[Antiquities Society] Orientation (Dust)

[Elem Bree]

58th of Fall, AV 512

Elem sat in the general hall of the Society headquarters, an array of parchments and maps before him. One of the benefits of membership to the Antiquities Society, among other things, was the use of its members' maps and findings. The goal was to find Valkalah, the original city of the Akalak, so best to serve in a spirit of cooperation and find it using all available resources.

A sigh escaped the Zeltivan's lips, as he did his best to copy the sketches among the various maps before him. Copying words from books was one thing, but trying to make renditions of drawn pictures was another entirely. Having ink to use, which could not be altered once it was marked to the parchment served as a further aggravation. elem made a note in his journal he had brought along to visit the philtering lab to find an alternative ink. making a slight cluck with his tongue against the roof of his mouth, he continued to do his best to recreate the pictures in the maps.

Most were of the local region, while some were more expanded, but less accurate. Such was the way when looking at a larger scale on a map. It took exploration and hard work to document the subtleties of features. he flet that he might try to do his part sooner than later, though it would realistically be Spring before he would want to venture out into the waters he previously believed to be the Suvan Sea.

Yes, that's right. When Elem first unrolled the maps on the table, his surprise was clear that his belief that the Bluevein emptied into the wide body of the Suvan was incorrect. It did empty into its waters, though those waters were more of a wide tributary of the greater body. The actual Suvan was farther north. Also, further educating him was the fact that the continent of Falyndar was just opposite Riverfall, even though it could not be seen by the naked eye. The only thing that pleased Elem about these findings was that the search areas for underwater exploration would be on a smaller scale than he had initially pondered.

[Dust]

Dust had come out to explore Riverfall some more, certain there were still interesting nooks and crannies to be found within the city walls. The courtyard outside this building absolutely qualified as 'interesting', on account of its statue. She had studied the peculiar creatures for what must have been half a bell before venturing into the building as other people did. If that was out there... what was in here? The entrance hall, she found at first a bit disappointing -- just so much more stone, space, and people. But since the Kelvic was looking for something to occupy herself with... well, there was this person, with these papers, and... She craned her head for a better look. Yes, a decidedly pensive expression on his face. Whatever he was concentrating on so deeply must be interesting. That was the starting hypothesis, anyway. Dust padded across the hall towards Elem, making no effort to be stealthy about her approach. She wore plain clothes, cotton in brown and ivory, which were in decent shape but had seen travel. The wide-brimmed hat which rested atop her blonde hair had definitely seen better days. Maybe because wear had conformed its shape to that of her head, it managed to stay in place when she leaned out over Elem's maps, compelled by curiosity to get in the midst of his business. "What are these?" the Kelvic asked, without apparent concern for the interruption she posed to his concentration -- or that her shadow blocked some of his light. "Oh! They're maps, aren't they?" She reached down to touch her fingers to the nearest one. "The caravan masters had drawings like that. A couple of them showed me," she informed Elem -- not that he likely needed to know this detail.

[Elem Bree]

Elem had the distinct impression that someone was watching him, but his eyes wanted to absorb more, to orientate himself properly in his part of the world, even the world itself. The more he learned, the more Elem realized he didn't know much at all. No, that was a little harsh. It just expanded his knowledge further, much like meditation, only in a different way, where meditation expanded his capacity for knowledge further. it was then that a woman, human?! in appearance decided to jump in. Elem's hope for another human in the sea of Konti and Akalak was great, so great that he looked up from his studies.

Elem watched from her expression to her fingers touching the yellowed maps that she indeed knew what they were. Choosing to be helpful rather than snarky, especially in the presence of a lady and a human, he nodded and involved himself. "Yes, these maps show the body of water nearest to the city of Riverfall. You say you were on a caravan? Where did you come from?" Elem stood and bowed slightly, addressing himself formally. "I am Elem Bree of Zeltiva, a healer at the Sanctuary. And you are?" His hand extended as it often did with those who were not sizing him up martially.

