Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Fiction - The Origin of Autarch Ry'hanna Skyblade (part 3)

This is the tale of how Ry'hanna ech'Tyur Skyblade came to us on Iybraesil and how she found the path of leadership with us. These are the her trials as she conveyed them to me, and some of which I Saw in the runes. -Farseer Elorrah

Ranger Ry'hanna stepped through the webway portal onto the the cool grassy ground. She sank to her knees and closed her eyes and just concentrated on breathing. The air smelled faintly of cinnamon and roses. Behind her the Pathfinders followed through as well, all three of them showing exhaustion in similar fashion. No'ahl, Torrum, and Kah'hal were the only ones remaining of the small band that had showed up to rescue her, but wound up pinned down with her. Kah'hal's eyes still had that haunted, faraway look to them as he lay there recovering. Had that Void Dragon not shown up when it did none of them would have made it out alive.

After her calm had returned, she sat up and pulled the Scorpion helmet that hung from her belt around and unfastened the small bag that had been secured inside. She untied the back and slowly brought out one of the spirit stones contained within. The stone glistened as if in thanks for being rescued from a most terrible fate. Ry'hanna's tears splashed quietly upon the face of the stone.

A figure approached silently in the distance. Flowing teal robes enfolded a black bodyglove adorned with wraithbone and bright red hair framed an ageless face but her beautiful green eyes betrayed the ages she had witnessed, both in body and in spirit. Ry'hanna watched her approach wordlessly and noted that she had a bit of a limp. The Farseer knelt slowly, yet gracefully before the ranger, her eyes showing understanding, compassion and love. She reached out and touched Ry'hanna's face ever so gently and a feeling of comfort washed over her. After a few moments Ry'hanna placed the stone she was holding back into the bag. She then reverently handed the stones over to the Farseer. The Farseer accepted the bundle and smiled gently. She secured it beneath her robes and finally spoke.

"Thank you Ry'hanna. Yes, I know your name. I am Elorrah and I forsaw your coming here to Iybraesil. You went through great trials to get these and yourself to us and you have my thanks and the thanks of many of our people. You no doubt have many questions, and we have much to discuss. If you don't mind coming with me,I will have your companions looked after." With a gesture, several eldar appeared and began taking care of the pathfinders. Ry'hanna rose and began looking at her surroundings. She followed behind Elorrah, not noticing the lingering look the Farseer gave to Kah'hal.

Ry'hanna gazed about her as they walked along a high terrace. They were in a largely rural area of the craftworld. Some forests were nearby and a large sea spread out before her. A coastal city was a short distance away, it's lights reflecting off the sea. Broad plains and rolling hills covered in flowers made a beautiful quilt of the landscape, that somewhat reminded her of her native Saim-Hann. A cool refreshing wind swept over the sea.

They traveled back to Elorrah's abode where they repasted, rested and conversed. Elorrah told her of Iybraesil, a bit of herself and of the happenings of things while Ry'hanna was wandering. Ry'hanna had learned some of the things she had missed out on, but knew nothing of the craftworld or the Farseer before her. She shared her own tales of what she had learned in and of her travels. She also learned that Elorrah had been a battle Seer until many years ago. She knew the Farseer wasn't telling her everything, but learned that her future lie here. She had spent many years wandering as an outcast and had only discovered one clue to the fate of her cousin; the Dark Kin had sold or traded slaves to the forces of Chaos. From what she was told, this craftworld would be make a strong ally in her search.

Ry'hanna pledged herself to craftworld Iybraesil a week later, ending her time as an outcast. She bid goodbye to the three Pathfinders that she had come with. They had joined with another Pathfinder group that had come through, bringing news and taking their rest. She adapted quickly to society again and took up her arts and enrolled as a craftworld guardian. Her services were not needed for some time however.

Her first battle was after she had felt the calling of change. She rejoined the ranks of the striking scorpions, but something felt wrong. She could fight well enough, having done so before, but something did not sit well in the back of her mind about how she was fighting. She soon left and joined the path of the shining spear. Finally her dream realized! She excelled at her training and soon was one of the best in her unit. She fought rarely however, as the one in command of her section, Autarch Tresaaran O'nah did not seem to think that the path of the shining spear was an effective or useful one.

She saw Elorrah over the years, and visited her as often as she could. They became friends and found they could talk freely with one another, though sometimes she felt that Elorrah was still hiding things from her. She attributed this to the nature of the Seer path. On one particular visit she discussed how she was having issues with the autarch's command. She also discovered that while she had finally achieved her dream of becoming a shining spear, it just didn't feel right without Allonia there with her. She told of how she felt the autarch was ignoring tactics and forces at his disposal for unknown reasons. Through discussion and with the backing of Elorrah, Ry'hanna soon joined the Path of Command and became Autarch Ry'henna Skyblade.

As Autarch Ry'henna had many successful sorties against the forces of Chaos. Iybraesil was moving closer to the Eye of Terror and she had even led her forces there as well in search of the near mythical crone worlds. Always she hoped to find some sign of Allonia. She often clashed with Autarch O'nah, over tactics and he often attempted to upstage or embarrass her. He openly criticized her for restructuring her command to a nearly completely mounted force. She got nothing but praise from the administrators of the craftworld for her ingenuity in drawing upon her previous experience with Saim-Hann and incorporating it into an effective fighting force.

She remains to this day a well respected Autarch. She is by no means perfect, but she's well-liked and influential. She has discovered an inherent ability to treat with other races. She's had successful dealings with the Tau and Imperium and often works with craftworld Yme-Loc. She's even encouraged Farseer Elorrah to take to the battlefield again. She once thought she was too crippled to be effective, but Ry'hanna presented her with a specially crafted jetbike and now Elorrah fights at her side when needed.

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