[The Sanity Center] Baby Steps. (Open!)

[Nixie]

Timestamp: 10th of Spring, 512 AV


Entering under the great stone face of the Gaping Maw with Dani in tow, Nixie found herself in a dark tunnel. The only light, waiting for them at the other end of it. Something was strange about this light though; it wasn't the usual cold bright light that she was accustomed to, but a muted purple one. An odd site, one she had never seen before. Squinting her eyes to focus, she tried to make sense of it, but to no avail. Perhaps a closer look would bring understanding.

The sound of her steps, and Dani's hooves, against the stone floor echoed throughout the tunnel. But the familiar sound of their own steps soon transformed into the eerie presence of many voices. Not one could be heard over the other, all of them mixing together to make one incoherent voice that grew louder with her every step forward. The escalation instilling a wariness, she slowed her steps to a snail's pace. Or perhaps it was an urge to try and decipher what message the voices had, if there was one. Whatever the reason, the only thing she was certain of, was that the sound was making her horse nervous; evident in the way it stomped its hooves and tried to pull away from Nixie. But if she could help it, her horse wouldn't be going anywhere without her. Pulling its reins tight in an effort to gain control of the beast.

Nixie hadn't even made it half way through the tunnel before the sound of the voices had grown to unbearable levels. As they rang in her ears, she felt her drums would burst if she couldn't block out the sound. Forcing fingers into her ears, the horses reins fell loose around her arm, and Dani was getting out of control, taking his chance to try and break free and run to safety. What the hell's going on?! Peeking through partially closed lids, she kept her eyes on the light that seemed to be just as far away as when she had first entered the tunnel. But then her eyes widened in disbelief as she watched the end of the tunnel close in on itself, only to reopen a few feet in front of her. The surprise was enough to put her off-balance as she took a few steps back on her heals. That wasn't all though, this time instead of purple, the light outside was a glowing a yellow color. It left her so dumbfounded that she hardly noticed when the voices fell silent behind her.

Unplugging her ears, Nixie held her breath in anticipation that something more would happen; not sure what to expect next. Wishing that something normal would happen! And when, after a few moments, nothing did, she sighed in relief, turning back to Dani. He was still nervous as she took to calming him, stroking his mane and speaking in a quiet, soothing, voice.
"Shhh, its ok." Her pulse was only beginning to slow when Nixie noticed something peering out from the back of the tunnel. Dark red eyes started to appear, causing her breath to catch in her throat. The sight was soon followed by a low reverberating growl sounding from deep within the tunnel and scaring both her and the horse once more. While Nixie froze in place, Dani took off in a full sprint out of the tunnel and into Alvadas. She had tried to stop him, and was almost successful when she looped her arm through the reins just as Dani took off. "Dani!" Calling out his name when he was frightened was no use though, only letting herself get jerked forward before losing her hold on the reins and catching herself on the tunnel wall before the horses force could throw her off balance. "Dani!" It was too late now; he was most likely lost inside the city somewhere already. Surely making a wild scene amidst the crowds of people. "Stupid animal!" Standing all alone in tunnel, she glanced back behind her, only to see that the red eyes had disappeared, and all was silent once more. What next?! Looking forward again, it was strange, she still couldn't see anything past the tunnel, regardless of her standing mere inches from the exit. Perhaps her eyes needed to adjust to the strange light?

Letting an annoyed sigh escape her lips, she took one step out of the tunnel. That's when her whole world was thrown upside down. Literally. Within seconds she lost her balance, staggering from the left, then to the right before her legs gave way under the weight of her own body. Her head was spinning, or was it the world? The sensation of air rushing over her body was overwhelming and maddening. What was worse was when she tried to take in her surroundings and regain her balance. She looked down at her legs, and saw a deep blue, the color of the sky, and in it, her reflection. But then something displaced the glass like surface as gentle ripples spread out from a single point and distorted the image. A strange, yet somehow peaceful sight. But then looking up, she saw the tops of buildings and heads of people. Am I falling?? The very notion struck fear into her as she let out a frightful scream, searched desperately for anything that would make sense of things. That's when she saw it. A moss-covered house.

