Completed Required Reading (Saige)

[Kuvarakh]

44th of Summer, 512

It was impressive. The clear explanation of the applicant's reason for wishing to join. Kuvarakh found his own, somewhat dusty, interest in history piqued just by reading this application.

Unfortunately, there was no listed address or suggested meeting time or location. 'How am I to inform this person of an interview?' he puzzled. 'There must be something' he thought as he reread the application. He didn't want to let this slip by.

Clearly stated, the intent to "discover lost arts...forgotten after the Valterian"! That was perfectly in line with The Order's intent as well. And written ahead of time, with no prompting by someone trying to guess what he wanted to hear!

He looked again..."Profoundly interested"..."wish to study the historical role magic played..." It was perfect. Such people are a wellspring of motivation and ideas - lost strategies and approaches found in mummified old tomes. Does this person HAVE any old books of her own? Kuvarakh didn't care if she even knew any magic! She represented a resource. A spark! An asset that may surprise even the most experienced wizard.

'Think! Damn it!' he cursed himself. 'Where would someone be that was profoundly interested in studying history...we have no university here.' Then it struck him. The magnitude of his lack of insight left him shaking his head. 'We have no university, but we DO have a library!'

He turned and started towards the last spot he had known the library to be and found a stairway leading down into a cornfield. It looked to be well over his head, but at the far end was an ice cave with images of the library reflected on the inner walls.

Several hours later, he dragged himself free of the slush and stopped to rub some feeling back into his feet. His boots were mostly dry by now, but his socks were a lost cause. He wondered if this Saige had found her way in through the maze of sparkling mirror-like ice tunnels to reach the Sunken Conundrum, Alvadas' library.

He pushed his way through the wall of water and made his clumsy way to Hirane Morcer, the head librarian. He was glad she was at her desk as the furniture gave him leverage to stay upright in the water. Not needing to breathe, he grew no gills, but found it subsequently difficult to speak.

She guessed his difficulty and handed him paper and charcoal which, by the grace of Ionu, somehow worked well underwater. He wrote his request for directions to the history section and she complied with a quick sketch and a few gestures. He put his finger over his pursed lips in the classic "shhhhh" style and she nodded sternly in return.

He wrote one last note and headed in to the history section, eventually finding a Pycon female floating about halfway up one wall, book in hand. He tapped her shoulder and when she turned he held up his note, folded in half:

I am Kuvarakh,
from the Order of Transcendence.
Did you place an application for membership in our mailbox?

[Saige]

The day proved to be in Saige's favor the moment she was granted the Sunken Conundrum without looking for it. she had almost walked past it. Enormous trees had grown within seconds around her, breaking through the paved road as though it were fertile soil, and their millions of leaves hid the familiar door effectively. For Saige, however, it was only a matter of examining the illusion for a few minutes before her keen eye caught sight of the library. While it was not her plan that day to visit, she would not pass up the opportunity Ionu had given her, and risk searching for hours on another day.

Her mind was mainly on the Order of Transcendence as she browsed the shelves, having submitted her application mere bells ago. She had not marked any directions as to where to find her, not quite sure how she could possibly give them the location of her home. Now that she was at the Sunken Conundrum, however, she cursed herself for not simply informing them that she could be found here often. She shook the regret from her head by deciding that she would visit the headquarters again, and if she were lucky, as well as persistent, she might find it open.

She had barely taken a book from the shelf when she was interrupted, not something that happened often. She swiveled around as quickly as the water would allow her upon feeling the touch of the Nuit. She peered at the stranger with curiosity, noting only his general, frail appearance before he directed her attention elsewhere, to the sheet of paper he held out to her. She gave him a polite smile and swam over to the note, unfolded it, and read. Had she had any pupils, Kuvarakh would have noticed the increasing excitement in her eyes, though the way she rushed to reach the quill in her bag was also an obvious sign of her enthusiasm.

She scribbled down a reply on the very paper he had written to her on, struggling slightly with nowhere to keep the paper in place, or herself for that matter. Still, she managed, with a quick reply :

Yes, I did. Follow me.

She did not bother folding the paper again and handed it back to the man. Then, with only a wave of her hand as a sign to follow her, she began shape shifting, and in no time was darting through the water as a little clay fish. The man was much bigger than her, like most people were, and would swim much faster than her if she did not choose a more optimal form. Like this, she could go at his speed without too much trouble, save for the discomfort she experienced by changing forms.

