[RagingLunacy]

Relations
Types:
--------------------
Lover/Spouse
Family

Close Friend
Friend
Favorable
Neutral/Deceased
Unfavorable
Disliked

...
--------------------

Arua
Our group's healer.
She is a kind and helpful woman that does her best to aid anyone.
Due to past events, things might have been tough for her, Xemnes, myself and Dusken, but we managed to pass through it and I believe we all have a stronger bond with each other now because of it.
Arua is finally going to marry Xemnes and I wish them both a wonderful life together.
I will have to ensure that they will have an appropriate feast.
Bishop
Ezri's son and oldest child.
He is quite the bundle of energy, usually playing and running around without a worry in the world.
He quite enjoyed the little treasure hunt we set up for him for his birthday, though it seems that a lot of terms still do not carry much meaning for Bishop in terms of birthdays and age.
Caius
He seems to be part of the council now, though not much about him has changed over the time passed.
He doesn't seem too fond of crowds, which is a bit confusing seeing as how he is supposed to be the handling Cultural matters for the group.
Somehow his pet is still alive, having changed as little as the owner.
Conradian
Rest in peace, Conradian.
Duras
Perhaps the only person ever that I actually seem to more than just dislike.
He is nothing like the Xitians back at home, he isn't even anything like the Xitians of his own group.
His is overly agressive, violent, does his thing behind the back of his own group no matter if it proves to only make their lives more difficult as well, the list goes on...
He had the nerve to assault and/or antagonize Zarkaylia on several occasions and going as far as to act like he owned her, regardless of being her brother... or maybe he does so because he is...?
He dared to hit Dusken as well while she tried to make him stop harming Zarkaylia, a deed that almost made me snap, unfortunately enough.
For his sake, I hope he now stays away.
Dusken
I wouldn't be lying if I called her the love of my life, someone I thought I would have never found since the passing of my betrothed back at home.
I am sure she would have liked Dusken, as sure as I am that her spirit is giving us her blessing.
We have already talked... planned about perhaps a small bonding ceremony, as a sort of our own wedding.
Things moved a bit faster than expected though, Dusken now pregnant with our child.
We did try for one, but it still was quite the surprise, a happy surprise.
Now it's up to me to make things extra pleasant for her while she is going through this stage.
Elizabeth
Relatively new to the group, she is helpfull but sometimes tries to push her helpfullness a bit too much.
She tries to talk and hang out with Thomas, showing at the least her attraction to him, even if she can't always find the words she wants to say around him.
She also seems to have been around Xitians in the past, fluently speaking and understanding their language.
Estelle
A kind young girl, Zarkaylia youngest and newest bundle of joy.
She seems to definitely take after the positive aspects of her mother, even if the more prominent traits of Zarkaylia don't show quite yet.
Because of Spy, she is half... Or would that be three quarters, Xitian.
She only recently unleashed her powers for the first time, unwillingly though and it did wound Zarkaylia.
Luckily though, Spy seems to be able to teach Estelle how to control it, and herself, better.
Ezri
Used to be a pirate, she now takes care of the inn.
I haven't really been able to talk much to Ezri lately... especially after what Rook did.
Regardless, we aren't on bad terms and I still use her inn a lot to cook.
Lady Amelia
She is a Lucin that seems to have assumed leadership of her own group.
She is surprisingly kind, sociable and helpfull to both our group as well as the Xitian group.
She does have her issues with acting like a leader or having to speak to a crowd, causing her to stutter, stumble or try to hint at others to take over from her.
She'll get better at it though, time will tell.
Lady? Cassandra
She seems to be a Xitian noble, part of Lady Sidian's group.
Despite her earlier mannerism and sometimes somewhat childish behaviour to others, especially of our group, she has shown quite a different sight recently.
After being helped by us while she was soaked by the rain, she acted more gentle, kind and appreciative.
She kept some of her noble mannerisms though, such shown by her reasons why she wouldn't wish to change her clothing.
She broke down when Arua gave her a hug though, going as far as to shout in her Xitian tongue before finally breaking down in tears on the couch then falling asleep after a while.
I do wonder, if not slightly worry, of what may have caused that reaction.
Lady Sidian
Leader of the Xitian group.
Despite being a noble, she does not enforce her position other than the request that people adress her as 'Lady'.
Despite seeking the best outcome for her group, she is fair, understanding and does a lot of effort to peacefully make our groups get along.
Regardless of all the unfair behaviour and harsh reactions to her and her group by some amongst us, she manages to keep herself under control and remain calm and collected while others are around.
I enjoy speaking with her and on several occasions we helped each other through those very conversations.
I do hope people will eventually accept her and the Xitian group a bit more, see Xitians from a different perspective as I have.
Lapis
Ezri's daughter and youngest child.
If you don't know the Connors, nor have seen Lapis with them, you'd think she was someone else's child.
She shows almost no traits related to the personality of her mother nor father, perhaps for the best.
She is kind, though very shy, very friendly, seems to lack any prejudice towards people and she even doesn't seem to speak with the same heavy accent as Ezri or Rook.
Mittendri
Our group's blacksmith.
Out and about, she seems busy with work at the blacksmith a lot lately.
Rook
Pirate turned farmer...?
Not sure what to think of him right now...
After being outright accused by him of being the culprit in a case of livestock murder, completely baseless... no proof... no reason or motivation... nothing.
His displeasure in finding no proof at the scene and being proven I'm innocent... as if he WANTED me to be the culprit... I don't know...
Is this what betrayal is supposed to feel like, done on a whim, after all we have been through?
Spy
Zarkaylia's husband.
He hasn't had any of his personality changes in a while now, though he did end up leaving Ezri with a permanent burn mark on her face due to some event.
He tends to keep to his family and not show himself much though.
Thomas
Zarkaylia's adoptive son.
He has been gone for a long time, but finally returned to us.
Zarkaylia has been a lot happier with him around again, can not blame her there.
He seems to have 'grown up' more since years ago as well, he is also taking his big brother position quite well.
William
Hunter, Carpenter, ...
A hard worker, having to handle most of the renovations and building on his own lately, showing no issue despite the loss of an eye.
You can trust him to pull more than just his weight and people should appreciate him more, to be honest.
Xemnes
Farmer and Mask Maker.
Xemnes tends to keep more to himself lately, usually spending time with Arua at the healing house that is also their home.
He is still a kind and caring person though, regardless of how things between him and Rook never really changed.
He is getting married to Arua very soon, they both hace the best of wishes for a bright future.
Zarkaylia
Pretty much both a motherly figure for our group and a wise veteran in many ways.
She has gone through a lot lately, which usually ended up in her getting wounded.
She is a tenacious woman though, recovering swiftly from whatever thrown at her.
She had a half-brother all this time, him being here with a group of Xitians... though to be honest, he has been nothing but an intentional thorn in her side, trying to control her, harm her, threaten her family.
Despite all this mess, Zarkaylia has also brought another child into the world, little Estelle.
Things seem to have quieted down for now though, so I hope she can just relax and spend time with her family.

