ROLEPLAY

[HRP] It had to be a small roleplay contribution at first, then I got carried away... [HRP/]

The chronicles of Eolinius: the beginning

On that cool autumn night Eolinius turned around on his bench. The day had been exhausting and yet he could not sleep. He grabbed Silan's gazette which was hanging on an empty mattress among the other refugee benches, some of his comrades were still on mission in the middle of the night. "This Chiang will definitely make us die of fatigue," he thought. In the light of the fire crackling at the bottom of the hut, he turned the pages of the newspaper sharply to get to the news sections of the continent he liked so much. But as usual the page was almost empty. There were only vague banalities on the beautiful weather of the lakes region and on the morning mists of the Zorai jungle.

News from the big world was coming here in droplets. For years, the Karavan had blocked the transporters and the refugees could only use them in one direction to get off the island. However, sometimes, some information was able to get past who knows how. "If they are not the refugees, only Karavan staff can disseminate this information. I don't see strange Kamis taking an interest in Homin business. "Eolinius suspected the Karavan members were using the transporters in the other direction. "They must be raised too. Despite their helmets, I sometimes have the impression that they are not the same. "Of course he sometimes saw flying machines hovering next to the teleporters, but personally he had never seen anyone fly down or up. "Can a member of Karavan be bribed for information about the continent? »
He shook his head trying to forget this crazy idea. He had sometimes approached them but felt uncomfortable in the midst of these faceless beings. He resigned himself to reading the remains of the gazette which looked more like a column of crushed yubos.

-Recrudescence of Gingos attacks in the north of the island.

More reconnaissance missions in prospect. It was now Jena's year that Eolinius had arrived on Silan. He was wondering what he was going to do with his future life. Raised by scientific parents who had aroused his curiosity towards nature and technique in the purest Tryker tradition, he did not understand much about the politics or religion of other homins. He had trouble fitting in at first. Unwilling to do military exercises, he would see himself crawling around the camp with his comrades, more captivated to describe the appearance of the multicoloured mushrooms that he saw under his nose than by the orders of the ranger officers in charge of training.
However, over time, he had gradually developed a taste for long hikes and was always amazed by the beauty of the Silan Plains. He will thus remember all his life the day when he discovered the lake and Crays Island, the sun reflecting in myriads of sparks on the calm and restful waters. He would have taken a bath if a few thirsty torbaks had not forced him to pull out his sword and carefully turn back.
He now felt torn between two desires, quietly carrying out experiments at the bottom of a laboratory and going through Atys to discover all its secrets. "Hmm, and why not reconcile the two? I could start my own scientific exploration agency when I get to the mainland. So I can share my discoveries with the Tryker nation and all Atys"

-Two young Matis have disappeared. Rumors indicate they could have been abducted by the Chlorogoos clan.

This news amazed him. How could refugees be taken from the Rangers' noses and beards? Besides Matis, "there aren't many of them on Silan already, if they take them off now! "Eolinius was always intrigued by the Matis and their noble ways of behaving, so far removed from the somewhat rustic ways of the Trykers who slap you on the back with a beer in your hand. He had seen refugees pass over Silan. Of all races, and some faster than others. Life was hard and an impressive number of young recruits were missing. However he had also made some friends who were important to him.During a dangerous expedition, he met an older Zorai who answered to Xebei's name. They had become friends and Xebei had then helped him, saved his life many times by taking him out of very dangerous situations. Xebei showed him how to survive in the Jungle and Eolinius always listened to his wise counsel. He sometimes saw him again and tried to apply his recommendations to stay alive.
After a long night of kirosta hunting, he met a group of hunters and met Kyriann. After the monster was killed, all the participants who were still whole gathered around a campfire. Tryker at heart and always in a good mood, she was passionate about boats and she enlivened the assembly by wanting to teach Eolinius her sailor songs. They saw each other several times and participated in several other missions, then impatient to see the lakes region, she left to join the continent.
More recently, he met Gaolad, another Zorai. He became his comrade-in-arms and they often fought together, slaughtering kepees for Chiang and the Rangers. Young and spirited, smoking Slavic cigars (curious for a Zorai) and always ready to help young homins in distress, Gaolad left for Zorai country.He was trying to find out around him if anyone had heard of their exploits on the continent. Thinking back to all his friends, Eolinius smiled and wondered if he would soon see them again. He was now looking forward to leaving and leaving the island.
Exhausted by the day and its night reflections, the newspaper fell from the hands of Eolinius. He eventually fell asleep and his dreams filled with noisy battles, monstrous beasts and multicoloured mushrooms.

