Description

Eir Yates

⌈Eir|Mercy⌋⌈Yates|Gate Keeper⌋
⌈”Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.”
~Alexander the Great⌋

⌈”Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.”
~Sun Tzu⌋

⌈Species⌋
Umbri

⌈Age⌋
23

⌈Gender⌋
Female

⌈Sexuality⌋
While she may or may not be heterosexual, she is hardly on the lookout for a romantic partner. If anything the idea of romance is but a farfetched, foolish tale for the young of mind and heart.

⌈Appearance⌋
Eir possesses the stereotypical features of the Umbri race. Her hair is silver and often seems to exhibit a white aura whenever light reflects off its surface. While at a younger age her hair was short, recently she has allowed it to grow out to shoulder blade length. Well cared for and often brushed, her hair has a soft and silky texture frequently admired by her fellow Umbri. Unfortunately, as long hair tends to interfere with her activities, she rarely lets it down. She prefers, instead, to pull most of it up into an ornamental braid. Also necessary to her race are her demonic red eyes that, when opened, glow an eerie scarlet and pale ivory skin. As a result of her pallor, Eir’s lips also lack any substantial coloring. However, due to her youth and despite her pale visage, Eir has a vibrant and enticing glow about her that’s not commonly seen in Umbri.

Uncommon to her kin, who generally avoid confrontational situations, Eir’s position has forced her to take up generous training regimes meant to reinforce her physical capabilities. As a result, she possesses a lean physique; that accompanied by the well-developed figure of a woman, makes Eir an alluring woman from a distance. Yet, when observed closely it becomes apparent her hands have calloused and her body is painted with scars of varying size and severity. The most notable ones are the evidence of multiple deep gashes that once danced along the left side of her body. However, these particular disfigurements she keeps hidden beneath a plethora of cloth. She stands at an average height, five foot five inches, making her neither intimidating nor laughable; simply normal. Her facial features, though perhaps not the epitome of beauty, are fetching in their own right.

As her work requires a great deal of combative ability it would be expected that she would wear a great deal of armor. However, as is evident from the number of scars she possesses, she does not. Unfortunately, Umbri are not well known for their metal work, and her unnamed village has little by ways of effective armor. So instead, though not particularly womanlike in occupation, Eir has tried to maintain a sense of femininity in her apparel by wearing lightweight girlish clothing that is easy to move around in. Although, between you and I, she would probably prefer armor if she could get her hands on some that would actually do its job.

Lastly, also common to members of her race, Eir keeps her eyes always hidden behind bandages that act like a blindfold, which also forces her to keep her eyes closed and helps to avoid accidently opening them.

⌈”Just because Fate doesn't deal you the right cards, it doesn't mean you should give up. It just means you have to play the cards you get to their maximum potential.”
~Les Brown⌋

⌈Personality⌋
Eir’s personality could be compared to a tree in that so many features stem out from the source only to have even more new branches form from the older ones as time goes by and then, even further still, leaves bud from those new stems.

From the moment of her birth, Eir has always been an incredibly opinionated creature and she continues to have little qualms with voicing those opinions. Unfortunately, she is quick to form these opinions and incredibly stubborn once she has. Little can be done to change her mind on any aspect she has made a decision on. And the few times she has ever realized the error of her ways, she has failed to admit to it. However, that dogmatic tenacity of hers has also created a being of unmatched determination. The concepts of “never give up; never go back on your word; never forget” have never been more prudently applied to a single person. Fortunately for this opinionated young woman, she is very well informed about the world. She has gained this knowledge not through her own experiences but rather through the stories of the ‘other’ world. This knowledge, gained at so young an age and applied in so many experiences, has resulted in a creature wise beyond her years, even if she doesn’t always act that way.

This will come as no surprise, as it is a trait common among the inhabitants of Nominum, but Eir is a skeptic. There are two key ingredients to this particular recipe and the first most prominent one is her distrusting nature. Experience has told her time and time again not to trust most things in this realm of lore. This could include people, nature, and even time itself. The second ingredient is the fact that this is a realm of change. Eir understands that something as it exists now may exist in a much different fashion later. This makes it rather hard for her to truly believe she knows anyone.

However, unlike the vast majority of individuals, Eir does not flinch away from the idea of change. Rather, she is accepting, welcoming of it. The fact is, her ability is the ability to change ‘things’. No creature can utilize an ability as it is meant to be if that being cannot accept the very nature of that skill. Eir understands this fact. Additionally, she recognizes that nothing is certain and things will change whether we want it to or not. She still has to live with it and she chooses not to ‘fret’ anymore than necessary. Perhaps unique only to her, however, is the extent to which she craves change. Though she would never admit to it out loud, Eir cannot stand her given position in life and would secretly, even to herself, give anything to change her fate.

This would lead into the next branch of the tree that is Eir. To those that observe her, Eir seems to have a complete acceptance of her lot in life. She’s even, somehow, convinced herself of that. However, in actuality, this so-called acceptance is merely a façade she has implemented on the off chance that it could become reality and keep her failure to yield to her fate from affecting her duty. In actuality, Eir cannot stand her position as the Gatekeeper. She sees herself as nothing more than a sacrifice offered up so that others may live in peace. While, she would wish this fate upon no one else, she wants nothing more than to selfishly run from her position and obtain that peace she selflessly defends. Furthermore, like most of her race, like the majority of all the races, Eir is terrified of the prospect of fading out of existence and knows that every Gatekeeper faithfully meets that end. Yet, no matter how much she dreams of running away, she never will because in her mind she has no other choice.