---

Spoiler

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Biography
This tale begins at the outskirts of a city, positioned close to the edge of the Mainland where the endless seas welcomed the absence of land.

This city had seen it's share of misery from the ongoing War of the Veld, yet most peculiar was perhaps the fortune the Mesalian inhabitants of this city had.
It was of no surprise that there was a Xitian presence, if not a visible Xitian control.
Yet things were not as they seemed.

The city was perhaps one of possibly few spared from the darker side of the Xitian oppression, as those who had the city in their grasp had actually been protecting their own as well as the Mesalian residents from the worst of their kin, keeping a guise of still being a part in the domination that the Xitians had exerted over the mainland without allowing this to create further harm and misery.

Here a child was born at the eve of another dark day,
The chosen name for the child would be Lyrxi, a name of an honored elder who had passed away only a year before.
Born in a family that was able to be pretty well off, under the name of Minwu, this family consisted of self-sustaining farmers on the mother's side and skilled brewers on the father's side.
It wouldn't take long till after Lyrxi's birth, only a cycle or two, till things suddenly changed.

There had already been reports since before Lyrxi's birth of the Lucin and Mesalian forces that had joined together, taking back their home step by step.
Now it finally was the turn of the city they lived in.
When a detachment of Lucins and Mesalians arrived, they however found the city to be oddly devoid of Xitians, obviously trails of abandonment left behind with the Mesalian citizens of the city left unharmed.

A small group remained at the city to ensure that no hostile Xitian would return to take over the city again, but they were not aware that those who were part of the city never left after all.

Life as an infant proceeded in a rather normal and not truly eventful way until Lyrxi had properly learned how to take his steps in the world, rather than to keep resorting on his usual crawling.
At a steady pace, he started to help out with work and other kinds of chores on the farmlands that his parents had ownership of.
His family valued a self-thought balance, as many people inside and around the outskirts of the city had started to value.