[Dust]

Dust canted her head as Elem explained what the maps represented, considering the lines intently, trying to match them up to what she knew of Riverfall's surroundings. If there was 'a body of water' in there, where would it be? But he continued speaking, and her contemplation of the drawings was thus short-lived. Looking over to Elem, the Kelvic smiled broadly, reaching out to shake his hand. "Oh, Kavala mentioned you! I'm Dust," she replied cheerfully. "I traveled with caravans before. I came here on a ship, from Ahnatep." She paused for a moment, considering her reply and Elem's own introduction. "I was born in The Spires, though," Dust added at the end. Smiling again at him, Dust leaned both of her hands on the table's edge and turned back to the maps. "You said these show Riverfall?" Riverfall had, well, the river, and the sea it emptied into, and the great cliffs to either side. She knew their shape pretty well, but couldn't find anything quite like that on the larger map. The other... The blonde woman reached out to lightly trace one finger down the center of it, following a narrow snaking line. Would that be the river? Then where it widened and the lines curved out... "This is Riverfall?" she asked, looking to Elem for confirmation as she pointed to a spot on the map.

[Elem Bree]

Taking the hand offered, Elem quirked an eyebrow. She had met Kavala and Kavala had mentioned him? It was too tempting not to ask."Ah, a pleasure, Dust. I hope Kavala had good words for me." Looking back down at the maps as she spoke and then back to her, he commented further. "Ahnatep? Spires? I'm not sure if I am familiar. Which direction are they?" This was quite a boon indeed, meeting someone familiar as well as perhaps learning about places he had no knowledge of. The more these kinds of events occurred, the more Elem believed that the Gods were involved in his life daily.

Watching Dust examine the maps he had been previously spying, Elem did his best to clear up her queries. "Well, this is a larger reference. Imagine how it might look to a bird who flew up high enough that the individual city could not be seen." He pointed to the mark on the map. "This is Riverfall. The cliffs and whatnot are not depicted as this map is for reference. What I was looking at originally was that I had mistakenly believed that the waters to our west.." His finger slid over to the narrow inlet. "..was actually the Suvan, which in actuality lies to the north." His finger traced up the curved line to the body of water." These things are nearly impossible to understand without a map and the work of others. Unless we can all sprout wings for that greater perspective, of course." He chuckled and smiled genuinely to Dust. Yes, wings would be a great help.

[Dust]

Dust flashed a quick grin at Elem as he comments on her mention of Kavala; not conspiratorial but cheerful in expression. It could be inferred that the words were good. She tipped her head as he confessed unfamiliarity with the places she named, then pursed her lips as she considered the maps for a moment. The Kelvic concluded she couldn't match their abstractions up with her experience without help from the human -- which wouldn't be of avail for places he didn't know. She straightened and turned around, orienting towards the south. "Well, Ahnatep is south, and maybe a little east. It's in the desert. And the Spires..." Dust chewed idly on her lower lip. "I'm not sure of direction from here. But it's built into the bloodwood forest. In... hm... Taldera," she concluded. He went on to point at the map, nicely clearing up her confusion about the location of Riverfall -- or would have cleared it up, except that Dust didn't quite catch the movements of his finger on the paper. She was distracted by the inadvertent irony of his words, delighted into laughter. She clapped her hands together softly, the patter they made muted, and grinned broadly at Elem. "But I don't have to! I have wings." Just not in this form, a detail which the Kelvic failed to immediately recall. "The hard part," she continued, leaning over the maps again with a frown and pursed lips, a pensive expression, "is seeing the rocks and trees and water and buildings in all these little black lines... Even when you fly really high, they're more than that." Though the greatest difference between her mental image and the map before them is no more than a matter of scale.

[Elem Bree]

Elem traced his finger absently off the map to a point on the table south and east of the paper. "The desert. I am vaguely familiar there. I have at least seen that there is a large area there but that is all I know. A desert. Very interesting." his finger traced back to Riverfall as his point of origin and most familiar. Especially since most, if not all of the maps, radiated outward from the city considering the Society's goals. He felt a little less uneducated when she mentioned Taldera. He did know of it, thanks once again to his meeting with Sariana. Sometimes he wondered if she wasn't a Goddess in disguise, urging him to leave his little port.