Expected or not, Eir is incomparable calm and patient. However, she is also a tremendously cold person. Eir has made the choice to detach herself from people and her emotions. Originally, she recognized the fact that her life is short and will soon come to an end, and out of caring did not wish to leave anyone behind. Now, however, she would make the claim that, since being detached from her emotions makes her incapable of sympathy or affection, her only purpose in doing this is to make her more effective on the battlefield. Not feeling emotions towards actions or people allow her to keep a clear head. However, whether admitted or not, her original motive is the real cause for her decision. As a result of her decision not to feel, Eir is known for rarely smiling or crying. Frowning, however, is another story all together. Whether she likes it or not, Eir continues to be a living thing with a heart that can feel, and, on some occasions, those feelings grow too powerful for her to suppress. Unfortunately, she often does not understand nor knows how to deal with these emotions resulting in a very confused and flustered (yes flustered!) Umbri. When this occurs, slight panic sets in and she ends up knitting her brows together, clenching her fists, and biting her lip.

Eir often deals with a sense of inferiority and envy when observing the other races. In her eyes she sees races with a freedom she can never possess. A freedom to use their abilities however they please without the constant shadow of diminishing trailing after them. A freedom a part from the world of reality, without the fear of ever changing or losing who they are to storytellers they know so little of. Without the fear of one day becoming just like the creatures they all fear. Speaking of Talpas, Eir, like most, hates them. However, it could be she hates them less for their destructive nature and more for how much they have in common. They’re both so effected by stories after all, and sometimes they may even…perhaps even…act the same way.

Eir is also purposefully spiteful of creatures that spite her. An eye for an eye is her general rule concerning malice. Although, admittedly she tends to take her vindictiveness a little too far. First off, in response to it, she often acts in the exact fashion expected of her by the source of that spite. This obviously does nothing to make that person like her any better. But, admittedly, she really couldn’t care less if they like her or not. Secondly, she tends to act hypocritically. Eir will stereotype an individual upon first hearing of them and often treats them with the same level of malice she expects them to show her. Again, that is not an effective way to make friends. There may be one positive thing to be said of this, however. Eir makes it perfectly clear if she dislikes you, so you’ll never be left wondering or confused.

Without her realizing it, Eir’s vast training and experience protecting people has made her instinctually protective of all creatures. Even people she really doesn’t like. Often she’ll find herself leaping in to save someone and realizing afterwards she really didn’t have any desire, or perhaps incentive would be more appropriate, to do it. Worse yet, she could be thinking: ’Aw darn, I really didn’t care if that person had died.’ Although, hopefully she never feels that way about you because that would be…unfortunate. Admittedly, Eir has a bit of a weak spot for children and finds herself being even more on guard and overprotective when they are in the general vicinity.

Now this incredibly serious person still can’t avoid having a few quirks no matter how hard she might have tried. First of all, Eir finds her life to be incredibly boring, at least most of the time. She does almost the exact same thing everyday, and it has gotten so monotonous that she has grown to crave the slight reprieve from all the repetition through combat. This includes battle against Talpas as well as any other poor beast that is foolish enough to pick a fight with her. A little more childish, is her absolute ineptitude when dealing with jokes. She can neither tell them nor understand them. Perhaps this is the real reason she never smiles? Furthermore, because she hardly ever physically travels anywhere and is almost always wearing a blindfold, Eir has utterly no sense of direction. To be perfectly honest, Eir has gotten lost in her own village, where she has lived her entire life, more than a few times. Ironically, and despite the obvious blindfold, she finds herself giving directions to travelers on a regular basis. However, she usually wants them to get lost (seeing as how she isn’t actually supposed to tell people how to find the village) and they generally learn their lesson afterwards.

However, none of this matters if she opens her eyes. What Eir is now could very well cease to exist tomorrow as she slowly approaches her end. Already she is beginning to exhibit symptoms of the fading. Put frankly, when Eir uses the abilities of her race to bend reality too extensively (at least to extensively for her), she becomes quite unstable. Insanity starts to creep in and she starts to lose her sense of self. Rather, she starts to act in a similar manner as the Talpas. Her personality, though hardly kind normally but not cruel either, becomes sadistic and masochistic. Perhaps the only time she smiles, though creepy to the core, is when she has opened her eyes in combat and starts to rejoice in the bloodbath. Fortunately, she hasn’t lost herself completely to this change. A soft reminder, such as a knock to the head or the shout of someone specifically telling her to close her eyes, can be enough to bring back the real Eir and convince her to shut her eyes again.

I guess it would come as no surprise that she’d almost rather die than uncover her eyes for fear of what she could become.

⌈Likes⌋

Eventful or Unexpected Occurrences - As mentioned above, Eir is tired of the tedium of her life. She is always on the lookout for an adventure of some kind even if it is only in the form of an innocent match…to the death. Okay so maybe not to that extreme but you get the picture.
Music – By far one of the most enjoyable things in existence. It can soothe the soul or make one want to move their feet. It is so diverse that there is something for every mood, or in Eir’s case lack there of.
New Things – Eir is knowledgeable of the land, however this is not through her own experiences but rather through the stories of the storytellers. There is a lot Eir wants to actually experience for herself.
The number 7 – Somewhere along the line she heard it was a lucky number and thus made it hers.
Stories of the Real World – While she does not appreciate the change the stories of a storyteller cause, she does appreciate the stories themselves for their artistic content.
Fortune Telling and Psychic Mediums – She met an Aruspex with brown hair and brown eyes once, he told her future, which fascinated her since it wasn’t quite as negative as she assumed it would be and resulted in her surviving an unexpected attack, and he spoke to her mother, which was a comfort.
Dressing Like a Girl – Recently, for some odd reason, Eir has found that she rather enjoys looking and feeling like a young woman. It’s strangely natural and fulfilling. Though she can hardly comprehend why.

