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Post by Karawan Hecate on Jul 25, 2017 0:40:55 GMT
The sun was rising slowly over the edge of the world. Light was just beginning to gild the pale walls of the sanctuary that had guarded students of magic for generations. In one of the lofty towers, far from the few people beginning to move around the area, sat a waifish figure, ensconced in a window sill. A book lay open in her lap, a guttering candle next to her it's light now only a pale echo of the early morning sun. She could just begin to pick out people in the plazas and breezeways, identifying the ones she knew more by the brilliant flare of their magic, too far away to see anything else. Her eyes felt tired, grainy with the sand of sleep too long denied.
Carefully, Karawan shut the book in her lap and set it aside. Scattered around the floor of the little tower room were pages of her notes, cast aside in disgust at some point during the restless night. She had not slept well. Every day she worked to refine her control and refine her tracking sense it seemed like the hunger pressed harder on her. It was as if knowing the magic was there made her body desire it more. She scrubbed her hands over her face, then smoothed back her hair. Most of it had fallen loose from the tail it had been pulled back in. Now she freed the rest of it and did her best to scrap back her hair. The repetitive motions of setting it into a plait were comforting in some ways. Once braided, she flipped it back over her shoulder.
She knelt and began to gather the scattered sheets and discarded quill. She had at least capped her ink when she had given up trying to concentrate. The quill needed to be cleaned but it was no worse for wear than when she'd brought it up. She leafed through the pages of notes, her lips set in a thin line of displeasure. There was something in here, surely, but right now she wasn't sure what. She would read over it later. This wasn't part of any of her classwork, just a curiosity she'd followed and gotten tangled up in. There was a beauty in mathematics that she felt was lost on many people.
One of the pages slipped from her hands as she stared back out the window, thoughts drifting. It was charcoal and pigment rather than ink drawings. Even smudged it showed a rough abstract of the city from above, dark, with little splotches of color on the streets and in the windows.
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Swordsman
Bisexual.
Single.
Fae
Authored by Arlyn.
Offline.
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Post by Eriu Bloodworth on Jul 30, 2017 5:56:19 GMT
A fairy suddenly popped by the window, making herself apparent with a surprised look on her face of her own. "Good morning!" she called, although she wasn't smiling, rather calling out enthusiastically. Her pale pink translucent wings fluttered as she flew next to the window, her face appearing almost right next to the window sill as she peered directly toward the other woman. Probably scaring the daylight out of her, the fairy flew a slight distance back, before returning again at a more comfortable position, hovering near the window sill to speak.
"Uh, Karawan right?" she asked questionably, gazing at the lady in front of her in conformation. Yep, she looked like the one. She stared back down at the papers she held in her hand, encased with a ribbon tied around it. "I have a delivery for you," she said, handing them over to her with both hands politely. If the lady took it Eriu would smile. "Your reports, and a list of mages that were detected born outside of Lledrith," she notified. It most likely looked very odd, a fairy giving this stuff to her. Fairies were not too common to be found in this place, and it most likely should have been a fellow mage handing this information to her. Well, it was a long story.
Eriu had wandered around the school, taking a break here during her travels, or perhaps she desired to see the mage school again. Dressed in her usual clothing, still adorning some of the sacred armor of the fae, she walked amongst the other mages, almost as if she were to fit in with the crowd. Though, with her wings she stood out amongst them. Many that past by were students that were focused on getting to their next class, but she was just taking her time enjoying the view. She stopped every once in a while to take a glance at the large majestic fountains and the architecture. She had been here a few times before, but the school took her breath away almost every time. She stood on the main bridge, gazing out at the flowing river passing underneath. After a while, she found herself laying lazily in the grass of the school's grounds. There weren't many students around at that hour, and she just stared up at the sky watching the clouds rolling while hearing the sounds of the fountains. It was then she heard her name called. Looking up to see who it was, she saw a familiar face.
