A Charitable Foundation

[Miro]

55th day of Summer, 512 AV

Miro had over the course of the season done quite a bit of repairing. It seemed all the homes had been fixed to be at least operational, and many who had inquired about further assistance received it. As a result he had accrued quite a bit of favor from people, though it seemed only those of lesser class. The more wealthy of the city seemed to be above such trivialities as offering thanks, or maybe it was that they hadn't the need to wait for a Reimancer to get to them as he pleased. Though to have won the heart of the common man was something, it was not the ultimate goal. A step in the right direction, but not the answer he sought.

Now he had moved onto the business end of things, which was definitely a step up. A few of the people he had recognized him in the process of doing his job along East Street, but in other areas he found very few had. That was not to say he did not recognize their faces, though much of the time any acknowledgement was not returned. He had hoped that his appearance and assistance to the city would reward him with some level of fame, but he was naive. At times he even heard rumors of his infamy. There were times when he walk by and people would cease to talk and turn their gazes away. Such was to be expected as a wizard, even with the most noble of intentions.

But perhaps their hesitation to trust him was not without cause. It was true he was not meant to be trusted despite his noble facade. Though just because he in this one instance was not to be trusted did not make their assumptions any more correct. Or maybe it did. Maybe there was a reason to hold a stigma of mistrust for those with such power, even in a city such as Zeltiva. Though it could just as likely be that some people were able to see past his shallow act. To don fine clothes and perform good deeds was exactly what a malefic caster would do. Truly he was only upset because it hindered his ability to gain any sort of political influence. But at least money would give him the means to win the city's heart.

Yes, to earn the approval of the people, that was the first step. He would work hard, earn his money, spread his wealth across the city, and then finally they would accept him. He would rise from a servant of the city to that of their leader. However that was possible. The exact way to gain influence over the city was still not clear, but the initial steps on the path were. If he could earn recognition for his deeds as a Reimancer, he would win the trust needed, despite his status as a wizard. To use his wealth and power for the greater good was the most noble act he could imagine. But he needed to do it in a way that everyone could see.

Truly there was no greater place to focus his efforts than the Farson Home for Orphans. People loved that kind of stuff. It was the kind of thing people gossiped about for seasons. Terribly damaged, left without many funds, it was only rumored that some help might come to the place. The undead did not know much of the city, but knew tp repair such an establishment would make him some sort of hero. Even more when he made a large donation and campaigned for the orphans to be educated and taken into loving homes. Perhaps he would even agree to make a donation to any family that would take a child as their own. Such a thing would surely by him the fame he craved.

Miro stood at the fore of the orphanage's front gates anxiously to be received. This was a formality, as access would be easy with the damaged walls. To get a report in advance Ender had been tasked to view the area from above. The Irylid, as a previous arrangement stated necessary, was required to survey such sites that required work. While he was happy to assist his master, the creature found himself very uneasy being in his natural form. It was unsettling to be so far from his only means of protection and to reveal himself to the world. But he would make an exception as the wizard was not far away and for once would rely on his assistance. As well to keep his word worth something.

It was not long before a mature woman came to greet the undead at the front gate. She held a distasteful scowl and looked the man over before even she even issued him a question. Her voice rang out slightly more petulant than one might expect from somebody in such a location. "Excuse me, is there something I can help you with?" A first impression would have to be good to be worth something here. "No, please, I insist you let me help you. I am a Reimancer hired by the city to perform repairs, and no building need my attention more than your own. It would be my honor to provide these repairs."

The woman was not as pleased to hear this news as the wizard might have hoped, but nonetheless he was patient. She did seem to at least be thinking over his claim. "Wait here a moment, I will be back shortly." And before a response could even be given she had turned to make her way toward the building. Meanwhile Ender had nearly finished his survey and was on his way back to his master. His assessment was not very good, but nothing too extreme. He returned to his destination behind the gates and sealed himself upon the wrist of the Reimancer.

