Beware - Unidentified Flying Object (Eris pls)

[Malia]

Location: The Caern
Timestamp: 18th of Summer, 510 AV

A few days had passed since her departure from Sahova. The Zeltivan trade ship had brought her safely to its home port and from there she had traveled by foot as she always did. She couldn’t really explain why she had never bothered with learning the basics of riding horses or even saved up some money to purchase a carriage. She didn’t consider herself alive enough for the former and not wealthy or important enough for the latter, which might be a part of the reason. Something had changed, however: ever since she had learned the first bits about Animation, she had started to carry a piece of charcoal and one or two stones with her. Neither were the stones beautiful nor was the charcoal clean or long. She simply kept them to practice her skill, the charcoal for drawing circles and the stones to animate.

What led her near the Caern couldn’t be described as coincidence or mistake. Perhaps some subconscious part of her wanted a break from the constant traveling and seeing new landscapes. Perhaps the stones and charcoal were calling out to her, yearning to be filled with the still fresh knowledge she had gathered upon the citadel of the undead. Either way, when she caught sight of the massive stone construction she felt drawn to it and approached its outskirts with innocent curiosity. It looked like a monument from times before the Valterrian as nobody would have possessed the strength or purpose to set up such a huge construction in the middle of nowhere. Intrigued by the unique perspective, she climbed the stones until reaching the top.

There she stood and sat after a while. The landscape held nothing of interest beyond rolling hills and the occasional patch of forest, so she decided to rest for about a bell. As ever, her hand found its way into the pocket, first producing the charcoal. The rock was of a dark grey color and the charcoal black; nevertheless she started drawing circles on it. Because of the rough texture she had to make double sure that there were no openings in the circles. Additionally, she needed a couple tries to produce perfectly round circles.

When she was satisfied, she started carefully drawing a small circle in front of her. Smaller circles were easier … What really mattered was the big circle she then drew around her own form. She made sure that it was nicely rounded and seamlessly connected to the small circle. Then one of the stones from the pocket was placed in the middle of the smaller circle.

The next part was the most important and difficult one. Sitting in the bigger circle, the Nuit cut herself into the finger with a small knife she carried with her. A drop of milky white ichor was spilled over the spot where the two circles connected – the activation. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated on her soul, the very existence that kept her alive. If one could describe a Nuit as ‘alive’. She tried to treasure the feeling of her soul and send it towards the lifeless little stone in the other circle. Of course, it was unlikely that a stone could come alive and move around on its own – it didn’t have legs to do so, after all –, but the Nuit had seen it before and knew for sure it was possible.

Once she felt that the stone had absorbed the principle of life, she started working on the simple command she wanted to give. In her mind she repeated a single word again and again, burning it into the fresh soul of the stone. Slowly she started conveying an image together with the word, a move that would be carried out upon the command. She laid some emphasis on pronunciation and the sound of her voice. It would be unique, so only her voice could command the golem.

Opening her eyes long after she had lost her sense of time, the Nuit looked at the stone. Would it work? She had heard of mistakes turning into mortal danger situations … With a mental shrug she murmured the word: “Abast.” And the stone …

… flew down towards the foot of the Caern. To say it in the words of Sahova, there was an 80 % probability that the stone would hit whoever had come to have a closer look at the sitting person.

Malia closed her eyes. One more proof that Animation was an unpredictable discipline.

Ancient Tongue :

Abast = Move (verb, present tense)

[Eris]

Eris gave her horse a gentle kick after noticing that an ant had caught up and surpassed the horse in the last few minutes. Rhine let out a snort of protest, but picked up the pace a bit, all the while managing to convey an air of disdain for her rider. Eris couldn’t blame her, of course. Rhine was used to enduring much longer stretches of non-stop travel, but she had grown rather lazy during their prolonged stay in Syliras. Nothing but standing around in the stables and brief excursions to the Bronze Wood had probably given the mare the illusion that the two had finally established a home. No such luck. Eris might have considered Syliras more of a home than any other place of residence, but there was still much to be done before she could allow herself to settle down.