⌈Dislikes⌋

Her Eyes – Cursed as they are to lead her away from who she is and ultimately to her death, how can she like them?
Getting Lost – Would you believe she finds this rather annoying and unfavorable?
Spiteful People – As made perfectly clear earlier on, she really does not like these type of people. Then again, who does?
The Gatekeeper – An awful task to be assigned to, no different to a sacrificial lamb and certainly not a fate she desired at all.
Being told she is Wrong – She is an opinionated young woman who likes to be right. It annoys her when people think they know more than her (and admittedly it annoys her when she finds out they do.)
Stains – She discovered a long time ago that stains in general were an annoyance, but the red kind are probably the worst, especially when they get on her favorite shirt.
Talpas – It could be said for anyone, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

⌈Equipment⌋
Eir, though she wished she did, does not wear much by way of armor since she hardly has access to anything decent, however she does wield two Bellatores crafted saw-like blades that were granted to her when her father passed away. They are called Clavis and Portæ, Clavis meaning ‘key’, and Portæ meaning ‘of the Gate’. It should also be noted that they are chained together as she frequently makes use of this particular addition.

⌈Abilities⌋
Combative Abilities
First off, we need to address how exactly Eir is capable of combat while blindfolded. While yes, in a sense, she has a sixth awareness. It doesn’t quite operate in the way one might think considering it isn’t actually a sixth sense. Rather, she spends the good majority of her ‘free’ time when she keeps watch to strengthen her other four senses: touch, smell, hearing, and even taste. She is capable of feeling even the slightest disturbance in the air around her, which allows her to sense where an attack and attacker is coming from, and even recognize the directionality of the attack. Furthermore, she can feel nonmoving objects without actually touching them when she is close enough through her touch sense as well. She can hear someone from a rather lengthy distance – considering she is only an Umbri – which further allows her to sense her opponents. Her smelling and tasting ability go hand in hand. By smelling and tasting the air and it’s potency she can determine the distance of certain object such as tree and flowers as well. Basically, her other four senses are so attuned to the world she really doesn’t need to use her eyes. Fortunately for her.

Now onto her actual physical capabilities. Though not as naturally talented as a Bellatores, Eir more than makes up for that lack of talent through sheer hard work. Admittedly, she is not extremely strong, however she is stronger than most women and she is quite fast. She wields her unique weapons with incredible skill, making especially good use of the chain that connects them to incapacitate her opponents or expand her own movements. Also, she is notably flexible and agile. Yet, her greatest combat ability would be her reflexes or reaction time, which verges on instantaneous. There are many opponents who are stronger and can run faster than her, however, few can react to attacks or defenses as quick as she can.

Her actual Umbri ability has the capacity to be incredibly powerful (as is common in her family line), however, having been forced to use it so often in her youth she is aware she must be extraordinarily careful in how she uses it now or else she will fade away. As of now, she generally only uses her abilities when absolutely necessary for defensive purposes. Small changes, such as a change in direction, erasing her own shadow (as any more than just one would be pushing her limits a little bit too much in her current state), modifying the length of her weapon, or modifying certain physical attributes for a short time are the most common types of changes she utilizes. Although, there have been times, in her youth, when the changes have been far more drastic. However, as apparent from her current , questionable state of existence she has pushed her limits one time too many and really couldn’t, or perhaps shouldn’t, do it again. Furthermore, as with all Umbri, she can comprehend the stories of the real world, which makes it possible for her to gather a great deal of information with relatively little involvement.

Non-Combative Abilities
Eir damages her clothes quite often, which considering her line of work, is hardly a shock. However, due to this she has learned to be quite the seamstress. Especially considering she does all of her hemming blindfolded. Furthermore, she doesn’t merely repair old damaged clothes, but she often makes new outfits as well. Admittedly, while wearing a blindfold, she struggles with color, but thus far she hasn’t made anything in a multitude of unexpected or clashing colors. Although, with enough time, it’s bound to happen sooner or later.

The nature of her occupation is somewhat violent. From violence results injury, and her many scars prove she is no exception to this rule. Fortunately, as she has had a lot of practice, Eir has become quite adept at applying first aid. While obviously not anywhere near being as impressive as a White-Winged Lagoi, she can, at least, prevent infection and minimize scarring with the proper treatment. Furthermore, more than a few times she’s had an issue with poison. While not the best by any means, her basic knowledge of herbs can come in quite handy when dealing with ailments such as that.

Lastly, Eir is a bit of a closet writer. Her calligraphy is an art form in of itself, but the actual prose is also quite beautiful. Admittedly, she took up this task less for the sake of fun and more for the sake of archiving the stories of the storytellers as well as the life of the inhabitants in her village, including hers. Somewhere along the lines it became something she was rather experienced and gifted at, as well as something she does to relax or think.

⌈Strengths⌋
Eir’s training and experiences has taught her how to remain calm in combat situations. The great deal of control she has over her emotions allows her to think through all her actions before she chooses to make them and her quick reaction time allows her to perform her plans quickly and efficiently. Furthermore, Eir’s learned how to conserve her energy and strength by not allowing herself to exercise more strength, speed, or movements than necessary against her opponent. This allows her to both conceal the full extent of her abilities as well as keep herself from tiring out too quickly. Throughout her lifespan Eir has been injured time and time again. As a result, her resilience is quite high. She can withstand several injuries while still being able to fight efficiently. Basically, she is a very hard opponent to put down and keep down. Lastly, Eir is very courageous, intimidation does not work on her and she won’t run from a fight, flinch, or hesitate.

