The Yucahue are believed to have come from overseas and settled in Ceraviehl around the year 1500 before the founding of Ceraviehl. Nowadays, only fragments of their culture remain, the last few tribes scattered throughout the kingdom.
Ruins of their architecture can be found in near every corner of Ceraviehl, their rectangular buildings with sharp, jagged spires and intricate embellishments lending their architecture a distinctively alien appearance.
To this day, scholars debate whether the patterns adorning their walls and doorframes hold more than aesthetic value. Although the Yucahue were known for their vast knowledge of runes, believing they were able to engrave whole buildings seems a bit far-stretched.
Excerpt from The Yucahue: a Case Study by Ramona Valnyr
Leaves softly crunching under his boots, Silas tried to make as little noise as possible as he trod through the forest. Not that it mattered, with the barbarians following him and scaring away all the wildlife. The girl was the worst of them. Silas had the impression she purposely kept stomping on the sticks just to annoy him.
An especially loud crack sounded out, and he swiveled his head around to glare at her. Rolling her eyes, she took exaggerated long steps in an attempt to make less noise. Silas sighed. Insufferable girl. As the sun descended to hide behind the tall treetops, the small group stopped to make camp and rest for the night.
“I will go and hunt a rabbit or two. You stay here,” Silas said, index finger pointing at the ground.
“We make sleep,” Batu replied with a nod, already stretching a large leather hide over a low-hanging tree.
Zaya stood up. “I come with.”
Silas threw her a blank look. “No. You make way too much noise.”
“Yes. I come with. Want learn hunt.”
“I said no.”
The girl cocked an eyebrow, unimpressed. Silas turned his back on her and walked into the forest. At least she had listened, this time. A loud crack caused him to glance over his shoulder.
“I come with,” the barbarian girl said, daring him to argue.
Silas pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Fine, but try to be quiet. I don’t want to go hungry tonight.”
He then showed her the Ranger’s step. If they were to catch any game, she at least needed to know how to walk without making so much noise. Despite his demonstration, she somehow couldn’t replicate his walking technique. That didn’t surprise him, however. Barbarians weren’t exactly known to be proficient rangers.
A shuffling movement ahead made Silas stop. Among the dense bushes, a single hare idly chewed on some forkleaves. Zaya licked her lips as a few stones began to levitate beside her. “Tasty food.”
Silas motioned her to be quiet. The bow was drawn in one smooth motion. He waited until the rabbit resumed to nibble on the leaves before releasing. The arrow flew true, hitting the animal right in its chest. After a few last breaths, the animal lay still. A clean shot.
They came back to their camp a while later, each one carrying a hare. Silas made a quick stew, letting the meat cook slowly in the pot the family had brought with them.
“Good food,” Batu commented.
“Thanks.” Silas caught himself smiling at Batu. No. He needed to stay vigilant. He couldn’t fall for their tricks. After having eaten his fill, Silas took the booklet out of his robe to read. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zaya approaching him.
“I fight with Ravuhn.”
Silas opened the booklet and started reading. “I think I’ll pass.”
A small pebble hit his shoulder. “You scared?”
Silas glared at her. “No, I’m not scared of fighting you, I just want to read,” he said, gesturing to the booklet in his hands.
An amused smile crossed over Zaya’s thin lips as another small stone hit his shoulder. Silas resisted the urge to rub the sore spot. “Stop it. I don’t fight little girls,” he said, returning his attention to the booklet.
“What you say?” Another pebble hit him, this time on the back of his head. “You scared and stupid?” Zaya glowered at him, her cheeks flushed with anger.
“Could you stop already?” Silas half screamed.
“Come fight, coward.”
Batu’s deep voice reprimanded Zaya, the words intelligible to Silas.
“What? He stupid!” she said, pointing one finger at Silas. “Stupid tor need learn.”
Silas put the booklet away with a growl. He wouldn’t be called a coward by some barbarian brat. Putting Gnarly down, he stood up and let his spear fly into his waiting hand before covering the tip of the weapon with a round knob of wood. Zaya and Silas faced each other, both glowering at the other.
A few stones hovered near Zaya, but other than that, she was unarmed. Silas crouched low and lunged, pulling on a branch behind her at the same time. Two stones shot at him, and he had to use his spear to block one of them. However, she noticed the branch too late.
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Zaya stumbled forward, groaning. “Nice trick, little boy.” Spreading both of her palms wide, half a dozen stones started to rotate around Silas, who simply smiled. He had done this a thousand times with the old man. While stone was heavier and more powerful than wood, it also needed more energy to control.
If he could wear her out, he was sure to gain the upper hand eventually. The stones all shot towards him. Silas let instincts take over. A loud crack sounded out as the branches collided with the stones and knocked some of them off-course. Others he dodged or deflected with his spear. His arms shook with the force, yet his spear held.
Silas moved in, intending to close the distance between them and give her less space to control her stones. What followed was a rapid exchange of thrusts and parries as he chased Zaya while she kept dodging and shooting stones at him. Each of his attacks had the power of his enhanced body behind it, causing Zaya to stumble more than once.
He also began to notice a pattern in her attacks. She seemed to have difficulties changing the trajectory of her stones in mid-air, and her aim with them wasn’t as accurate as he thought it would be. Using this to his advantage, he began to attack in a zig-zag pattern and thrust at her legs to limit her mobility.
