Firiona Vie Everquest

She frowned wondering what Thanatos had to do with anything, but shrugged it off. She looked around. Where could she hide? After a moments hesitation she darted off again, towards the trees again but then doubling back on herself when out of sight and heading to the waterfall. Carefully clambering over the slippery rocks, she braced herself then jumped through the waterfall to the cut out behind it. The roar of the waterfall was defeaning to her ears as she shivered slightly in the coolness, her pine coloured hair plastered to her face. She reached out again, looking for the lifeweb as she waited.

The sun had finally finished its descent below the horizon and a cool night breeze shifted through the air causing Sanjah's scales to ruffle for a moment. She shivered involuntarily and began to take a few steps forward.

It was completely dark underneath her blindfold. Again. Sanjah decided that after this, she wasn't going to be too fond of the darkness. She furrowed her brow, attempting to concentrate and she continued walking.

Okay... I can do this, she thought to herself, trying to focus on finding the music that Willowen had allowed her to hear. She prayed silently to Veeshan, asking for the strength and ability to pull it off this time.

As she continued her venture (going completely in the opposite way of where Jetamio was, mind you) she felt herself getting closer to the Dragon's platform. She could hear the strong wings flapping, the sounds that they made as they talked amongst themselves.

It was there, at the foot of the platform, underneath the strong and potent magic of The Six that her eyes widened under the cloth. The faint song, almost a whisper, was playing throughout the winds. She took a deep breath and allowed her mind to focus purely on the soft hum of the notes. With her brow furrowed in concentration, she strained to make it louder.

Each of the dragons had their own song, though the six melodies were twisted together in harmony. As she listened to each note, she was able to separate them in her mind; once she was able to put each dragon together with its song, more faint notes began to weave into the consonance.

She stood, in marvel of the epiphany and whispered a thank you to the Crystalline Dragon. Each living thing had its own whisper of music and they all orchestrated into a great song that Sanjah could feel through her soul. The harder she strained to listen, the more she could hear new notes being added to the symphony. Each blade of grass under her feet, each hare that hopped by next to her, the trees that swayed in the night’s breeze – from the largest of the dragons to the smallest of the insects, they all produced their own refrain.

She struggled for a moment, trying to keep all the notes separated. She bit her lower lip and focused on a soothing serenade that left her skin chilled. She followed it with curiosity, allowing it to lead her body to its source. It took her a few moments, but she was finally able to reach out and touch the small bush that was singing to her. She smiled brightly and began to focus on another set of notes – a joyful and energetic crescendo – she followed it, nearly running in her excitement, and found it to belong to a delicate butterfly.

Nearly thirty minutes went by as Sanjah picked up on a tiny thread of notes and followed it to its owner. She had gone back and forth, stretching out over the entire Dragons’ Grove as she traced the songs and the living things that created them. She had been so involved in this that she had completely lost track of time and as she made her way back to her original starting point, the familiar melody that radiated from her teacher caused a sheepish grin appear on her face. She hoped that he and Jetamio weren’t too upset with her for her distraction, though she decided it would be best to start searching for the other Drakkin instead of searching for everything else in the grove. She giggled softly to herself, took a deep breath and began sorting through the bars that played so eloquently in her mind.

As she focused on which notes belonged to which creatures, she quieted the ones that she didn’t need at the moment. By allowing the grass and trees and animals in the grove their place in the background of the orchestra, she was able to select a few stronger melodies and attach them to their rightful beings. Willowen’s life song seemed to reverberate the loudest, though she assumed that it was merely because he was so close to her. She began to walk across the grove again, straining her ears for Jetamio’s melody.

Once she heard the first few notes, she grasped onto the song in her mind, allowing it steadily rise in volume as she followed it. Though, she finally reached a point where the sound of the waterfall seemed to drown out the melody. The rushing of the water and the scent of the mists filled her nose and her ears and she frowned. The only explanation that she could come up with was that Jetamio was behind the waterfall. Surely the other Drakkin didn’t expect for her to attempt to climb the slippery rocks whilst she couldn’t see anything. Sure, she had nature’s symphony guiding her, but that wasn’t going to help much if she fell and cracked her head against the stone.

“Jetamio!” she called out in exasperation.

The steady roar of the waterfall had sedated her, and she was almost asleep when she heard her name called, and startled into awareness. She couldn't see through the waterfall, but had recognised the voice. Sanjah had at last found her. With a fluid movement she dived through the waterfall into the pool and emerged soaking wet on the bank near Sanjah. With a quick shake, she giggled.

While the water still emitted it's own loud growl, Sanjah could once again hear Jetamio's melody. She paused to listen to it for a moment and reveled in it's sound. It was a bright, fiery song, one that would remind you of the sun sparkling over a dense forest, hinting at the temperament of the wild creatures. Though as it played, there was a sorrowful undertone -- one that told of an experienced woman who had lived through many painful things over the years. The sapphire Drakkin smiled and at last lifted the blindfold off of her eyes.