"It seems as if the damage is worse than one might expect. Along the courtyard there are various crumbled statues, though some of them are receiving repairs. As well, as you can see, the walls too have gotten some attention, though they are from from ideal. The main building is where the real works needs to be done. One side seems mostly fine, and there are even people about. However the opposite end is horribly damaged. A chapel, and hall which are horribly damaged, and then beyond that, outlaying buildings in need of attention. There is much too much for you to do it all. It would take the rest of the season to finish it."

Though Miro was not pleased to hear this warning, he did understand. He most certainly could not focus on this building for the rest of the season. so instead he would focus on the most prominent buildings and return them to usable condition. "Is there still rubble within the buildings, has the building remained untouched?" The Irylid could only see in from the damaged areas, but saw enough to answer. "Indeed so. It appeared as if it was too much work for them to trouble themselves with." This was good news. With it much of the damaged stone could be repaired rather than replaced.

Finally after several more chimes of waiting the woman returned and opened the gate for the undead. "The children are in the East Wing over there. I have informed the caretakers to keep them inside. You are not to go near them, or you will be asked to leave. I can't say I understand what you do, but I have heard rumors of what you have done. I appreciate any assistance in construction you make, but I will not tolerate any suspicious behavior. You are will work on the West Wing. I'll escort you there now." To this a nod was given and the the two began their trip through the courtyard.

The woman had seemed tense, but it was understandable. She seemed a wise woman, and just as well very protective of her young orphans. The courtyard had a few trees, those statues Ender mentioned and various other things to marvel at. Truly however the most impressive of sights was the orphanage itself. Large double doors lead into the foyer. In this area there was a large staircase, and paths that lead in various directions. The direction they headed to was the left, up to a shoddy door. This was the way to the west wing, an area indeed in need of much repair. The woman stopped there advance here.

"The West Wing is beyond this door. I'll leave you to your work, but first, I need to know something. What is your name?" The Reimancer realized he hadn't introduced himself, and felt ashamed of such a mistake. No wonder he had made such a poor first impression. "Oh, excuse me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Miro. What might your name be?" The woman gave a slight smirk for once as she spoke. "I see, Miro. I am Thea. I'll be here, so call me if you need anything." She wasn't going to let the strange man come back through the doorway without her seeing.

A short walk down a hallway lead to the area in which he was to work. It was quite plainly said a disaster. Miro stood within what appeared to be a musical hall. There were trances of instruments and even a musical stand buried under heavy piles of rubble. But this was hardly the worst of it, because the area was composed of two floors, now joined together by ruin. Up above was a partial ceiling which gave view to an area above, quite clearly a place of worship. On the far wall, still standing, was some godly idol. On the ceiling were pews, and above that much of the sky was exposed.

There was a new problem encountered here. In the mass of heavy stone rubble was a mess of leftover material that decorated these rooms. It would likely fall out of the stone when lifted, but only if shaken loose, which meant extra work. Anything that might slip its way in could weaken the integrity of the wall, or simply stick out and make his work look poor. In the end it would require extra care and attention he did not wish to spare. He would need help again. "Ender, assume your natural form, I have a task for you." The creature did as it was bade and assumed the shape of an icy orb.

Ender was surprised to be called on for assistance yet again. Somehow it lead him to suspect a genuine favor, however unlikely that was. "Help me out, would you? I need you to keep watch on the building around me. The floor above us looks as if it could collapse at any moment, and the stone is mixed in with pieces of rubbish. Watch for such things, and please inform me if I am in danger of making a mistake." It seemed so, even with a please added. A shocking bit of decency from a Chained One. "Yes, I see what you mean. I'll gladly do as you ask. Do not worry, I have a keen eye for your mistakes by now."

