The Books of Blutora

16 : Star Upon Hazy Skies

A-96, three years after the founding of Basator upon the furthest reaches of the southern coast of Blutora. The early Arberi humans of foreign origin had built up thriving settlements such as Tyru, Jeiye, and the recent beginnings of Basator under the territory of Goldcrest. One large factor was missing from their way of life however, and that was knowledge. The knowing of if there is any other human life upon the lands their ancestors arrived on almost a hundred years prior. The span of the first century was spent building up their new settlements and becoming sustainable, and it was time to journey out and search for other potential civilizations.

Under the leadership of the Crest Council of Eight overseeing all of the Arberi settlements upon newer lands, the decision was made to send a large group out to travel the lands. The goal was to find something, anything, whether it be outside civilizations, treasures, new animals native to Blutora, or anything in between. With a group of twenty nine others at his side, renowned combatant Kore Alenor was tasked with leading the adventure north. Alenor at this point was thirty two years old and largely responsible for the safety of the Arberi people due to his extraordinary leadership of the guard. It was decided that there was no better fit for leader to the expedition and shortly after the decision was made, the group was off.

Within the group were two representatives of each of the main fields of expertise. This included farmers, scholars, healers, wizards, cartographers, and alchemists. Alongside Kore Alenor were two of his most trusted and respected fellow guards, Reyya Lee and Deo Serite. Outside of these fifteen specialists were fifteen ordinary citizens of varying professions and abilities. Their path of travel was north and into the deserts of the Withering Sea. Knowing of just how difficult travelling the desert would be, they prepared themselves as best they could for the journey ahead. 

On the third day of travel, the group reached the beginning of the desert, and camped out until nightfall where they would begin crossing the Withering Sea when the heat was no longer an issue. The first night went by with little to no issue, as the only wildlife the group encountered were Jylles that typically ran at the sight of the travelers. As dawn approached, the group set up camp to stop and rest within the shade provided by their temporary camp. During the blistering hot day the group would attempt to rest and sleep in preparation to continue overnight. Everything seemed to be going well, until the Reyks noticed the travelers amidst the desert. 

Screams awoke the group within the temporary campsite, as a Reyk dragged a helpless man away from the group and began eating away at the victim. Kore and his guard colleagues were quick to their feet attempting to save the person but were unable, as they found themselves in a predicament of their own. A couple more Reyks had cornered the trio away from the rest of the travelers, who in their large numbers were not a direct target to the scaly predators. The two Reyks slowly backed the trio up and began taking swings with their dangerously sharp tails. Kore was quick to react and jumped out of the way to avoid a swing, slashing his cutlass at the Reyks side and realizing the blade did little damage to the scaly exterior of the beast. He glanced over and watched helplessly as Deo went for an ill-timed swing and lost the grip on his weapon. After which he was bludgeoned by the deadly Reyk tail and dragged away to meet his fate as food.

Reyya was holding her own against a Reyk, unable to inflict damage on the creature, but managing to avoid any damage of her own. Kore had managed to figure out the weakness in the vicious creature by attacking its legs which caused them to fall to their sides in pain and expose their chest which lacked scales. Using this newfound technique, Kore and Reyya were able to fend off the Reyks attacking them directly, and eventually the remaining Reyks that were attacking the group. By the time it was all over, at least nine people had been killed including Deo Serite - one of their strongest fighters. 

Nightfall was upon the group late in the seventh day and they were hardly in shape to travel. Many of those who survived were still injured, and much of their supply was wrecked during the Reyk attack. Despite these setbacks, the group pushed on behind the leadership of Kore who rallied the hearts and determination of the people. As the hours passed, the night lost visibility as clouds scattered across the sky and a rare fog appeared. As far as the group was concerned, their biggest threat was likely behind them in the pack of Reyks that they defeated. They couldn't be more wrong.

Whilst making way through the fog and low visibility, the group began to hear strange distant noises that grew closer and closer. Eventually, Kore and Reyya as the protectors of the group drew their weapons and had the group pick up the pace. After seemingly endless moments of paranoia and mystery, the sounds were made clear. A Reyk jumped from the fog at one of the stragglers of the group and within seconds the persons screams fell silent. Reyya turned and made her way to the rear of the group while Kore remained in front. A couple moments passed further before another person was attacked and killed from the fog. At this point the two fighters were trying to predict when the next attack would happen, and as fate would have it Kore had a perfect guess. As a Reyk jumped into visibility, Kore reacted instantly and slashed the sharp edge of his cutlass at the chest of the Reyk killing it with one swipe. The group was once more instructed to pick up the pace, nearly at a sprint now.

Despite the best efforts of Kore and Reyya, people were getting picked off and killed by the deadly Reyks. Due to the almost non existent visibility, there was no telling how many Reyks were in this pack, and as a result they couldn't risk trying to take them on. They were down to eighteen people, and shortly after fifteen. Kore was leading the group in a specific direction to the northwest as the only thing that was visible at this point was a lone star upon hazy skies. 

All through the night the group attempted to defend themselves and survive, eventually making it to grassland. A savannah, much alike their homeland south of the Withering Sea. Shortly after crossing into the savannah and out of the desert the Reyks could no longer be heard. The scholars of the group presumed the Reyk's to be very dependent on the desert conditions to survive and as such wouldn't chase prey elsewhere. The group could let their guard down just a bit, but the issue still remained of their lack of supply, and their mounting injuries. For the remainder of the night the group would follow the lone star visible in the sky until dawn came to be as the sun eclipsed the horizon. 

The group would set up camp upon the lands in which they had reached, along a river and at the base of a looming mountain. Only twelve of the original thirty to have embarked on the journey survived, including Kore Alenor, Reyya Lee, the scholars, farmers, a wizard, a healer, and four non specialist citizens. At this point their original goals were of no importance, and to many of the group their survival and eventual arrival upon the lands in which they sat was due to influence of Izan - the Guardian of Hope. They interpreted their fortunate outcome as fate, as was willed by the deity, and as such they believed that they were sent to the location at the base of the mountain for a reason. 

The people of the group began to take measures of improving their camp to be a more permanent settlement, and eventually as the year turned to A-97, sent word by pigeon back to the lands of Goldcrest far to the southeast across the Withering Sea. 

The parchment read,

Yeyulian and the greater Council of Eight, 

The expedition sent to journey the new lands has seen much to report back. Across the deserts to the north of Goldcrest there are truly deadly creatures, scaled and possessing sharp blunt tails of destruction. It was due to these pack hunters that we lost eighteen of the people we originally embarked upon our journey with. Of the surviving members, we have settled in a new area at the base of a mountain and along a river. The survival of our remaining twelve is by no means a coincidence, it is the results of the desires of the great Guardian of Hope. It is with best of wishes and intentions that we inform you that none of us will be returning to Goldcrest, as we believe our fates to have been decided. Should you look to need word, assistance or trade at any point in the future, send for our lands far to the northwest.

Regards, King Alenor of Balmoral.