It was amazingly normal, nothing strange about it, and at that moment a life saver. It was the only thing that looked safe, and she would try he darndest to get to it. Struggling for a moment to stand, she made slow progress over to the building. Still unable to find her bearings, she took a few trembling steps at a time before succumbing to her dizziness again and falling forward. This time, catching herself on the tips of her fingers. She would repeat this several times before reaching her destination. And as soon as she touched the anchored ground with even just one hand, everything around her righted itself. The sky was above, and the city below. Everything where it was supposed to be.

Panting heavily, and on the verge of panic, Nixie hurried along the ground on all fours in search of a safe place to sit and gather herself. Quickly finding a spot up against the moss-covered buildings wall, she pressed into it. Closing her eyes, her head was still spinning slightly. Planting the palms of her hands flat on the floor, she had never been so happy to feel solid ground below her. At least while she was trying to piece together what had just happened, she could sit without worrying about another surprise... Or she hoped so at least. Wondering if the same thing would happen again if she stood up. None of it made sense. Not to her. What did I get myself into??

[Eridanus]

Eridanus stood muttering as he glanced at the moss-covered wall. It seemed that the djed anchor implemented into the infrastructure of the rebuilt building was working somewhat, though he suspected that it seemed pretty wonky. The higher-ups had ordered an investigation into this issue, for though even after repairs from the destruction wrought by the djed storm were underway, the Census Bureau continued to receive official reports regarding the infrequent instability of the structure.

The Sanity Center was the only location within Alvadas that maintained its constant location, and that was essential to the proper conduct of the city's operations. It was used as a landmark in complex navigational calculations within Alvadas due to its stable state, and so it was unacceptable to even have the slightest deviation from the status quo.

The government agent held a magnifying glass in his hand, peeking through it as he looked at certain segments of the building. It looked like a normal magnifying glass to anyone else, but it was in effect a djed-enhanced auristics tool customized for observation and analysis of illusion-related data. It was not unlike the auristics optics used in magecrafting, but the Department of Illusions adapted and customized the tool until it could be used to check for the serviceability of illusions around Alvadas.

The djed within the vantha hummed at a soft pitch that could not be heard by anyone who did not practised magic. Eridanus unconsciously followed that hum with a carefree and melodious hum of his own as he tapped into the djed reserves within his body to maintain his magically enhanced vision.

Auristics, said to be the power of gods that was unwillingly relinquished to mortals. He focused his vision solely on the aura emitted by the magnifying glass, which in turn processed the information it was focused on and released it in the state of its aura. The item processed the state of the illusions, then saved it in the form of its aura, which was up to the vantha to decode with the basic training he received back at the Department.

So far, nothing seemed wrong. All illusions continue to be held in check, and the djed anchors have no structural defects.

The vantha continued to hum as he walked the length of the wall, his attention solely on the magnifying glass as he continued scanning for any traces of anomalies. Even the appearance and approach of a foreigner did not distract him, for people came and go at the Sanity Center all day. It was nothing unusual.

He did not turn his back, and should she notice him all she would see is a young man in an inconspicuously dark cloak and robes, with his hand occasionally sweeping his rebelliously windswept aurora-streaked hair to the side while he peered through an archaic magnifying glass at the moss-covered wall.

[Nixie]

Time felt like it stood still in that place of suggested isolation. The mossy stones had reached out to her in her time of desperation and whispered promises of normalcy. Nixie had no idea how much time had passed since finding her sanity against that wall, but it felt like hours. Maybe it was. But in all the time that had surely passed, Nixie had yet to see another person. Her only company the rhythmic beating of her own heart and the silence that surrounded her. Am I alone here? Where is everybody? Her mind ran over the events that lead her here, over and over again, then once more. And every time it came up the same. She was at a loss, all the answers hiding just out of reach. She wanted to flush them out and make sense of things, but fear pinned her to the ground. Her mind telling her to stay down, unless she wished to fall prey to the illusions once again. That's when an amazingly familiar sound greeted her ears. The sound of footsteps, accompanied by a quiet humming.

