Closed Sunlight and Shadows

[Alses]

Location: The Sundial Circle
Timestamp: 20th Day of Spring, 515 A.V.

The air was brisk and cold, bright and clear and with a stiff breeze that skirled the first, brave petals that had braved the chill through the streets. Overhead, the great bowl of the heavens was crisp and clear, an achingly bleak expanse of unrelieved powder-blue broken only by the stabbing fingers of the Unforgiving.

Alses stood on the colonnaded portico of Elysium Hall and breathed deeply, the air sinking into her lungs like a thousand needling daggers, a punch to the gut after the fire-warmed cosiness of the mansion. Security had been beefed up in the wake of Winter's events – she scowled blackly at the memories – and so two of the guards shimmered into the foreground as she strolled down the gravel path towards the gates.

It was still early spring, and so whilst the grass was green – albeit heavily frosted and sparkling in Syna's abundant light – the rose-beds and ornate planters of the formal gardens were still bare, just a natural tangle of bare earth, twigs and branches, punctuated by the occasional defiant evergreen.

It was a pleasant stroll from the Hall to its gates, the warmth of Alses' breath rolling out in clouds of dragonsbreath to mix and mingle with the exhalations of her guards and the far greater plumes that rose from the city itself as it woke from pre-dawn half-somnolence, obedient as ever to the lash of bells and the susurrating rush of Tanroa's river.

There had just been a shift-change down at the gates; Alses' eyes lazily tracked the retiring Shinya as they left their posts and headed back to the Pavilion for rest, food, drink, company...the brilliant nova flares of their auras told her all that, and more besides, their feelings writ large across the world for her to peruse.

Should she want to.

Councillor Radiant in white-and-gold and Shinya guards in shimmering skyglass plate exchanged all the incidental pleasantries of the morning as she paused for a moment, drinking in the city as she stood on the threshold of her friendly sanctuary. Tea – such a signature of Lhavit - was brewing nearby, filling the cold, clear air with its heady scents, and the amount of genteel traffic on the fadeong-lined boulevard that snaked past Elysium Hall was slowly rising as people rose from the Dawn Rest and greeted the new day.

She didn't actually have to be at the Radiant Tower so early, of course – technically, she could go in (or not) whenever she liked, but Zintila had trusted her with the position, and she meant to do right by the Starry Queen.

“Shall we, ladies?” Alses asked, already strolling calmly down the street, her two glittering shadows quickly catching up as she walked at a measured pace, exchanging half-bows and smiles with the passing citizens. Here, in the very shadow of her home, she was well-known, and the greetings were more than the general regard the city gave to an Ethaefal.


A


In the summer, the Sundial Circle, tucked between Koten Temple and All Things Wild, drowned in perfume, a riot of colour and scent flooding out from intricate flowerbeds, the towering gnomon and dial circle almost overshadowed. Now though, in some of the earliest of Spring days, the overwrought explosion of foliage that characterised the warmer seasons was but a skeletal remnant.

A few crocuses waved in the breeze, their bright colours incongruous against the still-frozen ground, and a collection of snowdrops nodded gently, pleasing signs of life, but they were small and unobtrusive, leaving the sundial towering over them in stark and solitary splendour.

It brought Alses to a halt as the early morning sunlight broke and spilt around the gnomon in a great flood, filling the area with almost unbearable brightness. The Shinya squinted against the hard fire of it, but their Ethaefal mistress positively bathed in the photon rain, a delighted chuckle rising involuntarily from her as she turned and turned, her shining skin and intricate crown-of-horns glowing, eyes half-closed in bliss.

All else could wait, Alses thought, as she feasted richly, almost unaware of her surroundings.

[Bennar Witt]

Spring, a glorious season of thaw and rebirth in Kalea. Caiyha joined The Starry Lady in lending the beauty of her domain to western Kalea. Birds had returned to the city after fleeing her spires and walkways for warmer weather. Flowers amongst the luscious beds nestled along stone streets or in front of houses were abloom again. The liveliness and general positivity was absolutely contagious, for those who cared to observe such things. Benji liked to think he was one such person.