⌈Weaknesses⌋
Eir’s ability to use her eyes is severely limited. While she has great skill, using it puts her life to close to its end, so unless absolutely no choice is given to her, she cannot access her Umbri ability. Furthermore, Umbri are not naturally talented with any other magic, which means her combat ability is limited to her physical skills. Unfortunately, though she can certainly hold her own against those more naturally able than her that does not change the fact that there are many out there whose speed and strength exceeds her own. Moreover, Eir is unfamiliar with working in teams. While she'd figure it out eventually, she's been fighting on her own for so long that she'd struggle to work together with others. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly concerns her change in personality when she opens her eyes. Eir is a hardy opponent, however, this change causes her self-preservation to ‘fly out the window’. She stops trying to avoid injury all together and ends up in a condition so dire that it often takes a week or two for her to recover enough to return to the battle field.

⌈”I don't believe in fate or destiny. I believe in various degrees of hatred, paranoia, and abandonment. However much of that gets heaped upon you doesn't matter - it's only a matter of how much you can take and what it does to you.”
~Henry Rollins⌋

⌈Home⌋
Eir has been in the same place from the moment of her birth. The village of Umbri, although she has once or twice wandered a little farther away than she should have – sometimes on accident, sometimes less so.

⌈Relationships⌋
While Eir actively avoids getting close to people, there are some relationships that are simply unavoidable. One such relationship was with her mother before she passed away. As the woman who gave birth to her, Eir did hold a great deal of affection for the fully blind woman. She was extremely close to her for the time she was alive, and even now often thinks of her and visits her grave daily to apologize. Admittedly, Eir feels the weight of her mother’s death on her shoulders; she believes she should have been able to save her but was unable to. She also feels guilty for doing the one thing her mother always asked her not to – sacrificing herself.

Eir’s father, also deceased, was a figure Eir respected but also pitied. She was never extremely close to him since he was just as cold and distant as she is now but she spent a great deal of time with him in the first half of her life. Despite there being a small gravestone that was erected for him when he faded away, she rarely visits him. As was the case when he was alive, she has little she wishes to tell him.

Lastly, Eir does have a relationship with the other Umbri she guards. Her role places her not in a position of power but certainly in a position that deserves a great deal of reverence. However, it is also a position deserving of pity. For this reason, the village as a whole generally treats her with a great deal of kindness, often giving her things as she passes by or attempting to make friendly conversation – which she generally ignores. Perhaps a little bitter, Eir simply can’t bring herself to appreciate the villagers.

⌈History⌋
Eir was born to a line of ‘Gatekeepers’. Ever since the village of Umbri was created many years ago, they have taken necessary precautions against outsiders, Talpas, and overusing their abilities. Unfortunately, this precaution involves the overuse of one Umbri’s abilities. After much consideration, a family was chosen to serve as guardians, and to some extent the police force, of the village. They gained the title of Gatekeeper because one part of their duty was to grant or deny access into the village. Unfortunately, the life span of a Gatekeeper is but a fraction of their peers, which, in effect, turns the Gatekeeper into a sacrifice for the village. This is the fate Eir has been forced to accept.

Eir’s mother was truly blind, while she was still carrying Eir, a Talpas attacked her and her eyes were carved out of her skull. However, having lost her eyes and her connection to reality she was able to shortly experience a freedom from lore that the other Umbri never could. It was a freedom she wished for her daughter, which she gave birth to a mere two months later. Unfortunately, it was a dream that could never be realized.

Eir’s father was the current gatekeeper, and as soon as she was old enough to walk he started training her to take his place. The vast majority of her training involved the suppression of her emotions; her father, whether he stated it or not, knew that anger and fear would affect her ability to do what was expected of her. He was also aware that this position was one that could easily spark those emotions. Whether he was successful or not, well, one could say he was and one could say he wasn’t. However, aside from emotional training he also focused his attention on training her body. His hope was that, if she could rely on her body instead of her eyes, she may be able to live a longer life and she may have be able to guard the village a little longer.

He pushed her limits daily. Often Eir would return home covered in scratches and bruises, but her father did not allow any display of weakness and he would not allow her to give up. Her task was too important to allow weakness, and she simply couldn’t give up her destiny. Fortunately, she still had the loving comfort of a mother who gave her dreams of freedom to retreat to when she felt she could no longer handle the pressures of her training.

Her father faded away when Eir was eleven, before he could ‘complete’ her training. She shed not a tear for her father, by that point she had successfully learned to shut her feelings away, and perhaps she really wouldn’t miss him. Admittedly, she didn’t inherit the role of Gatekeeper immediately; even a terrified village understood that an eleven year old couldn’t protect them. So instead she was left to continue her training under the supervision of a trusted elder. Not that he trained her; she did that on her own. His only role was to make sure she wouldn’t run, to make sure they would have their sacrifice. Or maybe that’s merely how Eir viewed it.

Perhaps, if she had been fortunate, the Talpas would have waited until she could protect the village to attack, but from the moment of birth she had been anything but. Three year went by, peacefully, eerily so. The entire time they all could sense it, the approaching darkness, circling the village as a hunter circles its prey while waiting for the opportune moment to strike. And it did strike, right at the heart of the still young guardian.

When it came, fire lit the night sky, and at fourteen Eir was forced to fight for the life of the village as well as her own. For the very first time in her life, she realized just how dangerous the world was and how much she had to lose if she didn’t grow strong. She knew because she had lost. Her mother died that night, and with her all Eir’s dreams of being free from her fate.

