[Library] Mutual Benefit (Dieter Heydrich/Asheny/Vallux)

[Vallux]

Vallux was about to tell the human to shut up and leave him alone, and to the hells with the librarian, but when he looked over at it the human was actually reading, engrossed by the book. It was almost a pleasant feeling, knowing that his books were appreciated even now, almost half a millennium after they were penned. Ejecting a quiet "Hm," Vallux turned back to his formulae. He normally did experiments whenever he felt like it, but the fact that the human next to him seemed to shift its attention every five seconds wasn't very good at inspiring confidence, he didn't want to risk a feedback loop or an overload or (gods forbid) an overgiving. He'd never had the misfortune to overgive into anything except a minor Auristic focusing a very long time ago, and that had only left him with a minor headache for several days, since he'd known almost everything about magic of any kind back in those days. Now, as barely more than a novice and with absolutely no comparison to his former glory, Vallux risked his life every time he began an alchemical reaction, summoned a portal to the void, or Animated even the simplest of objects. His control over his own Djed had been weakened when his memories had been damaged, and it took total concentration for him to manipulate it sufficiently to perform an alchemical reaction. It was one of the reasons he lived in a library.

[Ash'eny]

Ash'eny continued to read through the book, though every few chimes or so he would glance up to see Vallux, who hadn't seemed to budge even an inch. He could have sworn that if a fly had come in and landed right on his eyeball, he wouldn't have bothered blinking, except that it may have blocked his vision of the book, so perhaps it would have been worth the precious few seconds. Ash'eny sighed softly as he continued reading still, though he found himself rereading the same line and still not getting it, or even realizing he was reading a single line for so long. Ash'eny shook his head slowly, and taking a moment to pinch a small bit of his cheek, he woke himself up a little bit and reread the sentence again. Ash'eny knew that he promised to be silent, but he had a question now, a real one, and he wanted to know. "How many bodies have you used?" Ash'eny didn't bother to look up from the page as he asked, he hardly expected Vallux to look at him anyway. To be honest, he didn't even expect an answer, but he was so curious. His whole life, which was minuscule in comparison to Vallux's, Ash'eny had been around Humans, the occasional Kelvic, and met an Akalak once or twice, besides that, he was ignorant of other people. And Magic, that was completely new to him. As a boy growing up in Sunberth, he had known nothing but stealing to survive, obey those in power (which was the gang of boys that drug him along everywhere) or you will be punished. Not much has changed on his journey from Sunberth to Syliras, but it his morals were conflicted now. Where he was adapted to the cruel Crime-swarmed streets of Sunberth, he could steal and lie without worry or sympathy, but here, it was different. People were kind and honest, and it tore him up to bring the dirt of Sunberth settled on his shoulders. This knew knowledge though, if Vallux would teach him, he thought, maybe he would find a purpose and desire that he and the law both could accept. That would be something. But Ash'eny needed Vallux to accept him. 'How do you get a Nuit to accept you.'

[Vallux]

Vallux sighed, but inwardly. It had been so peaceful, more than an hour since any conversation had been initiated. He reflected that sometimes entire days went by like this, restful and promoting concentration to an infinite degree. Now, though, the human was talking again. Though, strangely, it wasn't a superfluous or flighty comment such as the ones he'd given before. It seemed as if it had been a real, thinking query, with intent behind it. he thought for a moment, flipping through his roster of past physicalities, then said the number he could remember out loud. "Seventy-four." He waited for a few more minutes, then turned to the human, a look of sufferance on his face rather than annoyance. He had come to terms with the fact that the human wasn't going to leave him alone any time soon, so he might as well help keep it interested. He'd thought the same way about his pet dog when he was still alive, centuries before. "Is there a particular reason you are still here? I have been more unsociable and impolite to you than anyone in the past twenty-six years, two seasons, fifty-four days, twelve hours, and forty-seven minutes. The last one I was this rude to ran away crying. Why are you so persistent?"

[Dieter Heydrich]

Dodging through the crowds within of the city, a man dressed in an off-black velvet robe began to curse gently to himself, quiet enough so as to be below anyone's hearing in the roaring sound of people. Dieter began to wonder if the directions to this library were false, given by the guardsman as some sort of cruel joke. A vender was barely avoided as he moved, paying attention as he was to landmarks rather than the population of the massive castle city. Eventually he found what he was looking for, a stall made out of barrels, peddling small pastries to the public. This is where he would turn, the place of knowledge would be close now, again assuming that the summoner's trust in humanity was well founded. He sincerely hoped so, for he was getting decidedly bored with his current collection. He had already mastered the useful texts years ago, and the fictitious work he owned was decidedly badly written, and it was only through desperate boredom that he had managed to get through it without self mutilation; in fact, the only thing that stopped the bookish one from burning it was the fact that three books looked better on the mostly empty bookshelves than two.