The offhand comment was mistakenly added, but ignored by both parties. The Reimancer pointed his staff forth at the mass of rubble and cleared his mind. All of the fundamentals that he had been taught flashed through his mind, and for an instant he almost felt alive. He focused hard on his Djed flow and concentrated it to flow into his arm. His mind raced with excited emotions as he readied to complete the task before him. Slowly he drew back his staff and drew in breath, an old habit, and halted when fully cocked. The world stilled around him, then in an instant everything jumped back into motion as he thrust Ionu's Light forward with a continuous roar.

From the end of the staff came an aqua river of liquid Res. It poured out into the air before the wizard into an orb and hung there motionlessly. The mass continued to grow and grow until the strain of casting caused him to slow the production. Without doubt the roar was unsettling to Thea at the other end of the hall, but he could not worry of that now. The first step to this process was obvious, a lesson he had learned early on. The Res was guided to the mass of rubble and attracted a large mass from it. The debris was taken and spread out so that much of the rock separated, and from it came loose material.

Mostly what fell were shards of wood, some metal, and various other materials that rained down. The mass was pulled forth with a strong swing of the staff and split into various groupings. He arranged the material into columns to support the ceiling above and the two rows led to the edge of the ceiling above. The stone was properly contained within, and with no care of decoration the Res was transmuted to stone. Not all of the material was consumed in the process due to the recycled stone. It was a good first step, and something he would see that the entire area had, but there was so much more to do. Next would come the walls.

The walls on both sides had crumbled quite a bit. By some miracle the far wall held, but why could not be sure. Perhaps it was the idol that had done it, if such one believed in such coincidences as acts of gods. Miro guided his remaining Res back to the pile and attracted more of the rubble to begin repairs. He would start with the south side wall to his left. Again the debris was spread to loose any material hidden within, and again material fell. He guided his Res and arranged the stone to replace a portion of the wall that had fallen. The replacement was transmuted to stone, and it seemed a time for a break.

A good portion of the wall had been replaced, and there was a notable dent in the debris pile. Though any smart Reimancer knew the risks of casting too much too quickly. He had started out hot, but only to warm himself up to his peak. His first castings often left much to be desired and without a warm up he could only produce a moderate amount of Res before he felt strained. But now he had worked himself back to his prime. Such a workout had him feeling loose, but still, he knew to pace himself. With his casting up to par, he would see that his mind remained clear. After last time, where Ender had to calm him down, he did not want to risk his mind slipping.

Miro sat himself down and placed his staff across his lap. He closed his eyes and began his breathing exercises. A deep breath in through his nose, held into his lungs, a count, then exhale through his mouth, and a repeated count. Then a repetition of the process until he reached a number goal. He decided that the goal he would reach would be five hundred counts, then he would resume his goal. As the process continued his mind became darker and darker, more and more serene. By the time he was half way done his mind was calm, but as he neared to finish it was clear, sharp, he was ready for this.

With a new presence of mind and vigor he rose from his seated position. He took his staff in hand once again and readied to get this level done. The undead readied to continue on the wall he had started. So far it had been built up to nearly match the second floor in height, which meant it was about half way done. It would be difficult to manage some things if he did not install stairs, so he would do that now. Miro pointed his staff and began to produce a current of Res to engulf and attract the stone before him. Unlike before, he did not shake out the material, only drag and align it. With some careful positioning, he crafted a set of stairs that lead up to the next floor and transmuted the spell to stone.

The Reimancer followed the transmutation by replacing the Res, this time a bigger spell. He streamed the Res into the pile of stone, shook it loose, then moved it up to add another layer to the wall. It was not enough to finish it, but with another spell he could do so. He transmuted the substance and repeated, now with much of the rubble on the left side used up. He was feeling some strain on his mind and body, but not enough that he would worry. Miro raised his Res up and put it in place and finally completed the final transmutation for the wall. That was one portion done, but some precautions needed to be taken.