She shapeshifted again near the wall of water, and landed back onto solid ground on her bare feet, back to her regular horned form. She barely waited for Kuvarakh to catch up to her before she started speaking, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kuvarakh. I am Saige, if you didn't already know. Can I ask, how did you find me? I had planned to visit your headquarters again, since Alvadas would not exactly let me disclose an address." She smiled apologetically. "Are you the leader of this Order? I find your goals remarkable. Though I am not much of a mage, I believe I can make interesting contributions as an aspiring historian."

[Kuvarakh]

Kuvarakh's smile grew wider with each word that bubbled from the little clay figure's mouth. 'Yes, indeed...motivated and excited' he thought with satisfaction.

"Yes, you have most assuredly confirmed your identity, Saige. I can only say that one of my rare moments of insight has apparently been spot on this day. I gave a few moments thought and realized the library was a likely place to find you...and...here I am!

"But, if I may, DO you have an actual dwelling here in Alvadas? I'm sure we can arrange something if not, but I may as well say now that stable lodging and gainful employment are two of our requisites for membership. We will, of course, extend a grace period for you to obtain these things.

"I am temporary leader only, but I have been extended authority to conduct interviews and give acceptance on behalf of our leader, Eridanus. So..." he crouched and held his intertwined hands as a stepping stone before him. "...if you would care to climb aboard, we can return to our facility and discuss things.

"I don't believe this interview will have much in common with others I have undertaken lately, as I don't believe this will be about capabilities of djed-craft. I will tell you openly, when I read your application, I was every bit as excited as when I read the applications of prospects boasting of fantastic commands of magic."

He returned to the ice caves and went on, far more sure of his directions now, though he had to take care not to knock the little pycons head on the ceiling. "You say you are not much of a mage? Well I am not much of an historian. A shortfall I have come to regret, for as you remark on our goals, how is a group to discover lost arts of magic with no knowledge of history?"

"Sure, we can read passages in books, but with experience, comes the ability to see connections in cross referenced accounts of seemingly unrelated events. I DID indulge an interest in history once, but I must confess, it's been over one hundred years since I pursued such things." his eyes grew focused on some indeterminate spot in his past, "Events led me to find different paths for my creative energy. And while I don't truly regret those paths, for they led me here, I now feel more...'on track'...than I have in a long time."

He came back to himself and chuckled, "Listen to me go on! I am eager to gain a member with your interests. But I mustn't take anything for granted. Did you have any questions?"

[Saige]

Saige listened to his words with interest, but also took the time to analyze him further. Now that he spoke, she saw the unnatural darkness of his mouth, his tongue an onyx black. A sure sign that this man was only borrowing the body he presented to her, a body grown frail and thin due to its Nuit affliction. But Saige did not consider it an affliction. Though she held no love for Nuits, she held no hate for them either. She had waited to judge such things until after she met one of them, and even now, basing her opinion on a single Nuit alone would be a massive generalization.

Nuit or not, the man was smart to have been able to find her. Lucky as well, but mostly smart. She gave him a controlled smile, hiding the more accurate grin to express her enthusiasm, and replied, "Yes, I do have a home here. I doubt you would fit in it, however. I am currently just getting back into work, so I can assure you that that is arranged as well."

She accepted Kuvarakh's invitation with a smile, drinking in the name Eridanus as she did so. The leader of such an organization must be an interesting character indeed. Still, she was content with the presence of Kuvarakh, who had ignited her curiosity within minutes of meeting him. At first, she stood on his shoulder, but after enough trouble trying to keep balance as he navigated through beautiful cavern structures, she sat down, resting her feet comfortably on his collarbone.

She wondered if he was telling the truth when he claimed to be so excited, but she only had to give his aura a fleeting bit of attention to see buoyant colors emanating from himself. It was ironic that such a lively aura came from the member of a supposedly evil, undead race. "I considered not giving an application at first due to the centering around magic, when I realized that the entire world and its history is controlled by the very whims of djed." She stopped concentrating on his Aura. After all, he himself might be a more skilled Aurist than she, and might not enjoy her prying.

"I am glad that you see use in the skills I have to offer. Granted, there is still a lot for me to learn. I hope your guild may help broaden my horizons. The Sunken Conundrum can only provide so much." The way he spoke about History was flattery to Saige's ears, so much that she almost forgot to glean the facts within his speech. So he was over a hundred years old, and the way he spoke suggested those years certainly bred changes within him. She yearned to know more, but that investigation was for another day. For now, they spoke about the Order of Transcendence.

"Well, I have a few. I would like to know more about the members, and do you have regular meetings with them? Does your Order organize events, and does it extend beyond Alvadas? That is off the top of my head, but I don't want to bombard you with questions, either," she said with a rueful smile.

