Fill Challenge 115, Original, Lemy'es
Oct. 15th, 2022 07:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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tenminutesadayNear the end of Fire Forged Key. It's a really big map that served no purpose other than Ranika Mishor wanted to make it.
They entered Mishor's office and Sray noticed there was a large, framed map on one wall. The lettering was fine and careful and it was beautiful to look at. It depicted all of Alast from the highest mountains to the deepest valleys, rivers, lakes, forests, plains, and deserts. It was all noted and depicted in brilliant, bold colors.
Sray stopped and stared at the map. Its presence hadn't registered when she was in the office the first time, but it dominated a whole wall, six feet wide and four feet tall it hung a couple feet off the floor and stopped about about a foot from the ceiling. Every coastline from Beheil to Gollan and Ela'yas to Khrendolb was depicted, each one treated with the same care and detail that made Sray both curious and amazed by its maker. The most remarkable thing to Sray was how well the Klamon territories were illustrated. The lettering was a bit strange to her and she couldn't quite read the names. Her eyes were drawn towards the map's center and looked closely at Geteilpohth. Familiar canyons and mountains labeled with letters she didn't understand, but she knew the contours of the land by heart. Her eyes lingered around where the Vegtahn Rilvay called home, bordering the Milash River and covering over a hundred square miles. The mapmaker even got the color of the rocks right.
Her chest tightened slightly and she put her hand over her heart, fighting down the overwhelming mixture of longing and loss that suddenly bubbled up. Nearly half her life was spent living and exploring all the nooks and crannies and heights and depths it had to offer and she spent the years since they left trying not to think much about it. After everything that happened today and all the things that built up to this moment from the time Kenbin Mount'hyuns handed her the letter she felt one breath away from suffocating.
"It's a beautiful map, isn't it?" Sray jerked away from the sound of Mishor's voice. She had been so lost in her thoughts she had forgotten he was even there.
"Het! I'm sorry! I-" She exhaled roughly and rubbed her face before pushing her bangs back and folding her arms. "Yes, yes it is very beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."
"You were a bit distracted the last time you were here." He remarked casually as he too turned his eyes to the wall and studied the map as he must have done a thousand times before. His look grew distant and his own eyes lingered around the bottom quarter where Ostrin lay. The lost continent to the South was much less detailed, but still carefully rendered. It was obviously incomplete. Areas along the northern coast and beside the large rivers that fed the Fautohn sea were treated with the same exacting detail as all of Alast. The unfinished portions had delicate washes and light penciled lines and notes of letters and numbers, no doubt marking the maker's plans for future work.
"It isn't finished."
Mishor nodded and smiled sadly. "I know. It's maker died before she could complete it."
"Who was she?" Sray asked.
Mishor pulled in his own hard breath, readjusting himself to stand a bit taller. "She was my wife, Ranika Mishor."
Sray stared at him as he continued to take in the details of the map he had no doubt memorized. His look felt much like her own heart felt staring at Geteilpohth. "I am sorry." He nodded and they were silent again for several minutes. "How did she know?" Sray finally asked, her curiosity surfacing. "How did she know so much about the Klamon homelands?"
"Many years searching the oldest maps from before the wars." He replied and then finally looked at Sray. "It was her own special project. We shared the same thoughts about how important it was to find a way to find peace and reconsile with the Klamon. It felt even more important after she died." His eyes lingered on the more detailed coastline of Ostrin a moment longer before he suddenly inhaled and turned to his desk and chair. "Come, sit, we have much to discuss."
They entered Mishor's office and Sray noticed there was a large, framed map on one wall. The lettering was fine and careful and it was beautiful to look at. It depicted all of Alast from the highest mountains to the deepest valleys, rivers, lakes, forests, plains, and deserts. It was all noted and depicted in brilliant, bold colors.
Sray stopped and stared at the map. Its presence hadn't registered when she was in the office the first time, but it dominated a whole wall, six feet wide and four feet tall it hung a couple feet off the floor and stopped about about a foot from the ceiling. Every coastline from Beheil to Gollan and Ela'yas to Khrendolb was depicted, each one treated with the same care and detail that made Sray both curious and amazed by its maker. The most remarkable thing to Sray was how well the Klamon territories were illustrated. The lettering was a bit strange to her and she couldn't quite read the names. Her eyes were drawn towards the map's center and looked closely at Geteilpohth. Familiar canyons and mountains labeled with letters she didn't understand, but she knew the contours of the land by heart. Her eyes lingered around where the Vegtahn Rilvay called home, bordering the Milash River and covering over a hundred square miles. The mapmaker even got the color of the rocks right.
Her chest tightened slightly and she put her hand over her heart, fighting down the overwhelming mixture of longing and loss that suddenly bubbled up. Nearly half her life was spent living and exploring all the nooks and crannies and heights and depths it had to offer and she spent the years since they left trying not to think much about it. After everything that happened today and all the things that built up to this moment from the time Kenbin Mount'hyuns handed her the letter she felt one breath away from suffocating.
"It's a beautiful map, isn't it?" Sray jerked away from the sound of Mishor's voice. She had been so lost in her thoughts she had forgotten he was even there.
"Het! I'm sorry! I-" She exhaled roughly and rubbed her face before pushing her bangs back and folding her arms. "Yes, yes it is very beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."
"You were a bit distracted the last time you were here." He remarked casually as he too turned his eyes to the wall and studied the map as he must have done a thousand times before. His look grew distant and his own eyes lingered around the bottom quarter where Ostrin lay. The lost continent to the South was much less detailed, but still carefully rendered. It was obviously incomplete. Areas along the northern coast and beside the large rivers that fed the Fautohn sea were treated with the same exacting detail as all of Alast. The unfinished portions had delicate washes and light penciled lines and notes of letters and numbers, no doubt marking the maker's plans for future work.
"It isn't finished."
Mishor nodded and smiled sadly. "I know. It's maker died before she could complete it."
"Who was she?" Sray asked.
Mishor pulled in his own hard breath, readjusting himself to stand a bit taller. "She was my wife, Ranika Mishor."
Sray stared at him as he continued to take in the details of the map he had no doubt memorized. His look felt much like her own heart felt staring at Geteilpohth. "I am sorry." He nodded and they were silent again for several minutes. "How did she know?" Sray finally asked, her curiosity surfacing. "How did she know so much about the Klamon homelands?"
"Many years searching the oldest maps from before the wars." He replied and then finally looked at Sray. "It was her own special project. We shared the same thoughts about how important it was to find a way to find peace and reconsile with the Klamon. It felt even more important after she died." His eyes lingered on the more detailed coastline of Ostrin a moment longer before he suddenly inhaled and turned to his desk and chair. "Come, sit, we have much to discuss."
