TRW: Arlin

So after Elias and Celestine's River Windrose descriptor scenes, I'm getting back into this exercise. This time is Arlin's turn to shine!

The River Windrose (TRW) exercises are little writing pieces for me to practice my description of scenes while getting into a character's head and heart. Hope these aren't too boring for you! (Tell me if you want to see a particular character featured! (Either via comment or, if I know you IRL, however you feel comfortable :) ) ).

In terms of ECA Chronology, this scene would happen the evening after #64: Frost, and #65: A Moment in Time, where Arlin first realizes what the visions are and is linked to the events in #66: Dangerous Territory, where Celestine teaches Arlin to skate. (Link to all three of the mentioned posts.)

WC: 652

“Arliquen.” 

So that was her name before.  

The evening after the battle, Arlin returned to her new meditation spot by the cliffscape. She closed her eyes and turned her mind inward, to the serene mental landscape that she retreated to in times of desperation. She had based it on the mystical mental river that guided travelers in the Land of Dreams. 

Arlin’s river was a perpetual sunrise. The light flittered through the trees, casting a light glow over the snow-covered ground on either bank. The river bubbled cheerily before her, stemming from the point where the sun kissed the mountaintops. The river calmed as it passed the island she was on, so that behind her it was calm and glass-like. Through the transparent water her draconic summon, Murantagh, played. The light reflected off his silver scales as he swam, snake-like, through the roots of the tree that grew on the island. 

She thought of it as an island, but the small plot of land was dominated by a great tree. The roots of the tree even poked out in places, drinking water from the river. Built into the branches of the tree was a cozy treehouse. In the middle of the room was a keyboard that would sometimes play by itself. Gusts of winds changed the sheet music, organizing them in a bunch of little piles around the keyboard. Food and drinks would appear randomly in the treehouse, seemingly whenever she thought about it.  Aside from an open space where her wand hung, both the inside and outside walls were covered with posters of friends, events going on in her life, goal statements and inspirational quotes. The posters would sometimes vanish, revealing clean wood beneath it, but would quickly be covered by some other volunteering opportunity Arlin had found, a portrait of a friend she was thinking of, a cute drawing she’d seen—anything. 

 Arlin herself perched on the branch next to the treehouse, watching the wind spell her thoughts out in the water and snow. Absent-minded, she snacked on the dumplings that had appeared on the snowflake-patterned rug inside when she arrived. With a splash, Tagh flew out of the water and flew up, curling up in her her lap. He purred, kitten like, as she hummed to the piano tune. It wasn’t familiar, but she hummed to it as though she knew the notes by heart.  

She sighed, and shivered. Despite the snow, the river landscape was always a mild, breezy temperature. No, it wasn’t cold air that had caused her to shiver. It was finally understanding the snow and frost that covered her entire river scene. She wasn’t always called Arlinia Yves. She was a figure of the past, warped through time when she was young to the current era. Back then, she was called Arliquen. Her memories, until then, had been recently recovered, and with them, snippets of her ability to control ice as she had then. It wouldn’t do to deny them any longer.  

The plate vanished into the wind as she picked up the last dumpling, and Arlin poked her head in, wondering if there was any water or juice to wash it down with. Instead, under the empty wall area where her wand hung was now a bow made of unmelting ice. It was unfamiliar, just like the tune, yet somehow she knew exactly it was.  

This had been Arliquen’s bow—her bow, now returned to her. After a moment of hesitation, Arlin put her hand on it. She’d resolved not to reject the visions—the memories—and her previous identity. It was time to see if she could recover her old abilities and hone them to good use.  

“I am Arlinia Murantagh Yves, formerly Arliquen. I came from a time far before the one I live in now, but that doesn’t stop me from being who I am.”

The River Windrose image I had for Arlin changed quite a few times as I wrote it, with varying degrees of detail put into the various aspects (consistency of river, temperature, what is on the island if anything, etc). I haven't figured out if there is any correlation between personality and these aspects, or even if I want there to be a connection. XD

Next week: Elysia's river windrose.