Closed Down the Rabbit Hole

[Estrellir Konrath]

Spring 21, 516 AV


Estrellir stared. Standing in front of that building, she felt impossibly small and insignificant, a feeling she didn’t like. Despite that, she couldn’t help but gaze in awe at the massive structure of stone and shining skyglass that towered over her. At first she’d thought it to be a temple, but the guards had told her it was a library. The library for there was only one in Lhavit.

So she was standing at the other end of the small square, having lost herself in gazing at the place as others gazed at stars. Her violet eyes were wide and round, reflecting the light of the waning day, and arms crossed in front of her chest. The Konti was wearing simple black attire and leather boots. The only piece of note would be her black cloak, simple yet elegant. The tips of her ivory locks barely brushed its hood and the way she carried herself, she knew how to wear it too. As usual, its pockets were filled with little things, some useful, some of purely sentimental value. She was wearing a dark scarf and gloves to protect her skin against the chill. The mountaintops were much colder than the swamp she’d grown up in or even the mild weather of Konti Isle.

The Kenashian was getting used to Lhavit slowly, but surely. After a morning at the Sunrise Nook which had become her favorite place for waffles and tea, she had braced the wind to explore the peaks some more. She’d planned to wander around, take note of which public institution was located where and how the peaks were themed. Knowing that would not only help her get around, but also give her a feeling of where her own business idea fit in.

However, as she was still woefully new to town, Estrellir had gotten lost. After facing a dead end, she’d turned around, crossed a bridge and ended up in front of Bharani Library. She still didn’t know where she was. Asking the guards hadn’t occurred to her yet.

With a sigh, she shifted her weight and took a few steps to look at the building from a slightly different angle. Perhaps it was trying to tell her something. The way the nooks and crannies cast shadows across its elaborately ornamented façade called to her, nudged her towards darkness. Night would fall soon, but Estrellir didn’t move. Not yet.

[Zhol]

Four days of work, and then three of rest. Three. That was how life functioned here, for the majority of Lhavit, that was the cycle that their life followed. Perhaps it was the somewhat scholarly and ceremonial nature of the city, ensuring that it's residents had plenty of time to engage in such pursuits; whatever the reason, by comparison to life in Wind Reach it was practically semi-retirement.

At first it had felt like luxury, but after looping through a few times Zhol had begun to wonder what he was supposed to do with himself. The prospect of learning, of broadening his knowledge and honing his arcane skills called to him like a siren song in the night; but guilt and doubt had clenched around his chest, holding him at bay. While Wind Reach had pushed him, ushered him into wrestling some semblance of control over the reimantic magics that coursed through his veins, Zhol knew from painful experience the perils of overreaching; of trying to achieve too much too fast. Before he had rushed in, pushing his limits; and those closest to him had suffered from his unprepared inability to protect them. His enthusiasm and eagerness to please had cost him the home that he had been raised in, and had seen him cast out from the family whose absence still felt like a wound in his chest.

They said that life was a lesson; if so, then most of what Zhol had been taught was the error of his ways. At first he had tried to run from his guilt, clear across the world from the Sea of Grass to the mountains of Kalea. Then he'd tried to hide, harboured within Wind Reach, burying his reimantic capabilities as if they could somehow be forgotten. Lhex had other ideas, nudging people and dangers into his path to educate him differently. Life had reinforced the value in his control of flames, pushing him until he learned to use them to protect himself and the new family that he had carved out for himself. His skills had broadened; sharpened; more than just fire now, more than just the stigma and guilt that he had carried with him out of Cyphrus. Now he found himself here, in Lhavit, the spires of the Dawn Tower beckoning to him from the city's skyline every day. It was as if everything was guiding him down a path, and Lhavit was to be the next destination.

But path or no, Zhol had learned better than to rush in without being mindful of his footing. Long before he even contemplated stepping through the doors of the Dawn Tower itself, he had steered himself here: the Bharani Library. In Wind Reach he had delved into the Enclave, but between the city's isolation and his struggles with the Nari language, there had been very little of use that he had been able to glean. Surely - hopefully - the library of a city like Lhavit would offer far more opportunities to read and learn.

