[Citadel] Only Lhex Knew

[Edreina]

22nd of Spring, 514 AV
Early Morning

The scent of stiff, briny air danced over Edreina as she stood atip the prow of the ship, facing the deep gray waters as Syna rose ever so lazily. Her bare feet held tight to the aged wood, even as each breath of wind and stroke of tide threatened to upset her balance. The water was stiller now, free of the wild tides that had kept them in port for so many days. The crew, and Razkar, were probably all happy that they would be leaving this strange island now. Edreina was not.

The red haired Svefra felt oddly unfulfilled.

With a final determined nod, she stepped from the railing onto the deck. With careful steps, she strode across to the cabin that held her belongings and the still slumbering crew. Bare feet moved slowly and carefully, avoiding the boards she had learned were loose and prone to noise. From a hook, she retrieved her rucksack. There was far more than she needed in the sack, but it did contain all she needed; better to have and not want than want and not have. With a extra tick's thought, Edreina slipped an arm into Razkar's pack and removed the swollen skin filled with her own coin. If she came across some mage selling some sort of mystical trinket, she wanted to have all of her funds available to purchase it.

Once she was out of the cabin, she walked quickly towards the dock, taking care again to make as little noise as physically possible. Once on the dock itself, she pulled her pants from the pack and onto her legs. Her muscular legs and womanly hips kept the pants from lacing entirely along her thighs, leaving a patch of honey-toned skin bare. The two spare pairs of pants where placed on the ground beside her along with her wool cloak and leather vest. These were then thrown in a group onto the deck with a muffled thud. Her boots landed atop the pile.

About her hips, a leather strip suspended her curled whip and a small pouch holding her Balicani necklace and the strange ring she had found during the Summer journey to Zeltiva. Her coins were put back into her rucksack, being too heavy to be supported by the simple knotted belt. With a small, sentimental smile, she tied the faded yellow bandanna about her hair, leaving it in a low-slung pony tail. With that, she was set and ready to take a few bells to explore the city.

In her excited haste, no note was left for Razkar.

~~~

If anything on the island was haunted, Edreina knew it had to be the strange courtyard she was passing through. Chilling fog curled around her calves and gray air contrasted the sunshine she had been in moments earlier. Faint whispers had replaced even the rare birdsong of bug buzz her had heard near the docks. The Svefra was suddenly reminded of a dream she had fallen into so long ago, the one with the undead army and a younger version of herself sitting upon a strange throne. After a tick, she realized that these stones in the ground, with shapes and words carved into them, were the same as she had seen in the dream. Perhaps those that strode across the land marked where their dead lay, a luxury seen as frivolous by her own people. If that was true, the shiver that ran down the red-head's dappled spine was entirely justified.

...her hair...

No! Stop! I can't-...

The twisted trees that trill will take-...

Wisps of shapes fluttered on a non-existent breeze as Edreina moved ever more quickly through the courtyard. The whispers brought her attention to and fro as her blue eyes senselessly sought the source of the voices. It was maddening to hear only fragments, and to see no lips creating such sounds. Stop... Breathe... This is just to keep out the weak... You are not weak... With a quick breath, she struggled to keep her eyes down on the path, the voices out of her ears as she moved. Once she was inside the Citadel itself, it would surely be better. Surely.

All of the stories of the horrors of Sahova surely came from this entrance alone. Most, she was suddenly sure, never found the strength to make it inside.

Before she knew it, there were doors before her, and then behind her. Weariness threatened to creep into her limbs after even so simple a task. The people that live here, Edreina decided, must be unlike any that exist elsewhere. Her heart trembled as she realized also that the Citadel was entirely unlike what she had expected. If she was to explore this place and sate her curiosity, she needed someone inside.

A certain dark-haired woman came immediately to mind. Her words followed soon after: "If those few days see you approach the Citadel, seek out the Gug Andjak and the Common Labs therein, odds are you’ll find me there most days." Edreina may have been flippant about most issues, but she was observant and had a keen mind when anything of note was mentioned; Razkar had taught her the value of viewing details and retaining information.

The Gug Andjak... Edreina had a place, now she needed a way to find it. Best I start walking one way or another... With a sigh, she turned and began padding bare-foot down the cold and empty hall.

"You're lost." An airy voice said before she had made it five feet. The redhead turned to see a very simple looking man in very simple clothes standing in a doorway. The only thing that gave him away, to Edreina, was the blackness of his mouth as it lay slightly agape, as if he had forgotten there was any use in closing it.

"That obvious?" Edreina smiled gently at the Nuit, hands locking politely behind her back.

