New Beginnings

It was a windy morning in Ventus. Wait, no, that's obvious. It's a VERY windy morning in Ventus, with the salt that usually barely makes it five feet uphill on the steep climb up from the coast flooding into the air atop the Ventus plateau. A pair of feet clambered over the short grass towards a small town far on the edge of the Ventus plateau. with deep huffs of air coming constantly, it's obvious this creature is not used to the thin air up on the top of the world. But with the sweet smell of freshly made pastries and the noise of playful kids frollicing around nearing you, it's hard to resist the urge to keep moving. Snap! As the sound of a dropped piece of wood ricochets through the air, the silence that follows is proof that the silent traveller has been revealed. The loud breathing stops, and the creature grabs his droppings and rushes towards the town, hopeful that nothing terrible will happen due to his sudden arrival. Stopping the moment he crosses the town border, taking deep, trembling breaths in while regaining his balance, he realizes the silence was just the pretense to a greeting. Apparently the people here didn't get visitors very often!

Michalis looked around, confused, as a group of people came to greet him. Wondering what kind of culture these people must have had to do such an event, he awkwardly said hello and then walked on around the edge of the town, trying to get away from the crowd. Trying his best not to turn around and see if he was being followed, he walked on until he was sure he had lost them. Warily turning his head around, he sighed, relieved, at the fact that he was alone again. Turning back around to continue walking, he found a spot that he could rest for a bit before finding a place to stay for the night. Sitting down on the back of a building, he guessed a small family house, he slid his bow and arrows into a small space under the wall and placed his small bag into a crack in the wall. Pulling a waterskin out from his cloak, he took a few drinks before noticing it was empty. Groaning at his uncommon high usage of water, he stuck it back into his cloak and stood up, determined to find a place to find a place to fill his waterskin. Realizing the town was his best bet, but also that more people would be there, he decided to head out to the East, where he noticed small animals headed. And that means a stream or pond, which means water.

Normally, Michalis would've ran to his new destination, but since he wasn't used to the thin air of Ventus yet, he decided to walk. Taking in all the new sights and smells, he realized this was not a place he would enjoy living. There wasn't enough nature. And his whole life was about nature, about being one with the wildlife. The most you got here was a few small animals and shrubs and grasses, maybe a thin woods. But no actual flora and fauna. To Michalis, or any Seran probably, Ventus was a desolate wasteland. And you were so high up, the storms at night must be terrible. Luckily he didn't get anymore than a few strong winds during the evenings so far, but with the sun starting to be covered with gray clouds already at noon, he wasn't so sure it would be as nice tonight. This place must be a wind user's dream. No trees in your way, high in the air, and all the wind you could ever want. Tornadoes must be common, Michalis thought. But his train of thought was broken when he tripped over something. Something that screamed. Doing an advanced form of barrel roll that he learned kept you fairly uninjured and back on your feet to get back up and standing, he noticed that the thing he tripped over was a she, one about her age.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. Do you need some help?"

''You're doing it wrong. Focus more'', her father said with a patient tone. Nodding, she stared at the small cup of water she was holding. The day's exercise, ever since the break of dawn this morning. The goal was to split the water in two with wind; so far she'd only managed to make the surface ripple. It should've have been easy considered the quantity of liquid, but great focus was required, something she just didn't have yet, especially when her head was filled with so many other things. This time again, she only made the water swirl around a little, a few drops falling over the edge.

Her teacher sighed with a slight smile. ''You're in the clouds again, Maya.'' ''Sorry'', she tried, scratching her neck innocently. ''Can we do this a little later?''He nodded. He'd long since noticed there was something on her mind. While he wanted to question her about it, he decided to simply let it go for now. He watched her set down the cup and was reminded of something. They were almost out of water and had to refill their supply. His daughter kindly offered to do so herself, and left the house with a large gourd strapped to her back. It was the only way she could carry it once it would be filled with water.

Once outside, she was hit by the particularly strong wind blowing that day. Ventus was definitely not the place to wear skirts. Cursing her hair – that was currently blinding her – she brushed it aside and went on her way towards the river near her home. Once you're better at mastering it, wind won't be a hindrance to you anymore, Gabriel's words played in her mind. She pouted childishly. It wasn't like she didn't want to improve. Her parents were always going on and on about how much potential she had, well, it was still hard learning how to use her element.