The Alvadas native had been to a few of the scenic attractions of the city, though mostly in the dead of winter. He had not dedicated much time to really experiencing the charms of the city. In springtime one of those attractions were the many gardens sprawling across the upper class neighborhoods; if you knew the right areas it was said to be quite a beautiful sight. Benji didn’t really know the right areas, but many a patron at the Obsidian Club had a loose tongue about such things. He had decided to seek out and experience some of these Lhavitian charms rather than fall back into the all too easy pattern of work, eat, sleep that was common amongst honest workers the world across. After all, going to a tavern and drinking away the aches did not hold the allure it once had.

So this was how Benji found himself stepping along a red bricked path in the general vicinity of the imposing Koten Temple. The towering structure’s importance was obvious from it’s many levels. Benji observed the stony pillars as they stood sentinel keeping the building upright. It must have been quite tricky to build, he saw. That just served to further his impression of grandeur and importance. Even for a foreigner the Koten Temple was easy to find. His patron, a red faced girl who apparently frequented a flower shop near here, had said the Sundial Circle was near.

Benji ran his hand through his hair self consciously as he walked a slow gait through the more disconcerting scene around him. The flowers were sparse as he walked around the mighty temple. Their appearance was still perhaps a fortnight awaiting. Well, he would at least make sure he knew where this sundial was for then. A few bold blossoms broke free of their earthly homes to grace him with Caiyha’s beauty.

When Benji finally reached the Sundial Circle the pale stone of the sundial was not the most interesting thing there. A woman stood, turning in a singular dance that seemed to be so pleasurable to her that his presence, and indeed the presence of the two formidable looking Shinya guarding her, was completely ignored. This woman, it needed to be said, was remarkably beautiful. Benji found it quite astounding, and not in the usual womanly way, though she was indeed attractive. Her beauty was like a small sunrise in itself. Her hair a cascade of gold, her face a bright and happy visage. As his eyes fell on her face he knew that her beauty was indeed more than that of a woman, because she was more than woman. From her temples sprouted curled horns of a deep green, with the palest of purple tips. Benji had no idea who, or what, this lady was. Which meant that he really had no idea what to do.

Her guards flickered critical eyes at him. His upbringing screamed at him to make some formal greeting. The woman’s private ritual seemed deeply personal, and he would hate to ruin it by intruding without her knowledge. But if she had guards dedicated to her personage, she was obviously too important to simply leave.

So Benji coughed, a subtle announcement of his presence without any alarm, and bowed his head. “Forgive my intrusion, ladies. I did not mean to interrupt your… morning.” He was about to say dance, but thought better of it. He really had no idea what she was doing, and didn’t want to give offense by mislabeling it. “I was told this garden housed beautiful sights and smells.”

[Alses]

Still drifting on the golden tide of Syna's magic drifting down, Alses responded only slowly, shaking her head and setting black opal earrings shimmering as she came down from her photon high as though rising from a dream, her eyes losing their distance and her head turning unerringly to look at the interloper.

Well. Interloper was perhaps a little too strong; the Sundial Circle wasn't private property, after all.

Sharp eyes, a golden gaze that saw more than most, cast a careful look over Bennar as his greeting hung in the air. The guards were tenser, now there was company, their disciplined shield-auras glowing bright, their hands ready to go for weapons, just in case. Alses could see that he was no immediate threat; he danced and shimmered with skittish uncertainty in a thousand wavering colours, his aura in a shivering spin as it split and refracted.

Awe was in there, too, molten gold and the susurrus of a thousand voices drawing in a breath, surprise and consternation and wonderment and many others, laid bare for Alses' Sight to see, interpret and effortlessly convey back to her brain. His actual phsyical appearance was more an addendum, an afterthought to the complete picture her auristics brought back to her, but politics was slowly and painfully teaching her that simple physicality sometimes had cues she needed to pay attention to.

Bennar, then, was given a quick but thorough once-over as Alses turned to approach him. He was tall – taller than her, in point of fact, as most people seemed to be – and, while he was pale, something that would normally have suggested 'scholar' to her, there were nonetheless subtle muscular traces there for the experienced eye, which suggested a certain retrenchement in that regard.

