[The Docks] Questions Without Answers (Hadrian)

[Ethan]

46th of Summer, 512 A.V. Midday, on the docks of Zelvita looking out towards the sea... The sky was a dull blue that stretched out to the horizon. There were no clouds to provide shade from the burning sun, but it was still chilly on the Harbor. Sailors and dock workers swarmed about. Loading up ships for trade across Mizahar or repairing the piers damaged by the storm. It seemed the whole continent was at it's mercy. Even Mura wasn't completely safe. "What do you think they are?" He said to Hadrian, pointing towards the strange towers of stone that pierced out of the waters that surrounded Zelvita. Both Hadrian and Ethan could sense them as they came into port. Both towers had their own Aura. As if massive amounts of Djed were trapped inside. No one knew where they came from. But some said they were Pre-Valterrian. Placed there before the destruction of the old world.

[Hadrian]

"I really could not say," he said quietly, hand shading his too bright eyes from the glare of the sun. His face and hands were imbued with the sun-blocking agent he had bought from L'orlei back on Mura; he still had to figure out the recipe based on her piecemeal hints. Herbalism fit in with philtering, which had multiple magical applications. Everything was everything. "I haven't enough information to make an acceptable hypothesis, but I would not dismiss out of hand those who claim they are pre-Valterrian. We have standing and habitable pre-Valterrian buildings here, and much of Old Zeltiva surely survives in bits and pieces below or on the seabed. Perhaps one of these days I'll have the opportunity to ask Laviku..." He didn't know if Ethan's keen ears had heard him telling his secrets to the sea as they sailed from Avanthal along the coast en route to Zeltiva. "But I would not risk meddling with them at this point either, not without more information. There are calculated risks and then there are foolhardy risks. I like to think the majority of mine are at least calculated. Have you heard any other hypotheses?"

[Ethan]

"Nothing so far." He said peevishly. Typically Ethan was brimming with information. Bits and pieces he picked up from the sailors at the docks. Private conversations he could listen in on as a bird. Gossip in the taverns and whorehouses. All this he could store away in his mind until Hadrian had need of it. But lately he hadn't been as active in the affairs of men. Choosing instead to fly for hours, hunting and surveying the land. Perhaps he was loosing his interest in this world. He had been confined to the snail like travel of man for too long. Parts of him wished to be free once more to roam the continent. But those where the foolish desires of a wild Kelvic. To live free and unchained by responsibility, save for their master. If Ethan wished to be balanced, he must control these urges. Get back to his studies that brought him here in the first place. "Do you think it could be some sort of defense system? They did come up after the storm hit, right? It could be they were reacting to a threat. But too old and corrupt to actually do something." It was a chilling thought. Old world defences coming back to life. Not knowing friend from foe. There was complicated and powerful magics in those structures. Whether it was dormant or simply waiting for commands, was anyone's guess.

[Hadrian]

"It's certainly possible," he said, taking Ethan's hypothesis into stride. "Zeltiva was part of the Alahean Empire, which was at war with the Suvan Empire for... gods know how long. It was nowhere near the front, but it was always a center for learning, and thus, a target. Perhaps I can talk to someone in the Sailor's Guild about getting a closer look. It's not worth dying to do so, but its aura is vague from here, and I don't want you landing on it and spontaneously combusting or something. I'm sure all your wild oats would end up here, cheeping and chirping for their father and then I'll have a nest of Ethans to take care of." He rolled his eyes at the idea, but there was a quiet smile that softened the humor, that made it seem like he wouldn't mind caring for the generations that followed Ethan, who was not likely to live as long as a human, perhaps forty years if he stuck with Hadrian, who could protect him from a lot of dangers. "Oh, I met a Kelvic in the foothills yesterday. A panther. I think you should meet him; he might be one of the kind you are looking for."

OOCCan we timestamp this thread for 46th Summer? Then on 48th, we can do a scene with Zerren.

[Ethan]

"Wild Oats?!" He laughed indignantly. "I will have you know, good sir. That if anything comes chirping your way, it would be singular. I've never been one for groups and the thought of feeding a whole flock is unnerving." It was nice to know Hadrian would take care of his young ones if anything happened to him. But to suggest there would be a whole litter just because he was an animal was preposterous. "Besides, if I had children, and that is a very strong if. It would most likely be a Konti girl, so chirping would be out of the question." He had a slight obsession with the Konti. Ever since he laid eyes on Sondra. "Another Panther?" He said sardonically, rolling his eyes without the faintest hint of a smile to soften it. He was growing sick of felines. Tiki was a good boy when you got to know him but his arrogance and stupidity was hard to chew. "Is he wild?" Said Ethan, not willing to cast aside his Teachers judgment so quickly. "There is only so much I can do, you know. And what were you up to in the foothills? Something for the University?" He didn't want to nag Hadrian about how dangerous the world had grown since the storm. But he couldn't help but worry.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian laughed. Sometimes it did happen, and usually with Ethan. He fondly ruffled the Kelvic's hair, already a bit wild for the sea breezes. He didn't want to think about Ethan dying, though he knew it was inevitable and would likely come before Hadrian's own death. Part of him hoped that when the time came, there would be some young to take under his figurative wing. Konti or Kelvic, it didn't matter to him. "I think I would like to see you try to seduce Sondra," he mused. There had been some friction between him and the sinspeaker at first, but they had bonded in Ravok and he still counted her a friend and trusted her distrust. "Another panther," he agreed, though without judgment. They had picked up Tiki in Avanthal, Xnnn in Nyka, and now there was Zerren. "I suppose if there's a preponderance of big cats, Marcus Kelvic was thinking of hunters to keep his larders full who could also protect him and be stealthy. Of course, a lammergeier can do all those things too. Perhaps the panthers just like us? "Anyway, he said he had a house in town, so that says to me he's somewhat civilized when he wants to be. But he didn't know that constant shape-shifting was the cause of his constant hunger. I lured a hare for him to snack on while we spoke, but he must have shifted a good five or six times within half an hour. He seemed interested in learning magic, thought I was a Kelvic because... well, I was practicing that great big lammergeier model... anyway, he thought I was sick. But I think he needs a Kelvic mentor more than anything. If you want to initiate him in reimancy or teach him to read auras, I will trust your good judgment. But first things first."

