The weather was clement in Qeynos that afternoon—a contrast to the turmoil inside Shiani as she sat alone along the riverbank in the Elddar Grove.  Her manner despondent, she plucked carelessly at the dry grass nearby, tossing the blades into the tepid waters one by one.  The gentle currents swept each of them away, and the dark elf watched quietly as they pursued their fatalistic path downstream.

Such had been her journey here, she thought, pulling again at the surrounding grass. 

Contrary to initial hopes, tracking down her geographically whimsical sister hadn’t been the straightforward quest she’d expected.  For nearly half a year, Shiani had faithfully pursued her twin, knowing that at some point something had to give.

Based on her father’s lead, she started by traveling to Freeport, where Chiani had fled in the company of Thysta, their mother, and Nearis, their younger brother.  She’d met neither of them face-to-face, and though she’d tried many times to use the Talis’Shar to scry their whereabouts in years gone by, the presence of her twin always muddled the resulting vision.  Kerr’Al explained it as a flaw in the magic, wherein the Talis’Shar could not reconcile the presence of its master in two disparate locations.  Apparently the originators of the legacy’s magic had neglected—or were unable—to account for the possibility of twins sharing its power.

Armed with their names and vague descriptions, it took several weeks of searching before Shiani finally located her mother.  Thysta balked, thinking her to be Chiani at first, but quickly came to realize her mistake.  At her newfound daughter’s behest, Thysta explained how Chiani had been ostracized by the Teir’Dal living in Freeport.  Not only had she no idea of her whereabouts, but she had no interest in seeking them, after the disgrace the girl had brought down upon the family name.

This dire news troubled Shiani on numerous levels.  Not only was Chiani nowhere to be found, but her purported rebellion against family and Teir’Dal customs were troublesome. 

Urgency and the assumption that Chiani still lived somewhere on the streets of Freeport drove Shiani to continue her chase.  Day in and day out, she spent time among the dregs of the city, asking around the various undergrounds and countercultures for any sign of a dark elf her age. 

The fact that Shiani looked exactly like her quarry proved challenging until one day a ratonga in one of the taverns called her by her sister’s name.  He expressed amazement that she dared show her face in Freeport again after what happened, and from what she could gather by listening to the rodent’s drunken ramblings, Chiani had fled the city months before due to a considerable price put on her head.

Alarmed at hearing this, Shiani herself went underground.  All she needed was some bounty hunter to mistake her for her twin, and her efforts would have come to an abrupt end.  Following in her sister’s footsteps, Shiani sought passage out of Freeport by whatever means she could.  Fortune brought her into the company of a shadow knight who was in the business of smuggling refugees out of Freeport.

Ultimately her travels delivered her westward to Qeynos—the only logical place her sister might have sought refuge from the travails of the East. 

Endearing herself to the city and its populace proved an onerous task, however.  Because of the Teir’Dal’s uncouth nature as a race, Qeynosians were understandably leery of any outsiders who hadn’t proved their worth, and demonstrated in good faith that they had forsaken their evil ways.  Shiani humored them, figuring that if this was what it took to gain entry into the city, then so be it.  Inwardly she believed the principles of hate to be the irrefutable source of strength for every dark elf with any common sense, but outwardly decided to compromise in the interests of serving the greater good. 

She had to find her sister.  Nothing was going to stand in the way of that.

Her devotion still held true, though she remained notably dispirited as she sat there under the grove’s canopy of leaves.  As it turned out, she’d discovered that Chiani had, in fact, called Qeynos home for several months, but apparently it was not uncommon for the girl to disappear for weeks at a time, chasing after some wild scheme for wealth and adventure.  It was the same thematic behavior that had landed her into trouble in Freeport, and there was no sign that she had abandoned her ways even after starting life anew in the West.  It was mystifying!

Shiani lamented as she pondered what to do now.  Yet again, she was one step behind Chiani, and from all indications, she could expect more of the same in the foreseeable future.  Perhaps if some authority somewhere could apprehend the wily girl for her larcenous ways, then maybe Shiani would be able to catch up.  Apparently her twin was too shifty to allow that.

Disconsolate, Shiani gave up the piecemeal tossing of grass blades, and threw her entire handful into the stream.  It didn’t matter anyway, she thought.  They all wound up in the same place in the end.

Brushing herself off, the dark elf stood to take her leave when she discovered a human male sitting on a boulder a stone’s toss away.  Though not unusual for the occasional citizen to take advantage of a pleasant day in the Elddar Grove, this shirtless man seemed to hold a particular interest in Shiani, as he failed to look away when she noticed him.  Instead, he sat there staring directly at her with a strange, neutral expression on his face.

