[RPG] [SWI][Ik] Alanna Anaris ~ Old Wounds, New Friends

[Timothy Collett]

Alanna wanders aimlessly, and somewhat annoyedly, around Toren  
Stronghold.  The place is so deeply familiar to her, it is hard not  
to fall into the old habit of feeling as if she rules it all, and it  
is her duty to see that the stronghold--and the entire realm--remains  
strong and prosperous.  But then she will come upon a relic of  
Nergal, or a picture of Farlouche or Xaphan on the wall, and the  
reality of how different this realm is from the Ikalak she once knew  
comes down upon her with the force of a physical blow.

This is so strange...it is Ikalak, and yet, it is not...or rather,  
not my Ikalak, she thinks.  That realm is gone...wiped out as if it  
never existed by the capricious Gods who rule these islands.  And now  
here I am, in this place that looks the same, bears the same  
name...but *is* completely different...

Turning a corner, she sees a tavern and brightens somewhat.  Perhaps  
a drink will help...

Quickening her stride, she enters the Flying Pink Squirrel and makes  
her way to the bar.  "A pint of your finest, barkeep," she calls,  
flipping her long blonde hair back over her shoulder.  As she waits  
for it to arrive, she looks around.  It seems like a relatively  
normal tavern: small groups at some of the larger tables are laughing  
uproariously at nothing in particular, a dozen or so people are  
drinking quietly alone or in pairs, and a well-dressed young man next  
to her at the bar seems to be looking for the latest gossip.  He  
seems vaguely familiar...and a sudden need for friendship seizes  
Alanna--perhaps because, the last time she was here, she was  
surrounded by friends, many of whom are now dead.

"Say," she says to him when his latest source of news has dried up.   
"Aren't you that other newcomer, arrived just before me?  Colin,  
wasn't it?  Or--no, Kammar, right?  So, what's your story?  Where do  
you come from?"

--

Having been erased,
The document you're seeking
Must now be retyped.
~haiku~



--

"The only thing you can't trade for your heart's desire is your heart."
  ~ Miles Naismith Vorkosigan

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