[Ethan]

"Ignorance, oh joy." He said dully. Ethan would rather kill a Feral Kelvic than try to teach him, but a simple one wasn't so bad. As long as he wasn't some stuck up little brat like Tiki was. And it was his duty as a more educated and civilized Kelvic. He hadn't ever considered being a teacher or mentor. Perhaps it was his calling? To guide his kind instead of lead them against the slavers? Both were only a dream fueled by the hatred for what he saw in Sunberth and Ravok, but maybe one day they would become reality. This Panther could be his first step. If so, he would need to become even more dedicated to his old Master's teachings. The more he aged the more he hated and respected that man. His sins were countless and he was no better than the slavers in Ravok. Worse in some respects. But he had given Ethan not only the tools but the will to become the man he was today. And now that he played with the idea of teaching. His lessons would be even more important. It seemed he would never be free. The thought made his stomach tighten in a hard knot. "I'll meet him." Ethan said, eager to think of other things. "But magic is out of the question until I become more skilled. I can mentor him though. It's surprising he hasn't starved to death changing that often. But Animals are queer like that. They can adapt to the harshest circumstances" A slight smile danced upon his lips whenever he spoke of the feats of his people. But an Ego couldn't be helped when your race could dominate both man and beast. With the proper training of course... The thought brought another kind of smile to his lips. In parts wicked and ambitious. "I wonder where he got a house?" He added, not wanting Hadrian to read too much into his emotions. When in company of a Master Aurist. One learned to hide their feelings. "Strange for a Kelvic to own land."

[Hadrian]

Hadrian let Ethan's mouth do his thinking, just nodding and smiling and mostly staring at the things out to sea with mild curiosity. Sometimes it took careful doing not to read what was going on in Ethan's mind; he was no psychic in that regard, but long association, a keen sense of observation, and that flashfire aura combined to give him a good idea most of the time. "I didn't ask many questions. He was so curious, I ended up answering more of his than anything else. But if you think you might take him under your wing, so to speak, after meeting him, all the better. Whether we train him in magic is another question altogether, and not one that need be decided right away. One mustn't just hand power to someone who won't use it responsibly."

[Ethan]

"I don't know Hadrian. Giving powers to irresponsible Kelvic's is a talent of yours." Ethan snorted happily. The memory of their first meeting still brought a smile to his lips. Hadrian working water with his Reimancy. Ethan bursting through the trees, demanding to know how he did it. It seemed ages ago but in truth it was little more than a year. But in that time they had traveled from the slave markets of Ravok to the frozen plains of Taldera and back south to Zelvita, by way of Sunberth and Nyka. And in that time Ethan had learned to see the souls of others and control the element he flew upon. His grasps were rudimentary at best, travel and conflict had taken time from his lessons, but maybe if they settled down here for a while. He could return full heartedly to Hadrian's teachings. I like it here, Ethan changed the subject, sick of talk about Kelvic's and new students. "I'm not overly fond of the sea but it makes for good flying." He clasped his hands together and expelled a small portion of Res between his palms. He did this often, played and tinkered with Reimancy as he spoke. It helped him to think and Hadrian had always advertised the power of creating a habit out of training. "Perhaps we could go flying soon? When you learn to Morph a little better. There's a spot in Mihril Pass I'd love to take you to. You can see the whole world from there on a clear day."

[Hadrian]

Hadrian smiled. He was glad he had taken a chance on Ethan. Though the bird-brain occasionally flew off to do who knows what, he always came back. There was something comforting about being able to depend on someone. His eyes almost conjured salt water, though, as he thought of Kendall and how he had gone back to his family, angry at Hadrian for some reason he would not articulate, leaving Hadrian confused and upset, but bottling it up because that was what he did. "The sea gives rise to thermals, doesn't it?" he asked, his understanding of weather systems incomplete. Perhaps it was something he would pick up when he too could fly. "I figured you would catch turtles and drop them on the rocks to feed... "We should probably work on the flying soon," he agreed. "I have been doing calculations on mass and lift and all, but I'm not a surgeon so my understanding of anatomy is limited. I think that I might be able to make my bones stronger, albeit hollow and light, and perhaps I will have to rely on Fluxed energy or aeromancy at first, until I can shrink my body down to proper proportions." He paused, thoughtful. "I've heard that the truly masterful morphers can attain such a perfect model that they inherit the instincts and such of their models. I could be as much a lammergeier as you, with the instinct to hunt and all... Well, I'm sure that's also an acquired skill."