Day broke and the Talpas fled. And Eir took up her task. For three years she acted as the Gatekeeper, never ceasing her training and more devoted than she had ever been before, knowing that one day that monster would return. And return it did. But this time she was there to meet it head on. The clash between the two scarred the earth; the monster was massive and mighty, covered in scars, and experienced in the slaughter, but Eir knew what she had to do, and she would do it. Her body was strong and her eyes were stronger. Not even this beast could resist the power of lore.

She defeated it, but at great cost.

The left side of her body was heavily injured. Many did not believe she would survive and wondered who would take her place when she passed on. However, she pulled through, but it quickly became apparent that at so young an age she had lost too much time. From this point forward, she stopped using her eyes so extensively. To be honest, it’s been three years since she’s uncovered her eyes.

Perhaps a little less important to her story but certainly worth mentioning as it concerns her, is the fact that the elder who watched her has started pressuring her to produce an heir and continue the line of Gatekeepers.

⌈Monster – Paramore⌋
You were my conscience, so solid, now you're like water
And we started drowning, not like we'd sink any further
But I let my heart go, it's somewhere down at the bottom
But I'll get a new one and come back for the hope that you've stolen

I'll stop the whole world, I'll stop the whole world
From turning into a monster eating us alive
Don't you ever wonder how we survive?
Well now that you're gone, the world is ours

O-oh uh-oh uh o-oh uh-oh

I'm only human, I've got a skeleton in me
But I'm not the villain, despite what you're always preaching.
Call me a traitor, I'm just collecting your victims
And they're getting stronger
I hear them calling.

(Calling, Calling)

I'll stop the whole world, I'll stop the whole world
From turning into a monster eating us alive
Don't you ever wonder how we survive?
Well now that you're gone, the world is ours

Well you find your strength in solutions
But I like the tension
And not always knowing the answers
But You're gonna lose it,
You're gonna lose it

I'll stop the whole world, I'll stop the whole world
From turning into a monster eating us alive
Don't you ever wonder how we survive?
Well now that you're gone, the world...

I'll stop the whole world, I'll stop the whole world
From turning into a monster, eating us alive
Don't you ever wonder how we survive?
Now that you're gone, the world is ours...

⌈Seen Enough - Dryer⌋
I've seen enough to know
I've seen enough,
Seen enough to know
Oh my eyes remind me next time
So I keep them closed

I like to pine away for what I hate
It keeps me in the dark
Like a one-track mind don't let me start
You keep me sharp

Once more into the crowd
Temptation wears you out
Go home, your heart too loud
Always (oh? alone? on?)

It's no surprise that all the things I like
Are making me a ghost
I should have never started killing time,
I can't go slow

Once more into the crowd
Temptation wears you down
Go home, your heart too loud
Always

“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”
~Friedrich W. Nietzsche
The Slender Man is standing behind you!

So begins...

Eir Yates's Story

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Nominum

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#2014-05-22 07:49:30, as written by Cheru-Chu

Eir Yates

She should be ashamed really. And yet, she was not. It was not as though anyone would have been able to see her blindfolded eyes and charge her of the egregious crime she had so abashedly committed. Even further still, there was no one around to attempt such a thing as an accusation in the first place. And if there had been, she would never have been able to, nor would she have been foolish enough to do it at all. But, trust me, when you find yourself in need of it and your day is as colorless as hers, instead of wasting what could be valuable hours waiting for the grass to grow and die on such a beautiful summer day, you would have done the same as her. Fortunately, however, as it is now, no one would ever have to know that Eir, the gatekeeper sent to guard her imperiled species, had fallen asleep instead.

It hadn’t been a deliberate effort. Rather it was the result of the repetition of a series of tiresome undertakings and a prolonged sleeplessness, which she did not elect to partake in but was made to anyways due to the sudden influx in the number of monstrosities roaming so fretfully close to the nervous settlement. Not that she would ever confess to a distaste for insomnia and drudgery, rather, as far as she or anyone else was concerned, it was a glorious thing to be anticipated and cherished. After all, it meant the prolonged existence of her people. A noble cause to sacrifice for indeed.

But this tumultuous matter would be better left unaddressed at this moment.

For now, we will return to the story of how the lethargic sentinel was reminded of what she should have been doing as opposed to what was actually being done. Rain comes and goes in Nominum in much the same way a blink does. As does all the weather. While it was certainly pleasant when Eir’s head fell limply against the tree, it hardly stayed that way since it was aware the gatekeeper was in need of wake-up call. It took mere seconds for the sky to darken and a solitary drop to fall from their depths and find its mark on the bridge of her nose. Stubbornly, she flinched and furrowed her brows but did not awaken. Instead, she merely readjusted herself against the tree and did her best to burrow her face into her own shoulder. She would later regret not waking up, since if she had she might have been able to find cover from the deluge that soon commenced. As it were, she woke with a start when it came and found, instead, that she was now fully soaked. A fact that was not at all delayed by her rather light dress.

Perhaps if she were prone to emotional outbursts, she would have had one. However, her only reaction was to stand up and begin to walk in an attempt to find shelter. Despite being blindfolded, she maneuvered herself down the comparatively worn path with ease before eventually veering off into the bushes. Whether she was aware of this detour, one could fairly wonder, considering it was likely she wasn’t.

It soon would become clear to her, however, that the ground beneath her was not the terrain of a path often traveled. The trail was littered with tree roots that rose from the forest floor as if they sought desperately to escape drowning in this sudden downpour. And no matter where she stepped, she could not escape the deathly crunch of fallen leaves from the autumn season that had come and gone like fleeting birds the day before.