There was the matter of the scar, too, a livid line of raised and puckered flesh, an angry slash across the forehead and up into the thick mop of chestnut locks, which positively screamed of a more dangerous past that his solid, simple clothes couldn't entirely disguise.

Of course, the biggest clue to him being more than he seemed was the aura, sparkling and flashing in the characteristic patterns of one initiated to the mysteries of djed, the intricate coruscation of someone who understood magic and its manipulation.

“'Tis no real intrusion,” she replied calmly, processing slowly round the gentle curve of the Circle towards Bennar. “We don't own the Sundial Circle, after all, it's a public place. And a very nice one too, as you've been informed.”

Alses cast her eyes about the place once more, now seeing more the quite skeletal flower-beds, with just the barest dusting of green to herald Spring and the occasional brave bloom. A wry smile quirked her lips as she finished, once again directing her attention to the man who'd disturbed her.

“Although perhaps you'd find it rather more at its mortal best in the first blush of Summer. It drowns in roses then, and the scents are quite divine.” Her smile then became radiant, almost conspiratorial, and one of the Shinya expertly smothered a grin. “And we should really know.”

A brief pause, both of them assessing the other. “You seem confused, sir mage." Alses confirmed it mostly for her Shinya escorts, just in case. "And – if we're honest – a little overwhelmed. New to Lhavit, by any chance?”

[Bennar Witt]

The acute awareness with which this woman analyzed him was quite disarming. When she mentioned his status as a practitioner of magic it was as if such information was as apparent as the color of his hair or the clothes he was wearing. Her critical eye bored into him and Benji found himself too flustered to meet her gaze in that moment. He glanced instead between her two bodyguards, but they offered no respite from the scrutiny.

Confused was damn right, he thought cynically.

He would need to find within his rattled mind a response that wasn’t completely idiotic, and soon. Or this triad would think him slow in the head. He did not know this woman, but judging by her attire, the fact that she had two Shinya flanking her, and those horns, she was probably not someone he wanted to think him slow.

Benji cleared his throat when she presented him with a question. “I am from Alvadas originally. I’ve been in Lhavit for a few seasons, but working. I have rarely made time to experience the natural charms of the city, to my own disadvantage.” Once he was talking, he found he was recovering from the stumble that her observations caused. “You are very observant to see that.” Benji ran his hands down the front of his shirt self-consciously. “I had no idea I looked the part of a foreigner.” A rueful smile flashed across the Alvadan’s face.

Propriety was vital in situations such as this, but the woman was a sight he had never seen. Benji’s curiosity overcame his good breeding and upbringing in this instance. “Forgive me, lady. Why…why do you have horns?” His question was presented in earnest and straightforward. If he hadn’t asked in such a way, and attempted to avoid offense, she would know anyway. She was very observant.

The Sundial Circle had become a something akin to a court, where this golden lady was the matriarch and he, Bennar Witt of Alvadas, was the peasant, or the fool. He narrowed his eyes a fraction in the sunlight, determined to intuit some sort of footing to orient himself here. Horns, obviously not a human, or completely human. He knew that there were other races, and heard of the winged ferocity of the Kalean Zith, and the mountain dwelling Isur. Neither of these had horns like that, and somehow she seemed less mundane than those.

Her dress attested obvious wealth, beyond the political currency with which she acquired her honor guard. But all that was something anyone with two eyes and a brain could surmise. Why had she come all the way out here? Did she have some special reason for being in there Sundial Circle. No. That too, was foolish. After all, he was out here for little to no reason. He found her presence, her appearance, a complete mystery.

“I have never seen anything quite as stunning as those, my lady. Please excuse my boldness.” He bowed his head and gave her a slight smile. If not intuition, then perhaps politeness.

[Alses]

“Alvadas? How splendid,” Alses replied sincerely. “I’d like to hear more of the place; we don't exactly get vast numbers of visitors, for all our splendours. The Unforgiving is to blame – or thank – for that, of course,” she added, and then cast another appraising look over her new companion. “I'd not call your appearance particularly foreign; there's simply something in the eyes of a relative newcomer one gets to recognize, after a little while.” A half-smile tugged at her lips.

