Distant Echo [Raziel]

[Seron Selakiir]

Returning home was always a pleasant experience for the Nayeli, the air around him, familiar faces and places. He was home and the feeling of comfort that came with being in his homeland was something that had and never would fade. Even after his two centuries of living thus far, nothing could compete with that warmth of knowing that his loved ones were nearby. So perhaps not all of those he called family were 'loved' ones, but this was hardly the time to be contemplating about certain members of his family. It had been a few months since he'd been home and Seron was more than prepared to enjoy it while he could. He had been travelling for quite a while, despite this the archer never headed home straight away. No. Now he was here, he knew that was a choice he could make whenever he wished to. Instead, he did something else. Something that he did on a daily basis, yet, rarely in the last few hundred years had he done so within the land in which he was raised. Exploring.

Therefore, with such a plan in mind and a small smile peeking onto his features for a moment as he set off, Seron was more than certain just a few hours looking wouldn't hurt now would it? He could look towards other area's tomorrow. And while he'd walked along Kitathas to get here, his target was not the canal today. No, instead, it was the harbour. With so much trade going on, ships coming back and forth on what the archer noticed to be around an hourly rate. It wasn't any surprise that he'd come here very rarely, even when he was with his father as a boy. It was a place he'd never really looked around properly, he had never needed to. Yes, trading was needed between the races. Of course it was. But he was no diplomat nor a trader either. While he worked in Kalas, it gave him very little reasoning to be here, most of the arrows, quiver's and bow's themselves were hand-crafted. So there was no need to trade and if there was, Seron was never the one involved with such things. Perhaps he should be, he couldn't be sure about that. 

With that said, a harsh breeze whipped around his face as he stepped onto one of the many walkway's around the harbour. The fierce winds never bothered him, but the seas themselves seemed calm from what he could see, so why were they so strong? Hm. Puzzling. It wasn't him, the archer knew that for certain. He'd spent years, hundreds of them, perfecting his magic enough that he could always control and tamper down his abilities so they were less visible and far less of a problem to those around him. Eyebrows furrowing for a moment, his trek continued along the docks. Careful to not bump into or bother anyone, thankfully he wasn't bothered by anyone either. Despite the fact that he may stand out a little among the trader's here, traveler's cloak clipped around his shoulders, covering and wrapping around most of his body, hiding the rest of his clothing from view. On his back nearly sat a quiver, with what seemed to be at least a dozen or more arrows neatly laid inside. The quiver itself resting towards his right shoulder, while his bow remained attached just atop the quiver, off to the Nayeli's left shoulder. Mainly for easy access, but carrying a bow by hand across many days did get tiring. So securing it on his back was the better option truly. 

Dark eyes scanned across the area, seeing very little of interest. There was nothing here that he hadn't seen before, perhaps the increased trade of weapons. But... that was because of the war, even if they weren't directly involved at the moment. Seron worried for such an occurrence, they didn't need another war. Not after the Great War. Why did no one seem to understand that all this fighting was pointless, had no one pointed out that they had all lived peacefully for many years. Yet things like this still came to pass, it was both a mystery and an annoyance to the Nayeli. Nonetheless, he was no one important in the grand scheme of things and he knew that. His opinion mattered very little and so as he always did, he kept quiet about such political matters. They were not his place to interfere with. With a small sigh, the archer looked around once more, brought out of his daze. And now, close to a place he'd never seen before. Looking around and seeing few ships here, it had to be a separate part away from the main section of the habour. Now this was somewhere new indeed. And was that... a cave? 

Many things popped into the archer's mind at that moment, but the first one was of pure curiosity. It looked rather high up, maybe he could climb up? Well, it didn't hurt to try, the surface did look rather rocky and unstable in a few places, but it wasn't wet from the sea breeze. So, at least he would be able to grip the rocks properly. The logical part of his being told him to leave well enough alone, that there was probably nothing up there anyways. But Seron wasn't always the best at following logic, despite how intelligent he was, sometimes instinct was just the far better option. Walking back and forth a few times to find the right area to climb from, he began and after the first few steps up, he lost his footing. Falling straight back down, landing on his stomach and groaning from the pain. Okay. That hurt a lot. Don't do it again. At least, that was what Seron told himself, now seemingly more determined to try again. And try he did, slowing down his pace considerably as he advanced upwards. 

It took the archer a good hour, purely climbing straight towards the top, not failing again thankfully. But there had been a few precarious jumps involved, one's even he wasn't sure he would make. He had even near lost his bow in the process! Luck however, seemed to be on his side, and after a last jump. The Nayeli finally pulled himself up into the cave. Panting heavily and rolling straight onto his side once within the cave and certain he wasn't going to fall straight back down. Gulping in air and simply laying there for a few minutes, only then did he have the strength to sit on his knees. Readjusting his bow and quiver so they didn't fall off his back, before slowly getting to his feet. He had no light to use and while it was light outside, he could barely see a thing within this cave. Regardless, his magic was a great help as he moved forward, allowing his senses to expand and magic to feet where something may block his path and in turn letting him walk within the pitch black without falling over like a fool. He simply hoped he wasn't wandering through the darkness to the end of this cave for nothing. Only time would tell.

[Raziel]

Once, many centuries before the present time, the cave atop Vintelle was called “Balladur”. The humes who inhabited the place and populated it after the dawn of men got to know every crook and nick of its depths. The cave was dark, indeed, but if you trailed in it enough, you would find a vast clearing where the rays of light came in, illuminating the small ponds and creases. It was here, in this same spot, that the magicians of the vast tribe had tamed the great Raziel, and had raised him to be courageous and fearless since he was a merely a newborn dragon.

But many moons had passed since this tribe had disappeared. A conflict between clans it had been; one which had taken place just outside the cave’s walls. Many men, women and children perished that day, and thus the cave became a dark omen, a treacherous place… a dwelling which the humes avoided and eventually forgot about. And, thus, the history of the peoples of the cave was forgotten with the passing of time… and the existence of Raziel, the wind dragon, as well.

Almost 400 years had passed since Raziel had last seen a human, and he had grown used to his isolation. He had heard, from the waters, that many other races inhabited this world. There were myths of beings which could live hundreds of years, just like him, and of others who had wings and flew over the treetops. There were others which had big feet and loved their weapons, and others with horns that grew from their heads! But how could he be sure? In Raziel’s mind, he could only recall the humes, which had treated him kindly. But that was all. He was now alone and he would be, until the end of time.

He had grown bitter and angry because of his loneliness. For what use was having the control over the winds and the air, if he could not go outside of this cave and use these powers? See, Raziel had grown increasingly gigantic with time… so much so that he had to make his way and break the walls surrounding him to make space for his enormous reptilian body. He had tried to get out, many times, to no avail. The walls which led outside were thick and dense. And so he had resigned himself to live here, eating whatever it was that wandered inside, and which was never enough.

But one day, a day no different than any other, he heard footsteps through the rocks. His keen sense of hearing informed him that somebody had entered this realm of his… to interrupt his peace and quiet, his eternal sleep! Who had dared to? The scent of this being was not that of an animal, it was something he had never sensed before. It could not be human, he thought, but then what could it be?

Raziel opened his eyes slowly, his eyelids heavy and burdened, and decided to wait. Perhaps this visitor would turn on its footsteps and leave? Perhaps Raziel could devour it in one gulp, and then return to his solitary abandonment? He would wait and hear, smell and feel this new being, hidden in the shadows.

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