When he at last reached the library, a yearning to fall to the ground and thank various gods had to be fought off. Entering the place, Dieter looked in wonder around him, attempting to make the rather hard decision of where to start first. Staring about in the well-lit room, the mage saw a most curious sight, an extremely pale man sitting in front of alchemical equipment, and another who seemed to be questioning the sitting one. Curious, Mr. Heydrich walked in the general direction of the two, as if to look at the shelf nearest the occupied table

[Ash'eny]

Well, Ash'eny hadn't intended to look back at Vallux with the question of bodies, but hearing the number 'seventy-four' he couldn't resist. His head lifted as he stared in disbelief, but the Nuit's face had not broken, not a crack of a smile or even a rolling of eyes, he was serious. Vallux either had to be crazy, very old (according to the book in his hands), or extremely reckless and resourceful. Chills once again crept slowly through his spine at the thought of himself being a possible shell next. Maybe that's how Nuit's take care of their nuisance problems, they wear their bodies. "Seventy-four." Ash'eny whispered to himself, as if hearing his own lips say it would give insight, or prove it wrong. He believed it though, this wasn't a human after all. He didn't know what to expect. It wasn't much longer, but to Ash'eny it felt like bells later. Vallux had, for once, initiated the conversation, in the many hours/bells that Ash'eny had been there, the Nuit was the first to speak. The thief wasn't sure whether that made him comfortable or not, until he actually spoke that is. Then he felt quite relieved. "I'm intrigued. For the life of me, I'm not sure why I am so astounded by this, your alchemy, the Nuit, but I am." Ash'eny didn't want to admit that keeping his mind preoccupied helped to squelch the urges, the addicting desire, to go around stealing everything in sight. This was almost like therapy for him. "I'm going to have to ask the same question though. You have been here for years. What is the purpose?" Ash'eny felt that either progress was made, or Vallux was trying to find a new method to convince Ash'eny to leave. Either way, Ash'eny wouldn't stay much longer. Unlike the Nuit, humans needed sleep and food, and other actions that are generally avoided in conversation. Ash'eny wished he was Nuit for a day, just to see how it felt.

[Vallux]

Vallux paused for a moment in his work and thought about why exactly he was doing this, after five hundred years of life. then he remembered. How could he have ever forgotten? "Page six hundred and twelve, underneath the heading of 'motivations,' in that book in your lap. And to answer the question you are considering, I am neither reckless nor insane. I am very, very old." Were the human to look up the page Vallux had listed, he would read, "While, as claimed at the top of this chapter, the author of the book is Nuit and must therefore be forgiven for a slight prejudice in regards to recording the foibles of his race, it is no secret nor is it a negative fact that Nuit have the highest 'suicide' rate of any sentient race currently inhabiting Mizahar. This is because, unlike the Jamoura and other races that live for centuries, Nuit are truly immortal so long as there are bodies to inhabit once every decade or so (for the more careful Nuit) or once every three to five years (for the clumsier ones). Thus, unlike those long-lived races, and completely unlike the Pycon, Humans, and various human subraces such as the Inarta and Vantha, none of which commonly reach their first century, the Nuit alone of all the sentient Mizahara have adopted a truly immortal mindset, removing 'time' as a factor or a problem in their 'lives.' Linking this to the earlier comment made about suicide rates, many Nuit finding themselves with no defined and difficult purpose in their existence will simply neglect their bodies, enjoy their last decade or half a decade on the planet, and pass from the world. Those who choose not to do this are the stronger-willed or more determined among the race, or possibly those that voluntarily went through the Daeth-Nuit ritual of Animation rather than being coerced into the same or being the victim of an ichor-spawning (explained earlier in the chapter). Those that do find a purpose or set one for themselves often last for many centuries or even millennia. It is certain, for instance, that at least three Nuit alive in the world today are over ten thousand years old, and two of them show no signs of Ending any time in the near future."