This balance values equal honing of mind and body and originally came into existence for the sake of giving the people of the city means to get themselves through the dark times and keep themselves strong in more ways than one.
Regardless of their "freedom", they kept holding onto the values of this balance.

In the meantime, as the cycles passed, the Xitians in hiding slowly mixed themselves back amongst their fellow citizens.
They were still wary as they would most likely be captured or killed indiscriminately if they would be discovered, this caution only strengthen with how the Purge had only just passed by.
Luckily though, the troops that were left behind seemed to pay not much heed to the daily lives of people as they had returned to normal… in their eyes at least.

With peace seemingly lingering around since the end of the war tenth cycle in life, Lyrxi would gain the chance to have means of making his own balance as he saw fit and as such he was sent from the farm to city to gain a head start on honing this very balance that many still aspired to.
Here he would spend part of his days at a martial arts school, named the Branching Rivers School for it's position in the city, to learn how to train his body while another part of his days he would spend his time reading through scrolls in the public library or meditate in one of the now tranquil gardens that the city held.

Lyrxi would still return home in the evening and thus would also embark back to the city after the next morning had passed and the day was properly beginning.
Despite spending most of his early teenage cycles in the city, he still had the time to continue aiding his family with the farmlands, while this was not a necessity.

Reaching the beginning of his sixteenth cycle, more and more reports had been heard of cities and nomadic tribes treating others with unheard of aggression and savagery as a civil war was growing larger and larger.
Perhaps another boon of good fortune, the city seemed to have been spared mainly due to it's position on the mainland and the fact that Xitians still resided inside the city, though out of Lucin and outside Mesalian eyes, to this day.

Since rumors remained to be rumors, Lyrxi had nothing to distract his daily life and soon he began to add his interests into something new.
This occurred when he stumbled upon the section of the library which had scrolls about basic food preparation, which he had paid no heed before.
Reading some basics and a few starting recipes wasn't enough for him though, so he decided to put his new knowledge to practice, seeking out his mother's advice and experience now and then.

Lyrxi was drawn in more and more each day with his newfound hobby and it quickly replaced his time spent in the library, yet luckily not affecting the time he still spent at the Branching Rivers School.
Adults, elders and children alike could not deny Lyrxi's growing experience and knowledge, skilled cooks being welcome additions in society as festivities were no rare sight during the passing of the year.

It would not just stay with cooking alone however, as when Lyrxi reached his nineteenth cycle, he was finally of the right age to be allowed to enjoy proper brews.
Just as cooking had gained his interest before, now brews were of almost equal interest to him.
For this, he sought out his uncle at his brewery in the city for his knowledge and insight.

The elder sibling of his mother proved to be able to teach Lyrxi well and although Lyrxi would not look upon brewing as those providing brews for a large amount of the populace did, he would still get enough starting knowledge and experience from his uncle's teachings to start on experimenting with brewing at smaller, more personal quantities.

During this time, at his twentieth cycle, he finally had graduated from the Branching Rivers School and took the liberty to invite a fellow graduate out on a date later that same evening, as there would be a large festival taking place with rumors being spread of something new making it's appearance starting this festival.

The young woman that he invited was always a curious student at the school, though this had no relation to her being a Xitian.
She was brought here by one of the travelers and was apparently left by a family that was willing to act as foster parents for her, most likely to keep her safe from the ongoing Purge and give her a chance to live her life.
Despite not being native amongst the citizens, she did her best to fit in and had quite a likable personality and appearance, as Lyrxi found out during the years spent at the school.

Later that same evening of the graduation, Lyrxi and Meilin decided to move to a hill near the city as people gathered near the outskirts after it was announced that the special addition to the festival would be better viewed from there.
This festival was also the first in celebration of the first proper graduation since the War of the Veld and perhaps also was held in an attempt to lighten up the mood from the still ongoing rumors of the escalating civil war.

It did not take too long after they had settled on the hill, as the first small explosion was heard, a bright light shooting up into the sky before bursting into a colorful sphere of smaller lights with a loud noise.
Soon after, another was launched followed by yet another as people stared in awe, including Lyrxi and Meilin.
This would be the first time he'd have seen fireworks, but definitely not the last as they became a new part of most of the festivities ever since that evening.

A year later, Lyrxi got engaged to Meilin and he also had started showing off his own cooking skills at some of the festivals that he was hired to aid in cooking for.
Lyrxi had also caught a proper interest now in the fireworks display he witnessed since the festival and went to inquire more about fireworks.

