Jairis

Jairis is a world located in a radically different universe from that of the TZ universe. Governed by a being known as the Luciolith, this universe conforms to vastly different inherent laws than what would be known in other universes, though the same applies to every and all universes in relation to one another. Tentatively referred to as the Lucioverse.

Jairis appears to be a world in the midst of a technological renaissance. The tools of the old world have merged with the works of the ancient world, producing technology, tools and utilities that contrast with the homely and feudal state of the world. Beings of all sorts reside here, even if not easily found, but most revered of all are the long gone Angelions and Daemonids, the founders of the world's magic and creators of the seemingly endless energy source, Teras.

The Second World, Shrouded by Fog
A girl with long hair with a myriad of countless colors flowing through it begins to stir, revealing turquoise and green eyes, momentarily at a loss as to who she is. She wears relatively simple clothing, with talons for feet and clawed hands.

"...Where am I?" She begins to fully rise, looking about her surroundings.

She finds that she is in the middle of a forest clearing. Lush green leaves decorate the trees and the grass is a mostly healthy color. Incomplete toadstool rings and flowers that bloom red, yellow and violent are sparsely spread around the clearing's outskirts and the chirping of birds can be heard over the chatter of small insects. Sunlight partially permeates the area from an angle, dazzling beams of white and pale gold illuminating the fairly dark area.

"Huh....? How'd I get here...? I'm in... a forest?" She slowly gets to her feet, and decides to climb the tree to get a vantage point.

From the tree top, little else but trees can be seen to the south, west and north. To the east, the edge if the forest can be seen though it appears that it will take some time to reach it.

She clambers down, and after a moment, she cautiously heads East, hoping to get moving quickly.

It takes several hours, enough for the light to dim considerably, to reach the forest's edge and see part of a well traveled dirt road heading north and south not far ahead of her.

She looks around, pausing for a moment to take in her surroundings again. After catching her breath, she approaches the road, looking for any sign of civilization to head toward.

''My memory is still fuzzy, and I woke up in a strange place... did something happen to me?''

In both directions, the road appears to span onward for miles without signs of civilization. Other than that the area is either  forested or decorated by small shrubs.

"I guess I will be walking around a while, huh?" She looks North, then South. "...North it is."

Several more hours pass before the faint outline of a town or city becomes visible at the horizon. It seems that in a few hours she may reach the city.

"So you're headed to Taryl? You've walked a long way at a dangerous time of day," comments a person who's presence just barely became noticeable. They wear a dusty brown cloak, closer to a mantle in appearance, over a leather chest plate, pants that appear to be made of a synthetic fabric and leather boots. Across their backs hang two broad swords and, closer to their waist, a pair of short swords. Across their waist are a pair of sheathed daggers. In the darkness it is difficult to make out their features other than their messy dark hair and pointed ear tips. Their voice is gender neutral and their tone is friendly and light.

"I wouldn't know. I'm not from here." She says in a guarded tone, shifting into a defensive stance on an instinct.

"Figured, most locals would be in bed by now. 'Tis the Hour of the Darkening afterall." The figure shrugs dismissively.

"The... ...Darkening?" She says with an raised eyebrow. "No idea what that is. Is that some fancy term for sundown or sunset?"

"No, that would be dusk and dawn respectively. Others not from here have asked the same thing. The Darkening was an event from way back in the Yions Dynasty, where the mad emperor Zaryc Yions released the boundary separating this world from Pandaemonium, subsequently releasing the Idolas and its swarm of Darklings unto the world. The Hour of the Darkening is two forrs before dawn, when the sky is the darkest and dark magic is at its most potent. Though the two forr period is nothing compared to the Resurgence event each year."

"...Oh. ...I know nothing of myself or my own history at the present, so you'll have to forgive me. ...I'm at a loss for my own name at the moment."

"Ah, maybe someone in Castle Taryl can help you with that. I'm heading there myself, but only after I take care of a few things in the castle town."

She blinks. "Who are you exactly? And since I guess we are headed in that direction, I guess could you maybe... show me the way?"

"Eh, a wandering hero or something along those lines," he comments. "It would be faster to go without me by a day, but if you want me to take you there I have no qualms."

"I'd rather not be off on my own. I don't know anything about whatever may hide in this land."

"In that case, I'm obliged to serve as your escort, madam," he bows slightly, "I am Hairos of Dosk."

"Thank you very much. I wish I could offer..." She pauses, as something akin to a memory of someone addressing her as 'Naki' plays in her head momentarily. "...If you want, you can call me 'Naki'."

"Naki? Very well then, follow me. I'll rent a room in the local inn so that you can rest while I handle business." He leads Naki into the town of Taryl, arriving a few hours after dawn. He looks around the town before locating an inn called the Darh's Fantasy and paying for two rooms with a smooth stone of many colors. "Stay here until I return. Unless something pressing comes up, try not to leave the inn and avoid any dark alleys or spaces under bridges if you must." Hairos speeds off shortly afterwards, handing Naki a blocky rectangular key with a tag written in a completely foreign script.

"Second storey, leftmost room," says the inn keeper, a plump woman with greying hair and dark bags beneath her eyes from many late nights and stress.

She follows the directions given, trying to decipher the unfamiliar text to challenge herself, but doesn't loose track of where she is going, and arrives at the room and enters.

