PM to join Midnight air has a flair [Kynier]

[Aer'wyn Grisghul]

74th of Summer 518


How long has it been since Vel had made his entrance into the lives of his light brother’s friends. And since then he’d not let Aer’wyn anywhere close to the streaking wheel. Not even slightly. As Vel’s soul grew stronger, Aer’wyn grew weaker, blaming himself for all that took place on that one fateful night. He had put his friends in danger and they did just fine without him. Perhaps this meant he had no longer been necessary. Temporarily he gave up fighting it, choosing to fade out into obscurity instead.

And Vel was loving it. He truly was. He walked around the Midnight Gem like he owned the place. A smile of perfectly straight white teeth accompanies eyes that sparkles with passion and heat. Only good days began and ended in his wake. Even the bandaged up wound in his side could not deter the infectious good mood that plagued him.

All was s’well. So very s’well. In the grand scheme of things all the little problems seemed so insignificant when, for the first time in a while, the man could be well and truly in charge of his own body.

And living at the Midnight Gem did prove to bring on it’s fair share of challenges. For Vel was hardly getting used to the Kelvics that coexisted in his space as quickly as Aer’wyn did, in spite to having had almost a season of build up to it. The Kelvics themselves weren’t quite as much of a nuisance, though Ebon did seem to check up on him far too often for his liking to ensure his wound was healing correctly. Sometimes he liked the attention, sometimes he did not.

But there was one place where the Akalak could rest from the influx of activity and the influx of fur and feathers. That place was the balcony late at night when the stars accompanied Leth’s crescent across a sky as inky as his own skin and the shadow of Akaija. The one beautiful thing about Sunberth was it’s sky juxtaposed against a slum of shyke.

That night, much like he often did, the one armed mountain sought solitude in that very spot, over the bannister where he could lean and fill his lungs with midnight air. One could only imagine the surprise, as one of the shop’s inhabitants had beat him to it. For barely had the Akalak stepped though the doorway, his eyes laid on Kynier who had been there for gods only knew how long, scribbling something on parchment.

“Gods be damned.” He huffed low, visibly disappointed in the break of his daily routine.

[Kynier]

Just before Syna had gone to rest Kynier had settled himself on the comfortable chair of the balcony. The view over the Midnight Gem’s land, the beach, and the water was always magnificent. The smell of the air as well as the distant sound of waves crashing made it an excellent place to draw, to meditate, and even sleep. It was the first that he had come outside for. Being forced to stay at the Gem was constantly giving him a certain degree of restlessness. The time he followed Kelski out to dancing had been enjoyable as well as a relief. But it had agitated his wound and Ebon had insisted that he not go out again until it was fully healed.

Drawing had helped the restlessness to a degree. Since then Kynier had managed to finish the drawing of the city of Sunberth from the westwatch tower’s vantage point. He even painted it so that it had color and would draw someone’s eye more. Once that had been finished, after more days than it should’ve taken, he had Ren take it out and settled into a frame. Now it was hanging in the common area. Sitting on the balcony he considered what to do for his next decorative piece. The piece with Tove was still incomplete, but he needed something fresh to work on. After a long silence filled with contemplation, an image from a memory came to mind. It was an image he wouldn’t leave as a decorative piece for the Gem, but for other purposes.

Taking the Mighty Quill in hand, the mage began working a different form of magic. The formation of art. The ten inch blue and white feathered quill scratched at the canvas as he slowly transformed the scene in his mind to a physical piece of art. He began with the first of two females. One that stood tall and commanded power Kynier never expected to be able to replicate. Slow meticulous scratches created her form by the time Vel had come out to taste the night’s air.

Kynier smiled to himself at the irony of the akalak’s words. For some reason the fellow was upset. The body language spoke louder than the vulgarity. There was a certain tension that Kynier recognized in Vel’s movements. The need for isolation. As Kynier gave a few more scratches to the canvas he recalled often feeling that shortly after moving in. “Looking for a quiet place to be away from all the kelvics?” Kynier spoke with a rhetorical tone. Since Vel had reemerged there had been even less interaction between Kynier and… the akalak body.

