A Rothman Journey

[Lairia Rothman]

Salt on her lips, and water soaking her cloak. Lairia sighed while she stood at the ship’s bow, staring into the darkness before them. Thinking. Staring. Nothing.

It was not upon her to question her father’s decision. Not upon her to deny his order. Her path had been chosen, by him. He had already chosen so many paths for the members of her family, and now it was her path he controlled.

“Go to Gobaith, and find your brother. Look how you can help him, and then report about his progress on that isle.”

What kind of a person was her elder brother? She had only few memories of him, none of them picturing his character.
She had no memories of him as a child, he had been given away before she could actually think, to return when she was 15 years old, experienced, but only a shadow in the night, disappearing almost immediately after he had arrived. Going to a war far away, somewhere in Albar. A revolution like the one that broke out near her home some months later, determined to fail against the armies of steel the Rothman family commanded.

Three years later he came home once more, and stayed two years. Although they now had time to talk, they did not often. Julius was far of her league, even then. He was an experienced warrior, a leader of hundreds of men, someone admirable. And she – she was just his little sister, a small girl still practising with her swords, not even very successfully. If he had seen her, he did not show much interest, neither did she in him. Between them was no relationship, there was an empty room, full with the memories the siblings had never shared. Parted for a time too long to be ignored.

And then? He left for Gobaith, following the news of Stephen Rothman, hoping to become vice king of a kingdom Stephen’s son Grant had founded. He returned once more, and left again, not even recognized a lot by her.

Her sapphire eyes still stared into the darkness, and still there was nothing. Her path was hidden in front of her eyes. Would he recognize her? She had written him a letter. But had he read it?

She had no idea what would be waiting for her out there. Another Rothman estate, smaller as the one her father led, but similar in many ways. Another man who told her how to live her life. She was used to it.

Shrugging, Lairia remained at the bow, and dreamed, flying towards the little island and enjoying the few left days of imaginable freedom. On this ship, she was her own master. She was in charge, for the first and perhaps the last time in her life.

((Oh, I almost forgot this: open rp to all my Rothman relatives, at first, we will see how far it continues, but it is meant to end ig, when Lairia arrives. Oh, and please just SERIOUS rp. Thank you.))

[Julius]

Julius stood idly propped up against the wall in Trolls Bane, his eyes racing across the streets to watch those few that passed. Trolls Bane was so calm these days. It was as if everyone had simply packed up and left the Town for something better. There was so many memories here, so many good and bad memories that flowed through Julius's mind. The battles, the conflicts, the duels, and the historic documentations of those men that choose to call Trolls Bane a home before him.

Julius idly gripped the sword at his belt in a familiar fashion. The blade, once his brother's had given him so much comfort when held that he couldn't seem to go long without placing it within his hand. The blade had been fashioned for one purpose. To kill. The blade had thirsted on the blood of the drow, dwarves, innocent bystanders, and had brought swift justice to the ones that dared cause trouble during Stephen's reign.

Stephen, the man of brilliance, envy, magnitude, and hate. How would Julius even attempt to live up to that name? The Governor during the greatest and most prosperous period of this town's history. Trent, there father, had always loved Stephen more. Julius only came to Gobaith for that reason. He had fought wars, led regimes, and jailed countless outlaws back home. But it was always Stephen, the older brother that had gotten the high praise from his father. Julius wanted to return home one day and show his father how he had matured and be able to say "I did a better job."

Julius shook himself free from his thoughts as he turned his gaze to the darkening sky. Soon, the small speck of a dove on the wind caught his eye as it came to rest down upon his shoulder. He knew that color of dove, velvet silk with a pure white coat. The purple seal of the Rothman was tied loosely around the top of the parchment. His heart filled with sorrow as he hastily opened the message.

He knew that he had spent too long on this god forsaken isle. His father was an older man and had probably died in his long overstayed visit back to the isle. How could he be so stupid? He was a failure. Why had he not pushed and endorsed his plans more fully? As his trembling hand unloosened the familiar seal, his eyes darted across the parchment as his eyes began to swell, his breathing slowing to sharp intakes as he found it hard to believe.

A loud chuckle suppressed him as he pressed from the wall, taking a quick look around to see if anyone had witnessed his embarrassing display of emotion before he turned toward the far gate.

His sister.. his thoughts drifted to the pictures he had retained of the small girl he had hardly paid any attention to. She had grown? Though he had not spoken to her in years, he couldn't wait to see her. To be so close to another one of his family members made him feel as though home really wasn't that far away. He would welcome his sister with open arms.

[Lairia Rothman]

She sat in her cabin, bored and tired, but also too nervous about the future to actually fall asleep. She knew well that this was exactly the attitude her father condemned about her. Her mind was not set at the here and now. It was in the future, it wandered to places she had yet not been, and painted new worlds more colourful than the real one.
Impatience and Daydreaming, he had hated watching her. Not enough discipline, and never enough logical thinking. The head rules, not the heart. What you see counts, not what you are going to see.