“It’s a gaze that’s darting and full of wonder, never quite sure where to rest, skipping from glittering skyglass to shining fadeong tree – I've seen it a few times before. I shouldn't worry too much about being obvious, though; we are, as you say, quite observant.” It wasn't said with any particular pride or sense of aggrandisement, merely as a quiet statement of fact.

There were a few stone benches scattered around the periphery of the Circle, gently curving to match the arc of the sundial, and it was at one of these that Alses’ stately procession ended, sweeping her robes up with a practised hand to fan elegantly out around her as she sat, her face betraying nary a hint of the coldness striking up to chill her flesh.

“That’s better,” she sighed, more to herself than any of her companions.

As if magnetic, the sundial, a glowing line of fire in the sunshine, drew her gaze once more, and Alses became a little more pensive and distant, very much the epitome of the head-in-the-clouds Ethaefal, had Bennar but known it.

“My horns?” Her voice was marked by a lilting rise, a rather surprised inflection, as though between one sun-drenched instant and the next she’d forgotten, or almost forgotten, Bennar and his question. Absently, she raised a hand to touch their glittering curves, the contact seeming to ground her a little more.

“They simply...are,” Alses answered with an accepting shrug, refolding her hand in her lap. To her, it was as though someone had asked why she had a nose; the intricate crown-of-horns she bore was just as much a part of her as that organ. “As far as we know, there is no reason for them – aside from beauty, of course.”

Head tilted in thought, the sunlight shimmering and racing down the glittering curve of her horns, Alses gave the matter a little more consideration. “They can't be chipped or shattered, as far as I know, but they're not sharp, and they curve back on our head in any case, so they're useless as weapons. All of my race, my kind, have them. Broadly similar across all of us, and changing gently with the seasons, as every Ethaefal does.” A smile. “A little reminder, perhaps, that we're not entirely above Tanroa's river.”

“And speaking of my race, now you show your foreign roots,” she added gently, noting Bennar's incomprehension of her horns, her race, her place in the city, both as an Ethaefal and as Councillor Radiant. “Every Lhavitian citizen at least knows of the Ethaefal, even if they can’t count one amongst their acquaintances. Lhavit was founded by my kind – the chosen and favoured of Syna and Leth. We still help to guide it today, although there are very few who settle down here.”

A half-shrug, shimmering silk glimmering in the light. “We're a peripatetic people, in the main, wandering and lonely and serene. Wonderful though our starry city is, something still pulls most of the Ethaefal on, all across Mizahar.”

A bright sunny beam lanced out and up towards Bennar, tactically deployed by the politician in Alses to cover any melancholy, any chink in the perfect armour that the city built around its beloved Ethaefal. “Ah, but where are our manners? I go by Alses – what of yourself?” A pause, and she then patted the cold stone beside her.

“And speaking of, won’t you join us for a little? Unless you’d prefer somewhere a little more comfortable? Or have somewhere to be, of course,” she added, very much as an afterthought.

[Bennar Witt]

Ethaefal. He had never before seen such a creature. What does she mean, above Tanroa’s River? He decided he would hide that particular ignorance. Surely I have misheard her, none are above the wear of time. She certainly seemed like she could be touched by the favor of Syna. Her own radiance was so like Syna’s brilliance that he could see a certain pale likeness.

As he listened to her words carefully and joined her in the walk around the circle to a nearby bench he glanced at the nearby Temple. It certainly seemed mighty enough to be built by those blessed by the sun and moon. If he was to believe what she said, then she was of a people blessed directly by the gods, with a history connected deeply with the very city he now called home. Why had it been so long before he found this out. He knew that the city had a history with followers of both Syna and Leth, but not that it was founded by some other race of chosen people.

“So you are directly blessed by the-“ He glanced upwards at the sky, “Lady Syna herself?” This meant that he was in the presence of someone far more influential on a scale he had not even considered that he had ever been before. He felt an urge to bow again, but she did not seem to be overly concerned with the proprieties as he would expect.