"I want you to turn these to a student and tracker," the elder explained, handing the papers to her. "If you decide to visit here you might as well make yourself useful," he then smiled, leaving her to be as he walked away through the hall. She stared down confusedly at the pile, unsure of what to do but knew that she couldn't disobey.
"I was sent by Master Arlyn," he fairy explained to Karawan. "It took me a while to find you, though. I had to ask around," she said, before her eyes then peered toward all the papers that seemed to surround the desk. "Wow, what are you working on?" she asked in curiosity, seeing a vague page of something in charcoal, but she couldn't make out what it was. |
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Post by Karawan Hecate on Jul 31, 2017 16:35:25 GMT
Karawan started back, surprised when a girl abruptly appeared in the window in front of her. There was a pale steeliness that seemed cast over the fae for a moment then Kara blinked and the ghost of magic was gone. While she couldn't exactly ignore her sight, she could temper it for a while. And this was the first fae she'd seen so there was no real way for her to determine what was innately magical and what might indicate additional abilities. The young woman just watched her dumbly for a moment, then stared at the ribbon sealed scroll. Finally she shook herself out of her daze and reached for the papers.
"Yes, I'm Karawan." She replied absently, setting her notes down on the window seat so she could untie the scroll and look through it. She nodded when told the sender, busy glancing over the report. Though she was frequently given the reports just like the other trackers, it was rare for her to be sent off for anything other than looking, especially without a supervisor. Still, every time she got them she hoped for an excuse to get out and be among people who didn't know here. "Hmm?"
She finally glanced up at the fairy's question. She was a little surprised to see the messenger still there, and followed her gaze to the page that had dropped from her hand earlier. She picked it up and crumpled it between her hands, shrugging. "Just a doodle to keep my hands busy while my mind was elsewhere. It was a long night. Who were you again?"
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Swordsman
Bisexual.
Single.
Fae
Authored by Arlyn.
Offline.
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Post by Eriu Bloodworth on Aug 3, 2017 1:15:50 GMT
She looked at the paper in awe until Karawan crumbled it in her hands, which was rather upsetting to the fae. Her dark eyes tinged in sadness for a moment before suddenly perking up again. "I am Eriu," she introduced herself, still hovering by the window. But her wings were getting tired, and wished to rest them for a while. She propped herself on the windowsill, leaning on one arm while resting her chin on the other. That was much better. She looked up at the mage contently. "I was just visiting the school. It has grown since the last time I've seen it," she recalled. They had built new areas since the war had ended, but she saw them in their earlier stages. Now they were finished, and she found them impressive. She even heard that the arena for the magical tournaments was finished. She couldn't wait to see it. She wondered if they were even going to host a tournament soon, if so she would definitely have to come and watch. She would have to keep her ears open when she goes back to Niwetri.
"It is really nice that you can draw," she commented cheerfully, still wishing to see more of what laid beneath the crumpled surface. "Is that your magic or...? What else can you do?" she then asked out of curiosity. She was also curious to see how the trackers actually find the mages outside of the school and bring them back. She hoped that they weren't too rough with, whoever they were bringing. But they had to because of the treaty, she supposed. It wasn't like they could help it very much. Though, she heard some rumors of the Hidden City of Mirthal, but even the explorative fae hadn't found it. Maybe she would find it the next time she explored more of the Sakari Wildes. Though, she wondered what even made mages want to be a tracker in the first place. It sounded like a rough job, even more so than a soldier, to forcefully bring someone to the school whether they liked it or not. Maybe that was the only way they could explore, much like how she liked in her task of being a swordsman. It also must have been another way to get out of the school and see the world. The mages were often so confined here. They should relax and move around a bit more, she thought.
Also, she may have taken a slight peek at the papers. She was curious as to who the next person was that needed to be found and brought back to the school. Perhaps if Karawan needed a friend to come along, Eriu would volunteer to join. |
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Post by Karawan Hecate on Aug 3, 2017 20:52:38 GMT
Karawan wasn't sure she was excited, even though this was a an opportunity to go out without a teacher breathing down her neck. One day she'd graduated and then, maybe, she'd really get to be free. She- her attention abruptly snapped back to the faerie as the prying questions got through to her and the neutral expression on her face turned icy.