The mage packed up the canvas and the supplies for his drawing. He stood up with a bit of a pained groan as his side protested the movement. Kynier looked at Vel, expression rather neutral. “I’ve found a rather calming spot nearby that works well for privacy. Follow me and I’ll show you.” Kynier turned and brought the art supplies with him down the stairs of the balcony. From there he made a path through the backyard past the chicken coup and to a small stone wall that rested at the edge of the property. The crashing of waves was louder and the air even fresher. Behind them the Midnight Gem stood in the distance just barely in view.

Kynier set the canvas on top of the stone wall which was just above his hip. “The felines don’t come down here frequently, and Kelski has yet to join me if she’s noticed my presence down here.” With the magic quill back in hand the mage began drawing again. Leth was obscured by clouds leaving the night dark. That mattered little to a Nightstalker and an Akalak. If Vel were to glance at his drawing for a time, he’d see Kynier was making a depiction of Akajia. Though it lacked color, the crown of stars on the faceless woman’s brow was an easy tell.

“How long will you be present, Vel?” he asked over the sound of the waves. For a long time before Vel’s reappearance he had known about their two souls and witnessed them warring against each other for control. It was only on that night that Kynier’s suspicions had been confirmed. That the two were one, but they were not united. Kelski trusted the Akalak, but she tended to hand out trust after witnessing on a few actions of another person she found to be favorable. Kynier knew better than that. As a spy he relied on being one thing, saying another, and doing something else entirely. The mage had witnessed others giving a false persona to those they had surrounded themselves with plenty of times in the city of daggers.

The mage had also done his best to avoid using his magic in front of Aer’wyn. So he had kept his power secret while learning that Aer’wyn was capable of morphing. The mage did not let the kinship of prejudice blind him to the dangers of other mages. As far as he knew Vel had no reason to suspect him of magic.

“Aer’wyn had been in control for a long time. Will you now be in control for an equivalent amount of time? I ask because I’d like to understand you better. We didn’t exactly have much opportunity to speak on the ship did we?”

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[Aer'wyn Grisghul]

Vel leaned over the banister, a knee bent in half, resting all his weight on the other leg. Thick, jet black hair swayed in the midnight gale like vines of darkness. “The humans too.” He groaned hough the groan was spiced with jest. Now that Kynier was here, though he hadn’t sought the man out, he didn’t want him to leave. He’d been alone for so long he’d grown used to it like a second skin that he worse but it didn’t at all mean that given the chance to change that habit he wouldn’t take it at once. Still old habits die hard.

With a raise of the eyebrow, Vel followed Kynier down the path. Enticed a little by the promise of a new place to hide out when feeling like the strangeness of the whole situation was just about too much for him. After all the four walls of his tiny room were homely but got old quickly. And where the wound of the rolling sea met his ears, was precisely where such a place was found.

Curiously he looked over Kynier’s shoulder. The drawing slowly coming to life was so very easily recognisable. With a slight nod of the head he seemed pleased. Though perhaps amidst strangers he had at least found ones with sense enough to revere his kin’s patron goddess. That pleased him indeed.

And the best thing of it all was, there were no mages. For the divine gifts of gods weren’t the grown, dirty magic that he’d known and detested. The magic that could destroy world. They were pieces of the gods themselves inside bodies of devout followers who knew better than to abuse their gifted power. That was a miracle Vel could get behind. He had no idea Kynier wielded any other supernatural powers than the language of shadows. Perhaps had he known he’d not had treated the human so [I]kindly/[I]…

At the mention of his soul twin however, Vel frowned and he sat dawn on the ground, a couple arm’s length away from the artist. Legs crossed. Cool midnight air filling his lungs. “It doesn’t quite work like that. How long I’ll stay… I’m never entirely certain. Could be days, could be seasons… could be years.”

He leaned back until his head found it’s resting place against soft, dewy grass. Eyes looking to the sky with hope reflected in the icy blue lakes. A galaxy of a lifetime wasted thus far. “I’ll stay as long as it takes to heal, then I’ll be off. Where, I don’t know. But don’t be mistaken. I do appreciate you and your friends letting me stay here. A favour is never forgotten. It is that, simply, I wish not to be a burden on those who’ve shown me kindness in spite of… well.. “

Vel closed his eyes and allowed the words ring out their due course, catch the wind and be carried away into the sky where all things lingered forgotten. “We certainly did not.” He scoffed in jest, remembering that day, almost a season ago but what felt like a long decade. Sounding like he’d been chewing on a boot didn’t quite do with Kynier’s serious, dignified aura. Mastery over his own tongue fit him much better. “Have you ever managed to find the meaning of that word. I must admit, considering everything I’ve almost forgotten about that strange stone.”