As if he had slapped her, Lairia sat up straight and stared at the wall opposite her. She could have reached it with one arm, by simply lifting it up. Such a small room, after all the grandiosity of the Rothman Estates it seemed ridiculous. Her emotions were biased, she felt lost and liberated at the same time. Free from her father, from his harsh tone and free from the need to satisfy him, the only person nobody but Stephen could ever satisfy.
As she leaned back to the wall, she realized she was happy to be away from them, from home, happy to see something else, finally. And sad, sad to leave her mother, Alexia. Yet, the happiness outweighed the sadness. This could soon change after she had arrived. At an island she so far had only heard something about when Stephen talked about it, he talked about it quite often, but these talkings had not given her a lot of information. He talked about how promising the island was, how many resources one could gain from there. That they, the Rothman family, needed the control over this island. Over Gobaith.

Gobaith.

The name escaped her like the hissing sound of the candle flame that enlightened the room enough to show the surroundings in a visible way. She had not brought much with her. A cloak, and some old armour, enough to defend herself just in case, some money to pay the journey when she arrived in Gobaith. Some food. That was it.

A bitter smile fell over Lairia's beautiful face as she remembered her childhood and youth, but she wiped it away, together with the one untidy strand of hair that dared fleeing her braid.

Days of laughter, of running around and chasing the fillies at the paddocks. Lairia was five, and a wild young girl, yet not a tomboy.

Days of sneaking around and looking for secrets. Days of discovery and adventures. Days of freedom.

Then life changed, the moment she learnt how to use the wooden sword she had been given. From one day to the other she was no longer allowed to be the innocent small girl, but had to be an apprentice. Long hours at the arena, but also long hours in the library, where she learnt how to read and write, how to plan and how to calculate.
Besides all those trainings the boys had likewise, she also learnt how to be a true lady. These hours she hated the most, stuck in a dark room with an unfriendly governess, who told her to forget everything she learnt outside that room. Strict rules of etiquette. Rules, that made no sense at all. After she left the room she was no longer supposed to be courteous, or to defer to her training partner, but to look out for her own benefit. To take every advantage she possibly could take.

Years passed, the young girl became a young woman. She learnt a lot of things during these years, most of all to control herself more. Still her father was never contented. She was neither a good warrior nor a good lady. She was something in between, a free spirit locked into a trained body. She was something she was not supposed to be.

These days were gone, as was her time in Salkamar. A new life began, a life of serving instead of studying. A life being of use instead of being taught.
There was so much out there, she felt it, but not for her. Sighing she spent one more moment on the thought what could have been... what she could do... then she lowered her head, and told herself this was nonesense. A waste of time. Concentrate, the voice of her father said. Follow the orders, precisely, logical. No dreaming in between. Luckily, he had not watched her these last few hours...

She shrugged, giving up her tryings to sleep, and reached out for the cloak. Throwing it around her, she left the cabin, and sneaked up on deck, to the ship's bow once more. She knew the captain did not want her here, in the middle of the night, now that the storm was about to reach them.

Outsail a storm. Of course they could not do that.

Spindrift cooled her pale skin. Three days of journey left. She could not see anything through the darkness, not even from her lookout. It did not matter. She knew well what she would see by daylight. Water, endless dunes of water, in a darker blue than even her eyes. Somewhere out there was Gobaith, far away. Somewhere out there were relatives of her, at least one of them awaiting her arrival. And once more, she dreamed away, imagining what the future might be. Not thinking about the here and now, not thinking about the dark night and the black sea. Not thinking about the wind, the spindrift or the storm-to-come, not thinking about the waves.

Gobaith...

[Lairia Rothman]

After three days of storm, terribble for Lairia, who had never experienced something like this before, but not terribble enough to actually harm the ship, they sighted land. As she heard the seaman's call, the young woman rushed on deck to watch it with her own eyes. After three weeks of water surrounding them, the dark line over the horizon was the most beautiful sight she could have dreamed of.

Seagulls' cries mixed up with the shouting of crew members, above all those the harsh orders of the captain, as they compassed the harbour and slowed down. Like a gigantic bird the vessel slowly surrounded some more coastline, to moor near the bay.

The air was still filled with the salt from the sea, but also with something different. It took her a while to understand it was the smell of land. The smell of Gobaith, like mint and thyme and like liberty.

Jumping down into the long-boat, she still could not tell the figures at the harbour apart from one another. Would there be someone to welcome her, or would she land and be there on her own?

Surely, she had not written to her brother when the ship would arrive - but it was the only Salkamaerian ship that had left from Falmarha towards Gobaith in a month, surely the harbour administratives knew it was coming these days...

Hope and nervosity mixed as they came closer. She knew she had two brothers on this isle, and at least one cousin.

Smiling with relief, she finally grabbed her duffel bag and stood up, to climb up to the dock.
She was in Gobaith. And her thoughts were totally at the here and now.