[Ash'eny]

Without another word, Ash'eny obeyed, open the book and thumbing hastily through the pages as if the words themselves were going to fade into nonexistence within moments. It took him a few seconds to find the page, and several minutes to read through it. Ash'eny was, however, partially distracted. The Nuit had somehow read his mind, he knew exactly that Ash'eny suspected insanity or recklessness. Perhaps it was another form of magic that Vallux possessed, Ash'eny couldn't be sure. Ash'eny wasn't sure of very much anymore. After thoroughly reading and rereading the information provided, he found one very large error in Vallux pointing him to this page as an answer to his question. "This does explain why you are still alive." Ash'eny nodded, it was true that this page told him that Vallux had a dedication, a motivation for a greater purpose than reckless, or insane, living. But that was not the question he asked. Ash'eny restated. "But I want the same question answered about that I answered for myself. Why have you chosen to be here, for years, just studying?" Ash'eny closed the book, too tired to read any farther, he looked up at Vallux. He was contemplating whether or not the Nuit would bother to answer him or not, since his personal answer could not be found in any bound pages, unless it was something more like a personal journal, which wouldn't particularly surprise Ash'eny, since he assumed a non-reckless rather sane Nuit that used up some seventy corpses to prolong life must be several hundreds years old, minimum.

[Vallux]

Vallux looked over at the human for a long moment. he had considered several times simply resuming his normal policy of ignoring every inquisitive person who stopped by, but this one seemed more interested in who he was than what he had done. Granted, what he was presently doing was obviously a source of interest to the human, but even those few that had shown interest in his studies in the past had always treated him as a master, someone to be looked up to, not a being that could experience damn' annoyance at them like any other unliving being. "The book ought to answer that well enough. I am bored, therefore I dedicate myself to study. In a few centuries, my purpose will run out. At that point I may dedicate myself to a different study, or to walking every road in Mizahar, or some other long-term task. If you wish to learn from me, I have little time at this moment. If you wish, as others have before you, to become a Nuit, I can spare those few minutes needed to begin the process, though once it is started the only possible outcomes are transformation or death. Survival is also possible, but it is remote.

[Ash'eny]

Ash'eny pondered Vallux's comments for a moment, dissecting each phrase piece by piece. First off, the Nuit claimed that the book should have explained his own personal goals and motivation, and even though it gave insight on the general Nuit personality, it did not talk about this intriguing person himself. Thankfully though, he answered with a simple 'because I want to' answer. Ash'eny was hoping for a little more than that, but he couldn't complain, that was, after all, the only reason he himself was still here in the library. The next part of his statements that Ash'eny decided to gnaw on was the actual offer of becoming a student or apprentice of this man, which was intriguing, yet, it sounded like there was a tremendous price to be paid. Such as a large possibility of death or, if he was lucky, the successful alteration into the life of a Nuit. Ash'eny wasn't sure he was ready for such a risk, maybe someday when he was older or was as motivated as Vallux was to learn or study, but for now, he wanted to stay who he was. "That offer sounds... incredible, but I don't think I can dedicate myself to such a life without taking a good deal of time to consider it. I will instead, if you will allow, remain in your presence as long as my human body will allow me (he meant this in regards to sleeping and eating) and learn from you as much as I can. I'll do my best to hinder you none, and maybe even assist in your studies, if I am able to do so. As for the Nuit, I don't think I can. Not yet."

[Dieter Heydrich]

Eavesdropping, Dieter was amazed at the wonderful deal being to casually proposed by the dead one, eagerly taken up by the other man. He wondered why the Nuit was being so generous with its knowledge, wasting its (arguably unlimited amount of) time on some person who, besides offering to 'help' with the alchemist's needs, appeared to be incapable of helping the nuit in any real way; unless of course the undead thing wanted a new body, in which case this would be rather interesting. Of course if Vallux was giving out free lessons along with immortality, then the robed man could use this to his advantage. Dieter had never been good at starting conversation with others, and preferred to wait for a generally nonexistent 'perfect' moment to begin speaking. He decided that he would not wait, instead boldly starting conversation with the complete strangers. "I had never thought the dead charitable, are you sure the terms are clear?" the man said over his shoulder, even now turning to have a better look at the two. In retrospect he realized that questioning the motivations of the dead one was not the best of ideas, perhaps a slightly more diplomatic entrance would have suited the mage better. Dieter pushed these thoughts away, deciding to say nothing more until spoken back to, finding it best not to further damage the situation.