The man did not respond. Actually, it seemed as if he had more pressing matters and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Edreina called, and the man paused, head turning to fix empty eyes upon her. "I seek a Wizard named Annalisa Marin... She said that I would find her in the Common Labs of the Gug Adnjak. Could you help me?"

The Undead raised and lowered his shoulders in an ineffectual sigh before pointing in the opposite direction she had chosen to travel. With that, he disappeared once more.

Of course... When presented with a 50/50 chance, one always chose wrong.

With a sigh of her own, Edreina moved to tromp along the hall until it ended with yet another great door. Once opened, Edreina could not help but grin. It seemed that luck was on her side,today, as she saw a wisp of a woman disappearing into a room, black hair trailing behind her like a banner.

Lucky me! "Wizard Marin!" She called, careful to use the title that the woman had shown her preference for, trotting on her toes after the woman, beaming smile on her face and in her eyes.

The Svefra had found the one person she knew in the Citadel, the only one that knew her, as well. Luck, indeed.

[Annalisa Marin]

Memories. It always came back to the infernal concept of memories with Annalisa Marin as of late, a fact that had certainly not escaped her notice. First Daren Marlow raped her mind, suppressing thoughts a memories against her will as a blasphemy again Qalaya herself but now Swalden had come into her life. It was maddening how much of her life was defined within those thoughts and images, those concepts of her past that flickered by frame by frame. Maddening still that she second guessed each and every one of the memories, wondering which was real and which was not in the grander scheme of things.

Wizard Annalisa Marin strode through the halls of the Gug Andjak with purpose in her step, her mind set on continuing her research into the memories stored another world away. She looked the part of the wizard most certainly; black silk robes trimmed with purple hugged her slim form and were bound by a purple sash that ran down her shoulder and across her waist. Her hands were tucked within the voluminous sleeves and the hem came just above brushing the floor. Black dress slippers occasionally peeked out from under the hem, and though none could see her hands the silver ring with the sigil of a burning scroll upon it was wrapped around her right ring finger. Rather strangely, her black hair was unbound and allowed to fall freely down to her upper back.

The tall woman carried herself with the same poise and articulation one might expect from a noble or member of some aristocracy, her chin held high and an arrogant smirk ever on her lips. She was what many pulser Apprentices dreamed to be on the outside, though inside was merely a tangled mess of emotions and confusion. If one looked closely the signs of her unhinged nature would start to appear, the slight dark circles around her eyes being a good tell of her lack of sleep. Her dreams plagued by nightmares most foul, ones that would no doubt haunt her for the rest of her days.

Her steps carried her around the next corner in Common Laboratory 2B, grey eyes searching for a relatively open area for her task. Anna rounded another corner and found one, smirking slightly as she did and was preparing to get started. However at that moment a familiar voice called out to her, a voice that brought with it a confusing onslaught of emotions of which annoyance and surprise were among them as she recalled a wet foot at her throat. Anna growled low under her breath and took up a piece of chalk and a needle from a nearby work station.

“Miss Edreina, what a surprise this is. I had thought you had left already.” The tall woman remarked as she knelt down on the ground with her back turned to the other woman.

“I’m going to have to request that you hold your silence for a bit and sit down somewhere, I am in the middle of something.” Anna said waving a hand airily to the floor nearby.

With this Anna continued with her work as through the red head were not even there, the world slowly melting away as she moved the chalk along the floor before her. Slowly Anna drew the white flaky substance across the stone floor, drawing it into a circle but ensuring that she got the dimensions correct as she did. Unlike with her Glyphing, this was a rather slow and ponderous task, though due to her Glyphing it was made easier to some degree as she was used to having to work with symmetry.

The first circle she drew was the outer one and it was a simple large circle about two feet in diameter, her arm moving out along with her whole body. The world around her was already starting to melt away as she began her work; the typical effect of world magic upon the sorceress was getting consumed in her work. Summoning was no different than anything else really; it was just another aspect of magic that the tall woman was exploring though her efforts were focused on Swalden for the moment in her odd obsession with memories.

Once the outer circle was complete and Anna was satisfied with it the dark haired woman started on the middle circle just below it. In this circle she included sixteen specific slots along it, where the astral coordinates of the world she was going to open a portal to would go. This one she took especial care in creating, making certain to give herself enough room to contain the slots in the circle. After all, without them the summoning itself would be impossible.

This task completed Anna drew the smallest innermost circle were the Portal would originate from initially, almost like the Focus in a scroll Glyph in Anna’s mind. From here the tall woman drew lines out from the centermost point of the circle, two of them that intersected at right angles and connected the whole array together. The entire time her face was a mask of the purest concentration, utterly absorbed in the arcane work before her.