Reaching the river, she removed the gourd from her back and set it down. She knelt on the ground and brought the gourd onto the water. Once it was filled, she hoisted it up, edging backwards and--She let go of the gourd with a yelp as she was bumped into and slightly pushed forward. After gathering her bearings, she turned around and looked up. A young man with long blonde hair was looking at her, worried expression painted on his face."Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. Do you need some help?" She blinked a few times. It was someone she hadn't met before.

''It's fine'', she assured him, sincere. She stood up and examined him a little. She was about to say something when a thought struck her. Spinning around, her eyes widened as she saw the gourd she'd dropped now in the river, being driven away by the current. ''No, no, no, I don't think so!'' Mustering up all the energy she could at the tip of her fingers – pointed towards the gourd – she made the wind shift and push in her way. Kneeling down, she grabbed the gourd and lifted it out of the water again. She let out a sigh of relief.

''That was close!'' She turned to face the young man again. Tilting her head to the side and crossing her arms, she observed him. Then, breaking into a smile, she asked: ''Help me carry this back? I'll share with you.'' It wasn't really about not having the carry the gourd. It was more that she wanted to speak with him longer; he was clearly a foreigner and thus he intrigued her. Since he'd offered to help, anyway...

Blinking a few times as she observed the girl he had just tripped over, he shook his head and brushed the dust off his clothes. The worst way to introduce yourself was staring. Noticing that a gourd, one he assumed belonged to the teenager he had just collapsed, was flowing along down with the current away from the pair. About to run towards it and grab it, he stopped and turned back when it seemed to come to them. Instantly, he knew this person was a wind user. Well, that or a water user, but he doubted that, since they were in Ventus, not Udna. Anyways, he knew this person had some elemental skills.

"I assume you're a wind user, then. Am I correct?" Crouching down as a small sunflower grew in the ground, he plucked it out of the ground and sniffed it, turning to hand it to the person he had just met. "My name is Michalis, who are you?" Pulling out his waterskin, he sat down and placed the very tip of the skin into the river, with the opening pointing away from the current. It was an old trick he had learned. If you put the whole thing in, an air bubble will be left at the top. Only placing some of it in made it where you can push it in and pull it out full once the water started to wave out of the skin. At least, that's how it worked in tropical rivers.

Pushing it as deep down into the river as he could reach and jumped back up, splattering water all over the place unintentionally, ending out with only a half full waterskin. Scratching the side of his neck, he looked around at the freshly flowered, well, grass. "Uh, I guess the jungle water is thicker. Well, I would've had to go into town so I have an actual bed to sleep in anyways." Tying off the tip of his waterskin, he shook the excess water off and stuck it back into the cloak. Turning back around to the girl, he was able to catch the request for help. Snickering a little, he put his hand out to get the gourd. "I'll help you carry it, but you don't need to share any."

His mind went back to the days of him living in the jungle for days on his trips to the capitol. It was just like this, except he knew everyone, everything, everywhere. Here, he knew nobody, nothing, or where anything was. He was just doing what you do in Ventus, follow the wind. Sometimes metaphorically, sometimes literally went where the wind did, less by will than by being forced. There, he knew exactly what to do to survive. Here, he just had to rely on what he did know and hope it worked. There, everything was useable, and you could live off the land and yourself. Here, the land was barely living itself. Everything about them was opposite, besides the fact he was living alone. Nobody to help him, nobody to show him the way. But now, here, there was somebody else. There were people who knew the land better than him. And for him, that was a totally new experience. This was going to be VERY new to him.

She kept her eyes riveted on him as he crouched down and filled up his waterskin. ''That's right...'', she answered to his question and trailed off. She lowered her eyes to the flower she was holding and felt her cheeks become warmer. It wasn't often she was shown this kind of gesture. There weren't that many boys her age around, for one and well, a chivalrous Ventusian was hard to find. She only knew one; and it was her father. Shaking her head, she managed to snap out of her daze and grinned. ''A bad one, but still a wind-user, yes.''

She giggled as half the water he'd gathered splattered around, narrowly avoiding getting splashed herself. The jungle? So, he's from Sera, huh? At least her father's geography lessons hadn't been completely useless since she was able of figuring that out. He extended his hands out to her and she handed him the gourd, lifting it up with visible effort. Even for a girl she was pretty weak, despite being fairly active in her daily life. It bothered her, but she thought she'd one day compensate with amazing and unmatched wind skills later on. If she could start by surpassing her mother, anyway.