The day was already very advanced when Eolinius emerged with a headache not possible. He walked along one of Fairhaven's pontoons, picked a secluded spot and sat on the edge of a floating platform with his feet in the air, watching the water pass underneath. A light breeze grazed his face.

It was the day after Kyriann's atysversary. Memorable evening organized by Jazzy who had amused all the participants with his fireworks near the arch of the enchanted island. Eolinius had met many people there and the last party people had ended up at Avendale's bar. He had tasted the famous and famous beer of the Lakes which is drunk like whey, but perhaps a little too much. He was still wondering how he got back to Fairhaven and there was like a rendor hitting his head.

How many events had happened since his arrival on the continent. He had only been there a short time, but he had discovered so many new things that his long stay on Silan seemed far away. As he did not feel the courage to undertake something constructive today, his eyes in the dark, he recalled his first impressions when he arrived in the Lakes.


Arrival in Fairhaven

A white flash made him close his eyes, then he felt a feeling of vertigo. After a few moments, he tried to reopen them but could not distinguish anything around. He then breathed deeply to dispel that feeling of nausea that came to him. It was the first time he used a transporter over such a long distance, it wasn't a short trip on Silan. There he undertook the great journey he had so longed for. He was on his way to the mainland.

The smell of humid air with the smell of an unknown but not totally unpleasant perfume drew him from his lethargy. Eolinius had chosen the dawn to join Fairhaven. He did not see much yet because the great city was still covered by a fine fog. Already some homins were agitating around the entrance of the city. He advanced towards the pontoon, which he vaguely distinguished a little further away.

-« Lordoy, noble visitor » said a charming person who approached him.
« I'm Fairhaven's host. Something tells me you're from Silan » she says staring at him. « Please present yourself at the tourist counter a little further on. We will provide you with your visa to travel around the city. You're lucky » she mocked. « The usual guide is supervised today by our head of protocol. You won't lose, he's a very competent person. »

Eolinius took a few steps on the pontoon which sounded matt.

Although it was very early, some people were already gathering in front of the reception desk. A big, monotonous and unpleasant voice came out of a spectacle trykette standing behind.
-«Please line up. A little discipline.»
Eolinius put himself in the forming tail and began to wait. On both sides, the relaxing lapping of the water helped him to keep calm.

He then saw himself again the day before, gathering his belongings, saying goodbye to his comrades and presenting himself in front of Chiang Le Fort.
-« So you want to leave us and join the mainland? Well, I think you're capable of taking care of yourself. I've notified the Fairhaven authorities of your arrival. Be worthy of our training and the values we have given you to preserve Atys from Kitin invasion. Bon voyage homin. »

So Eolinius joined Fairhaven, the great Tryker city.

The day began to rise, the fog slowly dissipated and Eolinius could finally see the large domes of the city as well as the twirling of the blades of the wind turbines further on the shore. He had always wondered why his parents had given him the strange name "Eolinius". Once, being much younger, he dared to ask. His mother, a sweet and pretty trykette had answered him patiently.
-« You will inherit the Trykers scientific tradition, but you will be free and independent like the wind of Atys. So you can continue our action and discover the mysteries of our world. » He had understood nothing but these words had remained engraved in his mind.

The city beat on the water, centre of trade of Eden Aqueous swarmed with people. A colourful and cosmopolitan crowd was agitated in all directions. The atmosphere was strong different from the Silan based Ranger camp where people only thought about training. Here we saw villagers and traders in their daily activities. Tryker was one of the only democratic federations on Atys. But it was not without its drawbacks, particularly with regard to the administrative burden. There was an impressive pile of files on the reception counter and every new arrival was scrutinized.