[Kuvarakh]

Kuvarakh laughed. "Well, I DID invite your questions, didn't I, and your flood of queries only further establishes your inquisitive nature. It is all to the good. For I agree completely, that magic and history are intertwined, hand in hand. Forget one, you soon lose the other.

"There is nothing I would like more than for our order to expand your horizons, since ours would follow. I must confess, however, we are not a library, I would not mislead you. One of my own questions to you was on the subject of books, how many you might possibly own. I have picked up a book or two here and there, but they were not really historical in nature. If, in your studies, you find leads to uncover additional caches of books, say the word, we will search them out.

"As to the guild itself, we are young. Our facility is only temporary. The number of prospects I am currently initiating is nearly half the number of the roster before them. Some are specialists, some are multi-crafted. Naturally, we seek to have practitioners of all schools, and we are already very close to that, though some are only of modest skill. Also, we have a Konti healer.

"We are, at this time, primarily an Alvadas organization, but it is my understanding that we have a prospect or two in Sylira. Zeltiva, I think. It may be that is what Eridanus is off tending to. I would like to see us have facilities in every major city. One of our reimancers is newly come from Syliras, the city.

"We are not yet settled enough to have organized events, as I said, our facility is only temporary. But there is so much talk of future endeavors I have no doubt we will be engaging in many such things. I have in my spare time, made up a few copies of our rules," he said, handing her a few sheets pf parchment. "I hope you can read my handwriting.

"It's mostly common sense stuff: no activities likely to disrupt amiable relations with Alvadas; cooperative attitude with fellow members, any issues to be brought to an officer; employment and dwelling required; an income tax of 20% to be paid as dues into a guild treasury for later use on projects or what-have-you. Feel free to bombard me further!

[Saige]

Though the Pycon was an avid reader of books, she was currently much more interested in the accounts of a reliable source. She didn't know whether these members were what she would consider a 'reliable source', but investigating such matters was also something she took much pleasure in doing.

"I'm afraid I own no books apart from my own journal, as of yet," she replied. Though her tone was stoical and controlled as always, her own heart was crestfallen at the thought of it. If she had started looking for job before now, she could have amassed the money to own something of value. "My source of income has been sparse as of late, but with the new job, I hope to save enough money to start a collection. " How she wished to own her own collection of rare volumes and lost tomes, but alas, that was beyond her. For now.

She drank in Kuvarakh's information without interrupting again, eager to learn more. For some reason, it appealed to her that the organization was relatively new. It gave her the impression that it would be easier to put her own mark on the order, and not be drowned among other apprentices in a sea of competitive, ladder climbing wizards. And this, it sounded like the start of something that may, just may go down in history of future generations to come.

She took the parchment into her small hands, forced to crumple it up slightly in order to reach both sides of the sheet. Her eyes scanned through the words quickly, stopping only to re-read a few words made difficult to read by ink blots and the occasional shaky hand.

"Twenty percent... A little steep, but I believe it is well worth it," Saige said after a long while of silent reading and thinking. "I still have many questions, but none which doubt the legitimacy of this Organization, so they can wait." This order... it seemed like the right path. She had been dying to meet individuals who shared her interests, still so new in the world. She needed someplace to belong to. Alvadas was much too confusing a place to ever make her feel like she actually belonged in the city, but perhaps her emotional flaws could quelled by a more stable presence, like the Order of Transcendence.

"I have made my decision. Have you made yours?" Her nonchalant smile was a total lie compared to the true racket of emotions running through the Pycon, endlessly anxious to know whether this Nuit would truly want anything from her or not.

[Kuvarakh]

Kuvarakh nodded, "I too, had sort of winced at the figure of 20% at first, but it occurred to me that it was because I was thinking of it as being something donated...away from my...sphere of influence. As though I would never see any benefit from it. But I believe now that we will ALL benefit from it. In ways that may not be obvious at first.

"For instance, if there was a collection of pre-valterian books that could be purchased, I would endorse that every bit as eagerly as a stock of alchemy supplies, MY primary focus, because I know it would serve the larger cause to obtain such an expansive type of resource.

"Of course, this is all easily said. I greatly regret that we possess no great library. Have you been all through our Sunken Conundrum yet? Did you ever visit the library at Zeltiva University? Perhaps as we grow, we will want a presence there."

He thought for a moment how little he really had to offer her. Other than his good intent and his acknowledgement of the necessity of an historian in The Order. He hoped his last remark didn't sound as though he was trying to get her to go to Zeltiva. To get rid of her. Nothing could be further from the truth.