"No." She almost didn't elaborate, but decided that was just an opening for more questions. "I'm a tracker." And she tried to leave it at that. She rolled up the scrolls and tucked it into her belt. She was dressed simply, in a long black robe. The soft slippers she typically wore around the school weren't appropriate for going out, but she slipped back into them all the same. She'd stop by her room and change, wear something that covered her mark. It wouldn't do for a tracker to be too obvious. Proper boots. Then she'd go out and take a look for some of these people they wanted her to confirm. Just take a look and confirm if this timberman's son was a firestarter, and if this miner's daughter was a budding illusionist.
"Did Master Alryn require a response? Otherwise I'd best go and get changed." She picked up her notes again, one eyebrow raised as she studied the faerie again. Though curious, Karawan was neither outgoing nor friendly. In fact, she was generally pointedly unfriendly. She liked to make it quite clear that she didn't need anyone. Even though she did need people. She hated that fact.
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Swordsman
Bisexual.
Single.
Fae
Authored by Arlyn.
Offline.
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Post by Eriu Bloodworth on Aug 6, 2017 19:38:25 GMT
To give up who you are, I'll live without your face, your smile, regret it more than dying, and dying so young She almost nearly pouted when the young lady said she was a tracker. Of course, Eriu already knew that. Was that her magic? Well, it wasn't very interesting... if the magic for being a tracker, well, was tracking. But who knows, maybe it comes in handy, every once in a while. Sometimes Eriu would lose or forget where she had placed her coin pouches, she could really use tracking for that. She looked up to see as Karawan as she asked the question.
"Uh, no," she said, her eyes widened in thought as her wings fluttered more. She really didn't know if he said she had to or not, as he just had told the fae that she should make herself useful by handing the tracker the delivery. Though as she was worried that the mage might leave, she suddenly gawked her mouth wide open in anticipation, nearly putting herself into the window as her two arms stretched herself through.
"But do you need some help?" she asked quickly. "I'm a very good swordsman, those whipper snappers could use a little extra effort into going back to the school don't you think?" she spoke almost as if she was an old person. Well, she was an old person. Not too many live over 200 as far as she knew. Well, mages didn't live up to 100. It was quite sad, really. But even if Karawan didn't answer or said no, Eriu wiggled her way into the room, her whole upper torso popped in while her legs kicked outward.
"Can I come with you? Please! Please!" she begged, a huge wide smile across her face as her white teeth gleamed in the light. Oh how fun it could be. To go on an adventure with a mage to catch those rebellious students. Or maybe they weren't students. Maybe they were babies born found outside of the school. If that was the case, then she could help inform them that they were a... mage. |
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Post by Karawan Hecate on Aug 8, 2017 19:13:08 GMT
When Eriu abruptly began to climb through the window, Kara snatched up her notes and jerked back, taking a few steps towards the door. Her face twisted quickly into an expression of distaste. She thought faerie lived a long time. She would have thought a certain amount of maturity would come from being a long lived race, even among the younger ones. But this one seemed as immature as the brats that scuttled through the hallways, whispering behind their hands and in the corners whenever she passed. It didn't take more than a year or two before everyone seemed to know who she was. She rolled up her notes with the scroll and crossed her arms over her chest, trying not to show her nerves at the fae's enthusiasm. It was a little overwhelming.
"I don't need help," she snapped quickly. Unconsciously she backed up farther from the begging Fae until her back bumped against the door. "I am still a student myself. It's too dangerous for me to go by myself to collect a new student. I only go to observe."
It all came on in a quick rush, parroting what her teachers had told her. Really she didn't mind- the idea of facing down angry relatives didn't much appeal to her. Her magic was not exactly offensive in nature. Unless it was against another mage or magical creature (well, she assumed it would work on other magical creatures, she'd never really tried it). She shook her head quickly. "Absolutely not. I'm just supposed to observe." She was repeating herself but she didn't quite realize it. Her arms dropped, the hand not full of scrolls groping for the knob of the door.