-« Registration number 2591-flo-16-264 » made the trykette as kind as a prison door by printing a scroll of the federation stamp.
-« To the next one! »

At that moment a brouhaha rose next to the counter. A dusty Fyros followed by three mektoubs chatted violently with two trykers guards who blocked his way. The Fyros, probably an itinerant merchant coming to sell his goods on the central square did not want to leave his mektoubs alone at the entrance of the city. The guards politely but firmly took him back to the mainland despite his protests.
-« No, no, no mektoubs inside the city, by order of the governor and for reasons of hygiene. There are stables outside the city. »
This distraction amused the onlookers around him.

-« To the next one! Refugee Eolinius, I have no time to waste. »
Eolinius stepped forward and put back the scroll provided by Chiang. The head of protocol conscientiously looked at the paper with suspicious eyes and stared at it.
He hadn't noticed it at first, but behind the counter and the welcome guide stood a younger trykette sitting carelessly on a barrel of beer. She looked like she was dreaming her nose in the wind, but when her name came up, she looked at him with insistence and Eolinius felt embarrassed in her patched refugee clothes. Seeing that we were looking behind her, the guide turned around.
-« You Zurglub again! Always snooping around or you shouldn't. »
The young trykette got up and walked away nonchalantly, laughing and throwing at Eolinius :
-« I know one who will be surprised, hihihi.... ».

Eolinius watched her leave with astonishment but had no time to reflect on her words.

-« Let's get back to business," says the old glasses trykette. "your papers appear to be in order. »
The long-awaited stamp fell on the scroll. Eolinius could finally stay freely in Eden Aqueous.

-« Registration number 2591-flo-16-265. » made the head of protocol.
-« To the next one ! »

The first thing to do for Eolinius was to find an activity that brings in a little Dappers. His scholarship with the meagre pay of the Rangers obtained on Silan just allowed him to survive a few weeks.

Eolinius then took a light step towards the centre of the city.

[HRP] Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator [/HRP]

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The recurring dream

Eolinius is a child. Eolinius is having fun and running on this vast plain.
Eolinius looks up to the sky. But there is no sky.
Instead of the sky, everything is black and dark, like a bottomless pit.
But Eolinius is not afraid.
All around him are dancing colors. Eolinius likes colors.
He runs to catch the colors.
But the colors don't want to be caught.
Then Eolinius stumbles.
On the ground, a fluorescent, thick and spongy green moss dampens its fall.
Next to him, a cloud of luminous insects flew away.
Eolinius is getting up. Eolinius laughs.
He looks around him. In the distance he sees his parents.
His mother gives him a wide smile. His father makes a small gesture with his hand.
His parents started digging around strange ruins again.
But Eolinius doesn't care, he wants to catch the colors.
there is not only the colors. There are also the big white balloons.
Some kind of phosphorescent jellyfish are flying around Eolinius.
He jumps to touch them, but the phosphorescent balloons move apart every time.
Eolinius falls again.
The medallion he wears around his neck almost left.
Eolinius replaces it and gets up again. Eolinius is happy.

And then the shadows come.
Shadows always come at that moment.
Cold Eolinius. With one breath, the colours and balloons disappear.
The immense and terrifying shadows envelop the entire plain.
There are thumping noises of struggles and muffled screams.
The shadows are getting bigger and bigger.
The shadows are getting closer and closer.
And then there is the light.
A green light surrounds Eolinius.
Noise becomes less and less audible.
The light encircles Eolinius. It is getting more and more intense.
The light prevents him from breathing. The light stifles him.
But the light also protects him.
Shadows can do nothing against light.
And then everything disappears.
The shadows, the face of his parents, even the light.
Eolinius finds himself in the dark, in silence.
Eolinius feels alone.