"Ender, come to me, I need you back." The wizard bade his partner to return. The Irylid floated near, anxious to hear what was required of him. "Much like that time, I need you to watch me. Tell me if I am slipping, if I have gone too far. By now you know what to watch for. I fear this task may be too much for me." The creature sealed himself upon his master's wrist and felt a sense of acceptance that was rare. "Indeed I do. You needn't worry of such things, just focus on your work. But do make sure that am I to tell you to rest that you listen." A nod was given in response. "I will."

The Reimancer continued to produced more Res and attracted rock from the pile to continue working. First he added a wall to the side of the stairs, then added more mass to the second floor, and by the time he had added pillars and guided them to near the end of the wall, he was showing the signs. His eyes dilated, his body twitched with false muscle commands, his Res moved astray his commands, and it was obvious he needed a break. His mind had pushed everything away except his work. "Miro, it is time, you are done. You are showing signs of the overgiving, so you must stop. Continue after you've taken time to rest."

The sudden speech in his head was startling, as the Chained One had forgotten all about Ender. He shook the confusion from his head and fought the desires in his mind. With some effort he was able to halt himself from continuing and walked himself to the side of the stairs he had crafted. He let his body fall against it and slump down where he closed his eyes. "Thank you Ender, I needed that, I am sure. I will rest now, but you should watch the passing of time. I am capable of passing quite the amount of time without stirring, but I will lose myself. Do see that you tell me when you believe enough time has passed."

[Miro]

57th day of Summer, 512 AV

Miro had lost himself for long in his meditations. At first it was merely to clear his mind, as it was clouded, but then much more. It took only a few bells for most of the effects he was experiencing to become quelled, at which point he started to meditate. He went through the breathing process, gain with his breathing exercise. After a while his counting ceased entirely, and his mind went black. But that only lasted for so long. It was not too long before his mind drifted, before he began to plot things. Dark things, his nefarious plans, the kind of things that people feared of him.

At first things started out innocently enough, his plans to finish the project. Things moved from there to his next step, to what to do with his earnings, to how else he might gain respect, influence, power. The Chained One thought of how he would change the city, to how he would use the orphans, change the Univserity, make it central to magic. How he would work his magic, use his Reimancy to mold the city to his design, manipulate the people's minds with Hypnotism. He would kill all who got in his way.

Scenario after scenario, he let himself get lost in his fantasies. New magical theories and techniques, ideas for political advancement, plans for everyday life. He had an eternity to accomplish all of the great many things Uldr had placed before him, but could hardly wait to achieve them. But all he could do for now was wait. Not that he minded. For once it was nice to close off from the world, to delve into his own mind, explore the world within him. By the time he had finished, Ender hadn't woken him, he opened his eyes naturally.

"How long has it been? Seems like forever. Did you let me rest for a week? I asked you to tell me when I had rested enough. I have, haven't I?" The Irylid was not sure if he should be anxious at the response or angry for being spoken down to as such. He decided it best to just explain his actions. "I let you rest what I found to be an appropriate amount of time. It was nearly night when you went to rest, and the sun came and went only once. Now it is risen again, so it has not been so long." The creature tacked on a lie, though it was not something often done. "I was going to wake you soon, you simply beat me to it."

In truth the Irylid enjoyed his time in peace. It was exactly what he wished his bound wizard would do in his time on Fyrden. The world was so frantic and miserable, all he wanted was to find an easygoing partner to bond with. Instead he got Miro, the exact opposite of that. A reckless and dangerous individual with a knack for causing trouble for the pair. For once he got his chance to sit back and enjoy a serene setting. Besides, how was Ender to know the right amount of time, he wasn't a wizard. Things like Djed and overgiving were lost on him. He did his best.

Miro rose from his position on the wall and took his staff in hand. "Thanks for nothing." He spoke out loud for once, as if not to direct it at the Familiar, but knew this would only make it sting more. The Reimancer produced his Res and jumped right into the work. He began taking spell after spell and reconstructing the north wall now, the one opposite the stairwell. He added layer after layer of attracted earth coated in Res that was transmuted to stone until it was complete. Now all four walls stood proudly, and the second floor had nearly been reconstructed. But before he could fully separate the floors he needed to do something more.