After she finished the array itself Anna was not yet done, for next came adding Glyphs to ensure the overall stability of the structure as a whole. This was where the skills of a true master of Glyphing came into play for anyone watching to witness, a rare thing in modern Mizahar. Her hands became a blur of motion as she drew the chalk through the motions of her desired Glyphs, the speed of her work incredible as she first drew the large stylized inverted triangle that made up her Focus at the point of intersection of the two lines.

Next the tall woman wove Pathway Glyphs along the lines themselves to grant better flow and structure along the array. Her hands moved instinctually in their needed fashions, grey eyes darting about here and there as she worked. The lines of stylized geometric shapes were beautiful to behold, Anna placing the art of her Glyphs onto the world. As with the Focus her speed at finishing the Glyphs was staggering and in mere ticks the Paths were completed.

Lastly she drew a large ring of Glyphs around the outermost circle, the styled geometric symbols dancing out from her chalk as it tapped along the stone. There were no mistakes to be found in the Glyphs and the strokes of the chalk were confident and firm, the Barrier Glyph being created with the concept of containment being in mind. It provided stability to the whole thing and Anna liked to think it would give her a nice last line of defense if anything nasty every came through to this side.

With this done the tall woman placed numeric digits into the middle circle’s open slots in a counter clockwise fashion. In this case the coordinates were to the common world of Swalden, which was the sequence of 8492841047291777. Each digit was added in the proper order and her lips sounded out each one as she placed them down, her lips curling into that rare genuine smile she had when working with world magic close to her heart.

Once the tall woman had finished this she leaned back and rolled her shoulders, the process having taken her a bit of time and the chalk had been worn down a great deal. Setting the nub of chalk aside Anna took up the needle and stuck out her left thumb, her eyes set upon the task. Quickly she jabbed the needle into the digit, wincing a bit from the pain but placing it on the array to complete the whole affair.

The Djed of her blood charged the array of circles and almost instantly a brilliant flash of violet light shone out from it, followed by the sound of water swirling and crashing against itself. An odd oily smell would fill the air, the typical byproduct of a successful summoning portal being opened to another world. The light filtered down, and on the ground lay a large watery vortex that seemed to possess swirls of purple that were products of being affected by the tall woman’s own Djed. The Portal was now open, a successful connection to Swalden being established which meant all there was to do now was to wait for a piece of Memosite to come through.

Anna sighed and placed the needle down, sitting back on her rump and suckling on her wounded digit as her grey eyes turned to her guest that she had forgotten about. It was odd to see the red haired woman back; honestly the sorceress had never expected to actually see her again. Now that she was Anna was not sure what to feel about it, still feeling a bit humiliated for that little sparring match and her loss therein. Her expression simply remained neutral at the moment, pondering and thinking over the woman.

“So, Edreina, why did you seek me out today? Last I remember you were to sail away a while ago.” The sorceress inquired casually, as though her little summoning were the most normal thing in the world.

[Edreina]

“I’m going to have to request that you hold your silence for a bit and sit down somewhere, I am in the middle of something.”

Such was fair, Edreina supposed with a shrug. She was, after all, interrupting the Wizard and asking for some of her valuable time. Arms crossing beneath her breasts, Edreina moved to lean against the wall and wait patiently despite the torrent of questions quickly forming on her lips.

The mage was making a large circle in bright white chalk. At first, Edreina was reminded of Malediction circles, considering perhaps that this woman was plotting out the designs she would use beforehand. But, the sheer size of the first circle led the Svefra to believe that this may have been another branch of magic entirely. It was not unheard of for multiple disciplines to intersect in the process or the effect in other aspects of life; surely magic would be no different. Auristics, if ever she finally managed it, would give her a greater insight before she chose to use Hypnotism on another. Perhaps this magic was like Malediction in that it relied upon circles and symbols to be effective.

All possibilities of it being some sort of practice disappeared with the amount of effort Edreina noted Annalisa putting into the inner circle. The little slots were met with an upraised brow as she sought some sort of rhyme to their placement and their emptiness. If they were meant to hold some sort of symbol, they would have been added as she finished the circle, aye? Perhaps the circle and the slots created were a symbol itself. Silently, Edreina strode around the focused wizard, head tilted and hand on her chin as she examined the chalk work from a different angle, hoping to make sense of it with such an endeavor. She counted the little slots, blue eyes rising to the ceiling as she tried to figure out any significance the number may have carried and finding none.

