Destination Unknown

Exploring

Mara

For the first portion of our ride, we were heading back towards the capital. Since I've already walked down this road and seen the surroundings, I take a few moments to actually look at Bhaltair. He reminds me of a viking in most senses. His long red hair is shaved on the sides, and braided in a mo-hawk. Tiny gold beads are scattered throughout. He has an impressive beard, that somehow looks even more red than his hair. When he greeted us at the docks earlier, he was wearing simple fighting clothes, but like me, he dressed up for dinner. His flowing shirt reminds me of something Cleo would wear, and it's a dark brown color. Over the shirt he's wearing a soft looking fur lined coat. His pants are black, and they look like a soft leather, and they're tucked into tall boots, which look more suited for horse riding. I feel overdressed in my gown, and also quite cold, so the fur lined coat he is wearing is making me jealous. The last thing I study is his eyes, which are a vibrant green color. I can see a faint trace of paint and wonder if all the warriors paint their faces regularly. 

"Lady Mara, you've been staring." My cheeks redden. 

"My apologies. It's just, I've never met any of the warriors before. You're interesting to study." I pause, "I hope that isn't too weird." He smiles, but keeps his hands steady on the reins, and his eyes forward. 

"It's quite alright. Why don't I just tell you a bit more about the warriors?" I cross my arms, hugging myself to conserve some of my heat. 

"Sure, I'd love that." I consider a few things I could ask. "Tell me more about the capital. It seems incredibly advanced compared to the rest of the island."

"You are correct in that observation. I feel like tradition is to blame. The elders in the society prefer to keep the island free from anything too modern, while the younger generation wants to have a way for the entire society to be involved in making decisions. The capital is a compromise. Although I doubt we will ever have modern transportation, but you can find almost any type of technology in the capital buildings. The families that prefer to observe traditions live in more forested areas, and out of reach from anything modern.  In basic terms, society has been allowed to advance, but most prefer the looks of something older." I nod, as we pass a building I recognize from our walk earlier, and know that we are getting close to the capital. 

"So Morgayne told me a story about her older brother, and that he wasn't accepted on the island because he was a full god. I don't completely understand this claim after seeing the way you treat Morgayne and Cleo." His mouth pulls into a smirk. 

"She's so young. Does she really think that's the reason why her brother left? Well I'll assure you, there was no way he was looked down upon by the other warriors. The only validity in that story is that her brother could not become a warrior because he was a full god, but he received all the training that any warrior would. Tradition does not allow us to accept a god into the ranks, but we were happy to train him along side our aspiring warriors. Muireach is a sea warrior. He left on a mission to become a merman. Even though he was the child of Killian and Nimue, for some reason his magic does not extend to transforming into a merman. Once he found a way to transform, he was going to complete his training to become a sea warrior. If Cleo wasn't a full goddess, she would also have the title of a warrior. She's shown more promise than any of our young trainees have." It suddenly occurs to me that I have no idea how old Cleo is. I know Morgayne and her twin Darya are the youngest, with Cleo being the next oldest, but I have no idea how much older she is. 

"It's weird, every other place I've been, it's been the half gods that have trouble being accepted, and then I come here and it's not the case. I felt happy when Morgayne told me her brother wasn't accepted as a full god. Is that horrible?" I can feel myself start to shiver, and I think Bhaltair takes notice this time.