Eris tried not to slouch in the saddle, but found that Rhine’s fatigued air had grown on her. As Rhine began her slow descent upon another hill, Eris caught sight of a massive stone structure atop the next hill. Eris felt a tad embarrassed for not noticing the stones earlier. Maybe if you weren't so preoccupied with staring at the saddle with complete disinterest in your surroundings… - her old teacher's voice admonished in her mind. She mentally scolded herself for her lack of attentiveness, attributing it to lack of a good night’s sleep.

She had been so excited about finally going on the road again, she had spent the whole night making plans for her trip. She would travel to Zeltiva and from there, board a ship heading for Sahova. She knew she’d have to find a ship that would transport her for little to know payment – perhaps in exchange for a service of some sort. She was planning to use all her mizas to procure information once she actually got to Sahova and she didn’t want to spend it prior to her arrival there. Once she had that information, she could finally allow herself to relax. But she refused think that far ahead, especially after the many times she had felt she was just as close to her target and ended up staring at a dead end.

Eris leaned forward in the saddle as Rhine began to climb the next hill, resolving to dismount and take a break at the top. She reasoned that the large stones would provide some shade from the sun and maybe even give her the chance to take a nap. Not that Eris’s characteristic paranoia would ever allow her to sleep in the middle of nowhere without taking a million precautions first.

Finally atop the hill, Eris slid of Rhine’s back, smiling slightly as the horse immediately bent her neck to the ground, tearing up tufts of grass with the aggression of a starved tiger. Just as Eris began to look for a nice place to sit, she glimpsed a human figure on the other side of the stones. Of course, Eris couldn’t rest knowing there might be some sort of danger lurking so close by. Her hand resting casually on the hilt of her dagger, Eris made her way toward the stranger, trying to make her approach as silent as possible...

…only to be hit by something small, dense and very, very hard. Eris yelped more from surprise than actual pain, though there was quite a bit of pain. She bent down to pick up the offending object - which turned out to be no more than a stone – and clutching it in her hand, stalked over to the sitting figure. Her right shoulder burned where the stone had hit and even though it was nothing compared to other injuries she had received, she felt extremely irritated.

“What business do you have throwing things at unsuspecting travelers?” she asked the stranger, her eyes blazing with anger as she held up the stone as proof of the transgression. “It could have killed me.”

She was so consumed by her anger that she hadn't even taken in the strange position in which the offender was sitting. Nor, did she notice the circular markings surrounding the woman.

[Malia]

Fortunately the female figure was lucky enough to be hit at the shoulder and not, for example, in the eye. After realizing that the human’s pride seemed to be her most hurt part, Malia started brushing her hands over the charcoal circles and blurring them. She didn’t want others to know what she was doing. Magic was a dangerous and distrusted hobby. Although few living people had actually heard more than legends about its existence, in the Wilderness one could come across all sorts of people. Magic was not in the least accepted, because it couldn’t be understood. She would react the same way if she hadn’t sought it out herself.

The Nuit was as pale as ever, although she had concealed the more obvious signs of her undead-ness. Her clothing was dark, worn and dirty and her pitch-black hair a bit messy, but she radiated an attitude of cleanness and care for her body. What she couldn’t hide was the unusual skinniness that showed in prominent collarbones, fragile wrists and pointy limbs. Her features looked like she hadn’t eaten for days – which was, of course, true, but of no importance. Eerily black eyes inspected the approaching woman.

She possessed a horse which spoke of her social status. Her body appeared fragile, yet she moved with energy and self-confidence. She looked like a human. The fact that her red hair was cut short showed that looks weren’t important to her. Malia saw a woman who had accommodated to the circumstances of this world and had developed a shell to protect her from its dangers. That would explain why she was roaming the Wilderness, further hardening her shell and practicing her skills. Maybe she was a hunter or tracker.

