skill: ranger

As the day follows into the restless night, Aelia is still on an endless search, for not one thing, but many. Runes take precedent, but her eyes are on the swivel for the tunnels the Dream Visitor led them through, and away from the Highlands — away from home. Before the plague, she'd never really left the surrounding territories; away from the golden grasses was no place for her. She learned that with a short trip to the north with Gus.

'Gus.' Something to search for, something to avoid. The Daystar, full of confusion, pressed onward over the nearing edges of the Reaching Plateaus. It'd taken her eons (or what felt like it) to weave in between the endless sun-tanned rocks. If she had the time, she'd want to climb those ancient flat-tops and see if she could see home from there, but for now, the night beckons the solarflare.

She is guided by the brightest stars in the night, and that solemn crescent moon, its watchful eye over her, when her twin is away. The stars, too, creep over her shoulder, seeming ever closer every time she looked back up — she wonders if Amaya is out there, reading her bones, manipulating the skies to look upon her triplet. If so, Aelia offers a small prayer to the sky, Amaya, if you're listening, Amaris and I are okay. She told the sky, hoping that if Amaya could not hear her, the Five would carry her message. And we'll be home soon. She and Amaris would return, but for now, their mission was here.

Finally, there is an end to the flatlands — though she has to blink a few times to make sure it's true and not just the heat getting to her. Of course, this is not as bad as it was within the Canyon, but what dryness lacked, humidity took up in spades. She does not cower from the giant sequoias, only offering a small bow of her head, careful not to gaze too high up at their branches — she needed her focus down on the ground, and not up in the sky. The Daystar wound around the trees, aware of the scent of others, but it was not heavy enough to ward her away, not when the moonlight peered through the primordial trees, watching, waiting, to see what the light of day could achieve in the dead of night.

Setemhotep

Skill - Seer

Setemhotep was awake in late hours. But it was not altogether a poor night to be so. Khonsu shone a blessed crescent over the sleeping world, guiding travelers to safety in lands untamed. So it was the sesh found confidence to wander beyond the confines of camp unattended, when strange dreams first woke him from restless slumber. He was not truly alone, with the gods to watch over him. They had done so many nights prior, and he had no reason now to doubt their continued comfort.

Through rain-thriving trees he meandered, ears twisting this way and that at the sounds of nocturnal creatures unknown to him yet. Pale silver light shone brightly off the leaves, and the ‘grass’ on the trunks he now knew to be moss.

The reason for his wakefulness became clear in time. Stranger’s scents reached him, coming in from the desert places beyond this foreign oasis. Hotep knew not every newcomer would be a kind one, yet could not escape a sense of rightness to the encounter, as though he were called to be here. So he followed his nose to a great stone vantage jutting out over a low patch of woodland, and blinked at the sight of a golden-hued visitor.

Hail. He called from above, tail wagging slowly to indicate a friendly reception, You approach the camp of Pharaoh Khaemwaset and Divine Queen Merneith. You stand before I, Setemhotep, a humble sesh, but you are unknown to me. How should I then address you?

skill: ranger

The Daystar does not get far, not alone. There is a shadow on the rise, solar gold eyes that peer through the darkness of the night — she brightens for a second; ears perking and tail wavering — Amaris, she wanted to say, but as her eyes fixate on the wolf, she knows its not him. There was no way her twin had gotten ahead of her without her knowing; it was more a hopeful wish than a fact.

'Hail.' The stranger's voice met her, and she stopped in her place, lunar eyes studying his small, thin frame. 'Pharaoh?' She thought curiously, though when put beside 'Queen', she assumed it was just another word for 'leader', just like her mothers had 'Augur' and 'Priestess'. However, she wondered what the meaning behind it meant. There was information with every word the stranger — no, Setemhotep gave, though she was confused by most of it; Aelia did her best to take note of it. Her eyes want to part from him, to look around, chart what is around her so she knows where to leave from, yet she is not yet trusting enough of this new wolf to let her focus divert.

Nice to meet you, Sep-...Setem...hotep, She struggled briefly with the pronunciation, a name unlike any other she'd said before, I'm Aelia Callosum, a spiritwalker from Elysium. With this, the Daystar straightened herself underneath the waning crescent moonlight, the golden length of her fur muted by it. You'll have to forgive me, I'm not from around here, and I don't mean to intrude. She felt ignorant for not knowing half of what he was speaking about — she understood that she was approaching a band of wolves' camp, somewhere she'd not intrude any further on if he wanted to ward her away, yet the rest, the titles, her brain worked on unraveling. I'm not quite sure I know what a 'Pharaoh' is, nor a 'sesh'. Is it like a king and...? Alright, the last one, she had no clue. Maybe, like, an heir? The white dots above her eyes furrow in confusion, head tilting to the side, hoping he'd fill in the blanks for her.

Skill - Seer

Her accent was peculiar. But then, he supposed his must be, too. Hotep tilted his head, considering her words. Though practiced enough in Common to converse casually, and with a few important phrases memorized, it was not done without effort. He perceived an introduction, an apology, and a question.