Hands delved deep into the pockets of his fur-lined leather work jacket, Zhol's shoulders shrugged upwards, trying to extract a little extra warmth from the scarf wrapped around his neck. The weather had begun to turn more mild, the morning snow giving way to intermittent days of rain; but whether it was being atop a mountain rather than beneath it, or because of Zhol's constitution being spoiled these last years by the year-round warmth of Wind Reach's volcanic air, Zhol still felt the chill gnawing away at him, especially with the day beginning to draw to a close. Inside would be warmer, but not yet: the Bharani Library did not seem like the kind of building that you entered without taking a few moments to marvel at how intricate and beautiful the architecture was.

Clearly, Zhol was not the only one embracing the opportunity to admire the skyglass and stonework. His emerald eyes stole a sidelong glance at the woman standing a few feet away, seeming as intrigued and mesmerised by the building as he. His subtlety didn't allow him to glean much, but the notions the Inarta had ingrained into him picked up on her pale skin and paler hair: the kind of traits that made one stand out as an outsider amongst the redheaded Inarta. Not just pale in fact: a striking shade of almost white; and not due to age, if the youthful features of the woman beneath were anything to go by.

Reluctance, and a little better judgement in fact, took a grip on Zhol's stomach and implored him to keep his mouth shut. Zhol's comparatively extrovert and friendly personality had done him a disservice amongst the Inarta, especially when castes and his status as an outsider came into play. Zhol's mind whispered a reminder in protest, of what Brandon Blackwing had once explained to him about the social structure of Lhavit. The citizens - Autava, or something along those lines - were all equal; and the woman beside him wasn't wearing any of the colours or symbols that the Cosmos Center had explained would identify a member of the Shinya or the priesthood. Helpful words from his grandfather whispered into his mind as well:

A stranger might be a friend you haven't met yet. Or they might be a complete shykewit. You'll never know until you say hello.

Zhol's hands extracted themselves from his pockets, folding themselves thoughtfully across his chest. "If this is the place where they keep their books," he mused aloud, "I can't imagine what the actual temples must look like."

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

This template was made by Khara, who likes this drink and wants another. Your coffee mugs are not safe.

[Estrellir Konrath]

Estrellir didn’t jump exactly, but her head snapped around in sharp movement as someone spoke up next to her. It said a great deal that she hadn’t noticed him standing there, so if her eyebrows knitted slightly, it was with irritation at her own lack of attention.

Now she gave all of hers to the other person, a young human, and immediately noticed piercing green eyes. The next thing was his leather jacket, lined with fur, and scarf. The Konti had noticed that clothing said a lot about social status, no matter where you are. It had been like that in Kenash and it seemed to be the same in Lhavit, although the taste in fabrics and decorations differed a little. This one seemed reasonably well off, but not quite wealthy. Pretty tall too – if the petite Konti had been standing any closer, she would’ve had to crane her neck. As for her, Estrellir knew she cut an unusual figure in her silk cloak, being Konti on top of it.

Eventually she broke into a mild smile. There was truth in his words, but also an invitation. A need for conversation she could understand. From one foreigner to another, as he’d said they. “Perhaps this is a temple to Eyris disguised as a library. Stranger things have been built before. Either way, I should probably go look at an actual temple next. If only I knew where to find one…”

Trailing off, Estrellir observed him out of thoughtful violet eyes. It was hard to tell whether the man was a complete stranger to the city or a visitor for some time. If the latter, his presence would be more than convenient. She looked back at the library to buy time, trying to catch that feeling she’d had earlier. The message it had whispered to her out of the shadows. No matter how she strained her ears though, it was gone.

Sighing, she turned towards the man again. Might as well go back to the start. “Do you happen to know the way to Surya Plaza? Or even Zintia Peak? I wouldn’t want to impose on your time, but I appear to have lost my way. Not that I mind having found this place, but… a girl needs some order in her life, you know?” She gestured vaguely, half grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.

[Zhol]

A temple disguised as a library? Zhol wasn't sure if the notion was absurd or inspired. Then again, why not? People chose to worship the gods in their own different ways; celebrating the goddess of knowledge by helping people to broaden their own seemed as good a way as any.

Zhol certainly wasn't going to impress Eyris with his own knowledge though; not as far as the layout of the city was concerned, at least. Having grown up amongst the tents of Endrykas, and then spent the last few years in the tunnels beneath Wind Reach, the crowded skyline of a cityscape like this was still strange and foreign to Zhol's mind, and finding his way around was a constant struggle. His hand reached nervously for the nape of his neck, rubbing back and forth across his spine as he tried to motivate some sort of useful response to manifest in his mind.