"Yes, yes. North of Syliras. I have not heard of this forest or these spires, but I did hear of a city of ice there called Avanthal. Is it near there? Elem knew that one day, if he lived that long, he would travel to see some of these places he heard tales of. he had many years of study and work to do before that would happen, however. He wouldn't let it slip away, though. his details wer lost in the mention of wings. Not a human after all. No matter, as another Kelvic was always welcome to the Zeltivan."Kelvic, eh? Interesting. I must attract them. Then again, perhaps all of us at the Sanctuary do. I imagine Kavala extended you an invitation, so I won't bother. But you are certainly welcome among us." his mind began to chew at the inevitable question, but he really didn't want her to disrobe here in front of the Akalaks. They were much to keen on owning the race. Besides, how many times would elem have to see breasts and pretend he wasn't a young man?

Looking back at the maps and doing his best to keep his attention there, he nodded. "I suppose I'll have to make my own maps eventually. Maybe you can help me with details?"

[Dust]

Dust's eyes traced the movement of his finger off the map to the south, then back again, head bobbing confirmation as he spoke. "I didn't go to any of the other cities there," she remarked, "but it did look like the desert went on a long ways." The Kelvic tipped her head as Elem continued on to the subject of Taldera, one hand reaching up to ruffle through her own hair, expression pensive. "I think... west and north of Syliras. We did a lot of traveling east to get there." To Syliras, that was. Then she shook her head a bit. "Not near. I haven't been to Avanthal, it's farther north. There's almost never ice or snow in the Spires; It just rains all winter." She tipped her head as Elem mused over Kelvics and the Sanctuary, nodding slightly as he spoke of welcome. "Thank you," Dust replied with a smile. She then tipped her head the other way, peering at him curiously -- there seemed to be something else the human wasn't saying... but he promptly returned the subject to maps, and those were more immediately interesting to the Kelvic. Dust folded her hands together and leaned them against her chin, considering the white sheets and black lines. "...maybe," she replied after a moment's thought, sounding thoughtful. Straightening and looking over at Elem, she let her hands fall back down to her sides. "What exactly would I be doing to help? "

[Elem Bree]

Elem listened to Dust, making circles in the approriate areas and writing in Ahnatep (Desert) and Spires (Bloodwood Forest), Avanthal (Ice). They were vaguerly correct, but mostly notations for later maps. Who knew if he would actually see this person again? He knew that Kelvics were migratory by nature, regardless of their dominant form. It was probably just a natural trait which aided them in survival, to move on to more advantageous climates and feeding grounds.

Elem wondered if there wasn't a Divine purpose involved which put him alongside Kelvics in the first place. Or if he would ever bond with one. Gianne and Rhy seemed to do it easily enough. As Dust asked about how she could help, the distraction from his thoughts was welcome. "Well, if you understood and could read maps, you could fly around and tell me about features that I could not see from the ground. Or you could even make notations yourself. I'm sure there would be a way to attach a scroll and writing implements to you in your natural form." He shrugged. "What do you think?"

The clothes alone were one thing, but the hassle of not having hands in a Kelvic's natural form had to be annoying. But then again, they were basically animals first, so they probably didn't really care about writing. It brought something else to mind. "How is it that you found yourself able to read? You must have had a friend. I rarely run into Kelvics who can. Self taught?" He didn't intend offense, but he found the whole idea fascinating.

[Dust]

As Elem set quill to paper, Dust padded around the table to peer over (or around) his shoulder, the better to see what he was writing. At least as it looked from his perspective, even if she couldn't understand the marks. When he explained what he envisioned her doing, Dust blinked, and then grinned at him. "Oh! I could do that. The telling part, at least." Pursing her lips in thought, she looked down at herself thoughtfully. She remembered how she had drawn a letter in the sand with her claws, but... Blue eyes flicked to the small, neat writing on the map. It had been rather more messy than that. Elem went on to mention reading, and the raven Kelvic shook her head in negation. "Oh, no. I just like talking to people. I don't read. Not yet," she amended with another cheerful grin. "Kavala said she would teach me." Which suggested Dust would be in the vicinity of Sanctuary for that long, at least. She narrowed her eyes and peered down at the map. At the point he had said represented Riverfall. She still wasn't convinced those lines were the cliffs and woods around the city. "Maybe you can teach me about maps, too? I still don't see Riverfall in that," the young woman admitted, gesturing towards the notation in question. Despite what he said about flying up really high; as high as she's gone, it still didn't look like these lines. The abstractions required for cartography were simply too foreign a concept for her to immediately grasp.