He followed her to the bench and sat next to her as she indicated it with a subtle patting motion.

“I am Bennar Witt, son of Erasmo and Lorita Witt.” He said somewhat formally. Her tone had not been so formal, simply proper and polite. In an effort to match her he added. “I’m afraid I am merely human. I would consider it a great honor to join you, Alses.” He said the name almost expecting the Shinya to run him through for the familiar address. “I am new here, and have not been made aware of the exact divinity of the founders. He gestured to the guards that now flanked the bench. Both stood stoically silent, a practiced indifference about their stance that nonetheless bespoke professionalism and skill.

“Please continue, I have nowhere else to be, hence my coming here in the first place.” Benji glanced at the sundial. The light from the sun made one side of the light stone bright with reflected heat. The shadow it cast a rigid perfection that attested to the craftsmanship of it’s makers. Where they blessed of the divine, like Alses? “Are you a priestess of the Sun Goddess, lady Alses? Is that what binds you to this city while your brethren have ventured onto other lands?”

Benji waited patiently after he spoke his piece. But he found that the unyielding nature of a hard stone bench was not a fitting place to ask a woman to share such things. When there was a pause in the conversation he leant forward and inquired of her. “Please, let us move to a more comfortable place. If there is something I know about Lhavit, it is that this city has some great tea.” He pushed a lock of brown hair from his face and glanced at the Shinya. “I would be grateful if you allowed me to buy you some tea at Mhakula’s.” Benji hoped that such a request was not too familiar or too forward for her.

The Tea House was famous within the city and he knew it to be a respectable place to lounge the day away. He hoped that this would allow him to glean more history from this lady and perhaps make himself a friendship of worth within the city. He stood and smiled at her.

As they walked through the city, Benji noticed a significant change in the way people reacted to them. Alone, he would warrant barely a glance from most people. With Alses and her Shinya, people either smiled, frowned, moved away, or gave greetings. Not all of it was good, but everyone noticed them, or Alses. He was sure his presence was still less than remarkable. To distract himself from all this unnatural attention he decided to tell his new acquaintance about his past.

"My mother's name is Lorita. She is a good Alvadan woman, a performer who dedicated her life to motherhood rather than her career. Lucky for me, I suppose. We aren't much without our mothers. My father is a very good-" What was he going to say? Man? Parent? He had almost said both those, but it had caught in his throat. Such deeply wrong lies he could not force himself to tell, not even to strangers. "He is a very respected merchant. Or he was before the storm." His voice started to turn dark. Memories drifted in, clouding his visage for a moment of macabre. "That was why I left. They could not support all three of us." He turned to face her again, quickly adding. "My two brothers and I, that is."

[Alses]

“Directly blessed?” Alses laughed, but it was a short one, masking an old pain that never entirely left. “That's one way to put it, I suppose. Syna calls us – the Ethaefal – Her children. The actual relationship is-” Alses swallowed, hard “-a little more complex than that. Common doesn't have the words – no mortal language does.”

She listened attentively to Bennar as he spoke, drinking in his introduction. Long experience taught her to derive a little something extra from even such a small snippet; the reference to his parents, to family, piqued her interest, and she carefully stored that little fact away for the future. The little pause in her own limelight gave her the time to close up the little chink in her armour, and when the time came for her own reply she was ready, poised and perfect.

“Then it is our pleasure to meet you, Bennar Witt. You already know my name, of course, so there is little enough extra I can give you in that regard.” Alses leaned back slightly, head tipped to the sky, unblinking and totally unaffected by the sun's glare.

“We're no Taiyang priestess,” she admitted, after a brief pause. “Though they enjoy our presence at the Sun Temple and I do count some of their number amongst my friends, we don't have Inavalti, and our talents pulled us in a different direction from formal devotion.” She wondered, in the privacy of her own head, whether 'friends' was quite the right word for Sel'ira and Maryela and the others, and then decided that it would do as well as anything, after a split-tick of thought.

“Perhaps that's why Syna hasn't graced me with Her gnosis – who can tell? Not a good use of time, really, trying to second-guess divinity.”