She started walking back towards her house with the stranger following her. Oh, right, he'd introduced himself to her earlier, thus didn't qualify as a stranger anymore. Yet again, she was being forgetful. ''I'm Maya. It's nice to meet you, Michalis.'' She smiled up brightly at him. She pondered a bit over his words. ''You said you needed a place to stay, right? I could take you to an inn. My house is actually far from the main plaza, so it might be hard to find. Unless...'' She beamed as she finished her sentence. ''You could stay at my place.''

Taking in someone she'd just met? No big deal. She didn't see anything wrong in that, nor understand the possible danger it could entail. Her parents would surely lecture her if they were listening, at the moment. They won't mind...I think. Mom and Dad are always telling me I should help people in need. They drew near her house while she was still deep in thought. She noticed her mother waiting at the door, looking a bit flustered. Upon seeing her daughter appear at the end of the slope, Ana ran to her and fawned all over her.

''You were taking long, so I was worried!'' While she continued ranting, Maya sighed and smiled softly. She'd been gone for ten minutes at most and her mother had already managed to be this worried. Ana had the same hair as her and almond-shaped, clear blue eyes. She was striking, and had a soft voice to match. Although they strongly resembled each other, Maya felt – without envy – that she couldn't compete with her mother in looks. The older woman finally noticed the lone figure accompanying her daughter and froze for half a second, before asking: ''Who might this be, Maya?''

''Oh, this is Michalis. He helped me carry the water over.'' Ana peered at the young man, smiling after a moment. ''Thank you for helping my daughter, she said. Would you like to come in?'' Maya beamed inwardly. She didn't even have to ask. She could probably convince her parents to let him stay if things kept up like this. She turned towards Michalis. ''What'll it be? I can take you to the inn now, if you prefer.''

Smiling when she said she wasn't a good wind user, he looked up at her from the river. "Well, you can still control the wind, right? Then doesn't it not matter how good you are at it? I mean, if you can do it, who cares how good it is, you still did it." And it was true. People were so concerned with ranks and powers and skills in the world. Why can't they just be proud of what they already have? Anyways, is being able to control an element at all not cool enough? Seriously, he doesn't care if you can make a breeze or a tornado, it's still just wind. Just because you control more of it than somebody doesn't mean you're any better than them. Gosh, even if all you can do is make grass grow to half an inch in a day, hey, you can still make grass grow faster.

Tossing the gourd into the air, he made sure not to break it when he caught it. Manners meant it all. If you don't treat people right, nobody will treat you right. At least, you know, that's Michalis's philosophy. Treat others as you wish them to treat unto you. That's what his mother always said. Give respect, you get respect. That's just how the world works. Doesn't matter if you live to be fifty or one hundred, if you don't make a difference in the world.

As they neared her house, he noticed something that gave him a worried expression. That was the house he had hid his stuff at. Even more surprising was the fact that she invited him to stay at her place tonight. He thought about it for a second, then looked over at her. "Good to meet you, Maya, but you don't need to offer your place for me to stay. It's not necessary, but thank you." Looking at the money he had to stay, he realized he barely had any. Unless there was a way for him to work for his stay at the inn, he would have to accept her offer.

Watching as the scene commenced at the door, he slowly lowered the water gourd onto the ground and stretched a little. Even for somebody as fit as him, that took some effort to pull off. Thinking when she asked if he would like to come in, he bit his lip and asked for one second. Running around the house, he pulled his bag on and put his quiver on, grabbing his bow and walked back around to the door. "Well, if you don't mind, if I am going to come in, I would rather not leave my stuff lying around. I'm sure there is little to no crime here, but, you know, better safe than sorry." Picking up the gourd again, he looked at Maya again. "So, shall we?"

"Well, you can still control the wind, right? Then doesn't it not matter how good you are at it? I mean, if you can do it, who cares how good it is, you still did it." Maya thought about it. He did have a point, and it was kind of him to encourage her, but her reason for wanting to improve was not self-satisfaction. Not entirely. She smiled softly, as if she was saying the following words to herself. ''Yes, but...The stronger I become, the more I can protect the ones I love. That's what I hope my power will be able to do in the long run.'' As she was right now, she couldn't even protect herself. She was still at the stage where she had to rely on someone else.

