Amongst the Sands

Seated within the deserts of the Holy Empire Westelande, Cyrus has managed to stumble upon one of the nomad groups that roam the lands. He and Miki have been welcomed with open arms and hospitality, and are currently seated around a campfire in the middle of the night.

"So even before the Empire became the 'Holy' Empire, it had the Sher Kar coming of age ritual." Cyrus remarks to an older Salamander woman sitting across from him, as he eats from an earthen-ware little bowl. It's some kind of thick hearty stew he's enjoying. It's not the best cooking in the world, but it certainly is good enough to satisfy him.

"Yes. Before that, we were not an 'Empire' at all, but a land of many tribes. Many of which fought amongst eachother quite often in arena battles." The old woman answers him.

"More?" A younger Salamander asks Mikage, offering some stew from the ladle.

As travelers, it is not uncommon for Mikage and Cyrus to sometimes find themselves taking shelter amongst other nomads or other smaller groups. Rama always manages to make an impression, usually entertaining children or otherwise impressing the Landers since Lynx were not exactly the most common of creatures in Yamato. At the moment, the cat is playing amongst a group of children, nearby.

Miki, on the other hand, seems to be content with eating while they have the chance. Her strange mood had passed, which meant that she is relatively back to normal. At the offering of more, there is a moment of hesitation before she shakes her head, "I wouldn't want to impose more than we have." She pats her stomach and offers a smile. "Thank you, though."

Glancing over, it's clear that she's been listening a bit to the stories that have been passed around, though such matters of Lore were always more in Cyrus' territory rather than her own. "So... how did all the tribes end up coming together, then?" She asks, looking curious.

Cyrus raises a hand when Miki remarks about not wishing to impose. "Their culture insists we accept gifts and offers." He notes to Mikage. Something that rarely if ever comes up in the Kingdom. And this is the first time they've eaten amongst the Nomads. The child is staring at Mikage with some measure of confusion.

Cyrus chuckles, and then glances to the old woman again as she answers; "When the battle against the Scrapped Princesses completed, they gathered around the surviving Salamander Hero - who aimed to bring them together at the Root City." The old woman explains.

"They exalted one of the Heroes who died... and when the Monsters came as a result of the war... we were not prepared to deal with them. It pushed so many of our people behind the walls. Only a few of us remained outside, not willing to give up our nomadic nature and culture." The old woman's voice is raspy.

"There is a period of time where there were no, or very few monsters." Cyrus explains to Mikage. "Before the Scrapped Princess war, there was at least a significant period of time without them here in Yamato." Cyrus adds on to this.

He then chuckles, as he is reminded of something; "I don't think the Crowed would ever do well amongst the Nomads. They require you to take off your hats and headgear when among them." Neither Cyrus nor Mikage really wear them much, so it's not an issue that has come up for them.

With a shrug, Mikage offers out her bowl. "If that's the case, by all means, please." She is never one to say no to food, especially since a good meal can sometimes be few and far between for the duo. She gladly accepts the refill of stew and starts to eat while still listening to the story. "Your ancestors must have been brave to keep to their way of life. As are you to continue in their footsteps."

That seems to cause her to remember something, though. "You've traveled a lot. Have you ever heard of a place where few have traveled before? I mean..." Mikage had already been one of those to re-discover the route to the Palace Lands, but the quest hanging in her log seems to be referring to something else, something more tied in to the past and lore of this place.

Looking over at Cyrus, she gives a nod of her head, "I think they'd be surprised at just how fierce some people can be. Enough to rival some of their stronger fighters, I suspect." Though many of the Palace Land's Landers were strong, they sometimes underestimated those in Yamato, it seems.

The child fills her bowl readily, while Cyrus chuckles against a half-closed fist. There's a joy in which he watches them interact. He has quite a bit of interest in the lore of this world these days. Trying to assist Mikage in more unusual ways when she is exploring the world around her. This may not be a new dungeon, but this is still something.

"Hmmm." The woman's voice cracks a bit. "There are a great deal of places where few have traveled before." The woman expresses. "What is it you are looking for in such desolate places?" She leans forward a bit, curious at what Miakge may be searching for.

Cyrus in the meantime, just nods his head. "Some of them. Yes." He agrees with Mikage. "Yamato has a strong culture."

