strokes your hair gently again, a brief gesture. "Sometimes, we must look down from the stars, and to that which surrounds us more closely. Even the furthest journey starts with a small step, dear one." Rayek looks up at the kind, old face over his; his expression is grieved. "I... have found no solace under the stars..." Savah kisses your forehead, and whispers softly. "Rest, dear one. You are loved." [Rayek does rest... but only fretfully... and only until, later that day, a surge of _magic_ summons him abruptly out of his sleep: magic that is intimately familiar to him, and which he was startled to feel active under any command besides his own....] Rayek jerks awake out of the doze in which Savah had left him, eyes wide and startled. Nearby, Petalwing, who had been left on duty to watch the sleeping elf, eeps, and flits down to peer at him: /Sharpdark highthing poklepoked?/ Ekuar stirs from where he sits against the wall, blinking muzzily. "Eh? Brownskin?" Rayek mumbles, "The... the Scroll...!" and stumbles to his feet, movements ungainly after two solid days of sleep, but filled with urgency. Before Petalwing can protest, he staggers out of the chamber. [As fast as he can manage, Rayek stumbles to the Scroll Chamber.] You step through the tall doorway, and into the... Scroll Chamber This smallish chamber is sparsely furnished, bearing only a single empty chair which faces a platform; on this platform are the holders for the two halves of the Scroll of Colors. Around you, the pale walls seem to ripple in places, but perhaps that is a physical sensation, a trick of the light; what cannot be a light-trick is the sense of *presence* in the chamber, of welcome, and of magic. Contents: WolfFlame Ktai Azeure(#2221PJXce) Scroll of Colors Obvious exits: Out WolfFlame is watching the movement of the scrolls in surprise, ** Azeure...did you do that? ** Rayek stumbles into the room, unsteady on his feet after two solid days of sleep, but his face is filled with urgency. Azeure stiffens again as another presense is felt in the room, his eyes still focused on the swirling colors in front of him. Petalwing flits in, and eeps! /Sharpdark highthing nononono get up! Bad sharpdark highthing! Wobblemuch if up!/ Rayek leans against the doorframe, and stares at the levitating scrolls in shock. Petalwing then blinks and eeps again, at the Scroll of Colors in motion. /EEEEK! Flyhighthing make whirlyglimmer scrollthing move!/ Ekuar arrives from the corridor outside. Ekuar has arrived. Ekuar limps in, leaning heavily on his staff, worry giving energy to his hobbling step. Azeure is motionless.. is he even breathing?.. his face is blank as he stares in front of him.. his eyes taking in the colors and feelings that seem to flow through him, but yet still as the very stone he sits upon. WolfFlame is watching with sure amazement and curiousity Rayek remains where he is, clutching at the doorframe in mute startlement. His amber gaze on the scrolls, his expression seems suddenly, deeply tormented, as if someone had just slashed a knife through his gut. Ktai is still passed out on the floor, unconscious. Rayek suddenly whirls around, teeth clenched, and floats out of the chamber, head bowed. [Down out of the Scroll Chamber to...] You make your way down the staircase. Entry Hall(#8823RAF) High-ceilinged, airy, this chamber widens out from the doorway that serves as its entrance from outside to an expansive room, filled with little more than strangely ornate walls and the occasional column, rising up to the ceiling far overhead. Closer inspection of the walls reveals patterns shaped into their surfaces, sometimes of wings, or flowers, or the lithe forms of elves -- and sometimes of images that defy description. The air is full of a subliminal shimmer that plays at the edge of elfin senses, a tingle that feels welcoming even in its eldritch oddness. A long winding stairway twines its way up out of this chamber and into the upper heights of this place; you might be able to find other ways out of here, but the only other exit in immediate sight is the archway and doors that lead outside. Obvious exits: Corridor Winding Stairway Doorway Ekuar comes down the stairs from above. Ekuar has arrived. Ekuar moves down the stairs slowly, awkwardly, but surprisingly lightly. Rayek sits at the bottom of the staircase, head in his hands. His shoulders are tight and tense; Petalwing sits on one of them, trying uncertainly to soothe Rayek's black hair. Ktai locksends ** Do you still want me to leave? ** Ekuar taps carefully down to the bottom step, and lowers himself to sit beside Rayek, sighing with relief. "These stairs... they're quite the ordeal, eh, don't you think?" You locksend ** ** to Ktai. Rayek does not look up. A strange little noise escapes him, like a cough. Ktai comes down the stairs from above. Ktai has arrived. Ekuar sits quietly next to Rayek for a moment, large, gentle eyes scanning the younger elf. Ktai nearly falls down the stairs as she enters. Petalwing awwws, and pats timidly at a brown ear. /Sharpdark highthing?