Disgraced Survivor

Life for Teiho had slowly begun to return to normal. A life of solitude and progression had become all that he had known in his last waking weeks. He had grown accustomed to the fact that his guild had abandoned him, the dull throb of his fading guild mark proof that he no longer cared for their ideals of virtue and free will and family and what have you. Such lofty ideals didn’t matter much to the young man anymore as he lived his life. It was hard to see their impact truthfully, well at least all of them aside from the free will. What was virtue in a world full of liars and thieves. What was the use of family if at a moments notice they could abandon you for dead without nay a word nor postcard. He had no use for such ideals if they didn’t service him better and the knowledge of his abandonment had clearly done more damage to his psyche than any true villain so really who were the evildoers but those who went back on their words.

But alas such philosophical thoughts were only possible because of the beauty of today. The bright, warm sun brought life to the forests surrounding Baska, a place that he had slowly began to call home as he recovered from his ordeals. The beauty of the land and the simplicity of the people allowed him to slowly ease himself back into society, if only to understand what he had truly lost that fateful day a year ago. His arm itched over the skin of his fading guild mark as his thoughts turned sour before a soft sound of splashing alerted him to the existence of something else nearby. As he stood there listening, old habits die hard as the adventurer inside of the young man yearned to discover the source of the sound, if only to see if it were something worth knowing about. However the cynic that had slowly grown within doubted if it were anything special and warned against mindless exploration as it clearly had lead to the state he was in today.

Making up his mind quickly, the young man turned to his left and approached the foliage blocking the sight of the Baska river from view and began to peel the veil away to reveal a sight for sore eyes. Dark chocolate skin wrapped in a soft airy green skin greeted his hazel orbs as he laid his eyes on the young woman. Not immediately smitten by her beauty, he could at least appreciate the astounding naturalness of her form. Definitely a woman of the Savannah from his memories of his travels. Only they and the people of Seven maintained such dark complexions from his recollection, though Seven’s were more due to the people of the Savannah settling and intermingling with the population, which explained his lighter complexion compared to the young woman. He’d contemplate his situation if only for a moment before deciding to reveal himself, not wanting to be seen as some sort of a pervert or peeping tom. He would step out from behind the trees to the right of her from the direction of the village in clear view as not to startle her.

The young man revealed his older frame, having grown about two inches during his coma, he now stood at five foot ten. Still short for a twenty year old, but respectable in most circles as it was slightly above average. His unkempt gray hair, had grown out even more since he had awaken, another sign of his mixed genes. Bits of white actually began to mix with the gray and black giving his hair a more smokey sheen to it giving his whole tribally marked face a bit of a edge of mysteriousness. He wore a simple black vest over a white dress shirt with black slacks. His shoes were simple walking shoes as he didn’t wish to get his dress shoes dirty. His ensemble seemed a bit off on his frame, as if he weren’t used to wearing such clothing, and he wasn’t. He preferred more adventure type clothing that he had normally worn, sadly the church did not have the style he preferred to use, and his own clothes had been destroyed a year ago. His vest and dress shirt had a few of the buttons loosened, if only because of the heat due to the sun being unnecessarily warm that day, which would also explain the young woman standing in the river.

He’d grace her with a small polite smile, not wanting to appear rude nor agnostic. Like the narrator said earlier, old habits die hard, and a beautiful woman was always one of Teiho’s vices. Attraction may not always be guaranteed, but Teiho was never one to shy away from the female form nor company, and as such he would approach this situation like any other. Bowing if only slightly in a customary form of greeting from Fiore, he’d address her in her own native tongue, “Good afternoon. My name is Constantine, but you may call me Teiho”. It was a simple greeting, and the language flowed out of his mouth as if it were natural which it had to be considering he had spent some time in his father’s homeland while searching for a few artifacts of importance.

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Disgraced Survivor

The young woman’s voice was noticeable soft if not a bit unsure. He could tell that she at least understood him, but with the way her words came out it was almost as if she were shy or startled. Uncertain now that he may have caused her discomfort, he took a minute step backwards, giving the illusion of granting her space so that he did not come off as threatening. Her reply was calm and to the point, even going as far as to compliment his name, something he didn’t get often. He’d chuckle heartily, his previous woes and insecurities washing away as he got into a bit more of a upbeat character, if only to maintain his nonthreatening outlook to the young woman. Her inquiry about his origins were understandable, he did approach and speak to her in her own tongue, but sadly that was about as deep as their connection went. It would probably hurt her just a small bit to know they lacked a similar background or upbringing, but at least she didn’t seem to shy away from him. It was nice... especially after all that he had been through.

“Unfortunately no, but I have travelled through the beautiful country. My father did not lie in his grand stories of its rich culture and exotic women”. He mentally berated himself for that last bit. Damn his ways, if only he could speak to women without trying to subconsciously sleep with them. It had been awhile since he had done that however, the last time such a thing had happened was with Galaxy, but who knew where she had gone. Likely disappeared with the rest if he were honest with himself. These thoughts dampened his mood just a tad but he refused to let them show on his face as another young woman brought herself into the glade. She looked more like a Fiorian than either of the two mocha colored inhabitants. She quickly inquired about directions to Baska, something he was readily able to give since he had just came from the small village. Nodding quietly, he’d gesture to the path that he had taken to reach the river before opening his mouth, “The main road is up through this small way in the forest. Once you see the cobblestone, turn to your left and it should take you straight to Baska”.