Now came another big spell, the kind that would wear a wizard down quickly. But such things were necessary at times. The undead produced a large mass of liquid Res and gathered most of the remaining stone on the ground. He lifted it, shook the foreign matter free, and slowly progressed up the stairs with his staff aimed at the spell. Once he was on the second floor he guided the spell up, careful not to drop any material. Higher and higher it rose, up to the ceiling, but with distance control was lost. He spread the material and prepared to finish the roofing of the building, though the strain caused a tension headache.

The Reimancer used all of his concentration and focus to spread out the material to reform the ceiling, but his spell was not complete. The remaining amount of Res and stone was used to craft two massive pillars on either side of the godly idol. Each of them would only really be half of a pillar protruding from the wall, but large enough to support the ceilings weight. They led all the way down to the ground area of the second floor, at which point the spell was transmuted. There was a suspicion that the pillar might cause the entire far wall to collapse, so Miro quickly worked to finish his task. He produced one last spell, despite his fatigue, and attracted the last of the stone. With it he finished the floor and rows of columns, and a final transmutation was set in stone.

Finally the Chained One had succeeded, though it took him much longer than he had hoped. The delay of work and the time he missed here would set him back a few days, though it seemed to be well worth it. All in all, he was proud of himself, and maybe even his contribution. He could understand what it was like not to have parents, for he never knew his father, and had lost his mother when he was twelve. To be alone in the world was not something anybody should have to face, but luckily they had this place. He walked down the hall and back into the room. It was a good feeling to be able to tell others what he had done, but expected that none would see him on his way out.

When finally Miro returned to the foyer he was greeted with the familiar sight of Thea. Had she waited here the entire time? No, that could not be it, she was but a mortal. "Finally done, are we? It certainly took you long enough. I did not want to miss the chance to see you out." The woman held a coy smirk on her face as she made the remark. "I trust you did what you accomplished, right?" A nod was given, and the wizard set his staff aside for a moment. He dug into his pocket for a moment to dig out something. This caused a puzzled look to surface on Thea's face.

The woman ignored the odd behavior and spoke in a calm voice previously unheard. "Truly though, I am thankful to you Miro. It is not often that such charitable work is done, even if it is your job. In truth, I know the city did not ask you to work here, but you chose to. Our funding has all but dried up, and I supsect you might be scolded were any to know how much time you spent here." But for once Miro shook his head at her disapprovingly. He held out his clenched hand to Thea and waited for her to meet it with an open palm. "Truly you are the one who deserves thanks, for all you do for the children. Perhaps with this you can do a little more." And he released his hand and dropped five Miza into her grasp. Without another word he took his staff and left the orphanage.

[Neologism]

Skills & Lores

Skill	XP
Familiary	+ 2 xp
Socialization	+2 xp
Meditation	+3 xp
Construction	+3 xp
Architecture	+2 xp

➢Zeltivian Society: Distrustful Of Wizards
➢ Goal: Gain Power Through Wealth
➢ Ender: He Is Uncomfortable Too Far Away From You
➢ The Farson Home For Orphans: Layout
➢ Ender: Has A Keen Eye For Your Mistakes
➢ Construction: Making Stone Stairs Using Riemancy
➢ Ender: Is Starting To Feel More Accepted
➢ Construction: Making Stone Walls Using Riemancy
➢ Ender: Enjoys His Peace And Quiet
➢ Orphans: You Have Empathy For Them
➢ Thea: Grateful For Repairs

Ledger

-5 GM: Donated to the orphanage.

Comments

Again, great job, I really enjoyed it! Thanks for splitting up the posts ... If you find any problems or are concerned about anything, please let me know and we can work it out.