There is a glance that Mikage offers towards Cyrus, meeting his amusement with a small, almost shy smile. Her expression is sort of accepting that there is still a lot she has to learn about people, especially the peoples of Yamato.

However, at the question, her eyes flick back to the older woman and that expression shifts uncertain. "To be honest, I'm not sure." She lifts one hand, balancing the bowl in the other, rubbing slightly at the back of her neck over her Were Fang tattoo. "I've been working on developing my stealth skills. Trying to find new ways to obscure myself so that the Palace Landers don't notie me sneaking around as easily." She explains.

Then, lowering her hand again, she stirs the stew with her spoon, an idle motion. "I guess, there must be some sort of secret or key to what I was doing that is hidden in some far-flung place. The quest didn't exactly give me a lot of details, I'm afraid."

The woman considers Mikage's request, speaking of her stealth skills. "Far in the past, there was a Hero of Shadows..." She begins. Cyrus lifts his head. "Ah right. Every Hero is the hero of a species, but also has a specialization, right?"

The old woman creases the skin around her eyes and smiles at Cyrus. "The boy is correct. From the Shield Hero, beloved by the Peko Queen, to the Tool Hero of today. Though they didn't always know by the name of 'Hero'. They have also gone by the name of 'Brave' and even 'Sage'." She explains.

There's a pause, as she goes into a very light coughin fit, which gets her a look from a younger nearby. She lays her scaled hand onto his head and smiles at him. "It's alright." She mentions.

"The Hero of Shadows came to us from a Nomad group who live deep in the desert. Amongst a group called the Nomads of Shadow." She explains. "I think they're a group of Salamanders and Imps who live amongst one-another. But I think that if you are looking for something so rarely sought out... perhaps you should go there."

"Huh." That is where Cyrus sometimes augments Mikage's lack of knowledge when it comes to the Lore of Elder Tale. Though she has played at least as long as he has, including the old offline version of the game, Miki had always been more about the freedom of exploration and movement than about the world. Since this has become their world, however, this has changed somewhat. "A hero of shadows..."

The coughing fit from the older woman does leave Miki concerned, glancing at Cyrus as if looking for his healer's expertise incase there is something actually wrong with the woman. At her age, who knows what sort of ailments could be impacting her. Yet, she doesn't bring her concerns to voice, as if worrying it might offend someone.

Instead, she just tries to focus on the topic once the old woman starts speaking again. "It's more of a lead than I had before, so I appreciate it." She inclines her head in a traditional respectful manner for someone Japanese. "I'll see what I can do about finding them, though I imagine they'll be quite good at covering their tracks." Still, it is a place to start.

Cyrus notices Mikage glancing at him, before shaking his head. A simple 'no', which can mean many things. But most likely, knowing him, it simply means that he cannot help. Perhaps she is simply too old at this point. Or just maybe it wasn't anything major.

The old woman chuckles in a most bemused manner as Mikage points out having a hard time finding them. "Finding them will be hard. But I can at least get you to the Valley of Shadows." She answers, motioning her hand to a woman at her side.

The woman at her side reaches into a leather baggy, and pulls out an old looking scroll made out of what appears like papyrus or similar. The writing looks old and a bit harder to read. But it's clearly a rough map of the deserts.

"Feel free to take a look. But we'll need it back. Maps like these are precious to us."

At being offered out the map, Mikage's eyes widen slightly. She accepts it with careful, ginger fingers. "Thank you so much for the help." The Ranger offers, looking up with sincere appreciation.

"I'll be very careful with it, but..." With a glance to Cyrus, "Since we usually have supplies on us, I should be able to make a copy in relatively short order." The idea of eating more of the stew is set to the side as she seems genuinely excited about this.

"Think you can set up some magic lights around the cart for me?" She asks to the feline, knowing that that is likely one of the better places for her to set to her work. She'll likely be spending the rest of the night studying the map and making her own copy of it. The prospect of new exploration driving her, as always, though... perhaps not as obsessively as while under that unusual mood.

Cyrus nods his head. "Of course." He answers. Flicking something from his jacket. A couple of flasks jumping up to the air, then landing around the cart with a little flourish of magic. He then quiets, letting Mikage get to work. Watching her with all this excitement written all over her face. It's a wonderous thing to watch. So that's what he does. He watches, and just enjoys the sight of her.