The shower continued, each drop cooler than the last and numbing to her skin and senses. Yet, she found this soothing. The crisp smell and taste the rainfall brought in its wake relaxed her, and the echoing sound made by the water as it collided with the leaves in the trees and the ground was a peaceful melody. Still, despite the great extent to which she enjoyed the rain’s influence she was aware that to remain in its company was to invite illness, and her position did not allow for such weakness. So she continued her search for cover and ventured farther from her post than she normally would have in any other circumstance.

Fate is a playful entity, as it would guide the Umbri guardian to a pair of travelers with mouths overflowing with stories of their own and stories that they themselves were told. The encounter was strange at first, and continued to be less than normal as she emerged from the forestry behind them. Though blinded by layers of cloth, Eir was not unaware of their shock to her appearance. The subtle intake of breath and rustle of clothes as they flinched away from the woman could not be hidden from her senses no matter how they or the storm may have tried to conceal them. But, undeterred by the discomfort of the travelers, she moved to stand beside them and beneath the cover of a tree with uniquely large leaves. By this point, the Umbri guard had deduced from the scent of new leather, cloth, foreign spices, the sound of Aurum clinking within their bags, and their deep voices that the two wanderers were both merchants and men.

Silence was her initial greeting as she stood slightly apart from them, but soon as they grew fairly comfortable with her presence, they resumed the conversation they had evidently been engaged in before her unexpected arrival. Being unable to ignore them as she stood in a confined space with the two, she chose merely to remain quiet and listen to what they had to say with no small degree of hope that they carried enchanting stories of their travels to entertain her within the captivity of her role.

The tale they did tell was not one of distant lands or roaming adventurers, but still held a level of intrigue. It was a tale of Talpas. The monsters of Nominum, the creatures of the darkness, those things that creep through country and leave seeds of doubt and fear in every inhabitant of Lore. The man farthest from the silver-haired guardian was the first to start the story once again. His low, quiet voice was laced the breathy sound of whispers as he endeavored to keep his conversation from the ears of their unwelcome companion. “As I was saying, the Talpas have been acting strange recently, at least more than usual.” Eir shuffled her feet as water fled into the confines of her shoes, prompting another spell of silence from the two apprehensive traders. Moment’s past as the rain fell around them becoming louder as the quiet endured until finally the other man murmured his response.

“It’s getting dangerous for us to move during the day, even on the more traveled roads. Especially as we travel north.”

North? The woman’s head tilted towards them, as she thought through their words. She knew little of the North, but what small amount she did know of the bearing offered little by way of explanation for the sudden trend of the Talpas. Unless, it was that story.

A book whose own origin is as mysterious as the shadows, but holds within its pages the key to the origin of Nominum. A book she did not fully understand and had seen only once when she opened her eyes three years ago. It was a book no one spoke of within her village, and Eir rarely met anyone outside of it. But whether the connection between the creatures and the story was true, she could not be sure, nor could she check as her eyes were sealed behind a blindfold.

But as the rain fled away and the merchants followed its example, Eir could not shake the sense that soon this book would leave the obscurity in which it hides, and once in the light, she knew it could no longer be ignored.

Now alone under an unnecessary canopy of leaves, the young Umbri gracefully turned around and stepped back into the brush she had come from. The sound of crashing water filled her ears and the chill of icy liquid embraced her foot as it delved deeper into the invisible pool that had formed without her knowledge. She stood solemnly still as she acknowledged the sensations and accepted their implication. Then, silently and evenly, she removed her dripping foot, stepped over the offensive puddle, and continued on.

Setting

Nominum

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#2014-06-04 09:18:35, as written by Cheru-Chu

Eir Yates

The gateway that marked the path into the small village of Umbri was unlike most other gates. While the hands of wood and stone workers, industrious people with a desire to protect their homes, often create its kin, the Umbri’s gate was much different. The land and its desire to protect the dying race created it.

Two ancient trees, both easily twice as large and twice as tall as any other in the forest, stood parallel to one another on each side of the worn path. Their bark was white, like ash, and the leaves that grew along their limbs possessed just as little color. Both trees were painted in scars and wrinkles, symbols of their age and how they valiantly served their purpose as protectors of the path they stood on. Their branches reached out and entangled themselves above the heads of travelers and they both wore snowy vines adorned with timeless scarlet blossoms. It was these floral robes that traced the expanses of the proud porters and hung before the path creating a veil to keep the curious eyes of unwelcome travelers from seeing beyond that point. However, the path and village were not the only things these sentient guardians protected. From amidst their heights birds fluttered and squirrels settled. These small creatures were the children of the gate and, following in their parent’s footsteps, did all they could to guard the path as well.

Pale hands gripped the handles of two unique blades as a solitary figure tensed high within the branches of one of these trees. Silence. It echoed louder than the usual noises of the small creatures nestled into the brush. The woman that protected the old gate was anxious. Her petite colleagues had put her on edge with their fear-induced stillness. Something or someone was coming.

Her grips shifted as her fists tightened and twisted around the hilts of her blades, digging them into her own palms as she kept herself prepared to draw the weapons at a moments notice. Her muscles twitched with the strain of keeping herself coiled and ready to spring forward like a cobra ready to strike. A light breeze passed through the forest and played with the silver strands of her hair while she waited. The silence was broken for a moment as the leaves of the forest shared secrets with that same gust of air as it passed them by. The young Umbri listened closely to those voices, hoping to hear news of her visitor. But she was told nothing. Nonetheless, she knew that it was only a matter of time before her guest made an attempt at the gate. Her company always tries to break the rule. The only rule she had in place. No one passes through the gate.

It had been drilled into her head hundreds of times throughout her lifetime. Time and time again she had been told this law. Time and time again she had passed it on to others. Yet, it always seems to be ignored and she is forced to play the part of judge and jury and delve out punishment.