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Swordsman
Bisexual.
Single.
Fae
Authored by Arlyn.
Offline.
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Post by Eriu Bloodworth on Aug 9, 2017 1:41:52 GMT
To give up who you are, I'll live without your face, your smile, regret it more than dying, and dying so young In her anticipation the fae fell over, her head landing on the floor while her legs still hung through the window. Quickly she gathered herself, picking herself up and standing, trying to look more presentable although it appeared that she wasn't doing it correctly in the first place. After standing she looked as if she had never climbed through the window at all, only leaving the window open as it was. She stood at the other end of the room, clearly distance between the two girls. Though she did begin to take a few steps forward, probably stopping at the fourth.
"That's why I should come with you," she insisted, huffing her chest high and proud. "I am a swordsman of the fae, I can help protect you," she promised, patting on the hilt of the serrated sword at her side. Though, she really didn't know how it all worked. Did Karawan have to go with another tracker mage and just watch? How boring. When Eriu first began her duty as a swordsman, she got into action right away, well, the training of it that was. She had started learning how to use a sword when she was small, was it the same with magic and the mages? Or were they just forced in the back, just to watch and see what happened? What if something happened to the tracker mage, then what? Who would be there to protect the students? Eriu found it all baffling.
Well, she did owe Arlyn a favor, maybe she could ask him. But what if he was busy? Knowing that he was the Master of Water, he could be anywhere within the school. He always seemed to be doing something important, walking around hallways and being found in the most unexpected of places. Well, he wouldn't care if she escorted a tracker mage student right? How hard could it be to find someone and bring them back? Eriu had confidence in herself. After all, there was the alliance, so the races should help one another, Eriu thought. It could be just her and the mage, going off to an adventure to find the fire mage and the illusion girl. It couldn't be that hard... right? |
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Post by Karawan Hecate on Aug 17, 2017 17:31:39 GMT
The magic-eater hesitated, finally finding the knob in her hand. She eyed the fae, wracking her brain for a way to deal with the tenacious bitch. This was absurd. Stuffing the brief moment of panic that had overcome her into a tiny corner of her brain, she straightened up and tried to look less like she was cowering. She managed to look irritated which was pretty much second nature to her anyway. Shoulders back and posture painfully stiff, she inclined her head slightly.
"Fine. Meet me at the front gate in twenty minutes." Her voice was cold, but still held an edge of shakiness. She wasn't quite as confident as she looked but she was quickly regaining her composure. Gods above, she should not be going out with so little sleep. And she could feel hunger twisting her insides that food would only partially placate. Before the fae could say more, Karawan opened the door behind her and stalked out, making purposefully for her room.
Once there, with the door firmly locked behind her and the windows shuttered tight against airborne intrusion, she let out a relieved sigh and checked the scroll again. This time she read it carefully, making sure she knew the locations, names, and descriptions of everything important. Then she changed into travel clothes, something high collared that covered the mage's mark on the back of her neck, and tucked the paper into an inner pocket of her vest where it would be protected. Then she face the door again and feeling much more like she could take on the world (and the annoying fairy), she strode out and went to meet her... companion... at the gate.
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Swordsman
Bisexual.
Single.
Fae
Authored by Arlyn.
Offline.
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Post by Eriu Bloodworth on Aug 20, 2017 6:58:08 GMT
To give up who you are, I'll live without your face, your smile, regret it more than dying, and dying so young It had been some time, and Eriu luckily found her way toward the main gates. It was a short flight, from where the room was she merely flew downwards. But waiting for her for twenty minutes seemed like a long time. So in the meantime she talked a bunch to some passing by students, and a few teachers. She wondered where Arlyn was. She wanted to tell him that she successfully delivered the papers and was now going to assist on an adventure tracking mission. But she couldn't seem to find out where he was. Most of the teachers said that he was up in his study up in the tower, but it was so high up... oh well.