"Zintia Peak?" he echoed, trying to picture the crudely sketched maps of the city that he had managed to steal a few glances at every now and again. Zintia was the third peak; and when he'd asked for directions to the library, they'd sent him to Tenten, the fourth. That meant Zintia was somewhere off to the north, or there abouts; but which way in Dira's name was south? He turned slowly in place, gazing off at his surroundings, looking for something he recognised. The ocean, that was off to the west of the city; so north was that way. And Zintia was the site of the Dawn Tower, which -

"That way?" he uttered as he pointed, not sounding entirely confident about his sense of direction. "I think that tall pointy building is -"

As Zhol glanced back in Estrellir's direction, he stumbled a little over his words. Before, Zhol's observations about his fellow tourist had been cursory, but now her attention was on him; and years of being taught by his mother to show respect by meeting a person's gaze when they spoke made the woman's eyes utterly impossible to miss. Violet. Not a colour you usually found encircling someone's pupils; not if they weren't a Symenestra at least, and Zhol had spent enough time getting to know Drusilla to realise that while this woman was certainly pale haired and pale skinned enough to fit the vaguest of Symenestra descriptions, she most certainly wasn't the sort of person who was likely to go crawling across the ceiling any time soon.

He let out a nervous laugh, trying to brush off his momentary stumble of thought as lack of confidence in the directions he was trying to offer. "I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure; but I know the Dawn Tower is on Zintia, and I'm pretty sure I can see it peeking out behind that slopey roof over there."

His brow furrowed, mostly disappointed in himself for not being more helpful. After years in the unfriendly and confrontational - to outsiders, at least - city of Wind Reach, he'd found himself in a place where people talked to each other; where conversations between strangers and casual requests for help were a thing that just happened; and here he was, proving utterly useless at making the most of that situation.

"The Surya Plaza is next to the Koten Temple, right? I was in that part of the city a few days ago -" His voice trailed off into a shrug. "Maybe if we start heading in that direction, I'll spot something I recognise?"

"Nari" | "Common" | "Pavi"

This template was made by Khara, who likes this drink and wants another. Your coffee mugs are not safe.

[Estrellir Konrath]

Estrellir watched the human as he looked around, trying to orient himself, find landmarks. She could almost hear the wheels churning behind his brow, a sight that never ceased to fascinate her. As for herself, the Konti knew about the cardinal directions and had learned that Lhavit consisted of five peaks. Surya Plaza and Solar Wind Apartments were on the central Zintia Peak. That was about it. She’d never had to know directions and find her way through an unfamiliar environment. There had always been others.

When he pointed, Estrellir followed his fingers with her gaze. If he looked at her while she was moving, the opalescent scales on her cheeks and brow would be impossible to miss. She blinked. That tower did look familiar! Suddenly feeling silly, she realized it was the one she’d visited more than once before, the one out of three that she knew best.

Then the man laughed, sounding vaguely apologetic, probably for not finishing his previous sentence. Estrellir smiled a bit as she lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t you mean the Dusk Tower? I know it is on Zintia since I’ve visited it before. Maybe they both are.”

Suddenly unsure, she looked back at the tower roof, tinted blue-green due to the distance. Before coming to Lhavit or even the Unforgiving, Estrellir hadn’t known that mountains or towers looked blueish if they were far away. In Lhavit, everything seemed far away, but she guessed it had something to do with how far up everything was. Either way, their words had planted doubts in her mind. Gazing at the tower out of narrowed eyes, she couldn’t tell which one it was anymore.

Now Estrellir felt like laughing, but didn’t. Instead she grinned at him as if they were planning a prank. “Sure, sounds better than nothing. If we get lost again, we can always ask the city guard… I forgot what they’re called around here. I’m Estrellir Konrath, by the way. Pleasure to meet you.” Still grinning, she stepped closer and extended a gloved hand. Too tall, just like predicted.

Estrellir would wait for him to lead the way, then follow. As soon as they were walking, she began mulling over everything she’d gathered about Zhol so far. Pure instinct, and habit. “So it’s pretty obvious you’re not a resident. I take it you’re from Alvadas… no, Wind Reach? How long have you been here?” He didn’t look like a Symenestra, so Kalinor was out of the question. There were few trade caravans through the Unforgiving, especially in winter, and for some reason she doubted he’d been in town a season or longer. He wasn’t a redhead, not by far, but Wind Reach still seemed the most likely. Licking her lips, Estrellir idly wondered what it must’ve been like, living with the Inarta. Being different among a lot of the same.