Wind came up off the ocean and tossed Rizka's hair about her face as she walked down the beach of the Vilpamolan Coast. She avoided the town, simply because she had no intention of being whisked away by pirates. Besides, what was in the town that she couldn't find while enjoying the beach? Nothing really, except maybe sailors and heavy drinking, neither of which were appealing to her at that time. So, instead, she danced in the breeze, twirling around a kicking up the sand with her bare feet as she held her sandals. Her skirts swirled and swayed about her calves as the tide came up and washed the sand out from beneath her feet. It was a fine, beautiful day, and she was indeed grateful for it. 

She wasn't paying much attention to anything, her mind wandering as she danced in the surf. On occasion she would pause to pick up the odd bit of driftwood to poke through clumps of seaweed, before she tossed it aside again, or she would stop to pick up other little treasures buried in the sand some of which she would tuck into her pocket. She moved around some of the massive boulders and rocks that broke up the beach and created interesting alcoves in the landscape. As she passed through one of the alcove archways into a small secluded inlet, she noticed someone sitting there, staring off rather blankly at the ocean. There was a sense of brooding melancholy in the air, one that even threatened to turn her sunny mood just as dour. She didn't want to disturb the individual, but she couldn't help shake the feeling that the person just needed someone to talk to at that moment. 

She sighed, and tucked her hair out of her face before she quietly treaded up the sand to the young man who was there. 

"Excuse me, are you ok?" she asked kindly.

The night passed in a blur of colors, faces, people, and events. That is, as far as Kale could remember. He laid now, sprawled upon the sand and staring up, eyes squinting, at the sun over head. A seagull called to others as it passed across his vision. The shrill sound caused a pain to race across his head, making it feel as though a million psychic blades endlessly stabbing deep into his brain. The pirate closed his eyes and groaned pitifully, raising his arm to shield his eyes from the wrath of the sun.

What was the last thing he remembered? "There was the tavern," he said aloud to himself, "I remember the woman, another patron, and a warning about the woman. Something about a wedding?" Kale rolled himself around to sit up, placing his back against a sand worn log and opening his eyes to stare out toward the sea. "Ah," he said with a glum laugh, "That's right. I did it again, I suppose. Another groom-to-be lost their bride before the wedding." He let out a disappointed sigh, "Why can't I get myself together."

The miserable-looking pilot continued staring out, contemplating every choice in his life that led him to this state. He recalled growing up in alleys with dead bodies left to rot in dark corners, his first "family, his mentor that would later become more like family than he'd ever dreamed, and the admiral. The seas called to him, he could feel the waves reaching for him and seeking his return. A chill raced through his body and he shuddered, going back into reflection: Thoughts flooded to him of his first love, the next, then the third. He recalled the woman he'd left behind to come here in search of his sister; the sister he'd found only years ago only to lose once more. Godhood and the markings Air had left upon him, not that any of that mattered in this world; only those who had come from that place would even know of his past.

Kale grasped a rock in his hands, holding so tightly that the rough edges began to dig at his skin. The pain was minor compared to what coursed through his mind and his heart. He loosed the rock, sending it skipping into the distance before it sank into the waves.

He jumped with a start at the voice and fell on his side, bringing up a hand and causing an ethereal barrier to appear briefly between them. He had, for a moment, thought the groom-to-be had come for him. With a relieved breath and a laugh he dropped his hand and the hexagonal wall vanished. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that," he said with a false smile, "No telling how they might react. Yes, I'm fine, I suppose." The smile faltered, "Well, as alright as I can be, I suppose, but I'm sure you don't want to hear the problems of someone you've only just met. Especially in my case, I'll warn you. Life has dealt me some real rotten cards."

She had startled him, she could tell. She hadn't masked her approach but the roar of the surf might have muffled her steps in the sand. She actually giggled softly at this start reaching out a hand to indicate that she was in fact unarmed and meant no harm. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she apologized with a smile. He reeked of booze, and it was evident even over the salty tang of the ocean air. "I wasn't exactly being stealthy," she said with a slight laugh. While his smile might have been as false as his projected mood, Rizka's smile and lightheartedness did not fade. 

