Rânadis Cindéthiel - [Starjewel]

[Calad]

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Rânadis of Cindéthiel​ A family name long forgotten and rootless, from lands where no elf has managed to take hold of. In the decades she spent her life in toil within Chessenta; Rânadis had many lonely moons to plot an escape. The only reprieve were the dreams of her reverie; where she longed upon lands where the water was clearer, the skies brighter and the People fairer. So upon one faithul day in the year of 1365, she ran. She chose west; and she travelled long. Until her feet and the light of the Queen led her to the forests of Tethir...

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[Calad]

The Escape​ It was a summer's morn, the golden orb bearing down upon the cobblestones. The searing warmth radiated up, and the air was hazy and thick with heat. Droplets of sweat pooled upon her brow, and the borrowed linen she wore clung uncomfortably to her form. Through the quiet hours of the preceding night, she had packed what meager provisions she could muster. A week's worth of rations, should she be frugal: bread and nuts, a sizeable waterskin, pilfered stealthily from the pantry. A second set of clothes, her only other, and some jewels she stole for the journey's expenses, with a pouch containing her inheritance, that had been masterfully hidden from the gaze of the Family for years. Her pale countenance was concealed beneath the swathes of linen, and she endeavored to appear as nothing more than a shapeless wanderer. There was not going to be a more opportune time. The sun today was her biggest peril, an ever-watching eye in the bright skies, leaving no shade of succour against the prying gazes she felt digging into her skin, peeling away the layers of fabric and revealing her to be what she truly was. The streets were alive with the bustle of daily life, and the air was filled with chatter, yet all she could hear was the thunderous pounding of her own heart. Her breaths were shallow, and anxiety coursed through her veins like wildfire.​

She had to leave. Her mother was no more, and there remained no tether to hold her. The Father of the family receiving her servitude was away, the guards preoccupied with today's shipments, the heirs engrossed in their training and the Crone in her drunken stupor. A breath of prayer uttered to the One and the Three for the crowd of Cimbar to shield her from any interlopers, she had slipped out of the back gates at the break of dawn. She had hoped to make away under the cover of night, but the patrols were too frequent and vigilant around the garden and the gates. With quick feet now she hurried down the streets, rounding the towering hippodrome, avoiding looking at any in the eye. Brushed shoulders with merchants, dodged the running of children, heeded not a single cry that hailed her. The thin iron collar around her neck stung, but she had no time to remove it. That was a concern for the future. The scents of the stalls and markets dizzied her, but she pressed on, first to the outskirts and then to the gates, encountering no trouble. Against all odds, she had succeeded. This day, she thought, must be blessed by the Lifegiver, who had seen fit to reward her timely departure with safe passage. Rânadis did not cease her flight until the westering sun cast its crimson light upon the tree-dotted landscape, hues of blue and purple dancing upon the leaves in the gloaming. The city was a shadow in the distance. Then, at last, she halted, and took her first deep breath of freedom. She was outside the city walls, and she believed no one was in pursuit. The road stretched out before her, and now, with the cool and fair air of eventide, she felt the pull to follow the sun, to see where it would lay its head to rest. She had heard tales of lands far to the west, realms of beauty and plenty, where the fields were ever green and the air was filled with the scent of blossoms. It seemed only fitting that He would dwell there. With the Queen's gaze on her back, and the Philosopher setting her course, now clear-headed and determined, she set her feet upon the road.​