He learned some amusing facts that did surprise him, such as how less spectacular "fireworks" that were made from bamboo were accidentally discovered through a mismatch of saltpeter, charcoal and some misplaced sulphur during cooking.
While he never got the full explanation for the sake of safety, he did learn enough to know that the bamboo-based fireworks were actually pretty different from how they had made the flying ones.

It was explained that most of the flying types were invented with the aid of a few Xitians, which was partially curious as one would consider air and flight to be more tied with Lucins.
Enough was elaborated though that these fireworks had more to do with actual fire, and this was no strange knowledge for certain Xitians.

This did not bother Lyrxi too much though as he gained enough from what he inquired about and used some of this knowledge to liven up festivities at home now and then with homemade fireworks of a quality that, unfortunately, was far from reaching the stage of the ones he had beheld.

By the time Lyrxi reached his twenty-third cycle though, things were changing in unexpected ways.
It appeared that the civil war had reached the outskirts of the city in a fortunately minor way, yet not without it's saddening results.
The casualties were kept limited and there never truly was an actual war that had reached the doorstep of the city, but that did not prevent the few attacks from leaving their mark before being vanquished.

Sadly enough for Lyrxi, the maddened attackers were not killed before taking both the lives of his father and his betrothed.
Meilin had been obviously targeted during her visit to the farm when one of the attacks happened there, as her visual references to her Xitian blood had only fueled the rage of the attackers more, with Lyrxi's father trying to save her, only to lose his life as well.

The loss drained him as his cheery personality shifted to one drowning in sorrow. His mother however, kept herself strong, supporting Lyrxi as he seemed to be unable to compose himself.
This changed one evening though, as Lyrxi was restlessly wandering through the house.
Passing by the room of his parents, he overheard his mother finally breaking down, sobbing and crying in the arms of her visiting sister.

Lyrxi silently left, taken aback by his mother's breakdown as he went to the hill near the city where he took Meilin to on their first date.
It was here that his uncle found him, having seen him leave the house and wander off towards the hill and he wished to share some of his own insight to help Lyrxi past the present hardships that he had been burdened with.

He spoke of how there are times for mourning and afterwards the time should be made to live out on's life again, as this would also aid the spirits of those that had passed away rest in peace, knowing their loved ones could live on happily.

This strengthened a new resolve within Lyrxi, wishing to honor his father and Meilin's peaceful rest, he would focus again on living his own life so that others would no longer have to suffer through witnessing the lingering sorrow he had kept inflicting on himself.

Things started to slowly turn back to usual afterwards and years passed as Lyrxi started to rediscover himself again since the plague.
Nearing his twenty-sixth cycle, having spent most of the passed time back as the occasional cook and also having picked up his daily meditations and training again, Lyrxi decided that it was time to truly broaden his horizons.

He had heard quite some time before about how people had left, on more occasions than one, to seek out the Forbidden Lands in hopes for a new future away from the miseries of the past.

He felt that he did not truly knew enough about himself and that only a journey to such a place would aid him further in this endeavor.
This was not the only reason however, as he wished to learn more about this land, not only about any rare or exotic ingredients and herbs out there, but about the different people that might safely reached the Forbidden Lands and what different insights, even in terms of cooking and brewing, that they might have to share.
Perhaps he could even learn more about fireworks here, though he did not see this as a priority over his other reasons.

He started to make preparations for his journey, bidding his family, friends and home farewell with the promise of return, before embarking on his journey.
He knew he had to travel for a while though, as there was no proper port town near the city and the fishing boats that were present in abundance would make for poor transport to the Forbidden Lands.

During his traveling, he finally reached a port town where he witnessed the vast ocean once more, almost ominously stretching out into the distance.
A ship was preparing set sail here, modestly filled and manned by those who were also going to departure and seek out new lands beyond the seemingly endless waters.
As a fair trade for aiding with the work on the ship and with a little convincing through his cooking skills, Lyrxi was allowed to join the others with their travels on the ship.

Time kept passing on with the ship passing by islands now and then where the occasional stop was made for a break before moving on.
Eventually, the ship was passing by a larger island, though it gave most on the ship an ominous feeling as they prepared to move on to search for another large island.

The island had caught Lyrxi's interest however and despite warning, he was allowed to take some necessities and leave to disembark onto the island, having the feeling that this would be the Forbidden Lands he seeked, the place where his search could truly begin.

Thus he started his journey into the unknown lands before him...
--------------------------------------------------------------------