“As for why I stay...we did our fair share of wandering in the past,” Alses replied with a faint smile, forcibly dragging her thoughts away from gnosis. “I came to Mizahar in Zeltiva, far over on the eastern coast, as it happens. We'd probably still be there, were it not for the impermanent nature of your kind. This place is – or was – barely a rumour in Zeltiva at the time, but we didn't have a great deal to lose in trying to find it.” She shrugged.

“It took quite a while to get here, but this place soothes our soul. The fact that there are other Ethaefal here is a trial sometimes, of course, but there are enough compensations here in the Diamond that we can overlook it. I suppose part of what keeps us here now – if the beauty of this place wasn't enough - is that we chose to be a servant of the city. When the call came, we answered. It's not easy, and there are those who dislike me and would prefer to see me...a little less in the limelight, shall we say?” her eyes flickered over to the two Shinya for just a split-tick, and then back to Bennar. “But we like what we do, nonetheless.”

They were now walking through the streets, Mhakula's having met with approval, fast approaching the tea-house – Alses had hardly been about to turn him down, after all – and the continual swell of greetings and attention rose up around them, splitting her attention as she responded as best as she could: half-bows, inclines of her head, the occasional wave, a brilliant smile and all the incidental pleasantries of the morning bubbling from her mouth.

In the event, the shaded porch of the tea-house was something of a welcome refuge, Alses decided, Bennar's stressed and nervous aura having been grating on her nerves almost since the first bow and greeting. “We hope the people didn't bother you too much,” she murmured, although she knew full well they had. “Par for the course for an Ethaefal, really.”

Alses debated telling him just how much worse it was for an aurist, but decided against it in the end; it would be rather pathetic, in her estimation, to moan about it.

Just at that point, one of the many Interchangeable Yhavaos who ran the place bustled up, a solar-powered smile beaming out, giving a bright and chirpy little bob as she saw who'd just stepped across the threshold.

“Good morning, your grace!” she said cheerfully. “How nice to see you again. Oh, and you have a friend as well? Your usual table? I'm sure we can manage that. If you'd just like to follow me?”

The waitress led the way through the cosily civilised atmosphere of the tea-house, weaving around the tables with the ease of long practice, drawing close to a small and highly-polished table with a large window behind it, spilling abundant sunlight all around. “We call them the Interchangeable Yhavaos,” Alses murmured to Bennar, nodding at the back of their escort.

As though summoned by the whisper, the waitress turned to face them, even as she gestured to the table invitingly. “I should have mentioned, your grace – your friends the Ladies Dawn and Dusk are here, if you and your companion would prefer to join them?”

Alses blinked for a tick or two, in actuality quite tempted to join Lheili and Chiona. In short order, though, reason and courtesy reasserted themselves and she waved the waitress off. “No, no thank you. I'll see them soon enough, and we're sure they'd like their own time together. If you'd send them some chocolate cake from me, though, I'm sure that at least wouldn't go amiss, even at this bell.”

A smile and another bob. “Very good. I'll return in a little while, when you know what you want today.” That, Alses was privately sure, was almost entirely for Bennar's benefit; she was a creature of habit at Mhakula's and the staff knew it. Twilight Dawn tea, with the extra splash of brandy, for winter and early spring, paired with a slice of their perfect chocolate cake.

Spreading her robes with a sigh, Alses sank down into the chair most drenched by the incoming sunlight, delighting in the warmth that struck her back from Syna's abundant rays. “Now, where were we? The Djed Storm, wasn't it? Bad business,” she said with a frown, lips pursed and brow furrowed. “We got off quite lightly here, all things considered. Dawn Tower wasn't as lucky as the rest of us, though.” A pause.

“We're sorry to hear of your family's misfortune, too.” It was the sort of thing people tended to say, Alses had noticed, often for want of anything better, and in any case now probably wasn't the time to raise the maelstrom of darker emotions that surrounded the young man's mention of his father. “I take it you have managed to find employment here, at least? Oh, have a menu, do,” she added, proffering one to Bennar with a calm smile.