Eolinius awoke in sweat this morning. "This dream again," he thought to himself. "I do it more and more often"
He realized he was late. He had a lot to do today: pack his bag for a new expedition, do some shopping and buy new clothes for Kyriann's wedding in a few days, join Mohe to continue his training.
No time to waste.
He stood up and mechanically, to reassure himself, carried his hand around his neck and on his chest. But he felt nothing but his skin. He didn't even know why he made that gesture.
He never wore jewelry around his neck.
Eolinius headed towards the center of Fairhaven.

[HRP] Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator [/HRP]

The mektoub who loved flowers (1st part)



It was with a broken and upset face that Eolinius opened his bag and examined all his equipment this morning. He checked the presence of his armor, the weapons available and his food rations, not to mention the many slices of gingerbread stacked in Slavenis leaves to keep them from drying out.

It was still full of bumps and bandages on his face after the marauder's attack on Fairhaven, his first battle with the Black Dragons against a wave of attack on the lakes. He had tasted the dust several times but he defended his honour with his friends and his guild. But that wasn't the thing that upset him the most. After all, for him it was only the exactions of idle individuals who fight because they have nothing else to do.

No, there were much more important things to him. What worried him the most was the strange attitude that Nair'Pom had had recently, and then his sudden disappearance from the Rangers despite Nair'Kyriann's protests. He would have liked to help her, but what could he do? All this didn't mean anything good to him. He had a rationalist mind, he didn't like unexplainable things.

He came out of Fairhaven with a decided step towards the nearest stable. He weighed his purse in bodoc leather, which this time contained a little more Dappers than usual. For several weeks he had been determined to do analyses for the water company, which allowed him to buy a mektoub that would be very useful for his distant explorations. When he arrived in front of the stable, he put his purse on the counter. The groom O'Cauty Eoppie looked at him with a puzzled eye.

"What's my good friend for?"

We were always O'Cauty Eoppie's friend when he saw a purse in front of him. Eolinius pointed the mektoubs in the back shop. O'Cauty Eoppie gave him the parchment where the prices of the different animals were indicated. Eolinus fades. He certainly had Dappers, but at that rate, it was an exaggeration. O'Cauty Eoppie looked at him with an upset look and shook his head.

"These Trykers are all the same. Maybe I should give them with an extra haystack too?.... I have mouths to feed... And the taxes, did you see them?... taxes?... And the competitors of the other stables who only think of sinking me!.... »

Eolinius was starting to have a headache. O'Cauty Eoppie then leaned towards him and looked around the counter to see if others could hear. He addressed him in a low voice with a complicit look.

"I may have something for you. I have a young mektoub here who is not yet fully trained. He may be a little gruff, but I'll leave him with you for half price. »

Eolinius felt the scam, but the groom insisted.

"It comes to me from a travelling merchant Fyros whose female mektoub gave birth here. This one was in a hurry like an izam carrying a letter. As he had not been able to sell all his goods and pay his bill, he left me the young mektoub as a pledge. He left in a hurry because he wanted to marry his goddaughter in the desert. A real crazy story, hihihihi. She met a Zorai who was meditating in the desert on the turpitudes of life. Chased out of his family because of a dark history of debt with his cousin who was in trouble with local authorities, he was wandering on the dunes of Oflovac when a torbak attacked a caravan of mektoubs passing through there...."

(15 minutes later)

"... and his great aunt who was in pain had gone to a Matis rebutter in Yrkanis for treatment. Real charlatans, these are real charlatans. On her way back to her nephews' house, she wanted to catch a jar of capryni butter cream on the shelves and then..."

Eolinius could no longer stand on the counter.

"Stop, it's okay. y take it," says resigned Eolinius.

In less time than necessary to say it, Eolinius found himself with his empty purse and a rope in his hands at the end of which was a strange mektoub, with his eyes globular and without expression staring at him. It was called by the sweet name of Tapioca.

For his first outing with Tapioca, Eolinius chose to stay close to the entrance of the city. He tried to make it work by pulling it at the end of its rope, but Tapioca was reluctant to move forward and Eolinius had to buy a haystack from O'Cauty Eoppie who rubbed his hands. After a while and with patience, Eolinius managed to get him to walk around the stable. But the Mektoub was stubborn and always shot right and left to sniff what was around to him.