She awaited by the gates, leaning on a cold metal pole as she gazed up at the sky contentedly. Once Karawan came the fae lit up, excitedly waving at her. "Glad to see you made it!" she said cheerfully. She then turned. "Let's go!" Eriu then happily skipped past the gates, onto the bridge over a giant river waterfall that led to the Sakari Wildes. Into the wilderness they go! To find a fire boy and illusion girl... the fae tried to remember. She thought that was right though.
Continuing along the dirt path, the fae hummed to herself, already placing her hands behind her neck as her elbows stuck outward. She didn't know where they were heading exactly, but if there was anything dangerous out in these woods she would be sure to be ready to protect themselves from harm. But so far there was no sign of anything, other than the exotic birds that sat high in the trees. She saw a cute little puffy one. It was adorable. Her eyes were focused on it until they passed. Her attention then turned back to Karawan.
"So," she began to converse, "do you guys get to keep pets at the school?" She always wondered. What if the mages got lonely? Couldn't they make some sort of elemental of some kind to keep themselves company? Or a little magical animal of some sort. Since they couldn't leave the school, that'd make sense to her. If they weren't allowed, she sure would fell sorry for them. She'd think that if the mages often went to Mere en Watervalle to study magic within the area along with the creatures... they must bring some home with them.
(You can have a teacher come along with them if you'd like, or not. It's up to you. xD) |
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Post by Karawan Hecate on Aug 22, 2017 14:46:04 GMT
By the time Karawan reached the gate, she had collected a shadow. A man of average height and weight and exceeding blandness gave Eriu a short nod but otherwise seemed content to let the two of them take the lead. Kara didn't bother to introduce him, and he didn't seem inclined to introduce himself.
Kara swept along the path, certain of their direction. She made a point to move in front of the fairy slightly. She had grown up in the area and was pretty familiar with it. In addition, she'd spent many nights pouring over maps of Oedir. She liked to think that she knew more than most mages her age about navigating in the wide world even though she had little practical experience beyond the wilds that surrounded her home. She paid little mind to the birds and wildlife, intent on their destination- a small collection of homes that could hardly even be called a hamlet, inhabited by woodsmen. It was less than a day away if they traveled swiftly, she thought. It would take longer to find the young illusionist, but it also wasn't too far away.
"Pets?" Kara tilted her head a little and looked at Eriu in slight confusion and perhaps a touch of disdain. "Some people do. Cats and birds and the like." She waved a hand vaguely. As they moved away from the school, she let the veil of Mage-Sight drop over her eyes. She could still see normally, but the magic of the world glowed in all it's bright colors and motes of light. She couldn't see her own magic, but a glance over her shoulder showed a calm twisting of greys and browns surrounding the teacher who followed them. The teacher wasn't a stranger to her so his magic wasn't unusual- she knew what it was, and recognized the knot and vein patterns of the magic to symbolize an empathic ability. She squinted a little when she turned her eyes to Eriu. as always, the symbols and colors of non-mage magic was always strange to her. Golden motes danced around Eriu's aura, playing along the edges of her wings. It obscured any other signs of magic and Karawan hesitantly chalked up the motes to being symbolic of innate fae magic. Sort of like how she could tell a werebeast for what they were, even if she didn't know what shape they took.
"What do you do when you're not accompanying random people on their duties?" She asked, hoping thatit would prompt the fae to talk about herself instead of asking more questions.
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Swordsman
Bisexual.
Single.
Fae
Authored by Arlyn.
Offline.