But he could not, in good conscience, fail to mention his awareness of Mizahar's greatest library. If she was to learn that he had lived his mortal life there, had GONE to the University for seven years, but never thought to make mention of its library to someone like her, she would have good cause to think him a lying manipulator.

"Well, Saige, there is no question in my mind whatsoever that you would be a great addition to The Order." He made a conscience effort not to sound as if he was leading up to the word, 'but'. "If you should decide, instead, to travel to Zeltiva, I would understand. I won't deny, I would be sorry to see you go. Hopefully, the library here can serve you well enough for a while. Maybe by then we'll be looking to open a branch of The Order in Zetiva.

"In the meantime, however, I can assure you, MY decision is easily made." He held out his hand with a hopeful smile.

[Saige]

Twenty percent was indeed something to worry about. Saige assumed that if it were indeed a scam to rob her, it wouldn't be directed at powerful, intelligent wizards. That kind of heist would have landed the supposed leader, Eridanus, in a very deep grave long before she could even learn about the organization.

"Alchemy, eh?" Saige said, noting the profession with interest. She smiled to herself, imagining how upset her parents would be should they hear that she associated herself with an alchemist. The fact that he was a Nuit wouldn't have even bothered them, as they were almost every bit as open-minded as her, but when it came to alchemy and the origin of her race, she had gotten into very heated arguments with them. She constantly referred to the belief that Haramaeus was their creator as "denial" and the taboo among the pycons to study or learn things about alchemy "just plain stupid."

Saige knew as much about Zeltiva as any random person did. She knew it was a major trade hub and housed the most expansive University Mizahar had to offer, or so it was said. Granted, the prospect of attending the university fascinated her to no end, but the reason she held for not leaving Alvadas with her parents still held true today. "There are still entire shelves I have not yet read through in the Sunken Conundrum, but I don't know how long it will suit my needs. My true reason for remaining here is not the library, for I know more expansive ones exist in the world. Rather, I do not want to leave without uncovering at least some of this city's secrets. Leaving now, I would feel too strongly like some important fact has been lost to me."

There was a slight pause where the Pycon took her eyes off Kuvarakh and looked around the icy caverns. For once, it was not a look of careful examination, her mind occupied by the unanswered question of how any of this could have come into existence. Did it really exist, if it was an illusion? Or were illusions just as real as the clay that she was composed of? She turned back to Kuvarakh. "Anyway, you won't be feeling sorry just yet. I daresay by the end of the week, you'll be sick of me," her faint smile turned into a wide grin as she said so. Kuvarakh was for now the only person she knew from the order, and she was determined to learn more about the century-old character. At that age, he was a historical relic unto himself.

[Kuvarakh]

"My being an alchemist isn't a problem is it?" Kuvarakh felt a sudden stab of apprehension. It occurred to him that there was some sort of difficulty with pycons and alchemy. But he had understood it to be that only pycons themselves were loath to embark on that path for some sort of religious reason. He did not know if they held other races to be morally obliged to avoid it as well.

Fortunately, Saige herself seemed somehow amused by it. In fact, she seemed somewhat distracted and he wasn't even sure of she heard him just now. But at any rate, she HAD heard him confess his discipline and hadn't recoiled as if from some blaspheming monster.

He relaxed as she began to describe her intent to exhaust Alvadas' library before moving on to another. And with her desire to uncover local secrets undoubtedly shrouded in illusory mystery, it was likely she would be here for some time. He smiled as he watched her appreciating the substance and detail of the ice caves. He himself had only recently given up trying to find indicators of any 'less-than-real' quality in the illusions of Alvadas.

She turned suddenly back towards him, "Anyway, you won't be feeling sorry just yet. I daresay by the end of the week, you'll be sick of me," she grinned broadly.

Kuvarakh took her hand and shook it, raising one eyebrow, "Not if you get sick of me first." he laughed aloud. "Well, I guess it's settled then. Let me be the first to welcome you, Saige, as The Order of Transcendence's newest member!"

[Fallacy]

XP Award! Name:Kuvarakh XP Award: Rhetoric- 1 Teaching- 1 Interrogation- 1 Lore: Writing a Note An Application Reaching a Decision Welcome to the Order Notes: Name:Saige XP Award: Rhetoric- 1 Interrogation- 2 Lore: Follow Me The Sunken Conundrum An Application Reaching a Decision Becoming a Member The Order of Transcendence Notes: A quick thread, but good nonetheless. Keep up the good work! Kuvs, in case you were wondering, you were awarded teaching exp. for telling Saige all about the order. But not given a lore on pycons because simply meeting one isn't enough. You have to learn something about them other than appearance to merit a lore, in my opinion. Any questions or concerns about the rewards gained please send a PM