"I do suppose it was a silly question," she admitted. "However, sometimes things like knowing who a person is gets in the way of the talking," she said as she came to sit down on the sand her bracelets and ankle jewelry tinkling as she sat down and dug her toes into the sand. "And sometimes it gets in the way when all someone needs to do is talk," she said. "And someone who feels guilty of breaking up an engagement certainly sounds like they need someone to talk to," she said. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with yourself…" 

Not that she had needed to hear him say it. His mind was projecting his regrets and anyone sensitive to reading people could have picked up on it a mile away. She placed her sandals beside her and tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder. 

"But, if it makes you feel any better, I'm Rizka."

Contemplating the woman's words, Kale nodded slightly. She wasn't wrong, after all; his mentor had a similar way of getting to know him, though there was far more violence in those methods. A sensation of pain, one with no physical cause, ran through his chest at the thoughts of all those he'd left behind and would never see again. At times, the knowledge was so overwhelming that he'd feel ready to collapse. "Dammit, Angela," he cursed under his breath. She was the reason this world existed, right? The reason that rift opened and pulled him through? Even if not, it was a relief to have some name to assign blame to anyway.

He started when the woman's jewelry clinked together and he suddenly found her sitting. He turned his gaze towards the sea; for all his misdeeds of late, women were not his strong suit. This particular woman's words, those admitting she'd heard him, brought a slight redness to Kale's face. He thought on it for a moment and let out a sigh as she introduced herself.

"I'm Kale," he said looking to the sand as he composed himself, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to talk. Not many would believe it anyway, but I'm certainly not mad… I had power once, you know. Believe it or not, I could rival Angela on her best day back then. But that was a much different time and place. I gave it up, all of it, for a chance to return to a normal life with my sister. My actual sister, I mean, same parents. I remember Angela tracking me down and dangling me upside-down by vines she conjured from the very dirt beneath my feet. She scolded me for turning my back on it all and demanded an explanation, but I guess I had a good enough reason."

The man looked to Rizka, realizing he was droning on, and frowned. "To make a long story short, I've done terrible things in life, but my reasons were always sound. I was strong in my convictions and held fast to them. I've sacrificed so much and received so little in return, but even my gains have been lost to me now. My sister is gone, having found her once in this world already only to lose her again. I don't know if she's alive or dead, but I fear the latter becomes more likely with each passing day. Most of the power I once had to protect what I care for is gone, as well. My ship… no, my home is gone. My most trusted friends are lost to me forever, unless through some cruel game the same fate befalls them. So here I sit, each day falling further from grace as I contemplate the wretch of a man that I've become each night. I keep hoping I'll end up in a fight I can't win and I can embrace whatever master of Death awaits me here." Kale laughed, eerily out of place, "I came close recently, but that damned Angela refused to let me die. It was rather fun seeing the horror at the way I dare speak to the goddess, though."

Kale sighed and skipped a tone out across the water again. "So that's the gist of my tale. I'll understand if you think me a madman or what have you. Wouldn't be the first, likely not the last." His gaze held fast upon the horizon. Even as a ship from a nearby port set sail and crossed, his icy blue eyes seemed to look through it to the endless seas and skies beyond.

She quirked an eyebrow when the man cursed Angela. So he knew the Mother too, and perhaps on a more personal level than she did, which was hard considering her brother was courting her daughter. She almost giggled when the clinking of the jewelry on her ankles made him start as she sat beside him. Apparently her brazen action of sitting next to a complete stranger with the intent to converse was not something he was used to, as a redness that was NOT caused by a drunken flush painted his face. She waited for a moment after introducing herself while he decided whether or not to return the favor, doing her best not to look expectant. 

Kale. An interesting name, though he couldn't look her in the eye when he introduced himself. She didn't begrudge him this, he was at least opening up to her, a complete stranger. 
"I'm a bard, stories are my specialty. Let me decide if it is a believable tale," she said with a reassuring smile. She leaned forward, propping her chin up on her hand and her elbow on her knee as she turned to pay him full attention. 