***

Maya watched curiously as Michalis circled her house and came back with his things. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the wooden bow he was carrying. It was her first time seeing one from up close. It looked well-crafted. Ana then led her daughter and guest to the kitchen, more precisely to the dinner table. Obviously, the host took out a bunch of vegetables with a homemade dip, as every homemaker would be expected to do. Maya politely invited her guest to take a seat, after indicating a spot where he could set down the gourd.

''So you're a traveller? What brings you here?'' Maya saw her mother shooting her a glare for being nosey. The younger Fay smiled apologetically. In her defence, she wasn't being nosey, she was just taking interest in the foreigner. Maybe he had a few stories to share and if she listened to him she could learn a bit more about life in other kingdoms, or just Sera, which would be fine too. She just wanted to add to what small perspective she had of Carista. This was a once in a lifetime chance: when else was a foreigner going to literally bump into her in her hometown?

''Forgive her, Ana spoke up. She doesn't mean to pry, my daughter's simply too curious for her own good. And she has this eagerness to learn so she can help people all over the world...Isn't that right, Maya?'' Oh mom, what would I do without you? You have this eagerness to be my narrator, Maya thought without any real harsh feelings. However, perhaps her mother's ranting would come in handy. Michalis seemed like the quiet type; maybe if he knew her intentions he'd feel more comfortable talking to her? ''Yes, what she said'', she finished with a smile.

After that, Ana left, thinking it would be best if she left the two of them alone. She didn't feel any bad intent coming from the young Seran, and so didn't fear leaving her daughter with him. She also didn't want to crowd the boy, who would possibly be reluctant to open up should there be more people around. If this was the opportunity for Maya to finally fulfill her dream of broadening her horizons, she wouldn't dare try to get in her way. She sought out her husband to share with him what had just happened and what it could later entail.

The gourd was heavy. That was a fact. Even with the endurance you need to make a journey half way across a continent on foot in just a week, it was difficult to carry a gourd full of water uphill in strong winds. You get it easier when you're going downhill with little to no wind. Pulling it up as he walked in, he smiled at who was, apparently, Maya's mom and mouthed the words, "thank you". Placing the gourd where Maya indicate to, he went over to the vegetables and dip. He hadn't had many vegetables before, and never had dip. Being from the center of the Seran jungle, vegetables were a rarity, and dip was only eaten by the rich in Sera’s capitol. Picking up a long green vegetable he had never seen before, he dipped it into the dip carefully and took a small bite, standing with eyes wide open as the flavors flooded into his mouth. Unconsciously saying the word, “whoa,” he remembered his host and turned back around to Maya.

Taking a seat where Maya gestured for him to, he grabbed another one of the long green vegetables and investigated it. Looking up as Maya asked two questions and then her mother chastised her for it, he took a small bite out of the vegetable and pondered the kind of relationship they had. His mom certainly didn’t chastise him. Although, of course, he was technically already an adult in Seran culture and isn’t worthy of her chastisement anymore, but in his mind Michalis was still a teenager. “You know, I honestly don’t mind the-“ Michalis started when Maya’s mother walked away. Standing up and dipping his vegetable, he looked back at Maya. “I honestly don’t mind the questions. Not like you’re trying to figure out anything personal or anything.” Sitting back down, he checked to make sure his bow was still under the seat and crossed his legs, preparing to answer the questions that were thrown to him.

“Well, yes,” Michalis started, “I am a traveler. In a sense, at least. I come from Sera, just to the North. But why I came here? That’s a little more complex. You see, right now in Sera we have a king, like every other empire I know of, but he’s not doing too well. Our trade routes have been destroyed, the people are poorer than ever, and, most importantly to me, the humanitarian crews lost all funding and were disassembled. Originally, it was my lifelong dream to join a humanitarian crew and journey across the world to help others, but when they were disassembled, I had to extend my childhood by two years so I had time to figure out something else to do in life. So I’m just looking for a new meaning now, or else I’ll be living in the jungles for the rest of my life, which I don’t mind, but I don’t want to be devoured by the wild. And trust me, when you have to pull your power from the outside world, it’s easier than ever to be consumed by your element.”

Maya listened to him until the end, a bit overwhelmed: he seemed really caught up in his words, like he was speaking to himself more than to her. She payed close attention to his words since it was the first time she was hearing about humanitarian crews being disassembled in Sera, which wasn't even that far from her. She'd never really considered it seriously, or discussed it with her parents, but now that she thought about it, joining one of those would definitely have made it to her to-do list. Did she have to give up on the dream right after coming up with it?