The joy of recognition made her heart dance in her chest, and her stomach jump up into her throat. Her eyes searched wildly to find the origin of such beautiful sounds, and it didn't take her any longer than a few seconds. It was a young man with a head of luscious black hair streaked with handsome colors. Whom, walking a length of wall, seemed fully absorbed in what work was at hand. With every step he drew closer to her, and she feared he might trip over her before noticing her siting against the wall he walked. She never said anything to warrant his attention, but she desperately hoped he would look her way and speak. For she longed to listen to the voice of another, if only to sooth her own frantic mind. When she saw that he wouldn't return her gaze, she started to push herself up off the ground. Making sure to keep an arm and hip pressed to the wall as if loosing contact would send her falling through the sky once more. And even now, standing before him, he couldn't spare a glance.

Once he was in reach, a nervous arm reached out to try and grab the mans attention, slim fingers wrapped themselves in black cloth. Her excited motion, enough to throw Nixie's balance off as she fell toward the stranger. Using his robe to stop herself from falling completely, the entirety of her weight tugged at him. If he wasn't expecting it, it may have very well thrown his balance off as well. But once she was confident in her own balance, she was quick to retreat her fist and take a few steps back. Please don't be angry with me! Those words screamed in her mind, but could not find their way through closed lips. Instead, a burst of emotions played over her features. The panic of fear as she worried about how the stranger would take her sudden interruption. The confusion of questions without answers. And the surging sadness as she reached her wit's end. Small tears threatened to fall, only held back by a weak trembling lip. In the rush of recent events, Nixie was unable to keep such emotions in check, as she normally might have. This stranger, seeming to have appeared out of thin air, was the first person to approach her, albeit unknowingly. And while he might not have wanted, or expected it, he was getting the full brunt of her emotional storm.
"Tell me--" She spoke in a whisper at first. "Tell me where I am!" Her voice rising it pitch, then cracking as she held back a sob. "What is this--? What's wrong with this place?? Pale lids shut tight over dark brown eyes, and trembling hands turned into fists where trimmed nails threatened to break skin. Her emotions flowing freely for the first time in a while. She hated this feeling. To have no control over herself. No doubt she looked the part of a sniveling little girl. Pathetic.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus hummed casually as he worked, unaware of the human girl who was cautiously maintaining a physical connection with the wall. More correctly, he disregarded her, for her presence brooked no interest in him, and all he wanted to do was the finish up this job and to complete his report.

As he neared her, she suddenly grabbed him, leaning her weight on his body as she did so. It was a completely unexpected motion in a civilian area, and he yelped in surprise as he was pulled downwards to the ground. Fortunately, his combat reflexes kicked in, and he instinctively shifted his body, his muscle memory taking over to position his footwork in a manner that would maintain his stability. The arm that was not holding the magnifying glass lashed out automatically, roughly grasping her wrist in an iron grip, ready to take her down in seconds.

His head turned to face her, and an intense gaze - partially fierce, partially curious - settled upon her form, the strangeness of the situation exacerbated by the rapidly flashing spectrum that was the color of his eyes.

A human girl.

His expression softened, and he relaxed his grip as she recovered from her trip. Her words, her unfamiliarity in manner and even her dressing all pointed to one thing; she was not a local. In fact, it was quite clear that she did not even know where she was.

How the hell did she get here anyway?

Alvadas was very far away from the other cities by foot, and it was impossible to chance upon Mizahar's busiest trade city by sea without knowing the destination.

"This is Alvadas, Ionu's City of Illusion, m'lady," He replied gently, twisting his expression into one of empathy that he knew humans needed whenever their weaknesses overcame them. "You are in the Sanity Center, the city's hub for general queries and administrative issues."

The vantha cocked his head to one side as he observed the crying human. Her figure and muscle density in her limbs suggested someone experienced in combat, and might he even dare guess, in the art of the blade just like he was.

"Why are you here then? What is your destination?" Eridanus questioned her curiously.

