Thread: Worlds of Stone and Ember (Insouciance x Leon)

There were many things that raced through Lilityanas brain as she lay soundlessly in her tent. Her men slept, some of them even falling deeper into tsnar knel. Fore no one slept like the Khnamakal slept. To the human eye, it would appear as if the men themselves had turned into stone beasts beneath their cloaks that were only intended to keep them warm until they reached REM sleep and turned to stone. Tsnar Knel she would need to rest in that state for a time if she wanted to keep her strength up for the long days ride ahead, but it was a vulnerable state for any citizen of Khnam despite the perks. While their skin became impenetrable by anything not crafted with a diamond edge, like all things that were stone, they were left immobile and vulnerable to shattering if pricked just right, with enough force. it was something that they neednt worry about when they stood as Mardkayan. Even now, she was human in appearance, her flesh supple, her body warm, it was different if she invoked Koriz Banvorakan why were they so different? the men told stories of Apker and his blessing from the gods but this in all her sacred knowledge of the Khnamakal that she could not share, was not a blessing, it was a curse only the distant snores, light breezes rustling the leaves of the giant oaks around them and the quietly moving river filled her tent with noise as she lifted a hand into the air to examine her palm in the moonlit tent. The stories of old, they were lies.. Her brother, revelled in blood and ran his armies through the carpathian mountains, often destroying her efforts in ending the thousand year war, but where would they be if the two species fought until they both crumbled to nothing? the answer to that was nowhere. Her reeling mind was silenced when the slightest crush of gravel near the entrance of her tent drew her attention. Perhaps it was a good thing that she could not sleep after all, and an even better thing that she hadnt fallen into Tsnar Knel, lest she be in too deep a sleep to have noticed even an explosion in her camp. The noise was subtle, but not so subtle thet she hadnt noticed. Whom ever came near, they were very good at carrying themselves but no one was entirely silent and undetectable. Not even herself as she reached for the silver bo staff that shined with the same reflectiveness of her eyes in the shrouded tent. She stood in an almost silent rustle of fine silks as the very stranger she had invited into her camp ducted his head to let himself under the heavy fabrics of the tent. at first there was rage, and then curiosity, but she wasnt a fool and she wanted answers. In the dark, he might not have seen her, but that was if he was human. She spoke low enough to be heard as she stood at the back of the tent in the dark, but not so loud that someone in her camp might hear and be woken from their sleep If you are but a lowly thief then you are a courageous one and you should go now before I am forced to cut an arm from your body. If you are not a thief, then I advise you to tell me who sent you, and I will kill you swiftly, If not, then there are 100 men beyond this tent that will drag the name of your master from your lips. ----- Khnam Vocab Key Mardkayan Der Human Standing Koriz Banvorakan Stone Shift Tsnar Knel Heavy Sleep