Ruka - Travelling
From Bard's Lore
"Hey, 'Zin." They were a week into their travel away from Ruka's village. The elders had unequivocally asked them both to leave after the reaction to the bonding ceremony. Which was fine for Chorazin, but Ruka had been devastated. What surprised him was how quickly she seemed to bounce back from it. He could feel her sorrow still, but she seemed to be managing it well enough in light of the opportunities in front of her by travelling. He sent a mental affirmation that he heard her. Ruka stood in a wooded area a distance away from the caravan they were travelling with. Her right arm stretched out in front of her with pole balanced on her index finger. The shining staff ended in a curving blade on one side. Blood red, the color of the handle and guard of the blade was, with the blade itself midnight black. "Ya know, this isn't exactly the karma I was expecting." The scythe spun around her hand a couple times before she caught it and braced the end in the ground. While she spoke aloud, the response came in her mind. "I don't exactly get to pick the form. That's determined by many things, such as the wielders affinity. Not entirely random, but certainly has the appearance of it." She sighed as she released her grip and the weapon shimmered back into Chorazin's human form. "Well, it's not like I'll need to put on a show during a fight." Chorazin had been insistent until now that they not practice her bladesmanship, partially due to the distrust of the locals, partially to her state of mind. But he couldn't coddle her forever, so he finally had given in. Shaking his head, he responded, "You've made up your mind, so let's get started." The air shimmered around him again as he elongated back into the scythe. He spent the next hour walking Ruka through the basics of stances. Once they were done, she collapsed onto the ground, spread out and breathing heavily. She had the determination, but her stamina couldn't keep up. Chorazin smiled as he sat down next to her. But she would learn, it would come.
A short time later, they returned to the camp. Immediately noticeable was how much more downcast the merchants were. Ruka quickly inquired as to why. The answer she received was that a courier had come by warning people off the current path. Catastrophic conditions had damaged the road, making it impassable. The detour route would add three days to the journey to Thyren. The merchants were certain that the delay would put them too far behind competitors to recover this trip, even though they had better quality. Ruka reached down and grabbed the lead merchants hand in her own. Smiling, she said, "You can't give up hope. I believe you'll still make it. There are always people that give me hope. Precious memories of them." With that, she stepped back and with an outstretched arm, started into the middle of a song.
You know, if I close my eyes, I can see your smile
And I can hear that voice of yours.
Your smile would shine when you told me
"Turn your pain into courage and turn your memories into love."
Let's walk the path of no return.
Let's sing, together now with our companions
So that our prayers will roar out loud.
I promise our dream will come true.
Thank you for love.
