dawn of dae ☀

date: january 29 time: 7:30 am location: streets of crowmire availability: closed to @dawnofdae​

In his dreams, he smelled smoke. His heart hammered against his chest, hands fumbling with a doorknob that was too hot to turn- he winced in pain, using his shirt to finally pry it open. The entire floor was aflame and he coughed, racing for the exit only to find it blocked by the inferno. 

“No, no, no, no-”

He turned, caught sight of the fire escape, and then he woke up with one thought replaying itself over and over again in his head: home. It had felt too real, to detailed for him to write it off as another dream- the sensation of the smoke filling up his lungs felt too familiar, his throat sore when he tried to clear it. Seeing things he recognized, things he hadn’t remembered before, like a painting of an elf swinging from the branch of a tree being completely engulfed in fire, or the way that the smoke poured from the walls because they were burning from within.

It was real, and Leo found himself dressed and headed home to Crowmire- a place he had avoided returning to ever since his memory had been wiped- before the sun even rose.

It was the same as it had always been, cobbled streets and pedestrians living their monotonous lives. How he’d been born and raised here hadn’t ever made sense to anyone who knew him. It was the source of many a joke, people claiming he’d been switched at birth. 

He thought simply returning would make him remember somehow; there had to have been a reason he felt so inclined to return so suddenly. But all he saw were the things he wished he’d forgotten; there was nothing here. At least not that he could see.

He took a seat on a bench and sighed with disappointment, doing something he rarely did anymore: he raised his hands, palms up, and tilted his head to the sky.

“Tymora, if you’re listening: I need help. I need… I need to remember.“

Perhaps he’d expected some sort of reply, but none came. He bit his bottom lip and stared into the distance, at a mother and her child walking hand in hand, longing to return to a point in his life when things were that simple.

Crowmire was alive with magic — Daera could sense it flowing through the streets, pulsing in every ancient brick. There was history here, and she longed to know it. But there was little time to explore, and for as much as she wanted to stay, she knew that she couldn’t afford the luxury.

She was walking a dangerous line; she had been for months now. The Raven Queen was aware of her treason, that much Dae was certain of, and it unwise to stay in one place for too long. The shadows were everywhere, around every corner, but she knew them well. She knew how to escape.

But an eternity of running could spare a moment — and she came to a stop by a sad stranger, lowering herself to sit beside him on an old wooden bench. She followed his gaze to the mother and her child, then turned back to see the sadness in his eyes. The confusion. He was lost.

And she was afraid of being found.

That didn’t stop her from basking in the sun.

“Care for some company?”

A snowball hit a woman head-on and the woman thanked her assailant. Confusion masked her aura; Ysenia couldn’t get a read on her. Ysenia recalled whispers surrounding a Shadar-kai student at the monastery. They were particularly adept at learning the ways of death. She wished to learn their ways before exile. Perhaps the goddess of fate and death was cluing her in after all. Perhaps this served a purpose. Regardless of the cosmic intentions, this was a learning opportunity and one last chance.

Yet, here she stood, radiating sunshine on a wintry day, so far removed from the world below.

“A game back home. Same premise – mud, you get the gist.” Ysenia’s response was as steady as her gaze as she watched the stranger approach.

Her question caught her off-guard, but it wasn’t unsurprising. She was cautious to divulge too much. Small talk was a painful necessity. An answer for a question was a fair trade-off.

“Have you just left the Shadowfell?” Ysenia blurted out. Immediate regret. “Uh, excuse that. Got a little ahead of myself there. It’s the desert to the west. Mostly thieves, nomads, and sands all under the tyranny of Queen Ivana. You do know there’s a war, right?”

The woman was sharp and to the point, but not viciously so. Perhaps it was just her nature — like the way a wild rose would take root beneath a thicket of briars. Maybe it made her feel safe, or maybe it was just a thing that simply was. She had learned in this world that there was not always a reason for everything that happened, and she was willing to accept that.

“Sounds delightfully filthy.” She smiled at her own words, amused by the images flashing in her mind. While the delight might be short-lived, she couldn’t deny that it would be fun for a moment. Sometimes that was all that was needed; just a spark in the darkness. The stranger continued, answering Dae’s question and asking one of her own.