/ Rayek still does not look up. His arms are wrapped tightly around his middle, and he is trembling violently. Ktai lands nearby, and turns worried eyes to Rayek. ** What's wrong? ** Ekuar grasps his staff, and scoots himself a tiny bit closer to Rayek, still silent, sitting close. Rayek, as the two elves draw near, raises his head slightly, just enough to reveal that his eyes are brimming over with tears. Ekuar drops his staff and reaches out with his single arm, tentatively... he knows how his Brownskin can shy away from being vulnerable, especially when others are watching, but he cannot help but want to comfort his agonized friend. "Oh," he says softly. "Oh, Brownskin..." Ktai's eyes grow round and she kneels by Rayek's feet. Oddly enough, tears are in her eyes as well. Ktai locksends ** ** Rayek huddles over his knees, shaking. He still has not spoken, or sent. Ekuar, close enough to embrace him, can hear Rayek's breath ragged and soft in his throat. Ktai hesitates, and gently places a hand on Rayek's arm. Ekuar carefully slips his arm around Rayek's tense back, limpid eyes brimming with concern, watching the dark elf closely. Rayek coughs as he feels himself touched; his slim frame has gone taut. Not trusting his voice, he sends lifelessly, ** I... might as well leave, now... ** You sense in a locksend, Ekuar's mind approaches, but not invasively... tentatively, reaching out with a soft tendril of emotion. ** Brownskin...? Stay with me...? ** Ktai sends openly ** No... your place is here... you are a part of the Palace.. ** Ekuar's cool hand gently passes over the knotted muscles, rhythmically and lightly. He shakes his head, the tiniest bit. Rayek sends, strained, ** He... is turning the Scroll. There... is no place for me here, anymore... ** Ktai's tears spill over her cheeks. ** No... you belong here... ** Ekuar's gentle hand rests on the back of Rayek's neck. "Oh, dear one, you know that's not true. Why, who would help me, eh? In the repairs?" He blinks mildly. "I could never work with anyone the same way I work with you." Rayek scowls, then, and blushes darkly, lifting a hand to try to scrub the treacherous moisture out of his eyes. Ktai looks at Rayek, her own eyes still tearing. Rayek tries to struggle to his feet, aghast that he is being seen like this, but not before his expression can be seen behind loose strands of black hair, lost and bereft. Ktai locksends ** I love you dearly, and this I tell you in truth and love. You belong here... This is your Home. ** Ktai looks up at Rayek, sending. Ekuar's hand slips from Rayek as the younger elf moves away; the aged elf looks gently at him, his eyes trusting and accepting. He reaches carefully for his staff. Rayek blinks at Ekuar, and then, almost fearfully, at Ktai. Ktai reaches out, and softly touches Rayek's arm, trying to pull him to her. Ktai locksends ** Come here... ** Rayek pushes feebly at Ktai, frowning, still shaking. But the motion comes out with far less force than Rayek is capable of displaying, normally. Ktai looks to Ekuar. Should she continue, or let him go? Ekuar blinks worriedly at Ktai. Ktai sighs softly, and slowly holds out her hand, palm up, to Rayek. Ktai locksends ** Come here... ** Rayek pauses, eying Ktai with an expression very much like fear. Ktai remains very still, sending to Rayek. Ktai locksends ** Come... ** Ekuar slowly lifts his staff, watching Rayek with concern, preparing to push himself upright. Rayek stares at Ktai, eyes wide and wet, and wavers on his feet as if her offered hand is enough to knock him down without touching him. Ktai bites her lower lip, not moving, just watching him, tears falling from her eyes. Ktai locksends ** ** Ekuar eases himself up to a standing position, moving slowly. He props the staff against his side, and timidly opens his maimed hand, breathing the single word, "Brownskin..." Rayek blinks at Ekuar, then at Ktai, and back to his mentor. Cornered. His face twists, hurt. Ktai gasps faintly, and she drops her hand. Ekuar sees the closing of shields there, and his own face falls. The hollows beneath his ancient cheekbones seem darker, his tender gaze even sadder. His skeletal body seems to droop. Ktai locksends ** I'm sorry... I could never hurt you... just stay in the Palace... I'll go... ** Ktai takes a faltering step back, her tears still