[Bennar Witt]

“Oh, thank you.” Benji took the proffered menu and glanced down at it, he had spent a few evening meals in the Tea House, but doubted he was anywhere near as established as Alses. The mention of the Ladies Dawn and Dusk had him wondering if they meant the tower leaders, who were very powerful friends to have. That conclusion made him slightly curious as to what would incline someone like Alses to take the time for him. Perhaps she was just a polite person, and he had offered. Benji was glad that she had turned that particular scenario down, as he couldn’t handle any more influential women at the moment.

Benji nodded and gave a half smile as he uncomfortably received her condolence about his father’s misfortune. At her next statement, he grinned ruefully.

He tapped the table and looked at his hand while he said his next. “Actually, yes. I am a server at the Obsidian Club across town. Not exactly what I had in mind, but you have to start somewhere, right?” Benji met her eyes then, smiling for real. He was not entirely happy with his position, but he wholly understood the climb it took to forge a career. He was only in the beginning stage of his own. Who knows, perhaps he could get some advice from Alses, being an accomplished politician that she was.

Right when he was about to ask her about her knowledge of his magical ability, the waitress returned and inquired after his order.

“I’ll have the Spring Harvest Tea please. And perhaps some rice pudding.” Benji said, smiling up at the waitress, or Interchangeable Yhavaos as Alses had called them. “Thank you, Ma’am.”

After she had walked off Benji turned back to Alses. “So if you don’t mind me asking, how did you know I was a mage?” Benji thought he sounded somewhat sheepish as he asked. “I haven’t encountered anyone who can tell just from… Well I haven’t encountered anyone who can tell before.”

Benji reached down and adjusted the velvet pillow underneath him. He did not feel as at home in such establishments with his homespun attire as Alses looked in her radiant garb, or any number of the other well dressed patrons. I need to get myself some respectable clothing. His mind wandered as he looked at the patrons around them.

The smell of tea leaves and freshly baked goods wafted through the tea house. The soft hum of private conversations covered his previous words, but he was still paranoid about the subject. Wizards, no matter the city’s stance, were unpopular in certain circles. “I mean, I try to keep it under wraps. For my own good.” He ventured haltingly. “I’m well aware of what some might think of it.”

He blinked at her, then rubbed his eyes and shifted them down to the table. Biting his lower lip, Benji sighed heavily through his nose. Maybe I’m just paranoid. His mind’s logic was quiet, though probably true.

[Alses]

OOCSorry for the delay; I've had an exam :/ .

“The Obsidian Club…Obsidian Club…” Alses murmured, trying to place the vaguely-familiar name. Was it something to do with the Red Lantern? An offshoot of Madam Belladonna’s establishment?

The thought made her wince, passingly – when she’d first come to Lhavit, indigent as only a traveller could be, the woman had made plenty of…offers. Alses had kept her pride, and refused them, but she’d also be lying if she’d said the glowing picture of thousands of kina an evening hadn’t been a tempting one, especially as funds had dwindled.

Hmm. That didn’t sound quite right; Alses’ footsteps tended not to take her past the Red Lantern’s locale, and she was quite sure she’d seen the Obsidian Club, and recently, too. After a moment’s contemplation, it clicked. “Ah! We think I know the place you mean. It’s on Springwater Square, isn’t it? Rather near where we work, as it happens,” she admitted, with a smile tinged ever so slightly with a soupcon of embarrassment.

“It’s some kind of gentleman’s club, isn’t it?” she asked, head tipped sideways in curiosity. “And you’re right; we all start somewhere, usually near the bottom, even if we’d prefer to go straight in at the top.” A wry smile graced Alses’ lips as she admitted that. “I began as a courier, as it happens, running messages between the Towers and Temples – just about the farthest thing from what we wanted to do, but. Needs must.” Just at that point, their chirpy Interchangeable Yhavao returned and diverted attention – and the topic – to food and drink.

“A fine choice,” Alses complimented her companion on his selection. “And the usual for me, if you don’t mind?” she added, momentarily switching her attention to the waitress.