[Nixie]

When the stranger spoke, his voice filled her with relief. And when he responded to her emotional outburst with a calm voice, instead of annoyance or anger, her fear was put to rest. When he spoke of facts and information, confusions slowly left to be replaced with understanding. Her pleas for clarity were finally answered, but words wouldn't find her lips to reply as she stood in silence. In the recess of her mind, the cities name rang a bell, though she knew little more then that. But even in just the knowing of its name, it brought composure. While her nerves may have still been on edge, calm began to to settle in and her tears ceased to fall.

Her muscles were still tense in their nervousness, but then, as if she had just remembered something, frantic hands moved over her body. They patting down her own person until coming to a stop at a bulging pocket. From inside, they hurriedly brought out an overworked wooden pipe, worn from time and use. One hand holding tightly to it, the free one returned to another pocket and loosed a warm tin from its dark confines. Thumbing it open and tapping some of its contents into the tend of the pipe in one swift motion before closing it just as quickly and stuffing it back down into he pocket. Her hand returning with yet another item, a small box of tinder. She touching a flickering flame to the end of the pipe, taking a few shallow puffs through one end as slow dark smoke starting to rise and the rich smell of burning tobacco spread through the air. Then inhaling deeply, once, she let the intoxicating fumes fill her lungs. Working at her muscles and state of mind, she felt herself relax a little bit. Regaining the control she had lost to her emotions a few moment prior. And after a few more long puffs, her muscles loosed, allowing herself to lean back against the moss-covered wall. Her eyes were closed for a moment while she enjoyed the aroma and taste of the tobacco.

Eyes still closed, and pipe held to her lips, she finally spoke again.
"Alvadas, huh?" This time, and perhaps to the strangers surprise, her voice was calm and quiet, nearing monotony as she paused once more to listen to his questions. And answering them, she said, "You sound a lot like that stone face I walked under at the entrance. It asked me the same thing." This time pausing to consider how she might answer his questions, when she herself knew not the answers. And when no idea sparked, she confessed, taking another puff first and opening her brown eyes. "I must admit, I have no reason to be here. None that I know of at least. Should I give you the same answer I gave that stone?.... No." Then she turned to face him, leaning on the wall with her shoulder. "Nether do I know my destination, but I'll recognize it when I find it." She paused to take another puff. "But ask me what my next step is, and I'll tell you it's to find my stupid horse." Perhaps it was a lurking fear of being left alone in that crazy place, but she tried to show herself as friendly. Or at least agreeable. Once she grew accustomed to the city and its tricks, she would seek solitude again.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus watched the human girl take out the relevant apparatus to calm herself. It was an interesting habit, to say the least, though the vantha had not actually tried it out for fear of its addictive property. He had personally seen others ruined and controlled by their obsession, though to be fair in those cases the substances involved were far stronger than the mild tobacco used by her.

He did not say a word, allowing the moment to pass by in silence as he continued to observe her actions, her mannerisms. Her body behaviour was unlike those of typical city-born women, though the glow of her skin and the twinkle in her eyes suggested a healthy upbringing only found in secure cities. In fact, the very subtle body behaviour in her actions mostly portrayed the unconscious gruffness of masculinity, yet sometimes inflected with a weak attempt at feminity.

It was confusing, to say the least.

He supposed that he might have been reading too much into this, for he often saw things that others could not. His observational and analytical skills often combined to see patterns where patterns may not exist. It was an occupational hazard of sorts, especially when living and working in the seemingly random city of illusion.

"A wanderer then? Seeking for adventure or for some sort of answer to whatever hidden question you have? We see plenty of those here as well, since they tend to go through here due to us being the biggest trade city in Mizahar," The vantha replied conversationally. "I'd suggest throwing up a missing notice in the Sanity Center first. If you have any idea where it went I could try to direct you, but finding something in this city is even harder than normal."

Searching for something in a normal city was difficult enough, taking into account the size of the area and the constant milling of the crowds. Trying to do that in Alvadas was like searching for a needle in the haystack, except that the needle could vanish and reappear in another portion of the haystack anytime.