She continued listening to him, finding she could relate to him more and more. He was also unsure as to what to do with his life at the moment. She wanted to help, but it was such a vague idea. She needed something specific, a plan of some sort. She knew she had a meaning in life, she just didn't know how to go about it. His feeling was similar, but the difference was that he had had a plan and it crumbled before he could do anything about it. Now, he was lost. She automatically felt like, and it was uncontrollable and inexplicable, she had to stop his resolve from wavering.

''Don't get discouraged! If something doesn't exist, make it yourself!'' Wait, what? What did I just say?She was creative and eager, but she'd never gotten any bold ideas like that so suddenly before. Moreover, who was she to tell him what to do? What did she know? However, the words continued spilling out of her mouth, without second thoughts. ''If all the crews were disbanded, make your own! I'll help you. I might not look like much, but I can cook and apply first aid...and my parents are always letting wounded or lost strangers in so I'm used to helping out! My wind control could come in handy, too!''

She thought she'd gone crazy, but bit by bit her own words started making sense to her. In a ''yeah, why not!'' kind of way. There was this person in front of her with the same dream as her, she just had to grab the opportunity. That was what life was all about. Random, impulsive decisions; people taking hold blindly of their dreams. She looked at Michalis with determination in her eyes. He'll probably think I'm crazy..., she thought in the back of her mind. But, this was no time for doubts.

She's crazy. She is just insane. Him, start a humanitarian crew? That's impossible. He's always lived in the jungle, always been a hunter. He didn't know the first thing about leading a crew. And she doesn't seem to either. It's improbable. No, not improbable, impossible. There was no way it could happen. It's like, trying to make rice into fish. Or trying to stuff a tiger into a hog. Okay, maybe that last ones possible. But you'd have to find a REALLY big hog. Like, bigger than a tiger hog. Okay, getting off point. It's impossible. Just plain out, simply impossible. But then again.....

"Yeah! I could teach survival skills, rebuild houses, and even make medicines!" He knew these things. He could teach these things. He was a Plant Consular, for crying out loud! At the age of 17! He can get the farms started again! He can keep back the overgrowth! He could do this! "Yeah! If we work together it would be easy to do this!" He jumped up, landing with a bang on the ground. "If we went back to Sera first, we could help the villagers. MAybe we could even get the rice farmers back into shape with the failing trade! And then-" He fell back down.

"No, we can't. Two people isn't enough. Nobody will allow us in unless we have at least seven. And we need money to afford travel and supplies. Oh, and who would want our help? We're just kids. Nobody thinks we can make a difference. All they see in us is nobodys. Only the proffesionals can do this. And trust me, we're not profesionals."

Then, it started. Maya's lips curled in a pout as she stared at her guest. Within a second, he'd gotten caught up in her words, actually getting into her idea and losing confidence the moment after. Well, ok, so she'd spoken on a whim and his reaction was the normal one; it didn't matter! Point was he'd harboured hope for awhile and let go of it, crushed by 'realism'. Yes, he was being too realistic. But, if every human in the world was a realist, there would never be any changes. Where would they be, then?

''We can just gather more people!''she cried, bringing her hands together. There must be other people like us who want to help out. If we show them our intentions, they'd follow us! Then, we could prove ourselves so others would want our help. Being kids doesn't change anything; adults and kids alike will believe what they see!''

Money. That was a real problem though. A real wall, right there, blocking the way. Her family wasn't rich and travel was expensive. Before long, she started brooding too against her better nature, sitting down as well. She refused to give up. If they were simply smart about it, they could minimize their expenses and make it work. Local travel didn't cost much...She knew a lot of families personally; maybe they could support them with small donations...She was the darling of the hill, after all. It wasn't extortion, she convinced herself. She wouldn't ask for much and one day she'd be paying back the whole world.

''What if...What if we started out here, in Ventus, and just recruited other members here? We could start making a name for ourselves and then, perhaps, people would start supporting us. We could get funded by donations, at first, before getting backed up by bigger sponsors. I could already ask a few of the families I know in the village and the ones around it!''

I guess we could fish in our own savings, too? If this is my calling, Mother and Father won't mind. They'll encourage me to do this. Yup, the only problem left is this guy. ''What do you say? You've got nothing to lose anyway, right?''

This thread has been locked and archived as all but one character has been deleted at the request of the player. PM Delilah with any issues.