Just as easily as he had spoken in the natural dialect of Savannah, he had swapped back to the Fioran tongue to give the directions. His words came out smooth and confident as if he had been speaking in either tongue for his entire life. Truth be told, he didn’t remember how many dialects he had mastered over his travels but he knew he was quite proficient and most of the continents languages. He’d return his attention back to the young woman he had been previously conversing with, confident that the newcomer would find her way with no issue as it truly was a straight shot to the village from where they were and decided to continue the conversation they had been having. “I have seen many temples and cities of the Savannah, but the jewelry you wear seems a bit unfamiliar, what part of the country are you from? I did not know that different tribes created different styles of jewelry”. He returned to the tongue of the Savannah, uncertain if the young woman understood Fiorian, but confident that once she had gotten over her initial shyness she would be able to converse in her natural tongue. He did not know if the other woman would stay long, but he was confident that he could maintain a conversation with her as well if need be.

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Disgraced Survivor

The young woman seemed to have accepted his directions but maintained her position in the clearing to continue conversing, even going as far as to introduce herself in the tongue of the country they were in. This made the situation they were in all the more interesting for Teiho as he had been expecting the woman to leave but didn’t let it throw him off guard since the conversation he was having beforehand didn’t seem to be going far in the first place. He directed attention back to the young woman as she offered her thanks on the matter, not really ignoring the darker skinned woman inquiry on his ability to switch languages, but rather leafing that for a later conversation point. He’d give the lost woman a small smile, accepting her thanks before responding in kind.

“No issue, I wouldn’t want anyone to be lost in these woods truthfully, as this young woman as said, there are more than a few bandits in these woods and it wouldn’t be good if something should happen to you if I didn’t offer you proper directions”. Old habits. He had such a sick weakness for women that it made a lot of things hard for him, like maintaining conversations for example. One day that politeness would shoot him in the foot, but for now he was going to struggle with maintaining what felt like three separate conversations. Luckily, since the young woman had introduced herself that would give everyone a bit of a reset and create a whole new track for things to progress down.

“It’s my pleasure to meet you Ms. Britannia”, he replied in Fiorian. Now that he knew that the young dark skinned woman also spoke the language due to her replying to Kanya, he wouldn’t have to swap back and forth between languages to keep her in the loop of the conversation. “My name is Constantine, Constantine Liborum, but you may call me Teiho if that fits your tongue better”. He returned her bow with one of his own, sweeping his right arm across the front of his body in performance of the customary gesture. He’d return back to form and address the point that the young dark skinned woman had made earlier, “As for my ability to speak the language of this land, I speak many many languages having traveled far and wide in my rather short life. No matter the country, no matter the people, I can pick up and use the language just as easily as if it were my own native tongue”. And it wasn’t a lie either, just another trait of being a librarian he guessed.

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Disgraced Survivor

A girl from Savannah and another from the countryside. An interesting mix of individuals had gathered from varying backgrounds into this small clearing and it was very much intriguing to Teiho. Not so much that he’d pry into their backstories. He wasn’t that interested, nor was he that sort of person to pry, but he would accept any small nuggets of information that they happened to let out during the conversation. He’d acknowledge that Ianthe had asked him a question, the location of his origin to be exact. A few quick flashes of his past crossed his eyes before he returned to the present. He indeed understood what it meant to be pried into, and he would not do that to other people.

Instead he took Ianthe’s initiative and sat down on the mossy earth, the smell of spring filling his nose as he did. He was careful not to ruffle the clothes given to him by the church, the small gesture of kindness could only be repaid by one of consideration. Smiling, he’d look to the side, taking in the sounds of passing caravans and far off bandits before responding calmly, “You’re correct in your assumption. My land is quite far from here actually. Though like you, some of my elder origins come from the Savannah, hence the similar skin tones”. Well similar as in they were both dark. His had a more palish look to it as if he hadn’t been in the sun for quite some time. Truly being in a coma for a year had ruined just about everything about him except his wit.

Considering the other woman as well, he glanced over at her and took in her more conserved position. Oddly out of place and definitely reserved and a bit withdrawn, he could tell that while she wanted to maintain a bit of her current sociable personality, it wasn’t something she was used to, rather a part of her fought against it. Interesting. He wouldn’t comment on his thoughts, for they could be wrong and would instead continue his statement since not much time had passed since he started. “I come from the nation of Seven. Unknown of where exactly in Seven I come from, but I do know I started there.” And from there he traveled all of the nations around the continent before coming here. But that was a story for another time.

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Disgraced Survivor

He accepted the thanks graciously before getting up and dusting his clothing off. The small sit and talk had been a nice change of pace to what he had originally came out to do that morning. Hearing the offer for food, he politely declined, stating that he had already had food earlier that day. Walking away from the women, he would wish them a well day before disappearing back into the brush he had come from. Entering back onto the beat path he’d take a deep whiff, breathing in the fresh Baskan air before sighing and releasing with a smile on his face. Man he loved a beautiful woman. It was a shame that he would most likely not see them ever again.

Shaking his head a this, he’d begin to walk down the path away from them returning to his walk that he had started earlier. It had only been a few days since he had awoke from the almost neverending slumber, yet his body still felt tense and rough in some areas. Looking down at the clothing he was wearing, he knew he couldn’t go jogging in them, let alone fighting, and thus thought against attacking the bandits that had been near the clearing. Instead he’d complete his loop before heading back to Baska, figuring that some quests would accomplish the same thing as a fight.

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