The text makes no sense whatsoever. It looks almost like random symbols squeezed into a tiny space, with nothing to act as a cipher or decoder beause of a lack of reference materials.

She sighs, then looks for a bed to rest on, or something of equivlent value to rest on.

A small bed with somewhat thick covers coating them. A roughly sewn pillow sits on the head of the bed, near a small lantern.

Naki quietly lays down in the bed, resting from the long day of travel.

''Who am I? Why am I here? All I know is... Naki. Nothing else... ...What should I do with myself?''

Seven forrs pass beforbefore Hairos returns. The leather bits of his armor have been replaced with a silver colored metal and his tattered cloak has been mended. He now dons two metal forearm protectors and has three quivers of thirty arrows each slung across his back. A feathered charm hangs from his hair and the makeshift harness he wears has been replaced with connected holsters and sheathes that hang at his side, each holding one of his blades. His eyes are obscured by his hair, an inky dark green the color of wet seaweed. He holds a large bundle at his side and sets it by Naki before heading out once more.

Naki blinks, before looking at the bundle in curiosity. "What's this...?"

"Some equipment and gear. Walking around like that as you makes you an easy target to thieves and cutthroats."

"Thanks... I'm not defenseless though." She examines the equipment.

Inside the bundle is a set of modified leather armor with plates and runes engraved into it. There is also a thin tunic made of tiny silver scales and a small dagger.

Naki looks it over a bit more, then starts putting the tunic and armor on, then looks over the dagger, curious to see if it has any special properties.

The dagger is fairly ordinary, with a well polished dark blade and a simple scabbard. The weapon is feather light and simply crafted.

After putting the equipment on, Naki lies down to pass the time, after a while though she looks to see if there are books.

Any of the sparse books in the room are again in the unintelligible script.

She frowns. "That's going to be a pain in the ass..." Her spirits are dampened by the realization she can't read, and quietly just takes a nap.

Another five forrs pass before Hairos returns. He sees Naki's sleeping form and decides to go for another two forrs to handle a few miscellaneous tasks around Taryl.

After a long while, Naki wakes up and spends her time trying to remember her past.

Naki vaguely remembers a white clad figure and several people, but their names and faces elude her.

She frowns, then simply resigns to wait for Hairos.

When Hairos returns, he carries a large coin purse and steaming loaves of sweet bread with some type of meat stuffed inside.

"Hungry?"

She nods. "Thank you. What is the language here? I do not understand it."

"You're speaking it just fine," he replies, handing the loaves to her. "There's no real name for the language, it's generally called Common or the Shared Tongue."

After taking a bite, she shakes her head. "I mean the words, the text. Like on the books."

"Well that's harder to explain, coming from a guy who grew up in one of the rural regions. The letters differ in each region, some times the language written isn't even in Common. Most books are written in Imperial or Tallick, both of which are unable to be taught second hand."

She sighs. "Well that's just brilliant... I guess I won't be reading for a while."

"Don't get so down, Castle Taryl has people who can teach the languages. That being said, we're heading there tomorrow first thing in the morning."

"Long day tomorrow then, I would imagine... ...and more sleeping too."

"You can go exploring if you want, but be cautious."

"....Ehh... I'd prefer not to go out at dark. I'll just rest some more, I could use it."

Hairos nods, then retires to his room.

Naki goes to sleep, hoping to find answers and a purpose tomorrow.

When dawn comes, Hairos wakes up Naki.

"Come on, it's time to go."

Naki nods, and doesn't waste time getting ready to go, and is quickly prepared for the day. She checks her weaponry one last time, then nods to signal she's ready to leave.

"It'll take a forr, maybe two, to get to the castle. Let's go." He leads Naki out of the inn and towards the opposite side of Taryl, where a large gate hangs slightly ajar. There are two guards on post and they draw their weapons, but they quickly put them away when they recognize Hairos, bowing as he goes by.

Naki decides to keep close, not wishing to run into any potential trouble. "I know you said you're a wandering hero, but it's quite another thing for guards to bow for just 'a wandering hero'. Are you an important person or something?"

"Nope, just a wandering hero. I'm called the Rogue Hero because of my weapons, Sakuya and Kareru, or something along those lines."

Naki's eyes narrow subtly, wondering if he's keeping something out of the explaination on purpose. She decides not to pursue the discussion, rather, she decides to look about her surroundings.

Beyond the gate lies a simple caste bearing a flag with a buckler surrounded by thorns as its crest. The exterior is well kept, appearing bare of decorations but maintained and pristine.

Naki looks around a bit more, then mainly looks at the castle.

"What's the ruler of this city like?"

"He's really relaxed and willing to hear people out. His advisor is a stickler for rules and regulations, though."

"Oh I see." Naki falls silent for a while as they walk, wondering what lies ahead.

The inside of the castle is bare of most eccentricities and decorations one would expect to see within a castle. There are long carpets that cover the floor and many candle fixtures set on the walls between various crests and coats of arms, but no animal busts or trophies like antlers or skulls. There are no weapons decorating the walls nor are there fancy chandeliers, solid gold fixtures or walls of marble.

"Huh, doesn't strike me like most castles I'd imagine."

"I had the same impression when I first visited this place as well."

"This should be an interesting day..." Naku mutters as they walk on.