Morning, Clear Skies, Scarlet Sycamore Wood, Southern Nevermere

Vibrancy and color, dew glistening on the leaves in the cracks of sunlight breaking the canopy. Proud maple sycamore trees, older than any man alive, had their thick, winding barks spilling green leaves in all directions. Below were scarlet bushes fighting for sunlight and giving a home to smaller forest creatures. At the heart of the Scarlet Sycamore wood, sounds of creatures turning the cycle of life echoed in all directions. You could hear the forest speak if you walked through it long enough. It had a voice not just for the predators, dangers, or prey, but for the seasons, the weather, and more; it was his home as much as any other.

Malikan walked a little-known forest path, overgrown and barely a path at all, the big man moving between tree and branch like second nature, stopping every so often to listen and watch. Green eyes scanned the bush and the tree line as he scouted further afield than he had before. This was a new place, and that alone had the explorer's attention, drawing him to its discovery.

With long brown hair and a tidy beard, he wore a silver chest plate and dull chainmail, with dark leather underlay covering his body, built to be light and easy to move in. Walking the silent steps of a hunter on the forest floor. For a large man, he moved quietly, his figure bearing the array of weapons he wore easily enough. Although he could not hide easily, thick, unused forest paths did a good job of that all by themselves.

Arriving at a small glade, the Bashar heard a running stream, spying crystal clear water, largely untouched by the usual forest life that would seek to make a home within it. Perhaps the water was running too fast to hold life for long, or perhaps something else. Malikan walked slowly towards the stream, relaxing the grip on his grasped Javelin as he did so, and digging it by his side in the ground beside him. Bending down perhaps to wash his face, ready to drink the refreshing but oddly clear liquid?

[Tag: Koralia Barkirtis  ]