It didn’t take long for both of them to run out of breath. Silas had already used a lot of energy to deflect the stones, and his Inner Landscape was getting precariously thin. Zaya looked to be in a similar state, cradling her good leg while heaving for breath.
“Have had enough?” Silas asked her.
“What, little boy give up?” she huffed.
Obnoxious girl. Silas prepared himself for another lunge, and their battle resumed. Nergui eventually called an end to their spar. Neither Silas nor Zaya wanted to be the first to give in, despite both barely being able to stand anymore. They ended their battle with glares that promised a rematch.
Silas sat down a bit apart from the family and took out the booklet. Skimming over the first page again, he promised himself to one day come back to the old man’s cabin and find out about his master’s past. The second page was simply titled “Wielder”
A Wielder is someone who has awakened an affinity and made it their first Art. With the awakening, a permanent connection between the Artist’s Inner Landscape and their Art has been established. For the Art to gain substance within the Inner Landscape, the connection then needs to be strengthened.
The stronger the connection, the more solid the Art will become. If the connection is strong enough, a representation of the Art may eventually manifest and give shape to the Inner Landscape. However, this is a very difficult and arduous process.
The Artist needs to understand their Art on an intrinsical level, and while enlargening the Landscape is a simple matter of training, strengthening the connection to one’s Art may only be achieved through moments of insight. In your case, I would recommend meditation to better understand it. Having an object representing your Art in your vicinity could help you as well.
Note that you may awaken more than one affinity before becoming an Aspect—in fact, I would strongly advise you to do so. It will very likely take you years to reach that stage, if ever, and having more than one Art at your disposal will greatly improve your capabilities as an Artists.
Ugh… More meditation? Silas much preferred to shoot or hit things. Looking up, he noticed Zaya watching him. Her gaze flickered to the booklet in his hands. A look from him made it clear what would happen if she tried to take it away from him. Zaya rolled her eyes before lying down to sleep. “Creak,” Gnarly shook his head at him.
“What? Are you taking her side?” Silas asked, crossing his arms.
Gnarly looked at him for a few, long heartbeats. “Creak, creak.”
“How do you know that? I can’t trust them.”
“Creak.”
“I just don’t get why you like her.”
Gnarly stayed silent, but the message coming through the bond was clear.
“I am nothing like her!” Silas spat, brows knitted together.
The vines in Gnarly’s arm grew until they softly touched Silas’ face. “Creak,” Gnarly voiced, patting his cheek.
“No!” Silas pushed Gnarly’s arm away, glowering down at his wooden friend. “Don’t you say that, ever again.”
Big, amber eyes looked up at him as Gnarly took a step back. A low, barely audible creak escaped his mouth.
“I’m sorry, Gnarly, please don’t be sad. I didn’t want to be mean, alright?”
“Creak. Creak, creak.”
“I know I promised to try, and I am. But it’s not that easy.”
Gnarly gestured towards the sleeping form of Zaya before pointing back at him. Silas sighed in defeat. “You’re probably right.” Gnarly nodded slowly, his stare saying more than any creak.
The morning came too soon. Silas awoke with heavy eyelids, a vague memory of a dream tickling the edge of his consciousness. They broke camp quietly and quickly resumed their way south.
With Silas acting as a guide, the small group gradually made their way through the woods. A series of deep rumbles suddenly echoed through the forest. The air smelled moist and the wind began to pick up, its hissing whisper promising rain. Silas stopped, turning back to the family.
“We need to hurry. A storm is about to hit us, and we don’t want to be trudging through the forest when it does.”
“Know place for shelter?” Nergui asked, warily glancing at the sky.
“No, but our equipment won’t do much against this sort of weather. We need to find a cave or something of the like, and soon,” Silas said, hurrying ahead.
Everyone quickened their steps. Rolling thunder pierced the skies. Soon, the first raindrops fell through the thin gaps of the canopy, pelting the thick undergrowth of the forest. The heavy downpour that followed quickly drowned out all other sounds of the forest.
High, thick branches creaked under the pressure from the sudden squall that whipped at their cloaks and shook the few early leaves that had just begun to sprout from the trees. Silas pulled his cloak tighter around himself. To his surprise, it completely blocked the rain and wind, not letting a drop of water through. The rest of his entourage wasn’t as lucky, however.
The whole family was completely drenched by now, and Silas couldn’t see farther than a dozen yards through the rain. With the water eliminating all tracks, he couldn’t scout ahead, either. Silas cursed. He should have read the weather better when they broke camp.
The thunder flashed again, illuminating the woods for a heartbeat. Something ahead of them caught his attention. A long rocky wall stood to their left, overgrown with moss and vines. What looked to have once been a tower had been chiseled right into the middle of the stone, multiple broken jagged spires protruding from the outcrop.
Although it had no windows, a wide entrance could be seen at the bottom. A couple of cracked stairs led up to it, large parts of the stone already having been claimed back by the forest. The surface of the tower was riddled with deep fissures that drew themselves all over the stone.
Screaming to be heard over the rain, Silas pointed at the barely visible ruin. Up close, the fissures reminded him of runic patterns, even if he knew no runes this big existed. The large entry partly illuminated the inside of the tower, and the family didn’t hesitate to go inside to take shelter. The interior was surprisingly spacious, with another wide passage leading further down. His hand caught on something, and he absently wiped the unusually thick thread of cobweb from his hand.
“Good see,” Batu said, slumping down and wringing his wide robe in the entry. Silas nodded, leaning against the wall.
At least the tower seemed to be uninhabited.