Looking behind herself, she thought maybe something across the waters captured his rapt attention, but she saw nothing of interest.  Looking back, she found the man still there, gazing her way, his eyes blinking once as he tilted his head curiously.

“Is there a problem?” she asked, figuring a direct stare called for a direct response.  More than one Qeynosian had gotten after her for daring grace their pristine city with her foul presence.

“No,” the man replied calmly.  “No problem.”

“Then stop it.” Shiani glared as she spoke, still brushing off errant strands of grass from herself.  “Didn’t your parents teach you not to stare?”

“You find my gaze unseemly, then?” the man asked.

“I do,” the dark elf growled.

“Remarkable.”

Shiani stopped to glare at him again.

“What?”

“Your reaction,” the man blinked, as if that should have been obvious.  “All things considered, I would imagine a Teir’Dal in Qeynos would be used to people keeping a close eye on them.  I find it remarkable that you are not.”

Shiani made a rude noise, rolling her eyes at the truth of the man’s words.

“This distresses you,” the man went on to say.

“Yes,” the dark elf said shortly.

“You find it unappealing.”

“Yes…what is your point?” Shiani stood, hands on her hips, peevishly confronting the man’s unfathomable performance.

Donning a thoughtful expression, the human mulled a moment before answering.

“I don’t suppose I have one,” he said with a shrug.  “I’ve just never witnessed a dark elf deal with such a ponderous burden before, that’s all.”

Shiani looked down at herself confusedly, spreading her arms wide.

“What are you talking about?  What burden?”

“The one you carry with you, of course.  The burden that remains every minute of every day, even while you are naked.”

Closing her eyes in disbelief, Shiani turned her head slightly, a galled expression on her face.

“Listen, I don’t know what twisted game you’re playing,” she announced, “but I object to shirtless humans taking an interest in my nakedness.”

The man smiled crookedly at this.

“All I was doing was sitting here, minding my own business, enjoying the setting…”

“No you weren’t.”

Shiani stopped, incredulous.

“What?”

“You weren’t enjoying the setting,” he clarified.  “True, you were sitting.  And true, you had personal business on your mind, but the setting had nothing at all to do with what was going on inside you.  A pity, really, since your actions indicated a deterministic passivism that may very well have helped you in your quandary.”

Shiani shook her head irritably.

“Is that even Common you’re speaking?” she asked.  “Who are you?”

The man’s smile returned as he shuffled his bare feet to stand.  He wore a pair of white pantaloons round his waist that billowed slightly about the ankles in his stride.

“My name is Shoda,” he replied, walking casually toward the dark elf.  “Makoto Shoda of the Silent Fist, and master of the dojo in this grove.  Perhaps you’ve seen it in passing?”

Shiani’s turned a cautious eye at the man’s approach.

“All-wood building.  Paper windows,” she said warily, tossing her head toward the road.  “The one resting on stilts over the pond.”

“The very one,” Shoda replied, coming to halt. 

Now it was Shiani’s turn to stare, her eyes riveted to the man’s face as he stood confidently before her, arms akimbo.  Though short of stature for a human, she saw that Shoda’s physique was beyond reproach now that she saw it up close.  Suddenly the dark elf’s marked indifference to this annoying human seemed fairly distant as she found herself wondering what on Norrath could possibly motivate him to openly associate himself with a Teir’Dal newcomer to his city.  Most Qeynosians saw her as nothing less than an intruder.

“What do you want?” she asked skeptically.

“What do you want?” he replied evenly.

“I want to find my sister,” she offered, point blank.

“Does she look like you?”

The question sent a shiver up Shiani’s spine, her gaze narrowing even more as she wondered if what just happened was mere coincidence.  His tone was certainly unassuming enough—even flippant to a degree.  Granted, her exposure to humans had been limited up until now, but this was without a doubt the most perplexing individual she’d ever come across.

“Yes,” she said guardedly.

“Then she shouldn’t be too difficult to find in this place,” Shoda replied, raising his hands to gesture at the city surrounding them.  “I believe the question you should be asking yourself is whether you are ready to find her.”

The human’s winsome self-assurance contrasted in the face of the openly blank look Shiani gave him.

“Now what in the name of Innoruuk’s Innards is that supposed to mean?”

Shoda’s smile widened, his nose taking in a deep breath of nature’s fresh air all about them.  Releasing it through his mouth, he shifted his stance, coming to a decision.

“You wish to know?” He squinted in the sunlight as he asked.

“Of course I do,” the dark elf shrugged irritably.

“You really, truly wish to know?” he asked, holding up an index finger to reinforce his question.

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t!” Shiani replied irritably.

“Then follow me, and together we will find all the answers you seek.”

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