[Nixie]

Nixie listened intently to the words of the black haired man, but her expression shown of indifference. As if to portray his insight to the city as little more than boring facts. While on the contrary, she found that he was being most helpful, and silently appreciated his assistance. And it seemed his intuition was spot on too when he suggested she was searching for an answer, though the one she sought was to a still unknown question. Then she took a special interest with the mention of filing a missing notice, her eyes shifting to meet his. It seemed logical, given the disposition of the city. Her gaze shifting from the young man, to the front door of the mossy building, then back to him once more. Only to turn and approach the door, pipe in hand, without saying a word. Turning its nob, she pushed the door open and stepped inside for but a moment, reappearing to peeked outside at the young man. Looking to the place he had stood a moment ago; checking to see if he was still there. She wouldn't say it, but she hoped he would stay there until her business inside was finished. Reluctantly turning, she enter the building again, realizing she couldn't stand and make sure he stayed put; that would be up to him.

Letting the door close behind her, the musical tinkling of a bell perched above announced her presence. The sound beckoned for the attention of a middle-aged woman with wild red hair. And in acknowledgement she hollered from the back of the room where she sat behind a desk buried in papers, motioning with an extended arm for Nixie to approach. Such forwardness made her uncomfortable, only evident in the shifting of her eyes as she contemplated leaving. If I leave now, will I ever find my Dani? Giving up on her desire to retreat, Nixie let a sigh escape her lips as she stepped hesitantly towards the ladies desk and came to a halt in front of it. Standing silently, she waited for the redhead to say something. While it seemed she was, likewise, waiting for Nixie to say something. But when she didn't, and after a short moment of awkward silence, the redhead spoke.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Another pause. "If you don't need anything, then please see yourself out and let me get back to work. I'm very busy." It was obvious, even to Nixie, that the ladies patience was growing thin when she let out a ragged sigh and set her focus back to the papers on her desk. For a while the only sound that filled the room was the rustling of paper and scratching of quill to parchment. Then Nixie spoke.
"I need to file a missing notice." Taking a deep breath, then letting it all out at once, the redhead set the papers down and nodded in response. Her eyes darting over the desk until she found the appropriate form to fill out and thrust it towards Nixie in quick manor.
"Just fill this out as best you can, and return it to me when your done."

Having taken the form from the red head, Nixie's eyes shifted around the room again, this time in search of something to fill the paper out with. Soon her eyes came upon a small clearing who's surface was stained with ink. Shoved into a corner was a feather dipped in an ink vial who's contents had almost run dry. Walking over to it, she laid the paper flat and took the quill. Filling out her name, and the name of her horse, she described him as tall with short brown hair, long legs, and a large nose. There were some parts left blank though, such as a question that asked where the item was thought to have been lost. She didn't know the names of places in this city, so was unable to answer all questions.

Looking over the paper one last time, she was confident that it was filled out to the best of her ability. Setting the quill back in its vial and returned to the desk, she approached the redhead once more and handed in the form. Nodding in a silent thanks after the she took the paper, Nixie turned and made her way over to the exit. Opening the door and stepping outside, the first thing she did was check if the man from earlier was still outside where she had left him. Unaware that she hadn't specified that Dani was a horse when giving a description. Perhaps she would never find him now.

[Eridanus]

He could almost see her mind whirring as she processed the information he dumped on her. Without a word, she headed abruptly into the building, causing him to almost comment. Stopping himself in time, he chuckled as he realized that he did not have anything to do with her anyway.

Shrugging, he returned to his job, jotting down several technical observations about the auras of various illusory anchors throughout the moss-covered walls of the Sanity Center. It definitely helped that he had Auristics, for it made the detections clearer and amplified the magical magnifications of the DOI tool.

'23rd Anchor has 95% serviceability - acceptable standards. 55th Anchor has 89% serviceability - acceptable standards (note: possible further investigation into degradation of Illusory Straps to neighboring nodes). 103rd Anchor is new, this agent noted the recent patches to Sanity Center's Fixation...'