At its second exit, Eolinius decided to build it. To his great surprise, Tapioca did not offer too much resistance. However, the step and the seat were not well secured and Eolinius was pitching on his saddle. But hey, maybe he was the descendant of corsairs and that's not what was going to make him seasick. Eolinius wanted to push the walk a little further and as he passed in front of the hill at the exit of FairHaven, the mektoub suddenly slanted to his right to sniff into the thickets again. Surprised by this sudden movement, Eolinus was disconcerted and found his head in the sand of shells, which ended in a tide of insults directed against O'Cauty Eoppie. He had no idea at the time that some time later, Tapioca might save his life....

(to be continued)

[HRP] Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator [/HRP]

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The mektoub who loved flowers (2nd part)



Over time Eolinius finally domesticated Tapioca, but he was still sometimes quite devious, especially when the mektoub saw homina with flowers in his hair. He always wanted to sniff his hair, which sometimes caused delicate situations.

On a beautiful day, Eolinius packed his bag and decided to make an expedition by taking Tapioca to the dark moors. He didn't know why, but this place always had a spectacular effect on him. In fact, he liked these strange and sorry landscapes that others would have said were unhealthy but that he found romantic. He liked to sit on the large roots overlooking the green and brackish waters, study or reread his notes he had taken on his excursions, or write his personal letter. We didn't really know what was going on in Eolinius' head. Sometimes he would lie on the giant root, looking up at the sky and daydreaming.

After a rather long journey and with a step sometimes still not very secure, the duo finally arrived near the moors. There were several ways to get there. Eolinius did not take the fastest but the safest to protect Tapioca from the claws of the cloppers that abounded in the region. The rays of the luminous star were beginning to fade slightly and gave a beautiful contrasting light to the high roots on which the two companions were engaging. Eolinius descended from his mektoub and advanced to the central root, contemplating the landscape and swamps below. The grazing light gave a beautiful emerald green colour to the body of water below and gave an even more unreal impression.

That's when he first saw her. Its slender silhouette contrasted with the desolate landscape. She was there, insolent, admirable, proud and almost arrogant. A beautiful solitary flower stood in the middle of the great root. It was not very high but its colours were bright. Eolinius had never seen anything like it before. These petals seemed soft as velvet, its leaves were tapered and light as satin. It was obvious that she had pushed there by accident. A seed from nowhere had germinated in this hostile place and it seemed even more fabulous compared to the coldness of the place.

Eolinius immediately told himself that he would not return without her, he had to bring her back at all costs. It will be the most beautiful specimen of his herbarium that he had decided to build for the needs of science. Well, that's the excuse he gave himself. Maybe he had another idea in mind, such as offering one of the stems to a homina he had met. But we've already said that we don't know everything that's going on in his Tryker head.

He examined her for long minutes and looked at how he could easily take her. The flower was not ultimately so easily accessible. She had pushed on the outer edge of the root, a little below in a crevice full of foam. Eolinius approached and stretched out his arm to grasp her, but his fingers could barely touch her. He leaned a little more, grabbing as he could with his other hand on the roughness of the great root. He did not realize then that by the end of the day, the rays of light heating the stump had now almost disappeared, and the humidity of the place and the marshes below now filled the atmosphere, suddenly making his grip more and more slippery.

He felt himself going forward and mechanically grabbed the flower to grasp it, but it offered little resistance and uprooted itself almost immediately. With the stem of the flower in one hand, the other trying to cling to a slippery surface, he only had his salvation to his left foot, which was slightly caught in a piece of vine that would not last very long. Eolinius thus remained suspended above the void, his arms dangling, no longer daring to move for fear of slipping further. He now saw below the green marshes and pink fumaroles coming out of the goo springs. Was he going to end up like this? Crashing miserably into a toxic deposit? He thought of his friends in the Black Dragon Guild, Kyriann, Jazzy and Mohe, who were far away from him now. He also thought about his parents to whom he had promised to continue their scientific work. He had recently strayed into down-to-earth considerations and promised himself, if he could get out of this bad situation, to reconsider his priorities. These few seconds seemed to last an eternity.