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Post by Eriu Bloodworth on Aug 26, 2017 4:51:13 GMT
"Hmm," she began thoughtfully, looking up into the air with a finger on her chin. "Adventuring," she said, her eyes returning back to the mage. She continued walking, then noticed the teacher who had decided to assist them. Well, technically they were assisting him... but either way she slowed her pace a bit, letting him catch up. "So, you're the one coming with us?" she asked curiously, smiling up at the man. "What sort of magic can you do?" She was always excited to hear what sort of magic the mages had. She wasn't really sure where they were headed but they had probably a lot of time. It would be some ways to go before they reached their destination. Maybe he could show a demonstration or something. But some mages like Arlyn only had mastery in one of the four elements. Well, he was the best in his element... but never really showed off much what he could do, she thought. She thought that he could do some cool water show or something. But he never did, the only thing she saw him do was magically pour water into a cup, then hand it to her. She wasn't even sure if she should have drunk it or not, but either way she wound up doing so. But that was a long time ago, back around the time she had met the man.
Even though some powers were rather boring, there were cool things they could do with it. The mages studied so hard, so no wonder they could use their magic so well. Eriu didn't have an interesting magic they had, most of the fae didn't. She could enhance items... but that was about it. Not much cool things she could do with that, other than make them physically hardier. Well, she always thought that Djinn's spear was kinda cool. Perhaps the fae did have interesting magic after all. But hers was at the low end of that spectrum. Even her daughter had better magic than her. She could at least repair things. That would come more in handy than just a sturdier sword. |
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Post by Karawan Hecate on Aug 30, 2017 16:29:45 GMT
Well, that didn't work but it at least had deflected the conversation from herself. Kara settled into an easy walking pace, keeping her eyes open but not really expecting to see much as thy continued forward. She did not slow her pace when Eriu did but rather took the lead as though she hadn't even noticed the fae dropping back. Recently the teachers had been letting her more and more lead on these little trials.
The teacher seemed a little surprised when the fae dropped back but he offered her a kind smile and inclined his head. "Yes, I am supervising today. I've little tracking magic though. My magic primarily has to do with emotions. I can sense them and, to a degree, manipulate them in others." His voice was gentle, unflustered, with the easy words of someone who is practiced at explaining complex subjects. He often taught younger mages, if only because he had some like of children and an easy way with them. His magic helped as well to keep things calm, especially when any number of them may have been ripped wantonly from their homes. "I'm afraid it's not very flashy though. Most of the time when people thing of mages they think of people like Masters Arlyn and Ea. Waterspouts and firestorms and the like." He shrugged.
Karawan tried to stay out of the conversation as much as possible as they walked. Close to midday though, the teacher called a halt when they found a small clearing and brought out a passable midday lunch for the three of them. After that, it was only another couple of hours to the small village of woodsmen. Karawan hung back at the edge of the wood, the teacher standing a little off to the side and watching her. She studied the village, tilting her head in a curious, almost bird like motion.
"The small house on the far side. The one that has fresh whitewash on the sides. The area around it has been cleared and I think the nearest houses are empty. There are traces of fire magic all over."
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Swordsman
Bisexual.
Single.
Fae
Authored by Arlyn.
Offline.
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Post by Eriu Bloodworth on Aug 31, 2017 4:51:31 GMT
"Oh!" she said, perking up. "I know Arlyn!" she exclaimed when she heard of the name. It probably didn't mean much to the mage though. Probably everyone knew who Arlyn was. But to her she thought it was something special. Well, maybe to other races it was. Having connections with the elemental masters seemed like a huge political deal apparently. Like as if they were important and whatnot. But to her Arlyn just seemed like a normal guy. Yeah he was strict sometimes and all, but he genuinely cared for his students and the school. He even told her that he would go traveling to help those in need. She couldn't imagine him enjoying the life of riches and politics much. He was a decent guy.
She then remarked about his magic, "That's interesting." She continued to walk alongside him, gazing at him curiously. "It's good that you can make people happy," she said. It was good to be happy. Some people did bad things when they were sad or angry. Maybe if they were happy instead they wouldn't become bad guys. His magic must have been a good thing, as he was a tracker and maybe some mages didn't want to go to the school. If they were happy to go to the school then maybe things would turn out peacefully. She was glad that he came along.
