IC: Airgid Vulpes (his residence, midday) "Who's got the next round?!" the rough fisherman shouted. "I got the last one, what's next?" One of the other four men pulled a flask from his pouch and held it up as he shouted, "Deku brandy!" The other three cheered and held out their glasses to be filled. Airgid smiled as he leaned in to wipe off the table. His house always seemed to be filled with those traveling to and from Mido and the docks. They would stop in, eat and drink, sometimes even sleep, then they would be on their way. He had even considered making a business out of it, but he enjoyed doing a service for everybody and he wasn't willing to take advantage of it. As the four men tipped back their glasses and drained the amber liquid, Airgid turned and walked toward his room, the only room in the house aside from the tiny bathroom and the parlor room which functioned as both living quarters and an eating hall for those passing through. Looking out his bedroom window at the rugged foothills, he watched as the rain fell on the mountains and out on the prairie. The mountains were still veiled in sheets of snow after the cold snap of the past few months but the fields had since thawed causing much of the path between Mido and the port to turn to mud. Airgid was glad for the break in the weather though as this meant he could once again return to the sea. Mido had weathered the storm but was a bit worse for wear. Its people were weary of the cold temperatures, the freezing rain, the frequent white wolfos sightings. Few of the men of the village had been willing to fish while the snow fell and the winds whipped the waves and of those that had, nearly a third of them had been lost. Months of capital had been lost and the pike run was in full swing already but Mido was more than ready to take on the perilous sea once again. The past few weeks had seen people traveling from Mido more than to it and nearly all of them were sailors gearing up for a hard season of angling. Airgid was getting ready to do the same. His pack was stuffed full of clothes and he merely needed to do some upkeep on the house before hitting the road to the port. The window in his bedroom had been blown out during a particularly bad snow storm a month or so back and one of the men who passed through today had brought him a replacement pane (at an embarrassingly discounted price) but he had yet to put it up. There was also a stress crack in the ceiling from the weight of so much snow to which the structure was unaccustomed. As the drinking songs of the sailors in the parlor rose and fell in pitch and ridiculousness, Airgid began pulling nails around the window seal.
IC: Airgid Vulpes (his residence, early morning) A glow?...a golden glow... A smile was on his lips before his eyes even opened. When they did, he was greeted by a radiant yellow warmth shining from the east over the mountains. The sun beams played across his room, throwing shadows along the floor and bringing light once again to a sleeper's world. Filtering through his clean new window, the sunlight gave character to his father's old chest in the corner and brought to life the crystalline blue and green rupees on the bureau, causing the colors to dance across the wall. Airgid's smile stayed on his face as he got up and began to ready himself. The break of dawn was the perfect time to set off on an expedition. He'd ended the previous day by patching the ceiling and engaging in a game of horseshoes with a duo of travelers. It was decided that the house was in good enough condition to be left out of his tend for a few weeks. Besides, those who used the house more regularly helped Airgid maintain it in his absence. When he had first built the house and others had stopped by, he had been a bit worried about liability and thieves (Darunia being not too far north) but in the end, he found it rewarding and gratifying to help others at his own risk. These people would be using his home for rest and reprieve for the rest of his life and hopefully beyond. Before the sun had even leapt from the top of the mountain range, Airgid was on his way. His home lay a bit less than a dozen miles inland so in only an hour, he could see some of the buildings of Port Mido in the distance. The seaside port was nearly a town in its own right, having a permanent population and even a village council. It was, however, still a port and as such was unfit for the families of most sailors. Immorality and debauchery was prevalent, if not always completely visible, throughout Port Mido. Every other building, it seemed, was a tavern, a cathouse, or other establishment peddling elicit products and services. The town wasn’t really malicious however, it was merely filled with sailors. “Cussin’, women, and ale, thus is the life of a man of the sea!” His uncle used to tell him. As he reached Port Mido, Airgid made for Fauroeh’s Depot, his normal stop for food and supplies before setting sail. The streets were filled with all kinds of people, some shadier than others but most, hard-working naval men. Looking down the street to the docks, Airgid caught a quick glimpse of his turquoise jewel, The Wave Author, mast rising high into the air, bobbing slightly with the swells. A smile immediately jumped to his lips as he walked through the doors of the Depot, he was so ready for another journey.