Of course, Malia knew something about races and their cultures, but humans were an unpredictable kin, and she could have gotten a wrong image just as well. It was obvious, however, that the woman was pissed. She could quite understand her anger too, although she didn’t tolerate the way Redhead voiced her emotions. “I was practicing. I am sorry that this has put you into danger, but I did not aim at you in the first place. You could have dodged the stone too”, she stated, voice lacking any emotion. Her lips twitched, though, when she added: “In the end everyone is responsible for oneself here.”

Then she waited. She didn’t care if the woman was angry as long as she didn’t get violent … And even if she lost her temper, Malia still had a few hidden cards she could play if the situation got out of hand. For the time being, however, she didn’t expect the other traveler to behave more hostile than she already did.

[Eris]

Eris opened her mouth to offer up a clever retort, but stopped short, choosing to let her temper simmer instead. After a few seconds, the muscles in her jaw relaxed and the crease in her brow smoothed itself. The woman was right, of course. It irked Eris that she could have been provoked so easily, especially by something as harmless as a flying stone. It could’ve been much worse – a flying knife, for one – and Eris couldn’t allow her sleep-deprived mind to dull her reflexes.

“You were practicing throwing rocks?” Eris asked, arching an eyebrow.

She held the stone out to its owner with a nonchalant shrug. It was a gesture of peace on her part – an acknowledgment of the apology (if it could be called that) and a way of smoothing over her own bout of anger.

Now that she was calmer, her eyes swept over the area curiously. Joel had always told her that she must gather as much information about a potential threat before initiating conversation. And here she was, letting her temper win and completely missing the mark. Now, she took the opportunity to study the woman without being too obvious about it. She looked painfully thin, reminding Eris of the emaciated corpses she has seen when traveling through a plague-stricken village. The black eyes were a bit unnerving, but not entirely novel to Eris. She had seen a lot strange humans during her travels and few things surprised her anymore. Humans… Eris wondered briefly if the woman before her was indeed human. There was something decidedly odd about her appearances, but nothing so striking that Eris could immediately peg her as another race.

[Malia]

Malia hesitated for a moment. What use would it be to tell the woman the truth? She didn’t seem too tolerant. So she shrugged, trying to mimic human behavior. “Yes.” After a while she added: “Throwing rocks is better than nothing when it comes to self-defense.” Although certain dryness revealed that she wasn’t exactly honest, she hoped that she could pass as something close to human yet detached enough to prevent the woman from asking further questions.

With a grateful nod she received the stone and let it vanish in her pocket. Of course, the object itself was of no value to her, but she understood and appreciated the gesture. One would think that keeping peace with fellow travelers was self-explanatory in a world like Mizahar, but Malia knew better. Because of that she was even able to value the neutral attitude the stranger displayed.

Her examining glances didn’t escape the Nuit’s eye … In turn Malia let her gaze wander over the stranger’s features once again, taking the time to look more closely. Although she couldn’t detect anything of significance, she supposed that the woman was armed. Such self-confidence and determination could never come from someone who had neither the tools nor the skill to fight off the dangers a journey through the wilderness contained. Malia didn’t know what to make of that – she herself had never been interested in combat. Instead she had learned to read the tracks on her way and avoid bandits and vagabonds for the most part. And although she didn’t look like it, she had her own ways of escaping a lonely death on a dusty street.

So, what to do with the stranger? Shrugging inwardly, Malia reasoned that she could as well try to get some information out of her. The Gods wouldn’t have sent such an unusual traveler across her path if they hadn’t had a particular purpose in mind. Making sure that they were still alone, Malia raised to be on eye level with the opponent. “Call me Azola, if you want. May I know where you are heading at?” As black eyes assessed the reaction, her pale arms folded in front of her chest. Her voice remained as emotionless as ever, but a faint hint of curiosity had developed.

[Eris]

Eris hadn’t expected the woman to concede to practicing rock throwing. Then again, she hadn’t really known what she expected. When she had first seen the woman, her mind had called up the image of the reimancer she had met in the Bronze Wood not too long ago. They appeared to be sitting in the same posture and both were doing something suspiciously strange. But the reimancer had been able to make marble appear out of thin air. Throwing a rock around hardly qualified as something similar. Eris felt the weight of the marble cherry the man had made for her in her satchel. No matter how much she tried to draw a logical parallel between the two, she could not. She wanted to ask the woman if she was really only throwing rocks, but stamped out the question before it made its way to her lips. If she asked too many questions, she would get asked questions in return.