[Kynier]

For several chimes Kynier worked on the finer details of the goddess. The glimmer of her crown and the long dark sheen of her hair. The way her robes conformed to her body in the way that balanced allure with authority. Still he hadn’t formed an expression on the depiction of the divine creature. The one time he had stared into the goddess’s eyes was an experience he never forget. Bliss entwined with utter terror. That would be something that could take him days to properly portray on the canvas.

Vel commented more than elaborated on the changes of the body’s owner. Had the mage used auristics, he could probably inform Vel that Aer’wyn wouldn’t surface again for quite some time. But he didn’t feel the need to investigate that on his own. Kynier would rather hear the akalak’s own view on it. The mage paused in his drawing to watch the blue male lie down on the cool grass and gaze up at the sky. If Vel requested it Kynier would’ve left him alone. Instead he seemed complacent with Kynier’s presence and conversation.

Setting the quill back to canvas Kynier scratched in more detail to the goddess. “So long as you don’t try to harm anyone in the Midnight Gem, I see no reason why you would be unwelcome to stay.” Kynier did not express it as a threat, just a statement of fact. Honestly, if Vel decided to leave, it would make no difference to him. Aer’wyn had been involved in their lives but had kept his past guarded. Kynier felt no real attachment to either soul of the akalak. And certainly not to one more than the other. Well… perhaps to Vel more. Vel spoke and with honesty. Aer’wyn had attempted to disguise the truth from Kynier even when too many truths were available to be seen.

“You’re better off not knowing more about the stone. Besides, it showed you the same disdain that Aer’wyn did. While it was you in control, it gave your other half the credit for being present during an activation. Something I found curious before I discovered the truth about you two.” The mage stopped and looked down upon the akalak. “Petricious is the name of the doctor in Sunberth. The man is the only actual doctor in the city, but tends to perform unnecessary procedures on his patients. Procedures that have broken people’s minds leaving them in fragmented madness.” Kynier chose not to elaborate further. To not tell what he learned when he and Kelski went to question the doctor. If Vel was truly curious, he would’ve shown more interest before now.

But Kynier kept staring at the akalak, mainly the half arm. That was something that nagged at him. “Why is it Vel, that you don’t use the magic to create a second arm? Your counterpart was reluctant to stop doing so on a daily basis. But I’ve not seen you ever utilize the magic. Why is that?”

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[Aer'wyn Grisghul]

Vel chose not to dignify the comment with a response. He bore no ill will against the nightstalkers nor the healer but not all in the house were god fearing bearers of marks. Certainly they hadn’t crossed him yet but still he chose to remain suspicious for the sake of his own safety and to maintain a habit carved in stone.

The Akalak didn’t take the warning to heart. Truly he had put the thing out of his mind till now but Kynier’s word re-awakened his curiosity and thus more questions fell from his lips as he propped himself up on his elbow, face turned towards his companion. Eyes gleamed in wonder of a delicious secret to be had. “Whether I’m better off or not is my choice, is it not? What I’d like to know is why did the name of that doctor you speak off appear on that stone? Had he put it there?” The akalak stopped himself before he asked too many questions, fearing the human simply had no answers for such. A low hum of thoughtfulness escaped him. “Strange things are happening in this city. Strange things.”

He scowled a little, noticing where Kynier’s eyes wondered. “Magic is a gross thing.” he shrugged at the question. The very knowledge of what Aer’wyn did with his body made him feel unclean, churned the pit of his stomach. The violation of his deed was so personal. Much like wanton killing and sociopathic murdering, just because he had the ability to do something didn’t mean that it was right to do and Vel had a code of honour he abided by even more than he hated Aer’wyn. “It almost destroyed this world once. I’ve seen what happened to his wife once, you know. Overgiving for a morpher isn’t a pretty thing. And though she managed to recover, I don’t trust him to be competent enough to get equally lucky himself. It brings nothing but damnation that I don’t want to have to learn to live with.”