The Shadar-kai lowered her gaze, as if only just remembering her origin. But she knew it well, and no matter how hard she tried to pretend like she had forgotten it, the truth was still dull and dark in her eyes. She didn’t belong here. But she wanted to, and no one had cast her out yet. Not knowing something did not mean fearing it. She had never been afraid of the sun.

“Just recently, yes. It’s been an adjustment to say the least.” She listened intently, drinking up the knowledge. “I, um, have heard tales of the war. I haven’t experienced it for myself.” She swallowed before lifting her gaze, cutting through the gloom with the cheerfulness of her words. “It sounds beautiful, though —  if not a little bit dangerous.”

“Brava!” Avi couldn’t help the jovial laugh that bubbled from his chest. Clearly, she was a lot more observant than him - that, or he had been watching his parents more closely than he’d realized. Regardless of the circumstance, it was a great first impression. The elf was more charming than any of the nobles he’d spoken with that night, not to mention warmer. He felt a weight lift off his shoulders in her presence. 

“My parents are here from Anari,” he shared, “I haven’t seen them in a year. My brother’s here, too. It’s just…been a while since we’ve…been a family.”

He was careful not to overshare, only because people rarely appreciated that in a first conversation. She was off on one account: he did have a lover here, and that was surely adding to his mood. But, again, he kept that to himself. Better she had a full sense of accomplishment than be hindered by his correction. 

“Do I get to guess for you now? You seem plenty happy to be here.”

His laugh moved through her like a summer breeze — and she basked in it, heat rising to her cheeks. She tucked in her chin with a shy blush, averting her gaze for just a moment. “It’s all in the context clues. And a lucky guess never hurt anyone.” Or maybe it had; maybe in this world luck was dangerous, but at least here it was an option. She was tired of fate and misfortune.

She looked in his direction again, tilting her head to the side. “Anari?” She tried to be less obvious this time, confident enough that he was talking about a place and not some foreign creature. “I’ve yet to travel there. Is that where you were raised? What’s it like?” She hungered for knowledge, willing to accept it from any source. Excitement radiated from her.

He placed the spotlight on her, and she took a cautious step back. Not because she was afraid, or because she was distrusting, but because she didn’t know what her truth would be. Her joy was so grand, and yet so simple. It was a mountain beneath a sea. She wasn’t sure how to express it, and she was uncertain that he could ever guess the source.

“I would never deny you the chance.”

It was not in the nature of things to be denied, to be pushed beneath the earth and left in the shadows. She was here now, and all her secrets were bare. There was nothing to hide, not from him and not from herself, but there was so much to be found. “Go ahead. Make me a mystery.”

Avi had been bracing himself for another noble to approach, but instead he was approached by someone whose words and tone of voice held no trace of nobility. The change of pace was welcome, but Avi was especially thankful for the protection this woman offered. If another noble tried to bring their daughter over for introductions, maybe they’d reconsider upon seeing him caught up in conversation. He really hated viewing people like that, like interactions he had to maneuver his way around, but this environment was making him feel like he had to be strategic. 

Regardless of who he might be avoiding, this stranger seemed much warmer than the others he’d encountered that night. Her presence immediately put him at his, his shoulders loosening and his smile widening. “I do love a good game,” he answered, turning all of his attention toward her. His eyes no longer flickered back toward his parents - that would make the guessing all too easy for her. “And I have no secrets- at least not tonight. Alright, give it your best shot. Why am I feeling so grand?”

Her smile stretched further at the display of his kindness, the warm light shining in his eyes. He was a boy made of honey. And he was golden, and he was gentle, and he accepted her presence without a second glance. It slipped her mind, sometimes, that she was not of this world. The shadows of her homeland coursed through her veins, but it was easy to pretend like she belonged here. In the sun.

