So I heard you "courted" Barani's ancestor?
The wizened figure gripped his staff with both hands and shifted a bit uncomfortably. It was obvious that it had been quite some time since he's been asked a question of such personal significance. [Well now...]Using a hand to push some of his coiled mane aside, he continued to run his fingers through his hair bashfully.[....I suppose that's a story in itself, isn't it?][Well, let's see... Where to begin?]The bard placed a finger to his mask and gazed up at the clouds in thought.[Obviously, it was a long, long time ago. Back when the fields were green instead of gold and the great cities of stone still towered above.][It was a good time. Peaceful and serene, like a calm before a storm. The peril of the stone guardians hadn't yet struck the land, but resources were dwindling and there was a distinct tension mounting in the larger cities.]He paused for a moment and grew silent, perhaps reminiscing or perhaps mulling over his next words before speaking them. Readjusting his grip on his staff, he dug it into the ground to make a handrest and continued.[And in the face of an impending disaster, what better to do than celebrate? Despite the rising feeling of dread, the cities were as lively as ever, perhaps moreso.][Maybe they could tell that life as they knew it was coming to an end and were determined to live out the last of their days as one big hurrah.]A melancholy chuckle escaped him as he leaned back on his staff and reverted his gaze to the distant light of the Mountain beyond the clouds.[A celebration of the end.][Anyhow! There was a young girl who lived in that time, born into a small settlement in the outskirts of the land, who spent her days gazing out at the distant city lights.][She dreamed of a life in the heart of civilization. She heard stories of the great clothen walkways between buildings as tall as mountains. She heard talk about how they could engineer anything they desired and how the land gladly gave them whatever they asked.][So she decided that she would move to the city when she grew up, no matter what.]Tuuk removed his staff from the sand with a slight tug and slowly turned it around so that it touched his mask. Smoke billowed from the wooden spout at the other end and he took a moment to puff on the thick substance before he continued.[Her name was Mis'myr. She had hair like billowing clouds and eyes like the sky.][...And it should be understood that of all the many, many places I have been to in my travels, I have always made a habit of frequenting the settlement she was born in.][...It is a settlement of dancers.] He chuckled again and expelled a heart of smoke from his pipe.[And you cannot find more gorgeous company.][So when I say that Mis'myr was regarded throughout her home as the most beautiful and graceful dancer of them all, it's... Something to be said.][And that's not to speak of her fiery spirit.][I knew her on the cusp of her maturity. She was by all accounts an adult, but she had yet to receive any blessings of independence from her family. Her parents insisted she wait four years before leaving their settlement and that she promise to return soon after, but their words seemed to pass right through the young girl's head. She spoke often of how she planned to live in the cities and how excited she was to leave home.][....][...I think two years passed before I saw her next.][I had drifted into one of the larger cities after a particularly draining adventure, a story for another time I assure you, and, in desperate need of a drink and a laugh, I followed the chatter about an incredible place to dine with the most mesmerizing dancer.][Imagine my surprise when the dancers come out and the entire room begins to cheer for the girl with clouds for hair, her beautiful blue eyes obscured with a veil of red.][I suppose she recognized me as well, because I'd seen the girl dance before and the performance that followed was abysmal. When she was through, I followed her out of the establishment and caught up to her.][I asked her if she needed me to give her a refresher course in bellydancing and although I could tell she was unhappy, she laughed.]The old bard drifted off again for a moment before returning to his recount.[She had run away from home without her parent's blessing.][A shame, too, because without the gifts they had already given her, beauty and pride, I doubt she would be as well off as she was when I found her.]Tuuk hunched over a bit and set his pipe to the side, lacing his fingers together in thought.[....I....][....I believe I've gone on long enough. I wasn't really prepared for this and I'm sure it shows! Nobody wants to listen to...an old man ramble!]He sat up quickly, stretching his back before slapping his hands down on his knees.[Is there something else you'd like to know?][Perhaps the tale of the haunted vessel that roams the sands with no pilot? Or possibly of the great hero Y'salt who slayed the terrible, maiden-eating Manticore?][I have plenty else to tell, friend, you need only ask!]