Suspicion rose in him as his eyes narrowed, looking at Kynier much in the same way he looked at Vel sometimes when, unbeknownst to the akalak, he was looking right though into his aura. “Why do you ask? Are you a mage yourself, or a connoisseur of such things?” Though he caught himself before the accusations became too intense, shaking his head and letting out a hearty chuckle. “What am I thinking. Of course you’re not. Only a food would practice magic in a city such as this and in all honesty, Kynier, you don’t look like such a fool to me. “

[Kynier]

“From my understanding, the stone had some sort of reaction to the doctor similar to the one it had for us. But he had visited it before us. Perhaps if someone activated the stone after we had, our names would appear to them.” Kynier’s other suspicion was that the stone had a consciousness of its own. There weren’t enough facts to even support mentioning it aloud to anyone. Not even Kelski. “No, the doctor wasn’t the one that placed it there. It was the Daggerhand leader, Stiletto. I still have no idea why though.”

Kynier attempted to disguise his reaction to Vel’s comment on magic being gross by returning his attention to his drawing. But the quill tip only hovered above the material, never setting down to add another mark. Magic… disgusting? There were so many different ways to describe what magic was in Kynier’s mind. Gross would never be one of them. And it still wouldn’t be even after tonight. The mage had no knowledge of morphing apart from what it could theoretically do. So he didn’t understand what it meant to overgive with the discipline. Aer’wyn never spoke of his wife to Kynier either so he didn’t know. And while magic did almost destroy the world, it had also saved society from extinction.

Damnation. That’s all the akalak saw from mortal use of magic. A very narrow minded view indeed. Vel’s hatred for Aer’wyn was no secret. And Kynier would rather believe that Vel thought that about magic because Aer’wyn used it, on a body that wasn’t entirely his own. But he heard the Vel’s speculative question, and turned to gaze at the akalak again with a neutral expression. The warrior seemed quite content in believing that Kynier wasn’t a mage at all. Even complimenting him on not being a fool. But wasn’t he though? This retched city was the most dangerous place for mages in the world, and he had come willingly.

In the following silence the mage stared out at the sea. Whether Vel liked it or not, they were both mages. The akalak had the knowledge even if he didn’t have the willingness to use it. Could his mind be changed? At some point he seemed intent on leaving the city, and would never be anything to Kynier again. Kynier could leave him to his naïve view and just suffer a fool. But instead the mage closed his eyes and lost himself to the sound of crashing waves and the night’s breeze. He dove into the depths of his own being for the djed that surrounded his soulcore. The substance came forth and transmuted itself into res in his left hand.

Ignite. The gaseous material erupted into white flames with a red soul at their core. Kynier turned and faced the akalak with shadows and firelight dancing across his face and the serious expression it bore. “To say magic is gross is to call every living soul a grotesque thing, Vel. While it is true, that it once nearly destroyed the world, remember, that was at the work of the divine and their own personal conflicts.” The white flames quickly burned through the limited amount of res he had conjured, and the flames went out, leaving them in the darkness of a cloudy night once more.

“The magic of mortals saved the lives of our ancestors when the gods turned a blind eye to us. Without it, humans, inarta, kelvics, akalaks, and every other race would’ve faced damnation. Instead it was our salvation, Vel.”

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[Aer'wyn Grisghul]

“Well isn’t that mighty terrifying… like cutting off your singer and sending it off in a letter to an unknown recipient.” Vel shuddered as he listened to Kynier fill him in on a little more information. “I wonder, since you’re the only one that seemed to get sick, or whatever it was that happened to you back there, if you’re name will be next. Or will it be both of us? Personally I recon both of the options are not preferable.”

At his next remark Kynier seemed a little distraught to say the least. A hand frozen in mid air as if repelled by some kind of force from the canvas in spite of his will to form art on it’s fiery surface. Vel was slow to notice it. For in fact he had been paying more attention to what Kynier said than what he looked like, but after it was too late, he’d noticed it anyway.

A flash of brilliant gold and rusty red erupted out of the corner of his eye, imidietly nailing his attention os tongues of flame turned to white. In the hand of the man before him, the element danced and turned. Wide eyed, the Akalak froze for a moment, breath halted, the heart beating in his chest loud enough to hear in his ears. “You are…” the words fell from his lips like petals from a dying rose. One could not simply begin to describe his disappointment and his influx of sudden fear.

As it died, the flames reflected in the massive eyes of the midnight giant. Along with the death of the flame too did his hope die. The hope of ever fitting into this place. But he was a puzzle of the wrong game. To fit was an impossibility.