Her nostrils flared as a familiar and overpowering stench filled them. It smelled metallic, like copper. Her head twitched and tilted as a twig broke to her left, making her very much aware of the heavy breathing of the one who had broken it. It wasn’t the sound of exhaustion, but rather it was the panting of excitement that is often heard among large carnivores that have come across an easy meal.

Talpas. The young Umbri’s thoughts were verified by the unnatural and monstrous snarl that escaped the creature as it tried to crawl onto the path before the gate. It was tentative at first. The burning sunlight left a trail of blisters on the creature’s pale, bald skin, which forced it to retreat back into the shade of the tree line. It wasn’t until Eir felt the heat of the sun disappear that she heard the creature step bravely out of the shadows. It stood still, waiting for what it knew must be there at the gate. Her. The gatekeeper. However, she made no attempt to leave her perch. She made no move at all except for the light tilt of her head in another direction due to the subtle sounds and smells of other similar creatures still hiding in the shadows.

The gatekeeper was outnumbered, and her company was laying out a trap, making them intelligent enough to communicate and cooperate with one another. Yet, though faced with the threat of intelligence, Eir was calm. Past experiences with far stronger, far faster, far smarter creatures made these crudely intelligent pack hunters seem more like killers of boredom than killers of people to her. Still, she would not rush headlong into combat in a situation like this. Both Eir and the Talpas would wait for the first move. It would become a battle of patience since both parties knew who ever came forward first would surely be the first to die.

Fortunately, Eir is a very patient woman. She could wait all day if need be. Though it was not necessary.

The first monster dashed forward towards the cloak of flowered vines. Her blades scraped against their sheathes as she drew them, and the tree creaked as she threw herself from it; she brought one blade down, aiming for the moving beast. Fast on its feet and quick to respond, Eir’s blade met with rock as the beast halted its advance and leapt backwards. With little trouble on her part, the woman’s feet found the earth and she stood up. Taking a rather hostile stance against the creature, she spoke, “No one passes through the gate. Turn back now or die.”

It didn’t speak to her, but did retaliate with a bloodthirsty roar as it charged at the guardian; the other two hiding among the shrubs burst forth and followed suit. Digging her feet into the earth, Eir lowered her body and raised her blades further in preparation for combat, “So be it.”

The initial clash happened in an instant, and the untrained eye could easily question what happened. Those that could see the swift, subtle movement would observe something akin to a deadly yet graceful dance. As the closest Talpas grew nearer and lashed out with its clawed hand, Eir shifted her weight to the balls of her feet allowing her to spin just slightly around the approaching beast thus eluding its attack. Using the momentum of her movement to add power to her strike she swung her blade striking the creature deeply in a weak spot beneath its arm. Blood sprayed the surrounding area as the monster screeched before its body faded into dust.

Still using the force of her original step, Eir brought her other sword up in a powerful swing that parried and knocked away the second beast’s arm with ease. The creature moved to her right and it’s companion moved to strike her back. With the same poise and simplicity of her original movement, she stepped to her left and swung the sword in her right hand back to meet the face of the attacking Talpas. There was the sound of tearing fabric as the beast’s claws ripped into some of the loose material of her outfit. At the same moment, there was a brief resistance as her blade grazed the beast; a sense of satisfaction filled her chest knowing she had avenged the blouse she had fashioned earlier that week, but she quickly beat that feeling back into submission.

Feelings were a distraction.

Distractions on the battlefield led to death.

The injured beast yelped in pain and skidded to a halt as the gatekeeper turned to face both monsters once more. The threesome stood still for a moment. The two intruders emitting an aura of blood thirst and rage that was met with the calm soothing stillness of the guardian. The beasts were foolish. Their auras made reading their movement easy for the blind warrior. If they had been calm it would have been far more difficult for her to do so. Unfortunately for them, she would not give them the opportunity to learn from this experience.

The silence was broken once more by the chiming of chains as Eir once again raised her weapon. The sound served as a starting bell and her two opponents once again engaged in a lethal dance with the gatekeeper.

The birds were singing again. And the other little creatures of the forest were scurrying about. Life had returned to the listless forest. As had daylight. A mocking jay flew from its perch at the top of the ashen gate and rested upon the snowy white head of a young woman. Startled, she flinched and the bird took flight again, landing in a branch above her. She didn’t move to look at it; she couldn’t see it or anything else. Instead she simply listened to the song it sang.

Eir had forgotten what it meant to feel sad. But she suspected it sounded a lot like the bird’s lullaby. Perhaps the bird’s song was meant to reflect what she thought she should feel, what she might have wanted to feel as her hand traced the white bark before her. A fresh scar had been added to the gate’s skin. A sign that it was her comrade in arms against the Talpas that sought to harm what was on the other side. As well as a sign of how much she lacked in her abilities to protect.

The Talpas were dust on the wind now, but they had left their marks on both the ancient tree before her and her own skin. They always did.

She pulled her hand away from the tree and held it against her chest. As she did so the songbird quieted and flew away on a quest to find some other creature to sing to. Perhaps one who could understand the emotions it sought to relay.

Having lost the sound of the bird’s wing beats to the distance, Eir soon turned and marched into the surrounding forestry for the second time that day. However, this time she sought out the river she knew ran to the west of her current position. The stench of blood was an aphrodisiac to Talpas and would draw them in if it was not washed away. Unfortunately, she would quickly realize she did not actually head west since she did not reach the river as soon as she would have if she had.

What she discovered instead was yet another unwelcome visitor. Although, this one seemed far less threatening and far more lost than her last guests.