The agent muttered as he jotted down more notes, taking a final round around the various anchors as he inspected the anchors through the glass and with auristics. He was a systematic and meticulous person especially when doing his job, and he was careful not to miss anything out.

When he was finally done, he pocketed the glass and the notepad, blinking his eyes several times as he cut the flow of djed to his eyes. His eyes felt a little strained, though he was pretty sure it was due to squinting through the tiny lenses of the DOI tool than the use of auristics. He was experienced enough in the art for an extended viewing like this one.

There was a click as the door opened again, and the same girl appeared.

"So, any ideas where your horse went? Since I'm done here I can help a little," He extended his assistance to the girl.

If she said yes, he would bring her to the edge of the Sanity Center where the location was still fixed. A step out would bring them into the randomization that was the streets of Alvadas, and they could just as well end up anywhere in the city.

"O Mighty Ionu, O Great City, if thou shalt be so kind to grant this visitor a favor, please lead us to her missing horse," He proclaimed aloud theatrically. His voice had a sardonic quality to it, though it was an inside joke that a non-resident would not understand. The Trickster God would probably have laughed at his sarcasm and the complex mixture of emotions underneath the proclamation, but Ionu was probably off somewhere else doing grander things than granting wishes to random people.

"Ladies first," The vantha offered.

[Nixie]

Stepping out through the door, light stung her eyes as it poured through the opening. Nixie squinted, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness as the outside slowly filled blinding white with colors and shapes. One of which, was the nameless person from earlier. When she saw him, a strange feeling of relief filled her; he hadn't left. And this time, it seemed he wasn't concentrating on his work; quickly striking up a conversation when he saw her exit the building.

Nixie was about to answer that she hadn't the slightest idea where her horse might be now, when her words were cut short by the mans voice. Carrying on with what sounded to be a prayer of sorts, its delivery might have been entertaining to some. But Nixie only gave him an odd look; not understanding the tone of voice he took, or the sarcasm that filled it. Is he messing with me? Failing to grasp that he may have just been trying to put her at ease or make light of the situation. Regardless, it seemed he wasn't waiting for a response from her; pausing only a moment before motioning for her to take the lead.

After what had happened the first time, Nixie wasn't sure she was even ready to leave that place. Smoky eyes locked on his when she took a few steps towards him, coming to a stop a few feet away. Then her glare narrowed, bringing the pipe to her lips, puffing several times, and crossed her other arm over her chest. And while her eyes may have seemed fixed on him, she was not looking at him, but instead lost in thought. Contemplating what she would do next. Could she trust this strange, and chance the streets? Or insist that she stay at the sanity center? Shaking her head then, as if in protest, she took the pipe form her mouth and spoke.
"I can't go out there... I don't even know where to start looking for that darn horse." Her words were not out of unwillingness to venture from the place of normalcy, but out of fear of what might happen once away from its safety. She worried if she might find herself in a worse situation than the first. She wondered if she could trust this person who hadn't even given a name.

OOCOk... Ok... I know, this was supposed to be the post where I decided where they would go first. x.x.... But the more I thought about the situation, and how Nixie might react, she wouldn't be very willing to leave the place yet. She would need some convincing. @_@ Or at least a helping hand. I did decide on a place to go though! I thought it would be cool to go to Ionu's Temple first! :3 Sorry this post wasn't what you might have expected! I give you permission to take Nixie to the temple though. ^^

[Eridanus]

She seemed to hesitate, and Eridanus suspected that she came to a conclusion that she was not going to take a single step out. The strange looks she gave him was not lost on him, though he disregarded it anyway. Since he was done for the day, he felt like doing something more interesting. Who knows what the city might have planned for her? Or for the both of them?

"Come, we'll never go anywhere if we don't try, eh?" He winked at her, attempting to rely somewhat on the roguish charm of his vantha form to persuade her. Gently grasping her arm, he led her towards the edge of the Sanity Center, stopping before the line.

"Here we come, O Great Ionu. Let the adventure - and all that jazz - begin!" He exclaimed cheerfully, beckoning for the stranger to take the first step.