IC: Airgid Vulpes (mid-morning, at Fauroeh's Depot in Port Mido) "I am NOT paying fifty rupees per barrel!" Airgid's eyes bulged a bit and his "insane vein" stood out from his forehead. These little confrontations had become common to Airgid though, both he and Fauroeh were eying a customer rifling through his purse on the other side of the store. “It’s fifty a barrel and not a green less! Who do you think you are?” Fauroeh yelled at Airgid. The banter went back and forth until the customer stepped out of the shop, which immediately brought a smile to the owner’s face. “So, how many barrels?” Fauroeh’s smile was warm and genuine now, his eyes full of friendship and good will. “Five beef, two cucco, four boxes of assorted vegetables and a case of fruit.” Airgid spoke with no apprehension in his voice. “That’ll be fifty rupees and not a green less!” Fauroeh had been giving Airgid extraordinary deals on supplies for years now and Airgid had accommodated him on his travels to Mido on many occasions. It was the kind of economics Airgid most liked, friendship. Fauroeh walked around the counter and clapped his hand on Airgid’s back, “How long this time?” “At least a few months, I plan on going farther than I ever have before.” A bit of worry crept into Fauroeh’s eyes. “The run is coming right through Mido, only a mile off shore. Fishing’s good here Airgid.” Airgid’s smile became visible and he turned his head toward the window. The wharf stood just down the street, covered with people preparing for voyages or bringing in the day’s haul. The sea stood beyond that, awaiting him. “You’ve got that look in your eye, it’s the last thing I’ve seen of many men. What is it that you're looking for?” “Awakening.”
IC: Airgid Vulpes (mid-morning, port Mido) It's not that I don't plan on returning, it's just that...I...Airgid took a moment to clear his head, shaking it from side to side to cut through the mental fog. The day around him was brilliant and the blue of the sky and the ocean helped offset his momentarily contemplative mood...Airgid Vulpes doesn't plan to return until...what? Airgid didn't know. What he did know was that the sea was calling him and some voice beyond as well. Some minor character was about to reveal itself to him. Will it be friendly? Is it an oni? Or a messenger? A spirit? He would have to discover this one and root out its meaning for him. "Mr. Vulpes!" The voice shattered his mosaic musing and nearly threw him backward. "Mr...whoa! Hey! What are you doing throwing yourself around like that, you could get yourself hurt!" The young hand he'd conscripted to cart his supplies around town and load his ship was yelling at him with his wide mouth and wider grin. "Ten rupees was the deal, right? Ten rupees for ALL my HARD work!" Airgid's countenance turned incredulous and his eyes grew dull and uninterested as he looked at the boy. He couldn't hold the uninterested look for long though and eventually cracked a smile and pulled from his pouch, a yellow rupee. The boy's face lit as he reached out to snatch the rupee out of Airgid's hand. "Or," The boy grasped thin air as the rupee was lifted out of his grasp. "would you perhaps like to see the land?" “The…land? I can see just fine!” The boy jumped up, grabbing at the rupee Airgid still held above his head. “What if you could see the whole of Hyrule? What if I could show you how to soar with the raven and the sparrow? I can. I can give you wings.” The boy smirked at Airgid but looking into Airgid’s eyes, he found truth there and his mouth opened a bit. “You can’t do that.” The boy kept staring into Airgid’s eyes as he spoke, but he didn’t sound sure of himself. Airgid walked aboard his vessel and popped open a crate. Reaching inside, he withdrew a small brown fruit. Tossing it in the air as he walked back, he placed it in the boy’s hands. “Can you balance this on your head?” The boy’s look took on a strength of skepticism. “It won’t grow me wings.” “Can you balance it on your head?” Airgid replied. “…yeah…just…” The boy carefully placed the fruit on his head with both hands, slowly bringing them down. The brown vittle wobbled and nearly fell off the boy’s head before he caught it again. Once again he tried and failed to keep the fruit on his head. Airgid caught this one and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Put your arms out to both sides, straight as the horizon, reach from east to west and take slow, deep breaths.” The boy did as he was instructed and even closed his eyes in concentration. Airgid then placed the Hyoi pear on the child’s head where it sat, unmoving for a long moment. “Keep your eyes closed…” Airgid smiled broadly as a shadow flashed over him. After another long moment, the pear disappeared and the boy’s face alit with startlement and wonder, but his eyes, he kept closed. What excitement I felt when I first experienced it, that first flight. The glory of riding the wind and breaking free of the land…soaring aloft and exploring the unknown…not unalike to one’s first voyage into the other wild blue. After a few minutes, the boy’s eyes blinked open and shot skyward, Airgid’s gaze following his. High above, a lone gull swooped through the clouds as it finished off the remains of its meal. “That was awesome! I want to do it again, this time I’ll go farther and faster and higher! I’ll touch the sun!” Airgid chuckled a bit and handed the boy a yellow rupee. “Not today, wait for my return or…” Airgid pulled a small notepad from a pouch on his belt and removed a delicate-looking quill from the same pouch along with a tiny inkwell. In a place of life but known for death, A sleeping giant lies, A hundred arms bear a thousand faces, For which ocean callers vie. From the largest stone from miles seen, 800 steps toward the monarch, The throat of Hyrule will swallow you whole, And show your prize by the sunspark. Ripping the riddle from the pages of his notebook, Air gave the boy his trial. “By this,” He explained, “You will be lead to a limitless sky.” Roughing the boy’s hair, Airgid stepped aboard his vessel and untethered the Wave Author, kicking off from the dock. “Be safe, Airgid!” The boy yelled as the sail went up and caught the wind. “Be safe, Sky!” Airgid yelled back. Back on the sea. My love, I’ve returned.