In a different place he had been powerful enough to rival Angela, but had given it up for family. She fully believed Angela's reaction to his turning his back on his position as a deity. She was certain he would have done something similar to Lord Drae if he ever turned his back on his post. Possibly worse considering that the pair were married. 

"That I can believe," she actually commented. Apparently her outburst made him think he was droning on for he decided to give her a condensed version of the story, and she pouted visibly when he said the words 'to make a long story short'. Long stories were far more fun and interesting. Still she listened. Her brow furrowed as he told her just how low he had sunk, and his near longing for death. She smiled at how he described their conversation though. 

He expected she wouldn't believe him. She was silent for a moment before she looked at him as he stared out across the horizon. 

"I don't think you are mad, Kale," she said, her voice strong and clear over the crash of the tide around them. "I believe you. I know Lady Angela, and everything you've said is something I can believe she would do when addressing a friend," she said. She swallowed softly. "You say you lost your sister, your friends, and your home… how did this happen?" she asked. She wanted to know, but if he didn't answer her, she understand she was treading on territory that was none of her business. 

Kale's mouth nearly fell open and his gaze set on Rizka. Someone in this world didn't think him mad for his tale? The very idea had shocked him a bit. "Well, I'm not entirely sure what to say. There aren't many that believe such a story, I mean." He shook his head slightly, trying to get himself back on track and to gather his thoughts again. Then came a question that, oddly enough, nobody had bothered asking him since his arrival here; how he'd come to lose everything.

He let out a sigh and looked back out to the sea, "That isn't a terribly long or interesting tale, I'm afraid. Do you know anything about rifts opening across this land and bringing travelers of a sort from other places? I was a not-so-willing traveler. I had a glorious airship; I built it with my own hand while I was still on par with Angela and put my own power into it. Even after I Fell, it retained the power I'd put in it. It was a warship, though a bit small to be called such, and would benefit from a good sized crew. It was fast and powerful; I'd carved a fox skull out of dark green jade to grace the front and had enchanted it; it gave a wondrous effect flying through the skies and was strong enough to protect the ship if I needed to ram another ship. The main cannon harnessed the power of Air every time it was fired. Most impressive of all, I could fly it myself if I chose. It was as though it was a part of me and answered to my will. The hull was the color of a dark storm cloud…" he trailed off as he remembered his home.

A solemn sigh left him as he continued, "I'd left my sister behind in what had since become my second home, at least after. I'd set off… on business when one of those rifts opened up before me. I couldn't avoid it in time and the whole ship was lost to it. It ripped parts of my ship asunder and by the time I'd reached the other side, there was barely anything left. Everything that was still intact crashed into the ocean somewhere out there and I, apparently, washed ashore here. I remember bracing and watching the sea rip the flimsy remainder of my home apart, then I woke up in a bed somewhere being cared for by clerics."

The man stretched his arms and back before continuing, "At that point, I learned where I was and was struck with the realization that I would never see the people I'd come to know and love again. I went through life indifferent until I learned that my sister had been brought over as well. Eventually, I found her and things were good again. I didn't have a ship but it didn't matter. It didn't last, sadly. She disappeared one day and I was left to scour the world for her again. I didn't succeed this time and began my descent into this wonderful person you see before you now. I don't want to say it, but I worry she's gone. I've debating tracking down Death and asking them just so I have some sort of closure. Not a good idea, but I'm not filled with many of them these days."

His look of shock made her giggle slightly. Clearly he hadn't been expecting it, and that made her happy. Sometimes people just needed to be validated. 