When he told which house they were headed to, Eriu stopped, shielding her eyes with one hand as she looked forward. Fresh whitewash? She could sort of see one,but she wasn't sure if that was the one he was talking about. Then after, she looked back up at him, gazing at him questionably. "So what are we going to do?" she asked, looking for orders of some kind. She wasn't sure what trackers did, how they did their duty. Even though she was a swordsman she left mage matters to mages. Though if it was up to her she would go up and knock on the door, but perhaps they had to do things differently. She wasn't sure. |
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Post by Karawan Hecate on Sept 11, 2017 17:51:58 GMT
The teacher was content to leave the discussion of magic at that. Bypass the discussion of ethics that Kara would have caused if she had cared to join in the conversation. Magic was not in itself a good or a bad thing. It's use, however, had to be bounded by ethics or it could easily be turned to evil. Such things were often the conversations of the elder students and the teachers who tutored them. Though Kara had few friends, she did find these discussion groups on occasion and add her sharp commentary to the mix. Usually taking the side that no one else wanted. She could make even the most cut and dry situations seem complex and sticky if she dug deep enough.
Karawan looked to the teacher when Eriu asked what they would be doing, equally curious but not patient. She knew how this normally worked- he would go and fetch them and Kara would wait. Or Kara would accompany him silent as a shadow, in case things got messy. This time, however, the teacher only smiled and gestured to her. "Karawan, if you would take the lead on this please."
The young mage looked taken aback, her composure somewhat rocked by the unexpected situation. She looked back uncertainly at the cottage and the quaint, quiet little village. Squaring her shoulders, she strode towards the cottage that she was fairly certain contained their young mage. The teacher quickly gestured for Eriu to follow her and then followed himself, keeping a bit back. He was remarkably good at making himself ignorable. Unless she actively looked for him, the fairy would likely forget he was even there.
Karawan rapped briskly on the door, then glanced over her shoulder as they waited. For once she seemed a little relieved about the swordswoman's company, eyes flicking to the sword at her side. She clasped her hands in front of her, braid swinging as her head turned to regard the door. It was only a moment before the door cracked open and a haggard looking woman peered out.
"Who are you?" She asked sharply, glancing over her shoulder towards the darkened interior of the house, nervousness making her movements jerky and uncertain. Karawan smiled and it was a surprisingly warm expression though it did not reach her eyes which remained cool and calculating.
"Hello, my name is Karawan. I heard your son was having some trouble and I though I might be able to help. Could I come in?" There was a heartbeat of silence, and then slowly the door cracked open and they were led into the darkened interior. The teacher remained outside, leaning against the whitewashed wall looking for all the world as though he belonged there.
They were taken to a back room and the woman fumbled with the crude latch the held it closed. Before she opened it, she looked up at Karawan cautiously. "Will he be able to come back when he's... when he's better?" Her voice was cracked, barely more than a whisper.
"Of course." Karawan mustered as much reassurance into her voice as she could muster. It was only half a lie- though most of the mages she knew had never gone back to their homes, it was certainly possible. Once he graduated he would be allowed to go wherever he wanted. As the door fell open there was almost immediately a wash of heat. A lash of fire snapped out and died as it came too close to Kara and she automatically loosened her stranglehold on the part of her that wanted to drink the magic out of the world. The flame flickered and died as though water washed through the room, extinguishing the few other magical fires left smoldering in the remains of toy chests and furniture. The child was young, not even 8. She offered him her hand.
"Come along, I know someone who can teach you what to do with that firebug of yours." Her voice was crisp, cold. She had no real love of children and no real interest in figuring out how best to deal with them. She just wanted this done. The boy looked at her, sullen and rebellious. Afraid of himself and of her. Exasperated, she glanced back at her only ally in this situation- Eriu. She didn't have much hope in help from that department, but she also didn't want to throw the kid over her shoulder and haul him out kicking and screaming.
(For clarification, the teacher is using his magic to make people uninterested in his presence. How much it effects Eriu is up to you. Karawan's magic-eating may or may not affect Eriu- it doesn't work as well on people who aren't mages)
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