silently flowing. Rayek looks from face to face, then clenches his teeth and whirls to stumble outside. You step out through the doorway, leaving the entry hall behind. Palace(#500Jae) You see before you a tall stone structure, taller by far than any elf or human or troll. There is something odd about its appearance -- it almost seems to blend in with its surroundings, at least if you are not close to it. But the closer you get, the more it seems to *tug* at you, and show to you its battered towers and spires. The nearest wall sports a long, winding ripple that might once have been a mighty crack, and the nearest visible entryway, a doorway at least as tall as two elves, sports a pair of heavy, ornate doors. Obvious exits: Doorway You approach the huge battered stone structure. Ekuar carefully pushes open the door from inside the Palace and joins you. Ekuar approaches the huge stone structure. Ekuar has arrived. Ekuar hobbles out of the Palace, peering about with dark, grave eyes. Rayek is not in immediate view; all that can be seen are the nearby tents of some of the elves who have been visiting, rocks, some small and scrubby trees. Ekuar moves forward, careful step by careful step, his staff scraping against the dry ground. He turns his head from side to side, finally calling out in a timid, anxious voice, "Brownskin...?" Rayek, on the other side of the rock behind which he's crouched, freezes. Then relaxes, just a hint. Ekuar. Tell him he's here? Or does he have... her... with him? Ekuar hobbles onward, slow and steady. His voice is soft... he is ostensibly calling to Rayek, but this call might as well be addressed only to himself. "Oh, Brownskin... I'm sorry. Please... It's me, your old Ekuar! Eh? Won't you come back to me?" Rayek, at that tone, shudders. Then sends, hesitantly, ** Here. ** Ekuar's face lights up at that, and he pulls in an eager breath. "I thought you-- eh, I thought you might be gone! I thought I might have missed you!" His voice nearly breaks with relief. Rayek looks up hollowly from behind the rock, several emotions playing across his worn features. Ekuar hobbles slowly over, and eases himself down with a sigh to sit propped against the rock. "My, that's better." He sits quietly for a moment, just being with Rayek, before he finally says, softly: "I know, Brownskin... I know how we chase you..." Rayek swallows hard, not knowing what to say, and prevented, at any rate, from easy words by the tightness in his throat. Ekuar sets his staff carefully aside, and rests his thin hand on his own leg, palm up, studying it mildly. "I know how we press you, and, eh, worry at you. Until you feel... maybe like you're trapped in the rock. Shaped into it, nowhere to go. Hard to breathe." He sighs, and glances sideways at you, his enormous eyes deep with affection. "I'm sorry. But I just can't leave you again, Brownskin! These old bones will follow after you, and do their best to help you." He pauses, with the gentlest of smiles. "Can I? Can I help you?" Rayek finally looks at the older elf's kind wizened face -- and that undoes him. Renewed tears glisten in his gaze. Ekuar leans toward Rayek, his voice low and confidential, brimming with love. "Let me help you... We know each other, you and I. It's safe." His thin hand moves forward to rest lightly on Rayek's knee, a touch as familiar to his dear young companion as are his face and form. Rayek trembles, and for the second time in three days, reluctantly allows himself to lean against his aged mentor. Ekuar pats Rayek's knee lightly, as if a stronger touch will make his charge bolt. He continues, mildly, "You don't need to hide, dear one. Eh, no. Not from me." His smile sparkles with patient humor. "Though you can, when you need to. I'll understand. As long as you understand I'll still be here when you come out again." Rayek sends, mournfully, ** I... have nowhere to hide... nowhere to be... to belong... ** Ekuar lifts his hand from Rayek's lean knee to push back an errant tendril of long, dark hair. "You belong with me," he says, his voice tender and matter-of-fact. "And wherever we are, there you belong too." He pauses, and adds quietly, "The Glider may touch the Scrolls, eh, indeed. He may sit on the throne. But he is not you. No one could be. And for that, I'm so glad." Rayek clamps his eyes closed, trying without success to halt the flow of tears. His mouth tightens, at the thought that if the Glider can turn the Scroll, what might stop him from learning to use it... to fly the Palace? High Ones, he has a rockshaper, what need is there for Rayek, here, now? Rayek shudders convulsively. Ekuar hesitates no longer. He reaches out and pulls Rayek against him, his touch