#starcall

The trail of flowers Clive follows leads to Savior's Respite.

He's heard about this place, after asking a few locals about the culture of this ward. They seemed eager to share with a newcomer, though some of locals' faces fell just a little once they mentioned Savior's Respite. Others, however, talked as though it was just another local legend. Whatever history this place had, it was... conflicted.

And for good reason too. If the stories were to be true, then no matter which version of the tale you believed, it ended in death. A sacrifice, no matter how the tale is twisted. A life is lost, on their own will.

Clive seemed to be drawn to it. He and Torgal trail along the path the flowers led too, until they reached their destination. It's just as the legend says: endless blooming flora and quietness - and a cliff that leads to the end. It's as though Death itself does exist here, around them. It truly is... eerie.

Ifrit's Dominant stops in his tracks when he spots a woman there. For a moment he's startled, ready to spring into action to make sure she doesn't suffer the same fate many others have, but he stops himself: she's not near the cliff, rather sitting among the flowers... with books at her side.

Oh, she's studying.

Now Clive feels awkward, and he feels even more awkward when she stops her reading to turn and see who else has stumbled upon this little place.

"I'm sorry, milady." Clive offers his apologies for... interrupting her? He's not sure, but ever the polite man despite his rough appearance, he feels the need to apologize. "I followed the trail of flowers here. Figured it might be worth looking into."

Taking a better look at her, the woman before him seems almost ethereal to him, hair dark as the sky, eyes bright as the stars, and markings on her face as though she permanently sheds tears. She must make heads turn, certainly. He's reminded of Jill, looking at her. It only makes his heart hurt, so he finds himself staring down at the flowers before him.

She had only just begun to heal from her parting with the Scions, but to suddenly not have Gaia or any of her other friends from the First is a bigger blow that she doesn't know how to handle. It has only been a few days since her arrival to the island, and yet it feels like it's been much more.

Her venture outside of her apartment (Her new home...?) today was meant to be nothing more than an attempt to familiarize herself with the local shops. She couldn't fall into a state where she doesn't take care of herself, after all — She owed it to the others to keep moving forward, even if it's in an unfamiliar place.

However, she didn't expect to see anyone she recognized. A familiar flash of blue peeks out within the crowd, causes her to stumble to a stop. The thought of someone else being trapped here was something that she had even considered a possibility. If anything, it made her afraid — She could accept herself being brought here as a failure on her part for not being strong enough. But her...?

"Lyra...?" Ryne's voice is nothing more than a whisper, disbelief evident on her features as her feet move to bring her closer to the astrologian before she can fully process it all.

The crowd shifts again, and she sees that Lyra is not alone. She's standing and chatting with another familiar figure, one she had thought she'd never see again. They look like they are enjoying themselves, smiling and looking over the wares being offered by the merchant, but she can't help the cry of his name that immediately escapes from her throat.

"Thancred!"

With an eager tone, G’raha shared with Tsuru what he hoped to find. He desired to visit all that prove to be essential to his investigation, though relying on his knowledge of the Rak’tika Greatwood, he saw potential ruins and artifacts within the Jungle Biome. 

As the couple approached the crowd, G’raha took notice two familiar faces: Lyra and Thancred. He stopped and rose a hand to greet them before shortening the distance to meet them. 

“’Tis no surprise to find you both here. I hardly imagine any of the Scions--... ahem, former Scions disregarding the opportunity for an adventure.” Excited red eyes shimmered as G’raha uttered the one adventure. “Tsuru and I are to descend and survey the Jungle Biome; would you care to join us? I can hardly think of two more capable souls than you.” G’raha smiled and removed his staff from his back, “With the four of us, I do believe that our light party will fair well. What do you say, my friends?”

While G’raha did his very best to hide his excitement, it’s apparent to see. His ears twitched, listening to every sound that transpired through the crowd; his tail swished behind him, bouncing as if ready for prey; and the tightened smile expressed his need to repress the elation that swirled within him. 

He’s ready for an adventure.

not that he, himself, wished to hear of it for more reasons than he can count一

another sip of his glass is taken, all before glancing up toward the skies with a small smile fit perfectly upon his face. although company had been the last thing he was to expect when arriving here for a quiet night with wine and his thoughts, he could hardly claim the astrologian was a horrible companion for the night after their conversation began not long ago. rather, he finds it just as well to pass the idle hours before the evening becomes too deep amidst its lonesome, twilit moments.

❝ So, were I to request it, would you be capable of divining the stars we see now? ❞

Hey guys! I know a lot of people who follow me here are fellow artists, so I want to talk to you a little bit about Project Starcall.

Project Starcall is an art request community started by @sylessae that seeks to give more control to artists who want to fill requests and draw gift art for people. Instead of requests being made directly to an artist, they're posted up publicly for artists to to browse through and draw inspiration from. We all know how stressful it can be to take requests as an artist, and the goal of Starcall is to remove that pressure and allow artists to draw whatever interests or inspires them without any time constraints or expectations!

Anyone can post a request, anyone can fill a request! It's a lot of fun, and there's dozens and dozens of requests to choose from. There's also a Discord server where the community can hang out, chat, and share art and common interests. Come check it out.* <3

It's a fantastic community for both artists and requesters alike, and I've found and made some lasting friends because of it. I’ve been drawing more in the past few months than I did for the entire two years prior, and it’s all thanks to Starcall that I’ve gotten that desire to create again.

Also!! One more thing! During June, the project's creator, Sylessae, is partaking in a personal challenge called Junequest, which you can find out more about here! Syl is a fantastic artist and a wonderfully inspiring person. If you get a moment, I highly encourage you to check out her Patreon! Without her, the amazing community over at Starcall would not exist.

You can find out more about the project over on the website!

'The centuries have not been kind to Erisaatas. With each loss of a potential home, with each friend perished, with each life extinguished by the raging hate of the Burning Legion, Erisaatas lost a tiny piece of her faith in the Light. She tried to desperately hold onto the diminishing, precious candle flame, yet the tiny specs of the shattered symbol escaped through her trembling fingers, despite her hopeless efforts.    In the end, Erisaatas' faith and the very connection to the Light wavered and waned to the point where she could no longer bask in the soothing energies and wield them to mend her allies. Only time will tell, if her faith rekindles the flame, and the spark of light returns to her.'