She felt included by him, and she was grateful for it. “Okay, then.” It was as simple as that, a connection formed without circumstance. It was a choice, and it was theirs. She turned on her heels, narrowing her eyes playfully. “If it was a lover, I assume they would be by your side. You don’t seem like the type to hide your affection.” She moved to face him again, looking him over. “And I doubt it’s the festivities. This isn’t your first party.”

And then she brought a finger to her chin, tapping it for a short moment of thought. “It is love, but a different kind. Familial.” She said the word as if she understood it, as if it was more than something she had fantasied about. A dream she had to make for herself. “My guess is that you have family here, and being together makes you happy.”

date: january 17th location: the kristall ball status: open

“I do hope you understand my curiosity. This is absolutely unprecedented! If something were to happen to Sir Crayhorn, would you and your spouse inherit the estate?”

“To be completely honest, I don’t know anything about that,” Avi said, eyes darting between the noblewoman and his parents waltzing behind her. It was certainly a sight to behold; he’d never seen them so dressed up and so poised. But it wasn’t just the spectacle that had him distracted. He’d been receiving attention from the noble crowd since he’d arrived, and he had very little idea of what they were talking about. He was starting to think that his charisma could only carry him so far here. “I’ll tell you this: if something does happen to my brother, and my spouse and I inherit the estate, my boyfriend is going to be very confused as to when I got married.”

Avi laughed then, trying his best to keep his focus on the noblewoman who seemed less impressed by his joke. “Charming,” she said, “I think I heard someone call for me, but it was so very nice to meet you.”

Left alone again, Avi hugged his cloak around himself and settled into the position as he continued to watch his parents blend into the festivities effortlessly. He could get used to this - not the incessant questions, though he understood their curiosity, but his parents in Hegaehend. They were a family now, all four of them, and though it would take some getting used to, he would endure any amount of misdirected attention if it meant everyone knowing who his family was. 

She didn’t mean to watch him through the evening — but her eyes were drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Not in the sense that she was attracted to him, though his features were far from displeasing, but in the sense that the half-elf was positively bright. She couldn’t help but to stare.

The sun was still strange to Daera, unknown. It was more than just a ball of fire in the sky — it was a feeling. And it was kind, and it was safe, and she felt silly for keeping herself at a distance. She was finished with standing in the dark. “You're so happy.” It should have been worded as a question, but she didn’t need to ask.

"Sorry. Your aura is very warm, I mean.” She was at his side now, arms tucked shyly around herself even as she held his gaze. “I wonder why.” It wasn’t her place to know the source of his joy, but she couldn’t help her curiosity. “Want to make a game of it? I bet I can guess.”

Her lip quirked mischievously. “Only if it’s not a secret.”

Date & Time: January 10, afternoon Location: Runswick, Kristall Carnival Status: OPEN

Ysenia cupped a mug of hot cocoa, sipping more for warmth than taste. She was used to the freezing nights after the searing heat of the desert sands. Children ran across the market, weaving through the crowd. She noticed the runt of the group hide behind a noble woman’s frivolous skirt just to dodge the incoming snowballs. 

“Kids,” she muttered to herself, shaking her head. “Cleaner than Kaivras mud-balls, for sure.”

Daera was enchanted — even in the dead of winter, this world was more beautiful than anything she had ever known. Everything was alive and warm, in its own strange and wondrous way. A way that she had yet to understand. The birds were still singing, and the children were still laughing, and everything was okay. She walked slower now, easier.

A flying ball of snow met her cheek, and she giggled freely. “Thank you!” she cried out to one of the kids, waving sweetly in their direction. It was an odd tradition, to be sure, but she was grateful to be included. She wore the ice proudly in her hair, until it fell against her shoulders in damp waves.

“Cleaner than what?” She had only caught half of the conversation, but she was still eager to join in. Eager to learn. The woman had a kind energy, so Dae allowed herself to come to a stop beside her. She smelled like chocolate, or perhaps that was the liquid in her hands. It still made the Shadar-kai smile. “What’s a Kaivras mud-ball? And what’s a Kaivras?”

{ graphic by griffin }

“ And then her heart changed, or at least she understood it; and the winter passed, and the sun shone upon her. ”

― J.R.R. Tolkien