Kynier’s words fell on death ears. He hadn’t awed the Akalak. He frightened him for without his armour and his blade he might swell had been naked, so little good did the clothes he wore do. The display ensured he’d not listen to a word his said. Ensured, it did, that Vel’s heart close to any possibility of there being any truth in Kynier’s words.

“The people of this stinking city have a reason to fear the likes of you.” He whispered, scuttling to his feet like a caged animal. Muscles tensing, his face twisting with anger. “You had me fooled. And now I’m a fool for having placed any trust at all in you and your damned Midnight Gem.”

[Kynier]

Kynier carefully watched Vel’s reaction to the revelation. And the mage felt disappointment. Disappointed that Vel would react so strongly, and clearly did not hear anything that the mage had just said. All that had been processed was that he was a mage. As Vel hastily got to his feet, Kynier merely watched with a calm demeanor. Vel had size and strength over him, yet didn’t have his armor or weapon. Kynier didn’t have his short sword, but the assassin’s dagger was safely tucked into his boot. Though the small blade would likely only tickle the akalak, Kynier demonstrated he had other methods at his disposal.

He listened to Vel’s words, and the tone in which they were said. There was so much contempt in his voice. If they had been out and in the city proper, Kynier wouldn’t have been surprised if Vel decided to cry out “Mage” and attempt to form a lynch mob against him. It utterly baffled Kynier how someone with the knowledge could hate magic to the degree of a true Sunberthian. He wanted to understand. But wasn’t sure if Vel would even bother with explanations. Before moving to the Midnight Gem, Kynier wouldn’t have bothered. But he’d changed.

“And how does that make you a fool, Vel?” Kynier’s words weren’t accusatory. It was a simple question spoken with legitimate curiosity. “Besides you, I’m the only one in our home with knowledge of harmful magic.” Kynier took care to not mention Kelski’s attempts to learn magic specifically. Vel was on the edge and he didn’t want to push the blue male over a threshold that he’d never come back from. “So how does my state of being invalidate everyone else's trust?”

The mage shook his head disapprovingly. “I’m a Nightstalker, Vel. Secrets are paramount in my life. Aer’wyn had been lying to everyone. I knew this from the moment I met him when I moved in. I knew you had two souls. Two personalities. Though I didn’t, and still don’t, understand the dynamic between you two. So of course I took steps to prevent Aer’wyn from knowing that I was a mage. Even when it became known that he was a Morpher.”

Kynier turned back to the canvas. To the left side he began drawing another form. One smaller in size than the first. The magic quill formed a curved line that would be the spine of the second figure, which knelt before the presence of the first. While he was drawing, part of his attention remained aware of Vel’s movements and location. “But Morphing is the only magic you know. Isn’t it? While I don’t understand the consequences of overgiving with that discipline, I can understand the fear of it. Some of the consequences of my usage have been devastating. That day on the ship… I had used magic to perceive the stone to try and learn its secrets.” Kynier paused in his drawing and looked over at the Akalak. “That’s what activated the screaming and the appearance of the doctor’s name. But the power of that stone was so strong, I had lost my sense of touch for twenty days just from looking at it with magic.”

“Can you imagine that fear, Vel? Twenty days, thinking it could be permanent, and not even being able to feel a blade puncture my skin. Not able to feel my own clothes against my skin. And having to walk the streets of this city in that condition. So believe me. I understand the fear of misuse. But tell me this… you said you didn’t trust Aer’wyn’s use of morphing your body. Does that mean you also don’t trust yourself to use it? It seems whatever one of you knows, the other does as well. So you know everything about it that he does, I presume. Do you not have faith in your own ability to use magic?”

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[Aer'wyn Grisghul]

Unlike Kynier, Vel saw nothing but death and corruption in magic. It was a darkness that tainted him instead of knowledge which he held.

Kynier’s question served as nothing but proof to the Akalak that they were far from seeing eye to eye. Perhaps even too far gone to be persuaded. The answer was self explanatory. Thus he didn’t dignify the question with any other answer than the piercing gaze of hatred that twisted his face.

“You knew he lied yet did nothing about it. How weak of you.” He hissed like a coiled up rattle snake.

But it seemed Kynier had no fear of his venom. Instead of readying for a fight, he turned his back to the shaken Akalak and returned to his canvas. A trust he shouldn’t have put in a man who’se entire existence surrounded the hatred of Kynier’s own kind. Suffice to say he should have counted himself lucky that Vel’s guard had come down enough in the past few days that he had left his sword behind. Otherwise Kynier would be staring at the tip of it poking out of his own gut by now.

