KashyaOct 28, 2019Oct 28, 2019 at 11:21 PM
#1
These Events take place after the presumed death of Kashya in Shattered Grove, in order to explain the whereabouts of both her and certain family members that have been absent from roleplay since her supposed demise.
1
I can't breath. I can't see. It feels as though I'm drowning under a wet blanket composed of unadulterated molten and malice. As though the pinnacle of my war crimes were here to finally meet me. My judgment is here. It burns, but I feel at peace. I do not want to wake up. My life was short, but I feel as though I've already lived a thousand of them. I want to be in an afterlife I do not deserve. Aetherius, the Sands. I want to spend my afterlife contemplating my actions. Atoning. How bitter am I, however, to discover that my demise would not be today.
"She's breathing! Hey, Mom!"
My face feels like it's on fire and my mouth feels like hot, wet stew, blasted with a fire hot enough to melt it. Even without looking in a mirror, I can tell just how malformed I am. I try to speak, but it hurts to move my mouth. My eyes are foggy; while I can see fine in one eye, the other is a blur. I try to stand up, but I feel a hand press me back down by the shoulder, and I can hear Renma's voice in passing.
"Go back to sleep, Beige. You're not ready to be up." I didn't argue, as though I even could. I took a deep breath and fell back under into another comatose state. One week passed, I think. Two? Three. The days flew by faster than I could even hope to count. An empty blackness, a complete void. These were my surroundings for a duration of time that, to me, only the gods knew. Once more, though, I would awake.
A dim candle painted the stone walled room in a variety of reds, yellow, and oranges. It was on the nightstand, beside a bed I did not recognize. Come to think of it, I didn't recognize the room itself, either. Where exactly was I? It was difficult to tell, with one good eye and a head that hasn't seen the light of day for what I can only assume has been decades. A faint voice, however, prodded my ears. It was Renma.
"Hey, Mom. Beige is awake again." Renma stood, clad in a simple tunic and trousers. It's the only thing he would wear outside of his armor. Man never was much for fashion. I tried to prop myself up on my elbows to get a better look at my surroundings, when Renma gave me a dumb smile and put his hand on my arm.
"You know, you're mostly healed up. I mean, the scars will definitely stick around, but all in all? You look decent. For a dead woman, at least." I looked at him, my ditzy brother, as though I were dumbfounded. I couldn't recall anything. Although I tried my best to manage a response, all that I could muster was a weak "What happened?"
Renma gave me a curious stare and tilted his head. "You're in Summerset. Father was helping out here, so we took transport after you rose from the grave. He figured Kisven would want to hear the news that you were alive. Father hasn't been able to find Kisven, though."
"Kisven is gone. He's been gone for months." I slumped back down into the bed and stared up at the ceiling. The room was quite lavish, to be frank. An intricately laid hardwood floor, in a dark mahogany color, contrasted against the marble-colored walls that had been carved into artistic designs, with stone columns anointing the walls every few feet or so. Otherwise, the furniture was rather modest. A simple wooden bed, a simple wooden nightstand. A simple wooden dresser. All in all, it was rather simple.
"Yeah. I found that out." Renma turned his attention to the door, slowly rapping his fingers against the side of his head. "Father wants you to stay here, in Summerset. He doesn't want you to go back to Shattered Grove. Or Auridon." I nearly lurched from the bed and glared daggers at Renma. "Father will not tell me what I can and can't do. I am, frankly, done with this shite on vengeance and violence. But I have friends there. I still have my daughter there." I had just noticed that I was speaking with a bit of a lisp. I suppose not everything healed up quite the way it should have.
"Kashya, I can't let you do that. Lilin will be alright. I'm gonna head back to town soon to make sure she's okay, but don't you think it's time to give her some space?" I shook my head, but he continued on. "She did spend her whole childhood in the Villa. Up until she can remember, anyways. You guys didn't really give her a head start, so now she has to learn what the real world is like. And, honestly, I think that's for the best. I'll be around to make sure she's okay."
"Then why aren't you there right now? Where the hell even is she?" I noticed my tone growing more and more angry, and opted to relax for once, trying to push my weight onto the headboard I had been progressively leaning on.
"She's in Shattered Grove, living at your place for right now. She has food and she's making friends. I think." He sounded uncertain towards the end of his sentence, but attempted to give me a reassuring smile. "Of course...not saying you shouldn't ever see her again. She is your daughter. But...maybe you should give her some space. She's almost mature, after all."
"She's fourteen goddamned years old, Renma." He shrugged back at me and smiled. "You were out traversing Auridon at six. Give her a chance to find herself. You have stuff to do in Summerset, anyways." My anger turned to curiosity, and I looked up at him through the dim light that hardly made it any easier to see. "What do you mean, stuff to do? We don't live here."
"Kashya, didn't you say you wanted to be an actor, at some point? Father can get you all set up." He pulled a small hand mirror off the nightstand and offered it to me. "You don't look too awful, you know. All things considered, it definitely could've come out worse."
I froze as Renma offered the mirror to me. I didn't want to see what I looked like, but I figured I would have to face myself at some point. "I...uhm." I slowly raised a hand up and gripped the mirror by the handle, raising it to my face with cautious, crawling uncertainty.
My face was different. It was me, but with new scars. A burn scar covered my eye and trailed down the side of my nose, ending at my lips in a v-shape. My eye was evidently damaged in the attack, as it was discolored and grey in some areas, black and orange in others. I wasn't blind in it, but I doubt I'd be doing much with it ever again. I handed the mirror back to Renma and remained utterly silent, even when he stared at me. Finally, he attempted conversation. "Kashya? Are you okay?"
"Lilin. Is she going to be okay?"
He nodded in response. "Yes, Kashya. She has friends in Shattered Grove."
"Fine. I won't bring her to Summerset, anyways. She's too good for the stuck-up cockiness of the goddamned idiots, here."
He looked at me hopefully, clasping his hands together. "So, you'll take up that acting offer?"
With one meager nod, I reluctantly accepted his offer and folded my arms close to my chest.
"Yes. Go on."