The smallest circle gave Edreina a faint idea of how the magic could have worked. Perhaps Djed would be pressed upon the outer circle, somehow, focused and given purpose as it traveled through the middle one, and then perhaps it would accomplish its duty within the final circle. Or, perhaps, the circles were meant to contain the actual spell Annalisa planned to cast, Edreina considered.

The two clashing lines substantiated Edreina's consideration that the circles were meant to focus magic. The lines, she imagined, would direct the Djed is it traveled from circle to circle.

Then, all conceptualizations and theories were tossed overboard as the woman's pale, slender hands moved in a frenzy, chalking out senseless scribbled and doodles. But were they? Perhaps the mage had finally gone mad as many did. More likely than that, Edreina was witnessing a magic utterly unknown to her before that moment and, unless Annalisa chose to explain, far into the future. After a couple of chimes, Edreina gave up on trying to figure out this magic with the paltry amount she knew.

What do I know, anyway? The Svefra wondered, moving to sit against the cool stone wall. Hypnotism was her best magic thus far and even that was so threadbare compared to most practitioners. She had learned a fair amount of Malediction by watching Razkar; the items in her pouch seemed to throb hungrily at her hip. The Svefra nearly cringed each time she mentioned that she knew Reimancy, embarrassed by how little she truly knew. Most frustrating of all, sheshould know the most theoretically about Auristics, because of the small journal she had found after a battle with a Yukmen hoard. But, that was useless to her. The woman that had written the book mentioned that it was a personal magic, how she used it, and on. But, it did not seem to settle on Edreina's mind. The woman in the journal heard music whenever she used the magic and was able to glean endless information about others through something as simple as the melody. The Svefra knew only bawdy Svefra tunes; the nuances of music would do nothing for her understanding. More than once, she had considered tossing the book overboard or into the woods.

Her eyes fell upon Annalisa again, noting the way that she paid attention to every detail as she crafted her magic. It was possible that Edreina was focusing on the wrong details of Auristics. What worked for another would likely never work for her.

To the Svefra's intense fascination, the willowy woman pricked her finger and dripped blood onto the chalk, allowing the deep red of blood to contrast the stark white of the chalk. For half of a tick, she was reminded again of Malediction.

Light filled the room, originating from the chalk-work, and Edreina rocked forward onto her knees, blue eyes narrowed and keen as she took in the sight. It was violet, but rocked and danced like the Suvan. At this point, she was beyond the point of confusion and her curiosity had reached its peek. Every ounce of courtesy and respect for the woman was needed to hold her tongue in place.

“So, Edreina, why did you seek me out today? Last I remember you were to sail away a while ago.”

The last thing Edreina wanted to do, at that point, was answer a question about herself; she had so many to ask! But, the woman had been kind enough to let her watch and the least she could do was sate the wizard's curiosity. "A rough tide kept us in port. The crew I'm sailing with recently suffered damages to their ship and their pod in a storm's tide." Once started, Edreina wanted to give her feelings on the matter (hate being chief among them as she found she could not swim here) but decided against it. "As for why I sought you out..." Edreina chewed on her lip lightly, a smirk tugging at it. "I was curious... This is the best place in the world to learn about magic and I'm quickly learning that working with Djed, not steel, is my passion... Much to my master's displeasure." By master, she was referencing Razkar, of course, the man that had interrupted their spar before it even began.

"I want nothing more than to learn, to see how true Wizards conduct themselves. Time among sell-swords and brutes has left me craving the intimate intricacies of magic." Freckled fingers made an errant motion in the air. Half of her expected this woman to snort and roll her eyes as the Myrian always did. It would not surprise her for this woman's magical ego matched Razkar's martial one.

If the woman had no more questions of her own, Edreina would finally allow the most pressing on her mind to relieve itself. To her feet she rose, speaking as she strode closer with an appropriate amount of caution. "Would you be willing to enlighten my ignorant mind?" One arm crossed beneath her breasts while the other motioned to the glittering violet whorl.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna quirked an elegant eyebrow at the information that Edreina and her lot had been stuck on Sahova for a bit of time, absorbing that for what it was worth. Sahovan waters were indeed quite treacherous, so it made sense the vessel might have been kept around for longer than necessary. Though staying around an island with as ill reputation as Sahova was no doubt quite nerve wracking, who knew when the Nuit would decide to not be quite so hospitable? Anna felt a smirk with a somewhat bitter quality adorn her face as she knew from experience that Sahovan hospitality was often not much better in and of itself.