To feel defenceless was the worst feeling Vel could feel. Betrayal, grief, loneliness had nothing on defencelessness.

He narrowed his eyes, finding Kynier’s tale almost comical. In Vel’s mind it served him right. A just punishment for a just crime. If he said what he said to make Vel empathise with that fear, even though it was one he was more than familiar with, he was really doing a terrible job of it all. A smirk of ridicule snuck into Vel’s expression. A complete lack of empathy. “I’m not as foolish as you humans may be. I don’t need to use the magic. Nor to I intend to ever do so."

Although he was almost certain he new the answers to his own question, he chose to ask them anyway. And there was little Kynier could really say to convince him to reconsider the biases that preceded his words. "Do you trust yourself? Not to prevent over giving, that is, you've already demonstrated your ineptitude to keep yourself safe back on that boat. Do you trust yourself to use the power you hold selflessly? Can you honestly, with a hand on your heart say that you wield the magics you know in service of others, instead of your own? I can say that about my sword... but can you say the same about your damned magic?"

[Kynier]

Any hopes of enjoying a calm, cooler summer night appeared to be vanishing. But only half as quickly as the possibility of coming to some sort of understanding with Vel. The warrior only answered the questions with a glare of hatred. As though he had already answered any question Kynier could possibly ask with the mere misguided statement of magic being a vile thing. How could such a thing happen? One soul pursuing magic while the other displays absolute bigotry about it. As though the gods desired a sickening farce and both Vel and Aer’wyn had been selected for the role.

But at Vel’s words Kynier placed the magic quill down on the canvas. It required a considerable effort to not allow the insult to dictate a response. Weak? Everyone at the Midnight Gem looked to him in some way or another. Their protection had become just as much his responsibility if not more so than Aer’wyn’s. Most of his efforts were unseen and went without appreciation. While the sting of Vel’s words were apparent in Kynier’s eyes, the mage took a moment before responding. “What purpose would it have served? To try and tell Kelski, Ebon, Ren, or even Ember about something I didn’t fully understand. How would that have helped anyone to say…?” Kynier’s words trailed off as understanding dawned on him. To have said something would’ve given Vel strength enough to resurface. Just as little Rhaus had done that night. “I see.”

This shade of the warrior never intended to use magic then. That it was a foolish thing to dabble in apparently. It was a choice Kynier did not care to alter. He wanted to understand and now he did. That there was perhaps no possibility he could sway Vel even a little form his views. The next series of questions the warrior asked did provide a small chance of that. It also provided a small outlook on Vel’s views. The darker soul sought to protect and serve, even if it was against magic it seemed.

The question itself was quite thought provoking. Was he selfless with his power? In an instant he considered all the choices in his life and how they had led him here, to this conversation. Kynier had studied under a master wizard, and left his instructor when he could’ve stayed for decades to become more powerful. He moved to Sunberth, where people would kill him as quickly as he could see Vel wanted to, just from witnessing or hearing that he understood how to harness the power of his soul. How since then, each use of magic had been calculated thoroughly. No. Apart from self-preservation, Kynier had never used his magic selfishly. Not like some other mages he had run across.

“Yes I can,” he said with conviction. “I use it to protect now that I have people to protect. And I’ve been using it to try and make changes to the world. Changes that would not benefit me at all. Things that the world is more than content to allow to resume.” Kynier looked back up at the Midnight Gem. Thinking of the shields that no one saw that were guarding it from fires. Weaves of magic over the windows and doors to prevent rain and water from pouring inside. It stretched him to his limits to maintain those few shields.

A sad smile came to his face accompanied by a sad laugh of realization. “Change the world,” Kynier shook his head. “I barely have the ability to protect one home.” Kynier’s eyes fell on Vel again and he crossed his arms in thought. Was that how the warrior had always viewed mages? As selfish creatures? If so, then he could only imagine the hatred Vel must have to share a body with such a soul. Kynier wanted to ask more questions. But Vel had not been forthcoming. Any more would seem like a waste of breath and effort. At least, any more in regards to magic.

“What is it you want out of your life Vel? If you had control for the duration Aer’wyn did, or even longer, what would you do?”

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