Oni runs up and dips the quill, spilling some ink she writes neatly for her sister "Seazu Velarun"

Oni passed the leather stand and nodded to Jeyarp. The crystal shone so brightly but the weather was nice and cool. She took a deep breath and flexed her gills. She was walking barefoot and she felt the cool stones beneath her feet. This kind of weather usually kept her smiling but this day she looked concerned and a little confused. Looking up she saw her guild sister Liil standing in the grass. It had been so long since she'd seen her that she almost hadn't recognized her there.

"Hi Liil!" Oni waved and walked up closer. Liil greeted her back and they chatted for a while about music and things. Oni looked preoccupied and finally blurted it out. "Now that I've turned into a young adult," she wrinkles her nose at the thought, "I have to decide on one main career."

Oni looks up toward the crystal and back at Liil "I"m not sure what to choose."

Liil nods "that's a really important decision and shouldn't be made too fast. What are your interests?"

"Well... I write stories, I play the flute, and I do mining. I don't want to be a miner but I will probably always have to mine some for extra tria. Onilise shrugs, "So I guess I'd have to be a story writer or a musician."

Liil smiled and the two of them continued on thier way but Oni couldn't help but contemplate the future that lay ahead of her. She wondered if she'd ever really have a grown up career and what it would be like. She decided when she did, she'd try to remember this day and feel the satisfaction of knowing her destiny.

She raised the flute to her lips and played another tune that she remembered from her childhood and her eyes seemed to smile as she did.

Oni lay in the crystal's mid-day glow on the surface of a large rock which protruded from the Irifron river. An eagle gobble splashed in for a passing fish and the spray of fine coolness showered over her. She didn't move; she just laid there and smiled. Her raven hair spread over the stony surface was starting to dry into wavy whisps. She felt the breeze on her lips and wiggled her long webbed toes.

Soon asleep, she began to dream. Transported by the silvery threads of unconsciousness, she was back in the neighborhood where she had been born in Mielthis. She could hear the eagle gobbles in the nearby pond scratching in the grass and the air was thick with the fragrance of the charmflowers that grew there. The scent of the charmflowers was what woke her. If someone were there to look closely, they would see a small tear run down the side of her face shortly after her eyes opened. It was always like this in the morning and at night. As she would lay still, memories of the past would overtake her.

She wiped her face and rebelled against the feeling. There was no use in being sad all the time. It wouldn't change a thing! She wondered again where her family went when they left her that day but shook off the question. Who could answer anyways? She began to twirl her hair, a habit she picked up somewhere in Hydlaa. She looked down at her chest in response to a spreading warmth and realized her skin was drying. Slightly irritated at the need to move, she rolled off the rock and into the water.

As she sank down a few bubbles escaped her nose and rose up through her hair as it followed her head downward. She let her body sink at it's natural rate to the sandy bottom as her gills flexed and began to work. She pushed up suddenly and broke the surface with such force that she splashed a nearby eagle gobble who promptly hissed at her.

She'd finally learned her way around without the help of a guide or map and planned to set out to Ojaveda to visit Jirosh. He had taken a liking to her and was helping her get into marketing and she thought he was more than a little cute. She let the water drip behind her leaving a trail from the river halfway to Ojaveda. She was careful not to attract the attention of the rogues that hung out along the road, after which she felt safe again. After greeting one of the guards on her way in, she headed toward Mikana's.

Suddenly, she heard someone yelling about a robbery. She looked around nervously but only saw a couple of men standing in the road looking confused. Their confusion was only a ruse. They drew her into one of the warehouses and then pulled out swords and robbed her. They took all of her tria and left her laying there for dead. Bleeding from too many places to count she shouted for help. Jirosh ran over and quickly wrapped her wounds then set off to get the guards to find the attackers. Scared for her life, Oni ran out into the street and then kept running all the way to Hydlaa where she collapsed in front of a group of friendly faces.

Lying in front of them she held her wounds and tried not to cry out too much. Suddenly everyone was asking her if she was okay and she found herself spilling the story of what had happened to her.

Dannae... the woman who was kind and spoke to her when she had first set foot in Hydlaa showed great concern as did Aramara and Jilata. There were others... but the faces faded in and out. It had been the daughters of Xiosia whom she had felt safe enough with to tell the details to. This memory among others would be the catalyst to bring her to join the daughters, after some studies with the Knowledge Seekers guild.

As one of the Daughters Of Xiosia, Oni finally felt at home again. Her sisters taught her everything about everything and she felt safe like when she lived with her parents. Mining for tria and helping others for the goddess for many cycles, Oni grew older and wiser. She had begun to notice boys and had learned about hunting, self defense, music, and lakka. She arrived at one of her favorite places near the stealth pool and regarded her reflection; yes, she had become a young woman now. She smiled and flipped her long wavy hair back as she turned to make her way back to Hydlaa.

You're an excellent writer!! I absolutely loved the descriptive detail. Really fun to read!! more? 

Okay thanks! I thought so too Zalya I have to admit 

Yes further back in this thread... I think Aiwendil requested clouds and a "thickness" to the wall's transparent parts. I agreed that if there's rain, there must some times be clouds so I added a couple. After all, we can push the envelope here without rewriting game coding haha so why not? It does make sense. Also, I had already felt the same way about not showing any thickness in the transparent parts of the wall. It looked odd that way so I tried to fix that. I'll be adding more flowers around. My problem now is that my characters will probably not show much detail because a person should only come up to the top of the roots... we'll see how it goes I guess 

Love those Aramara !!! 

hmmmmmm.... awesome idea!! If there's a contest to draw them, I'm in!