Moments Lost, Though Time Remains [Dax Solo]
Posted: November 13th, 2017, 8:46 am
Dax
A palm brushed over Dax’s face and fingers combed through his hair. He flinched away from the sharp pain that blossomed when the touch grazed a certain place on the side of his head. “Shhh, shhh. That’s a good lad. Shh.” The hand shifted to smooth his hair away from his face with feather-light care. Tension and pain drained away further with each new touch. “All will be well, the Light please it be so.” Tension lurked beneath that warm reassurance. Fear. His stomach turned and he opened his eyes.
Dax found himself staring into a woman’s worried face. He stared at her first in fascination, and then in wordless wonder. She had high cheekbones and a well-shaped jaw, dark brows, pale eyes, and naturally red lips. Her beauty was marred by lines of worry that made her look older than she actually was. Her dark hair was pulled back with a red ribbon- the only touch of color in her otherwise dark attire.
“....Mamma?”
“Go back to sleep.” Ryanne leaned down and kissed his forehead and his nose filled with the scent of lavender. “You hit your head something good, my boy, but I’ll take care of you.” As she pulled away, he reached for her with a cry of fear.
“Don’t leave me!”
“Shh, Dakson. Mamma’s here. Mamma will always be here.”
~*~*~
Dax opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn’t. He blinked rapidly, turning his face away from the sun to scrub at it with his forearm until the watering stopped. Muttering a variety of curses at himself for drinking too much yet again, the Tairen pushed himself upright and looked around.
He sat at the base of a stone pillar that seemed to tower into the sky from his vantage point. The smooth sides were inscribed with a variety of symbols that reminded him uncomfortably of some of the things Elia had written in her journals, but he couldn’t point to any one of them and say he knew what it meant. In front of him rose a hill banded in the colors of the seven traditional Ajahs. He turned and scrambled about to look the other direction; the movement caused his vision to swim, but he could tell the bands of color continued in an unbroken circle all the way around him.
He squeezed his eyes shut and scrubbed at his hair, then growled another inventive curse when his fingers caught on the lump just above his left ear. He explored it carefully, his fingers finding the rough ends of sutures without too much effort. No Healing, then. That simply piled mystery on top of insult and injury; muttering to himself, the Blademaster pulled himself upright against the stone. It was taller than he was, he realized.
The weight of his sword hung at his hip, and his cloak at his back. He checked his purse and found coin and a pair of Elia’s earrings, one of them broken. He had meant to get them repaired for her before- Before what? Thinking about it made his head hurt worse. At least he hadn't been robbed.
Stumbling clumsily and muttering the whole time, the Gaidin climbed out of the bowl-shaped divot in the ground. Eventually he stood -or rather, crouched while he panted for breath- in a clearing only a few spans from the edge of a cliff facing north. Lake Somal spread before him, glimmering in the mid-morning sun, unmistakable in its stately elegance. Its still waters reflected the deep blue sky and the endless trees marching along its shore perfectly, a mirror of reality that seemed to continue forever.
It reflected the trees marching along its shore.
Its entire shore.
Dax wet his lips. Then he reached for the flask strapped to his thigh and drank its fiery contents in one draft.
Dax found himself staring into a woman’s worried face. He stared at her first in fascination, and then in wordless wonder. She had high cheekbones and a well-shaped jaw, dark brows, pale eyes, and naturally red lips. Her beauty was marred by lines of worry that made her look older than she actually was. Her dark hair was pulled back with a red ribbon- the only touch of color in her otherwise dark attire.
“....Mamma?”
“Go back to sleep.” Ryanne leaned down and kissed his forehead and his nose filled with the scent of lavender. “You hit your head something good, my boy, but I’ll take care of you.” As she pulled away, he reached for her with a cry of fear.
“Don’t leave me!”
“Shh, Dakson. Mamma’s here. Mamma will always be here.”
~*~*~
Dax opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn’t. He blinked rapidly, turning his face away from the sun to scrub at it with his forearm until the watering stopped. Muttering a variety of curses at himself for drinking too much yet again, the Tairen pushed himself upright and looked around.
He sat at the base of a stone pillar that seemed to tower into the sky from his vantage point. The smooth sides were inscribed with a variety of symbols that reminded him uncomfortably of some of the things Elia had written in her journals, but he couldn’t point to any one of them and say he knew what it meant. In front of him rose a hill banded in the colors of the seven traditional Ajahs. He turned and scrambled about to look the other direction; the movement caused his vision to swim, but he could tell the bands of color continued in an unbroken circle all the way around him.
He squeezed his eyes shut and scrubbed at his hair, then growled another inventive curse when his fingers caught on the lump just above his left ear. He explored it carefully, his fingers finding the rough ends of sutures without too much effort. No Healing, then. That simply piled mystery on top of insult and injury; muttering to himself, the Blademaster pulled himself upright against the stone. It was taller than he was, he realized.
The weight of his sword hung at his hip, and his cloak at his back. He checked his purse and found coin and a pair of Elia’s earrings, one of them broken. He had meant to get them repaired for her before- Before what? Thinking about it made his head hurt worse. At least he hadn't been robbed.
Stumbling clumsily and muttering the whole time, the Gaidin climbed out of the bowl-shaped divot in the ground. Eventually he stood -or rather, crouched while he panted for breath- in a clearing only a few spans from the edge of a cliff facing north. Lake Somal spread before him, glimmering in the mid-morning sun, unmistakable in its stately elegance. Its still waters reflected the deep blue sky and the endless trees marching along its shore perfectly, a mirror of reality that seemed to continue forever.
It reflected the trees marching along its shore.
Its entire shore.
Dax wet his lips. Then he reached for the flask strapped to his thigh and drank its fiery contents in one draft.