strong with millennia of survival, but feather-light with the understanding of how it is, to fear captivity. His embrace is not a cornering, but rather an offered hand to pull someone up from where they have fallen. Rayek slumps against the old elf, and cries, roughly, without sound, shivering as if each tear was being forcibly siphoned out of his own blood. Ekuar bends his head, sheltering Rayek from the outside world, letting him express the turmoil, the pain, without fear of exposing his most vulnerable side to anyone else. The frail rockshaper is now the strong one, his maimed body a citadel for his fragile Brownskin. You locksend ** I... ... I do not know what to do... ** to Ekuar. You sense in a locksend, Ekuar's ancient mind, by turns fragmented and powerfully whole, embraces yours with an all-accepting warmth. ** I will help you, dear one. You will let me. Let us go to Sorrow's End, and you don't need to be afraid. ** You locksend ** ** to Ekuar. Ekuar locksends ** He is not filling your place, my dear. There is room for you there... you have a special mission, no matter whose mind touches the Scrolls. Think... think of all of those who have been with the Scroll, over so much time... This doesn't push you aside. ** ** Rayek clings to Ekuar with a tight kind of desperation. You locksend ** It doesn't? Did... did you see him? Gazing into the Scroll like that? I know that hunger! I refused to share knowledge with him before, why should he share the Scroll Room with me, now? ** to Ekuar. You locksend ** I have lost the Sun Village -- Leetah -- why not the Palace, too? ** to Ekuar. Ekuar locksends ** He desires the Scroll, to be sure. But this does not make him -you-, dear one. He sees different things within it. My parents, the High Ones, they were wise. There is room for all of their children within their creations. Eh, my Brownskin... You can only lose it if you push it away. It remains here for you. ** ** You sense in a locksend, Ekuar adds to the end of that thought, with a glimmer of wisdom, and patience: ** Like me. For always. ** You locksend ** ** to Ekuar. Ekuar locksends ** Come. Deeper. Share with me... >... <> <> <> <> ... > Can you see, my dear one? Can you? ** Rayek gasps a bit, taken aback... You locksend ** You... ** to Ekuar. You sense in a locksend, Ekuar's mind, caring and solicitous, eases your own back to a higher level of thought, gently stemming the powerful flow. ** Ah, Brownskin... The High Ones, their creations, all of it... They are <>... They are here. Don't be afraid. You don't need to push so hard, when the answer is all around you. ** You locksend to Ekuar, Rayek pauses, humbled, by the depths in your thoughts. ** I... almost... forget what I seek... ** Ekuar locksends ** <> <> Eh, me. Dear Brownskin. That's why I'm here... To remind you. ** Ekuar smiles gently, stroking the long, sleek hair. [Rayek at last, drained and exhausted, allows Ekuar to escort him back to their shared chamber. And grateful to just rest, for once, Rayek huddles under his furs, mostly undisturbed, slumber occasionally sparked nonetheless with restless dreams.] You sense in a locksend, Ekuar's mind, in one of its fuzzy and gentle stages rather than gathered and focused, sends the gentlest of thought-tendrils to brush against your own. ** Brownskin...? Are you asleep, eh? ** You locksend ** .........? ** to Ekuar. You sense in a locksend, Ekuar's thoughts lightly, softly touch yours, smoothing down rough edges the same way his ancient hand would smooth rumpled sleepfurs. ** Rest, dear one. Eh, me, it's all right. Rest. ** You locksend to Ekuar, Rayek's thoughts turn over fretfully, a little, as if his sleep is uneasy. But at your gentle soothing, he subsides. Ktai has arrived. Ktai glides quietly in, a fluff of yellow silk and long black hair. Ktai smiles softly and nods to herself as she sees Rayek asleep(?) Rayek lies where Ekuar has tucked him, earlier. His head is turned to one side, slightly, and his features are relaxed in sleep, for once. Or almost. There's a slight worried frown to his mouth. Ktai Ktai's long black hair flows free, held away from her face by a group of pale yellow feathers around her face. A soft yellow silk gown flows about her thin body, and the billowing sleeves are tied at her elbows, and form tight cuffs at her wrists. The waist is loose, and tied with a tasselled tie. Her feet are covered in soft pale yellow slippers. An odd air of grace flows about her, and her face is oddly alive - yet distant. Carrying: Cotton bag Water pouch Ktai very slowly glides close and lightly kisses the frowning mouth. Just as quietly, she glides out. Ktai steps out into the corridor. Ktai has left. [End log.]