At that moment he heard something moving behind him. Tapioca, who had stayed a little further away and surprisingly quiet until now, was coming back.

"It's time for him to start gambling again anywhere," Eolinius thought.

Suddenly he felt pressure on his left leg and felt suddenly lifted. The mektoub grabbed him by encircling Eolinius' leg with his trunk and raised him above him. We then saw a small Tryker hanging in the air and swinging, held at the end of a trunk of a large mektoub. He gently placed it on the root. Eolinius, still out of breath because he had just lived, still held the coveted flower in his hand above him. Amazed, he looked at Tapioca without saying anything or understanding, then ended up stuttering:

"Well then sul! y don't know how y can thank sul"

Without delay, the mektoub quickly grabbed the flower held by Eolinius with his agile trunk and immediately swallowed it in his mouth. Eolinius looked even more stunned at his empty hand, then Tapioca, and did not know whether he should laugh or cry about it. The small, black, globular, expressionless eyes of the big mektoub stared at him. Eolinius finally threw himself at Tapioca's neck laughing. Then Tapioca issued a triumphant "trrrompffe".

The two companions quietly returned to Fairhaven like two thieves at the fair, Eolinius singing and Tapioca wandering.



[HRP] Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator [/HRP]

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The enigma of his parents


What a great party!

And the cake made for Liosta's birthday, Kyriann's daughter ! A delight!

Eolinius had had a good time with the other guests on Avendale beach by throwing fireworks that made Liosta happy. What a joy for a child to belong to a real family. Eolinius had found his own somehow when he entered the Drakani guilde, but it wasn't quite the same thing.

He had never told anyone about his childhood. The fear that he will be laughed at, certainly. As a child, he had spent most of his time under the surface among the outcasts and rejecters of Atys. He had never seen the luminous star like the other carefree children. In fact, he didn't know exactly where he was born. The only thing he remembered was his bohemian childhood among the different tribes of primesroot .

His parents, however, were brilliant scientists recognized on Atys. They spent their time on the one hand teaching basic education to the little homins of the lost tribes as they roamed the underground world. On the other hand, they were engaged in strange excavations and experiences that Eolinius could not understand in the deepest sense of the word. Despite this, the little one received very early on the desire to discover new things at the same time as the tolerant spirit instilled by his parents. These days were made of games with the other tribal children and the practical instruction provided by his parents when they took him on expeditions for several days of walking. At that time Eolinius did not care that he had never seen the beauty of a sunset he did not know, he was satisfied with the many strange things he saw around him, as well as the shapes and colours that were shaking under the surface. There were so many things to see, sometimes as beautiful as they were dangerous.

It was only a little later that he began to wonder about his parents' exact work. His father, although he also cared for him, was always writing notes and experimenting. Her mother, always with a smile on her face, was very attentive and kind to others. She was always ready to assist her father in this research.

His parents often slipped away and left him in the camp. One day, when a rain of sap fell in abundance in the perpetual night, Eolinius had followed them in secret more to play than to worry. At the corner of a ruin, he caught them with other individuals who had come to join them. What did they have to do there? Why did these appointments always seem so secret? Eolinius was then too small to understand and recognize the face of the interlocutors, but later he wondered for a long time about their origin. Were they people from the surface? Rangers? Or even Trytonists? In any case certainly not Marauders, these parents were too humanistic to be around these people. Above all, the essential question he was asking himself, what exactly were his parents looking for in these strange places?

He remembered the sweet words of his mother who repeated them all the time without him being able to understand:

"The truth and the answers to the questions are right there underneath. You just have to look for them"

Unfortunately he never had the opportunity to know more, his parents tragically disappeared during an expedition and it took a strange event for Eolinius not to follow the same path as them.

But it was late now, Eolinius pushed these thoughts out of his mind and took a piece of gingerbread.
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[HRP] Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator [/HRP]