Back to the Odsier Slaughter

JP with Winteroak and Gonyaul:

The wind ripples through the tall grasses, the sun shines in the sky, and white, puffy clouds float by, creating a peaceful vista, but looks can be deceiving. Beasts of all sorts live and hunt in in the Odsier Plains and the patches of waist-high grass provides the perfect hiding place for all sorts of threats.

And of course Gonyaul has seen first hand the effects of the war, which is still in open stages.

He comes across the site of the slaughtered tribe later that day. The place where his secret was finally revealed to Voah. And he wonders for the first time what implications this could have for the Arbiter if his secret is ever revealed to others. She left him to keep him safe but maybe Voah herself is far from safe...

It was strange and familiar riding alone and being utterly silent. With Voah his mouth would sometimes hurt from from all their talking and smiling. It was strange how quickly things had changed. What was familiar was not talking, his people only used it for special reasons. He smirked to himself, he could very well have spoken more out loud than any Vaux in history over the last seven year window.

Gonyaul’s thoughts were still tethered to missing her. He could not understand why she was so compelled to go back to a lifestyle which she didn’t seem to enjoy when there were many other viable options available. He knew he was in a dangerous spot still; however, he couldn’t help but speculate that she was about to enter a much more perilous situation.

Thinking of her wasn’t helping the ache in his heart. He decided to compose a poem in his thoughts to distract himself:

‘How long does time pass me by before I’ve seen it go to long? And with wanting I discover my wait may only have just begun. When passion has risen to an overwhelming force within the blood and soul, pray tell what outlet does this wildfire take? Boiling love, unbridled passion, embodied and redirected in all that I do. To save the mind from the all consuming fire, silent passions need a path. Take song, dance, verse and romantic thoughts … solutions for this yearning flame which will inevitably engulf everything until love is all that remains of my former self.’

Amu would occasionally make a sound which brought the daydreaming Gonyaul to attention. Getting distracted by his imagination and the wonderments of the world had always been a struggle for him since before he could remember. Yet, he didn’t need to forget to remain vigilant. The Luger scar across his upper back was a reminder that in the beauty of this interesting landscape were dangers not to be take lightly. From atop Amu he had a better vantage point in the tall grasses; however, at times his mind would play tricks on him as the wind moved the grass.

When he arrived back at the site he was grateful for making it safely in one piece. He dismounted and found a suitable location to clear and setup camp for night would soon be knocking at the door of this long day.

As he labored, he tried to block out the sight and smells left in the wake of war. There would be plenty of time to take in the details tomorrow morning when he started looking for things to aid in his survival.