"Yes, I remember. That was during the Time Death mess," she replied nodding before she lapsed into silence. The description of the airship captivated her and she absently began bending the light around them to create the image of the ship he described. She couldn't be certain it was spot on, but she thought she got it right based on his description. 
"I think I have the image right, but you'd have to correct me at a later time," she said as the ship sailed around their heads before it faded back into light particles and she settle back in to listen again. She frowned slightly as he explained about his sister, and how despite falling through to Revaliir, he and his sister had been reunited. What was most perplexing is that he had lost her again and that had caused that slump. Her eyebrows furrowed and she resisted an urge to slap him. For someone who had once had the power to contend with Lady Angela he certainly wasn't showing it.

"Wow…" she said, shaking her head, incredulous, as she stood up and shook sand from her skirt. "So… you just… gave up then? Gave up and turned to drink for comfort?"
Rizka sighed. "You said that you could have once rivaled Lady Angela in power. I can sense that since then you have diminished in power, and that is understandable. But… it implies you know Angela more than just in passing," she mused. "You do realize that Angela could tell you if she is alive, and even tell you where she is, correct? You could go to Lady Dalanesca, too, though I cannot say so much about her inclination to tell such things," she pointed out. "Angela's realm is much more easily accessed than Dalanesca's as well, I think."

"I'd be willing to take you there. My brother, Justice is courting one of Angela's daughters, so I know the way very well," she explained. "Would it ease your mind at all? Help you get back on your feet?"

"I don't suppose it was so much giving up as having little left in me. We all have our limits and I simply feel like I've found mine," Kale said with a shrug, "Some people can only stand to lose so much before they're no longer the same as they once were."

He twitched slightly at the suggestion of visiting the goddess. "Angela and I," he said with a pause, "Let's just say that we have a difficult relationship. I'd rather avoid her if at all possible." Kale stood, brushing off sand that had gathered from the ground and breeze. "Truth be told," he said as he stretched, "I feel like if I really wanted to see Angela I could find a way." The former pirate looked at the woman and said with a laugh, "Besides, I suppose if I got a really desperate need, I could just start dying."

The sun had reached its peak and already began its long descent. His stomach protested quietly, grumbling at the lack of food since the night before. He frowned as he glanced down at it, "I guess it'd be a waste to start dying so soon after we've met. Want to join me for a snack?"

Kale held up a hand in front of him, palm lifted towards the small cliff eroded by sea and wind. Near-ethereal octagonal platforms appeared one after the other, shimmering faintly and forming makeshift stairs up from the beach. "I haven't eaten outside of the local taverns in a while, but I'm sure there's something we can find. Any ideas," he asked as he offered to help his new companion up the platforms.

As expected, the docks were filled with cries of people trying to sell goods of all kinds. Some were probably legitimately obtained, others likely not so. There were also vendors in nearby stores selling goods without hassle from the local troublemakers, likely having paid the local pirate lord's due. Kale stopped by one small shop emanating the aroma of freshly baked breads, purchasing two small rolls and offering one to Rizka as he walked out. It wasn't much, but it was something to tide them over until finding something better.

"Dying would be a hugely inconvenient way of getting either Angela or Dalanesca to help you," Rizka said with a skeptical look from where she had remained on the sand as he stood up and stretched, sending sand scattering over her skirt as he shook it off him. His next comment made her raise an eyebrow, but give him a slightly smug smile in return. 

"I won't turn down food," she replied as she got to her feet and did some brushing off herself. "Not if you are making the offer, at least," she smiled. She gave him an impressed look as the platforms of solidified air. "Not bad," she commented. "I'm actually rather new here, so I will defer the pleasure to your expertise," she smiled as she took his hand to help climb the strange near invisible platforms. The docks of Vilpamolan were not unlike those of Sularia and Adeluna, busy and bustling with all sorts of shops, and stalls, filled with exotic and strange things and peoples, peoples perhaps more so. The colors were also a lot more vibrant. She looked on in fascination, having never been inside the city of pirates before, and gratefully took the roll that he offered her. It was warm and light, and made a delightful little snack, but unfortunately did not last long. Rizka loved bread. 

"So, you've hit your perceived rock bottom," she commented. "What are you going to do now? Stay drunk and bitter or rebuild?" she asked casually as she walked with him around the docks.