Character

Journal, I'm back from work. Now I know why they had me set about for what I had gathered. I'll explain in a minute. Suffice it to say that house Winters is up to its usual tricks.

Hmm...ah, yes. A few days later I received a link pearl message from Lira. She has traveled to Kugane and is waiting for me at the hostelry. Seeing Zac and Lili retreat to their tent, I figured that they'd want some extended privacy. I spoke privately with the camp steward and made haste to Kugane. There I embraced my wife after not seeing her for what felt like months.

I asked her what brought her to Kugane. "You, silly," she said, poking my nose. "It's a tradition of mine to spend Heavensturn with kin, and you're my husband." Nodding with a grin, I booked a room in Bokairo inn and helped her unpack. We traded stories and accounts of what had transpired during our related absences. She was overjoyed to hear that Zac and Lili were going to start a family

As Heavensturn occurred, we were sitting in the hotsprings, simply enjoying each others company, stars twinkling in the night. Suddenly she let out a small gasp. Looking at her in concern, I asked her what was wrong. She turned to me and said: "I...felt our child kick." Awestruck, I placed my hand on her belly, her own joining me a moment later. Lo and behold, there was a little movement some moments later. It was weak but was still noticable.

Miqo'te gestation periods amaze me. Sure, she doesn't look that pregnant, but here it was. A little miracle forming beneath the heart of the woman I love. We stayed in each others embrace through the night and all the way to dawn. We...may have dozed a little but held each other upright by leaning into each other. Eventually we did retire back to our room and slept properly.

I took her shopping in celebration of the new year. There was an interesting little dog on a carousel that you could turn a little switch on and have the wheel underneath spin about. In addition to that I bought some new clothes for her which consisted of a maternal kimono and some good skirts. She thanked me for being so generous and promised safety in traveling back to Eorzia. I stood and waived to her as her boat departed later that evening.

Taking advantage of the room another night, I slept there and paid the bill to allow someone else to make its use. Heading back to Reunion, I chanced upon a caravan making its way between yanxia and the steppe and volunteered to help protect it. Very little fuss occurred. Even had a chance to help milk a few of the sheep that the caravan kept for traveling. Met lili just on the outskirts of Reunion and helped fend off a wolfpack from attacking the caravan.

After that fight, a strange thing had occurred. We heard the panicked squawking of a yol overhead. After separating from the caravan it landed and nuzzled right up to Lili. I noticed that some of the feathers matched the color of plumage from Zac's yol. Then it dawned on me: this is his Yol, and that made me worry.

The sense of worry also grew out from Lili, who tried calming the bird down. It pointed its beak westward frantically and took off. Then it looked down, expecting us to follow it. Getting the hint, we both blew our whistles for yol and headed off, following closely behind.

It lead us to the edge of the desert west of Reunion. We dismounted and followed on foot. Lili held out her prayer beads and started to chant something while I got out my staff and started my active aether sense to detect trouble. It took awhile, but we were able to locate Zac who was very battered and slightly burnt, his shirt in tatters and the rest of his clothes in disarray. That's when it hit me: he overabsorbed some fire aether and was burning up. Quickly I tossed an empty, unaspected cluster in his general direction and directed the flow coming from him into it. Lili, on the other hand, knelt close by and when she reached out to him he pulled away, mumbling about not wanting to hurt her, which was still the case.

After draining out as much to restore balance he still felt like he was running a fever. His yol was overhead so I took a chance and beckoned for it to come down. I knew of a springs in northern yanxia that may help reduce his fever. As we were shuffling and getting him loaded onto his mount I noticed that the brand that Xel had laid on him months and months ago was also damaged. I started to look around, waiting for her to make an appearance, but she never showed up. Which is surprising. Had he been able to throw off the bond between the two of them in this reckless action?

Anyroad, we got him strapped onto the yol with some glass fiber I had randomly stored in my inventory and slowly made our way to the springs while I tried raising Xel via link pearl. Eventually I was able to contact her and had her meet at the springs as quickly as she could. Sliding him into the water, his temperature started to drop, then went into what could be best described as a fever dream. Xel showed up and he tried to get away from her. This actually surprised me somewhat so I drew Xel aside and talked with her privately as possible while Lili did her best to comfort Zac.

First I queried about the brand itself. She said that it was still functional at full strength and admitted in feeling some distress as is usual per the connection, but not to the point that she knew how much of a life-threatening event it should've been. I chalk that up to distance. Then I asked her about what Zac was rambling about and why he reacted strongly at her presence.

At this point I got a little of his personal history. During his shinobi training during his stay in othard he was pressed against his will to try and absorb some aether of a captured, though willing, succubus. He managed to escape though he was hounded by several members of a cartel that he had been working for that did this to him. This apparently included that of a previous lover that was actually spying on him directly during this time and well before meeting Xel, myself or even Lili.

Lili thought it prudent to move him to the apartment he purchased in Shirogane for better recovery. I agreed, nodded to Xel and together we got him back on his yol. I traveled ahead to pay the Ruby Price of passage and waited for them to arrive. Xel said she had some prior business to attend to and headed in back to Eorzia. I waited outside the apartment area and assisted Lili in bringing Zac inside. Then I waited in the living room area for Zac to become lucid. It took awhile before he did.

When I checked in on him, he was recounted why he was where he was and what he was doing. On the trail of his father he encountered someone who he thought was his dead lover. It seemed impossible, that's only a minor revelation. More importantly, he discovered he had a nephew; son of his father's brother or sister. He was out looking for him when he ran afoul and got into battle. His overabsorption of fire aspected aether came from fighting several fire-based lamia/anala that roamed the area of the desert. He had me promise to look for an recover this young man. Since I wasn't done with my materials gathering I took up the hunt.

I've yet to tell the rest of the tale, but I'm expected elsewhere.

-Drail Silverleaf journal entry