Watching the woman rise, Eris tensed slightly. She seemed harmless enough, but one could never be too careful. Much to Eris’s relief, the woman only offered a name and a question.

Eris already had a half-formed lie spinning around in her mind. But, really, what would be the harm in telling this Azola where she was headed? It’s not as if she was asked to disclose all her plans.

“Zeltiva. I’m headed for Zeltiva,” she said simply. “What about you, Azola? Did you come here with the specific purpose of training your rock-throwing skills or do you have a destination in mind?” Feeling that it would only be fair to offer her name in return, she added with a shrug, “I’m Eris, by the way.”

The strange woman intrigued her, while making her feel uneasy at the same time. The entire situation reminded her of sitting in the local tavern as a little girl. There were a lot of shady personages there - people who were almost always more than they seemed, but had an interesting story to tell. Sometimes they were traveling merchants or young warriors in search of glory. Other times, they were fleeing murderers and thieves. No matter who the individual claimed to be, Eris had always stayed for the story, curled up in her little corner with a glass of milk. There were times when she knew that the smart thing would be to get out of the room as soon as possible, but something constantly compelled her to stay.

[Malia]

Zeltiva. So, despite the dangerous aura, the woman apparently wanted to learn something from books and scholars. That fact intrigued Malia. She hadn’t expected a thirst for knowledge in such a person. Humans proved to do surprising things again and again. Malia suspected that she wasn’t much different … although she tried her best not to let emotions dictate what she was doing. Of course, her goal had its origins in pure emotion, but then she didn’t want to lose her temper while pursuing it. Malia believed that emotions should be controlled and used as a tool. This trait separated her from that woman.

In other traits, she very much resembled Malia, though. Her biting sarcasm and her short and precise answers spoke for themselves. Malia had enough experience with the human psyche to know that Eris wasn’t merely a Knight’s daughter or a common thief. No, at some point in her life something had happened and added certain steel to the woman’s behavior. Malia, the timeless Nuit, was intrigued. Of course, she couldn’t hope to get her life story out of her opponent, but a conversation might prove to be interesting.

A thin grin crossed her features, more a grimace than anything else. She held her emotions at bay, but allowed herself to respond to the obvious accusation in Eris’ voice. “What a coincidence. I’m coming from Zeltiva and moving towards Syliras. Actually I’ve spent some time in Sahova” she revealed honestly. There was no point in lying. The fake name she used for protection, but her visit to Sahova was no secret.

Eyeing her opponent curiously, she pondered over getting some more information out of Eris. Obviously they were quite similar when it came to personality, although Malia didn’t believe that she had ever been so hot-headed. Apart from that … something had shaped them into what they were now. For a while Malia was searching for the right words to express her thoughts. Another mental shrug and she decided to offer something of her own first. “Well, I wasn’t serious with practicing throwing rocks. It was magic. I do not intend to cause more pain than necessary with such powers though.” After that confession, she watched Eris very cautiously. The livings were often too narrow-minded to accept magic and its practitioners. This one, however, seemed intelligent and curious enough to tolerate a wizard nearby. Never mind that Malia was barely a novice in the field.

[Eris]

Eris’s eyebrows rose on their own accord at the woman’s admission. It was more of a coincidence then Azola realized, since Eris’s ultimate destination was, in fact, Sahova. Zeltiva was barely a stepping stone on her way to her goal. However, she decided to withhold the information for the moment. It would be much easier to come up with an excuse for traveling to Zeltiva should the need arise, then for traveling to Sahova.

Eris’s eyes widened in surprise even as the corners of her lips twitched in satisfaction. So, she had been right. Or rather, that unidentifiable feeling in the pit of her stomach had been right. There really was a connection between the reimancer she had met and this strange woman. Of course, Eris still didn’t know exactly what that connection was. Her knowledge of magic pretty much started and stopped at the encounter with the magician. Any other knowledge could be considered useless since it came from whispered rumors and the tales of drunken travelers.

