Birthright: The Contested Seat

Varyth

Varyth woke with a start, covered in sweat. He still had nightmares about nearly dying in that raging sea. As far as he knew, everyone had died in that shipwreck, and how he survived was nothing short of a miracle from the gods themselves. He had floated on a piece of debris for days before he was found by an Ilyrian patrol vessel. They could have left him to die, but by the grace of the gods, they decided to take him in. As the ship sailed back to shore, he laid eyes on the colossal statue of Umias, god of the sea, that loomed just off of Ilyrian's southern shore. In his view, there had been no clearer sign of divine intervention than that.

He had stayed in the healing wing of the castle since he had first arrived. Varyth had not yet met the King of Ilyrian, but was deemed well enough to do so that morning. The nurses had been tending to him day and night, for the past several weeks. His back had healed nicely, and he had nearly recovered from his time at sea. From what he was told, he was expected to give an account of what happened during his meeting with the king.

Varyth slowly climbed out of his bed and shuffled to the window. He had been given a nice room in which to recover. The healing wing was in one of the castle's larger towers, so he had a nice view of the sea from his window. The sight of the ocean still made him feel sick, but he'd soon need to put that feeling behind if he was to return to Ethios.

He lost himself in his thoughts as the sun began to peak over the horizon, causing the sea to sparkle brilliantly. The first signs of life began to stir in the city below. Market vendors began setting up their shops and children began leaving their homes for lessons. He wondered if Kyran had been taking lessons in Galenport. He had wanted to offer his services in that regard but getting to the Riverlands had proved to be much more difficult for him than he had imagined.

A knock on the door pulled him back into reality. The door opened and in stepped the maid who had been charged with his care, Matilda. She was a short, stout woman with a crop of thick red curls upon her head. Varyth had learned, while studying to be a Sage on The Triplets, that the Ilyrian people had originally hailed from Sarth. Since Ilyrian had quickly become a trade giant, people from all over the world now inhabited the island. The red hair was certainly reminiscent of Sarth, but somehow still remains the island's dominant trait despite the mingling of so many different people.

"My Lord, it's time for your bath," said Matilda gently.

After heading to the washroom, she helped to undress him and assisted in lowering him into the tub. Though his back had healed nicely, his muscles still ached, and movement was still a bit difficult. As he soaked, Matilda rubbed the ointment, that she had used countless times before, onto his back. It was unlike anything Varyth had known before. It was quite an advanced ointment and worked exceptionally well at both numbing the pain and healing his wounds. 

He was put into Matilda's care, but she answered to the Royal Sage of Ilyrian. Varyth had not met her, but she was the one responsible for the ointment. According to Matilda, it was of her own making. Varyth very much wished to speak with her, but her duties had kept him from doing so. From what Matilda had told him, the Royal Sage was a Wurtheni woman by the name of Khuli Hundreka. Hearing that she was from Wurth surprised Varyth. Normally, the Wurtheni didn't bother to send their promising youth to The Triplets to train in the ways of a Sage. They often liked to keep their affairs to themselves, without the meddling of the Scholastic Order. Though nothing stopped bright Wurtheni intellects from making the decision themselves.

Matilda finished bathing him and helped him dress for the day. Normally, the maids would dress him then take him on a long walk around the castle grounds to keep his muscles healthy. He had been grateful for those walks. The brisk sea air was a welcome change from the stuffiness of his room. He liked listening to the busy citizens beyond the castle walls and enjoyed the coolness that seaside cities were known to enjoy during the Autumn months.