After a moment, he replied, There is no intrusion, Ai-lee-ahhca-loo-sum, spirit-walker of Elysium. Many come from the sands, called by the gods. Could she be such a one? She bore sun-spun golden fur, blessed by Ra. Elysium he knew. Neighboring lands in his life before used this word to speak of Duat. It seemed reasonable then, she might be one reborn like a scarab into this new world. Perhaps she did not know Pharaoh because, like Hotep, her mind was still fogged from the journey here.

Turning to the side, he made a path down the steep rocks toward her, desert-hardened feet sure of their path despite his skeletal frame outlined in sharp relief by Khonsu’s light. Yes, Pharaoh is King and more. He is a son of Atum-Ra, the Horus, sweet-smelling divinity itself. Our intermediary. Divine Queen, too, descends from gods. The will of Pharaoh is the will of Satriya. Small paws landed on soft podzol. He searched her face for any recognition. A sesh is… He pursed his lips, thoughtful, A healer of bodies, and soother of souls. I keep wisdom. He bowed.

skill: soothsayer

There was a part of Aelia that wanted to giggle when her name was pronounced with inflection, slow syllables — it wasn't that she was laughing at him, but the fact she'd never heard her name said like that before. Though that was probably felt between the two of them, as she struggled with his name at first too, so she held her tongue, offering a reassuring smile and an easier name to say, You can call me Lia. Lee-uh.

It was good to know that they weren't outright aggressive to those who walked on their land. It was the same with Elysium — except if you seemed unusually suspicious, or your aura festered too dark, Aelia may be prone to getting a little snippy with those seedy characters, but otherwise, it was an escape for those who faced hardships — who wanted to start anew. Here, it seemed, whoever crossed the sands felt the pull of the gods. She highly doubted that he meant The Five. However, her curiosity meandered around the subject of new religions.

Setemhotep made his way down from the rocky outcropping that harbored his shadowy figure against the moonlight. As he descended, she could see his aura faintly shimmering as his scrawny form clambered down towards her, telling her the inner workings behind what Pharaoh meant. None of these names rang a bell in her brain. She stood there absorbing this information, of course, but her brows furrowed in confusion. I see... So, the Pharaoh and Divine Queen are those descended from your Gods? In Elysium, they were not descended from the Five directly but were one of the many beasts to come out of their creations.

'A sesh is...' The fuzziness of the man's aura started to fade away, his paws hitting the soft terrain, further explaining the meaning behind his title, the brighter it got — a green color flickered around, notes of violet within (not completely still, but there enough for her to focus on for brief seconds; however, it made her look more like she was constipated than focused), the wisdom of lifetimes wandering throughout him somewhere, someone who wanted to heal, along with the hints of what she thought of as a 'seer'. I see... That makes sense. Not according to anything he'd said, really, but to her own (maybe delusional) observations. Do you talk to souls that have passed, or ones that struggle in their mortal bodies?

Skill - Seer

Lia. He answered, testing the syllables. Then dipped his head appreciatively, eyes warm. Thank you. There is much I am still learning. It brought to mind a favorite proverb, one which had in his life before often offered comfort when presented with setbacks and difficulties:

Do not be proud on account of your knowledge,
but discuss with the ignorant as with the wise.
The limits of art cannot be delivered;
there is no artist whose talent is fulfilled.

The work of a sesh was an art unto itself. To accept new knowledge was to be humbled, and this came with the reassurance that he had not blinded himself to the opportunity for growth. Rather than embarrassment at the foreign sound of her name on his lips, or frustration at her unfamiliarity with Pharaoh’s nature, he felt true gratitude. Curiosity, even.

They are. Pharaoh is Delegate upon the throne of Geb, gilded voice of the gods upon the earth. Our Queen, daughter of the same pure blood. So it had been for ages beyond counting, Ra acting through his chosen each generation. Pharaoh was begotten from Pharaohs, and also the trueborn child of Ra.

I mend mortals. But sometimes they are afflicted by evil spirits, and these I can banish. My people leave offerings to our dead, so their souls have nourishment. If cared for, ancestors will heed our prayers and intercede on our behalf. But that is not the work of a sesh. Funeral rites were the art of priests. He was no longer a priest.

Banishing the twist in his gut, he pricked his ears curiously, Do you have knowledge of such things? The face she was making wasn’t… exactly what he would call curiosity. But there was some form of intensity to it. He politely did not laugh.

Rune Discovery:  「 Failure - Parasite present 」

---

The whispering leaves of the sequoia trees overhead fill the air around you with their song. Not many remain, the vast majority having been scorched away by the sun's heightened intensity since the plague's onset, but the few still rustling gently against the hot breeze bring a sullen comfort to an otherwise... unsettling evening.

A weak crescent moon cast its wan rays upon two silhouettes creeping through the wooded respite. Haughty words from a flame-touched figure ignite the beginning of a brief exchange, while the bright sun-star next to him answers with uncertainty; the wind picks up, and for a moment you both pause, feeling a shift in your surroundings as you get the unnerving sensation of being watched.

Yet you see nothing, you scent no one - until suddenly you catch a whiff of something scrumptious, a large weasel recently deceased and ripe for the taking. It appears to have perished by snake-bite after a brief skirmish, the width of the fang indentations denoting a serpent yet too small to consume its victim - which would explain why it lay whole and uneaten.

The smell is delicious. Your stomach growls.

You really just can't resist a taste, can you?

No.

You can't.

You move toward the carcass.