The music softened around her as her sense of sight returned. It was still there, playing quietly in the background, but it was no longer the focus of her senses. Now that it was opened to her she would never again go without hearing the faint whispers and notes that were constantly being played by all the living things around her.

"I did it," she said happily to the other Drakkin, "I can hear everything. Its amazing!"

"Well," chuckled the druid, "It would appear that your doubts have been answered little brother." The nightingale made a crude sound of discontentment. "Some higher force helped her, there is no way by the Rainkeeper's stormy brow that girl, your age and not even HALF elven, could sense the lifeweb without the ritual of sight." Will rolled his eyes and began to jog towards the two women, forcing the tiny bird to cling tightly to his finger. "Now you must resort to claims of divine intervention! Either your pride is a bloated monstrosity or it would seem you have something personal against her songweaver." A nervous chirp sounded near the Feir'dals ear as his companion moved up to his shoulder. "Do you not see it guardian? Never before has Veeshan had any sway over the subtle threads, being merely a creature of unadulterated strength and power. But now, she has loyal children who, despite not having any natural attunement, may now learn the secrets of guardianship! Does this bring you no fear?" Will considered the words, mentally weighing between legitimate concern and irrational paranoia."If they truly serve Tunare's creation and protect the sacred gift of life then surely they are our brothers and sisters...servants of the Lady or otherwise." The nightingale sang a note of derision. "You are naive as a sparrow!" The druid smiled as he approached an ecstatic Sanjah, "Yes, perhaps I am."

"Lle ume quel Sanjah! Congratulations to you as well Jet! I must admit, I'm very impressed. Not many of my students succeed on the second try, much less without previous coaching." The nightingale alighted from his hand to a nearby limb and Will grinned cheerfully, still trying to get errant strands of hair out of his eyes.

Sanjah felt a furious blush creep upon her cheeks at Willowen's praise. She was extremely excited and, to be honest, quite proud of herself for her accomplishment.

"Well... to be honest... I'm not so sure of this web thing that you keep talking about, as under the blindfold I was still as blind as one of the bats that circle the third level of the city building.

But -- I could hear it. I still can, softly, in the background of my mind. There are songs attached to everything. Simple notes twisted together in a beautiful symphony!

I just... I can't believe I've never noticed it before. I suppose it's one of those things you only find when you're looking for it?"

She grinned at the feir'dal and then looked to Jetamio, "Though, I believe she was out to get me killed," she said, laughter echoing in her voice, "hiding behind the waterfall like that."

She looked mildly confused at the congratulations. All she had done was hide. The other Drakkins excitement wore off on her and she started smiling too, then laughed at her accusation. She shrugged. "I couldn't think of anywhere else to hide."

As Jetamio spoke the Feir'dal felt the mantle of instructor fall from his shoulders with exquisite sweetness. Finally he could act more like himself and speak less like a poorly constructed cross between a metaphysics teacher and a stonefist sensei. The elaborate imagery he used in attempt to communicate unutterable concepts to his pupils and the awkwardness generated by the fact that most of these students were his peers in physical and emotional maturity, often caused the inexperienced teacher to become distant and adopt the facade of a much older individual.

"Well..um.. its not really that you have to look for it ..so much as ..uh...." Unfortunately, with the removal of the mask of confidence came a return to his usual speech patterns. Will ran a hand through his hair and grinned sheepishly, seeking a proper comparison. "One day, you go to the marketplace and stop, noticing for the first time a man in a certain blue shirt. Over the next several days you are shocked to see dozens of people wearing such shirts around your community. Then you think to yourself, those shirts must have become very popular lately! It is not so.. you are simply attuned to the presence of this shirt, it had existed in such numbers for quite a while, you just never took special notice of it. " The druid chuckled, "well..you wont have to seek the song with this difficulty again..soon it will become reflex."
Will succumbed to weariness born from enduring a 42 hour day through traversing timezones and yawned. "It's getting rather late...I pronounce this lesson officially learned." The Feir'dal grinned, "It is good to have met both of you...thank you for letting me be your instructor for today Melloneamin."

Sanjah grinned lopsidedly and watched the Feir'dal as he stuttered and ran his hand through his hair. As he regained his composure slightly and began to explain the concept of what she just learned she blushed and bit her lower lip as she looked down to the ground.

Her eyes returned to his for a brief moment as he bid them both goodbye and she smiled brightly. "Thank you, dearest Willowen, for taking the time to teach me."

She blushed again and reflexively reached up to her hair and began to twist it, "Goodnight. I suppose I should return to my room, as well. I believe there is a task my mother wishes me to complete tomorrow."