“How did we know? Ah, a nice easy question,” Alses said with a smile and an expressive shrug, returning her gaze to Brandon once the girl had left with their orders. “I’m a sorceress myself. Amongst other things, an aurist of some small skill.” Bragging was for people who felt they needed to prove something; she knew just how good she was, and that was all that really mattered. The fact that the Dusk Tower knew as well was something of an extra bonus.

“As such, it’s very obvious to me who’s been inducted into the mystery and wonder of magic – particularly personal magics, as it happens. The aura glitters and glows and dances like a living thing, orders of magnitude more complicated than a non-mage’s. Magic likes to be known about, it seems.” She shrugged, supremely unconcerned.

“We know that the public use of magic is currently-” a flash of displeasure flitted across her features “-illegal in the city,” she added, forestalling any comment on that front, “And I’m not above the law by any means, but there are at least exceptions. There have to be, really – an aurist can no more stop seeing auras than their heart can cease to beat, and much the same applies to some of the more skilled morphers in the Twilight Tower. You might as well arrest someone for breathing; it’s an exercise in futility to try and make them stop.”

Alses leaned back in her chair and relaxed, feeling the tight muscles uncurl and her vertebrae shift into a more comfortable position. She regarded Bennar lazily, tawny eyes dancing. “Even though you try to keep it under wraps, as you said, we trust you’re still on the records of the Registry? Do you mind me asking what disciplines you know?”

[Bennar Witt]

Benji smiled ruefully as the woman recalled his place of work. A gentleman’s club? Eh could be. He thought it was more akin to a regular tavern than his employers would have liked to admit. “I see a few gentlemen there, from time to time.” He shrugged and let the topic of his work slip into something else. Neither of them seemed remotely interested in the night club, and rightly so. They had magic to discuss.

Benji listened to Alses’s words. His face quickly becoming composed once again. He had always viewed the prohibition of public use of magic as a strong law. Alses, however, had worded the reference in a way that suggested… opposition. He thought he saw a glimpse of shifting features on her peerless face for a moment, but he wasn’t sure if his eyes deceived him. He let the moment pass without comment and listened to the rest of her words. But he saved that bit of information away in his mind. Perhaps such opinions could be useful to know someday?

“Oh yes, I am on the Registry. I’m no Aurist, obviously, and I don’t mind you asking. I actually have some small amount of practice in morphing,” Benji wiggled his fingers in front of his face with a pained expression. “Though I’m no good really. Not yet anyway. And I’m much more practiced in shielding. That is my primary art.” He smiled at her, secretly trying to see her reaction. The wizard wanted to glimpse some reaction, some hint at her opinions of his magics. “And also, reimancy.” He said hesitantly. The last was the most vicious and emotionally tainted of his arts. He attempted to keep his emotional baggage tied to the thought of the art subdued, remembering her affinity for such things. She seemed polite, and even good. But her ability would mean he’d have to try to keep his cards close to his chest sometimes, if he could. Benji really had no idea if he was even capable of hiding things from Alses.

Benji paused, letting his last words hang in the air as the Interchangeable Yhavao, all smiles and silent deference, came and served them. He took up the cup of Spring Harvest Tea and let the warm liquid pour onto his tastebuds. The flavor was exquisite, earthy and warming. He closed his eyes in appreciation and took another sip before turning back to Alses.

“What do you think of my choice in arts?” He decided to ask her outright. She seemed wise enough, and he could learn something no matter how honest her answer. Benji thought back on his many years of solitary study. He had not had a peer in regard to his studies in years, since Lori. It would be good to hear the views of another practitioner.

“And you? Do you practice more than Auristics? I would think someone of your, position, could have easy access to such things.” His words meant little. In truth he had no idea what her position really was, and less knowledge of the liberties it came with. “I hear the Towers have wizards, though I have never met one or seen the interior of one of them.” He said thoughtfully, his eyes drifting back to the Interchangeable Yhavao that had made mention of the Ladies Dusk and Dawn, which he had ignored.

“To tell you the truth, I’m more concerned with paying for the bed I sleep on nowadays than training in my magics.” He smiled. But it was a lie. He may work more at the Obsidian Club, and need the apartment more. He wanted to dedicate the time to the magic. “But hey, that’s life I suppose. How’s the cake?”