She did not greet him immediately, choosing to first observe him while hidden in the shadows. She could hear his erratic movements as he ventured from side to side. It seemed to her that he was looking for a way out, which supported her theory that he was probably lost. Then there was the faint odor of blood that drifted past her nose, enough to tell her that he probably scratched himself somewhere along the way but that it was nothing life threatening.

Though curious to know the reason he had ventured off the road and into the forest at all, Eir had no choice but to turn him away from his current path. It seemed to her if he continued to head in that direction, towards the gate, she’d have to make him leave, and the idea of injuring, or worse killing, the lost traveler did not hold much appeal to her.

Discreetly, much like a ghost, Eir moved to stand unnoticed behind her visitor. She might have remained unnoticed if she hadn’t spoke. “If you keep going that way you’ll probably die.” She spoke with an unnerving amount of indifference, especially considering the content of the message and the tattered state of her clothing. However, she was not trying to make him comfortable and she did not plan on remaining long, so whether he was alarmed or not was of little concern to her.

Predictably, the odd encounter between the lost stranger and Eir proved extremely brief since soon after speaking she turned around and started to head back in the direction of the gate – or at least the direction she assumed the gate was in. Although, she did not leave without first offering him some subtle kindness by giving him directions out of the forest with a minor tilt of her head, “Go that way.”

And with that, Eir disappeared back into the forest where she hoped to find that elusive river and wash off her injured arm.

Setting

Nominum

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#2014-06-04 23:18:45, as written by Deiocculus

Erebus wasn't very fond of surprises. They were annoying, to be quite frank. As was being scared. He couldn't however, do much about this dislike. Emotions were an unwanted consequence of being alive, as it was. Either way, the point is: he didn't so good with surprises.

As such, Eir sneaking up on him didn't do much good for him. "If you keep going that way, you'll probably die. She spoke with a sort of detached apathy, or so Erebus imagined. He couldn't very well analyze the person, nor would he have been able to at that moment. In fact, rational thought would have most likely been impossible for those few seconds.

Fear. An instinct used to aid the endeavor of survival. Erebus knew it well. He also knew that not doing anything to destroy fear was dangerous. As such, it would be expected that he reflexively made a knife from the shadows under him, turned around, and stopped. He was, at the very least, able to resist the urge to attack. As macabre as her words sounded, he couldn't quite attack yet. The inquisitive part of him wanted to know why she had said what she did. It sounded interesting, taking into consideration what had been reported to him earlier. He was however, given no explanation. This information, or rather lack of, gave him all he needed to know. There was, most likely, something important up there. He'd have to send someone to investigate later.

That is, if he got out of the situation alive. He was a pessimist. "Go that way." She didn't answer his unasked question, as he had hoped should would, but she did tell him to go somewhere. He looked in the direction she had pointed to, wondered what could possibly be over there, then turned back to where she had been, "Why would yo-" He spoke to air. "Great, that was really helpful."

He decided to not head in the direction the girl had pointed him towards. He wasn't, to be blunt, a very trusting person. In retrospect however, he probably should have followed her directions.

a few minutes later

Drip...Drip...Drip...

Water fell onto the floor of the forest Erebus was in. It was a rhythmic noise, yet it severely annoyed him. It wasn't necessarily the fact that the water was dripping, but more so the fact that he was just mad in general. He was getting impatient. He had to admit it. Completely and utterly lost. To his increased disdain, he seemed to be walking in circles. It ended up coming to the point where he had to mark trees so he wouldn't be lost. This was probably very dangerous, seeing as he was giving anybody who wanted to follow him a literal trail, but he wasn't concerned with that at the moment.

He did however, have a great idea. He knew of a method to find out which direction he was going. Abruptly, but with care, he stopped and went onto his knees. He didn't particularly care about getting his clothes dirty at that moment, seeing as he could quite literally make new clothes at a moment's notice. He did however, stop this train of thought. He had bigger metaphorical fish to fry.

He looked around his surroundings, then grabbed a stick off the ground. His next few moment's would be annoying, but they were needed. He looked upwards, at the canopy, then sighed. He went to the nearest tree, began using his ability, then climbed up it. Once he was at the top, he was slightly tired. He wasn't much of a physically fit person, to be blunt. Still, that tree was unnaturally hard to climb, or so he'd say.

He, after using his ability to make an axe-like tool, cut down branches and opened a hole in the canopy. Climbing down from the tree was harder than climbing up. This was mostly due to the fact that he had fallen down. He also happened to say a very vulgar word, but that was probably unimportant. At the very least however, he was on the ground.

He dusted himself down, then looked for a stick to replace the one he had lost. He then, after doing this, he began his method. The exact method was complicated and not worth explaining, but it should suffice to say that it took him 40 minutes to finish and get his bearings. He now knew where the cardinal directions were, and now knew where he was to go.

He, eventually and with ~~a lot of luck~~ careful planning, managed to get back to the spot where he had met the girl. It took him a few seconds, but he got his bearings, then decided that he might as well head in the direction she had pointed him in. If he had only not been so distrusting, he might have been able to leave the forest much earlier than he would. As it seems however, his distrust of people was a flaw he'd have to work on, as was shown by his wasting of time.

Eventually, Erebus managed to reach a city south of the forest, be it through terrible directional skills or the girl from earlier having given him good direction. If Erebus was correct, then he was probably in the city of Gorias. He had however, never been there as far as he knew, so he wouldn't know.

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Eir Yates

0 · 232 views · located in Nominum

a character in “From the Depths of Lore”, originally authored by Cheru-Chu, as played by RolePlayGateway

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So begins...

Eir Yates's Story

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Setting

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