“What sort of magic?” Eris inquired, trying to keep the curiosity out of her voice. She could not quite wrap her mind around any form of magic that would require flying rocks. Nevertheless, she was curious. You never learn, do you? How many times do you need to get stabbed with something sharp before you learn not to poke your nose into matters that don’t concern you? Joel’s voice was as sarcastic as ever as it ranted on in the back of her mind. Her old teacher’s voice has been popping up in her thoughts more and more often, causing Eris to wonder if she was slowly going insane.

[Malia]

This exemplar surely was akin to following where curiosity led her. Perhaps it was because Malia herself didn’t hold recklessness in high regard that she could see Eris like a mere object of her studies. The time in Sahova had shown her the real difference between the living and the undead. Many humans let emotions control their actions. Having lived for so long, Malia would have most likely gone insane, had she attended to her emotions all the time. No, she believed that controlling one’s emotions, drawing logical and reasonable conclusions was the better way of getting through … existence. Or life, for living beings.

Because of that she found herself intrigued by Eris’ personality. Malia had provided her with a bit of rare information – her knowing something about magic – and the only response was a question full with the desire to obtain more knowledge. Greedy, in a way. But whatever Malia thought of her opponent, she had no reason to harm her.

Of course, she needed a new body, an unassuming one of average appearance. And while Eris could fall into that category if her hair grew long and her stare would be replaced by Malia’s empty blackness, killing her would certainly prove to be difficult. Perhaps this was what emotions were good for – extreme situations, turning the probability of surviving to 50-50.

But Malia didn’t really want to sound like a Sahovan.

Assuming that Eris didn’t have any substantial knowledge about magic, she explained: “This discipline is called Animation and used for creating golems. Those can walk and speak and even feature a limited kind of intelligence, but they’re automatons, not people.” Thinking back to what she had heard of Sahova’s history, nobody could be sure if that really was true. There was more to golems than simple intelligence and a sense of service, but Malia’s explanation had been shaped for a layman.

Additionally, her emotionless voice made clear that she didn’t intend to go into detail regarding mechanics or history. No, in Malia’s book it was the human’s turn to share some information.

“Is it simple curiosity that makes you ask for it? Or are you on a quest for knowledge? For insight?” Those words were guesses, but Malia knew how to read people. Being an emotional person, Eris surely had to offer an interesting story as well.

[Eris]

Eris listened to Azola’s explanation, cataloging the facts in the back of her mind. It might come in handy at a later point… or it may not. At least it explained the flying rock.

A corner of Eris’s lip quirked up slightly. Hers was indeed a quest for knowledge, but knowledge of a very different kind – a knowledge that only she cared for. “You could call it a quest for insight, I suppose,” she said with a noncommittal shrug. “But not insight related to magical practices. To be sure, it is an interesting field, but one not meant for me.” Magic did, in fact, interest her, but only from a curiosity stand-point. All these facets of magic that Eris has heard about – this Animation practice, reimancy… They all belonged to a different world – one Eris had never truly inhabited. To her, magic still felt to be the stuff of legends and rumors, no matter how much of it she has seen in action. Her reality simply did not include magic. It included a great many things – daggers, alleys, her horse, corpses, - but not magic.

And yet, she has always felt that every bit of information she gathered somehow brought her closer to her goal. Eris knew it was foolish to think so. Knowing a few facts about Animation brought her no closer to finding Locke than she had been a few minutes ago, but it was easier to believe that it did. “The insight I seek is on a more personal level. I believe that if I find a certain man I am looking for, I may gain closure, a certain sense of…self. Understand what I really want – a kind of peace of mind, if you will,” Even as she uttered those words, she felt disgusted with herself. Peace, really? Is that what she was after? But that was exactly what she was after and she knew it. Finding Locke would mean closure and maybe a fresh start.

“But curiosity always comes into play more often than not,” she added with a small smile.