That smirk fell into a small frown as Edreina explained her reasoning, remembering that her own reasons had been oh so very similar once upon a time. The Citadel had taken her and twisted her, violated her mentally and physically in ways that would have broken others. Now that she had proven herself as being useful Anna could not leave permanently, lest she be hunted down and killed. She was bound to Sahova, a hapless fool having had the commitments in her life placed upon her by circumstance and cruel fate. Her own fault really, for coming in the first place despite Tsaba’s warnings regarding it.

Rather than a snort or roll of her eyes Anna’s face darkened, her grey eyes becoming distant as she remembered well the price she had paid for her powers. The price she was still paying to become a Djed manipulator that was vaulted higher than most could dream of, powerful in most every sense of the word. Grey eyes roved over Edreina, not responding to her for a good long while as she seemed to stare past the other woman. Anna had to wonder if she actually, truly, understood exactly what she was asking for.

“A dangerous thing is what you seek. Ala-Randjaq. Magic is a potent thing; however it is also a violation of your very spirit. Those sell-swords you speak of may have more sense than the lot of we wizards here, for they can reliably control that which that wield. Isikai-Djunn.” Anna said, the ancient tongue slipping out here and there to better convey her meanings though she suspected Edreina had no idea what the words meant.

“You ask something that would take much time to accomplish, for not even I know everything there is to know about the ways of the Arcana. If I did, I would not be Wizard Marin. I would be Empress Marin.” Anna commented as she lay down on the floor and stared up at the ceiling above, knowing that the summoning of Memosite might take a bit of time.

Her grey eyes flicked upwards at the other woman, briefly pondering how firm her flesh must be to lay against and feeling envious for any lover she might have. Anna had always had a weakness for red heads, that brilliant red color just managed to draw her eyes. She pondered her for a moment before shrugging slightly and crossing one leg over another, staring back up at the ceiling. Perhaps she could actually understand what she had to teach, or perhaps it would sail right over her head.

“What you are looking upon is a Portal to another world, Edreina. It is a gateway to the world known to Summoners as Swalden. The symbols you saw me including in the circle itself were Glyphs, used to add to the structural integrity and stability of the array. I charged the circle with my own Djed, in the form of blood, and thus the gateway opened.” Anna explained, purposefully leaving out the bit regarding the need for Astral Coordinates.

“I trust you are familiar with the idea of three dimensions existing correct? This one, the Ukalas, and the Void? Well, within our own dimension there exist other worlds, when you look up at the star filled sky at night you might very well be gazing upon a different world in our own dimension. The art I used, Summoning, focuses on opening Portals to these different worlds.” Anna lectured, flicking her gaze to Edreina again.

“I want you to pick out any concept or word you might be familiar with in my explanation, you will tell me what it means in detail or where you learned of it. If not, you are wasting both my time and your own, girl.” The sorceress inquired, quirking an elegant eyebrow again.

It wouldn’t have shocked her to learn that the other woman had no idea what the word ‘dimension’ meant, let alone there being three of them in existence. Whoever her instructor had been he had obviously been an inferior wizard in terms of his actual teaching method, the fact that she knew the word Djed and used it correctly in a sentence was surprising enough. The concepts she spoke of were likely completely alien to her, which suited Anna just fine as it would confirm the other woman was in no way prepared to learn deeper secrets regarding the arcane.

[Edreina]

As the woman spoke, strange words entered the conversation, startling Edreina subtly. Were there more parts of Common tongue she had yet to master, or was Annalisa slipping into a tongue entirely unknown to her?

“You ask something that would take much time to accomplish, for not even I know everything there is to know about the ways of the Arcana. If I did, I would not be Wizard Marin. I would be Empress Marin.”

The Svefra had known that her question was a bit expansive, so Annalisa's comment did not dissuade her curiosity. Even the smallest scrap of knowledge was better than knowing nothing at all and being left with her inquisitive nature. As the woman lay, Edreina could not stop her eyes from taking another quick glance over her features, admitting in silence that she admired the other woman's appearances. In the Svefra's culture, tall, willowy women were desired, leaving Edreina forced to bind her chest and blush whenever a man's nose curled at the curve of her hips. This woman did lack the musculature common among her kin, but that did not detract from her appeal.

The woman's concise explanation was met with narrowed blue eyes as Edreina forced herself to digest the information. Portals are gateways; the chalk outline had been part of the magical process needed to create a portal. It led... to another world? The Svefra knew of no world other than the one she stood on, but the concept was quickly accepted. The gods had forged this world, who was to say that they did not have other projects or realms to abide in? Perhaps, even, there were more gods than the ones she knew of. Glyphs... Edreina's mind sparked at the word, remembering her initiation into Reimancy and the bloody cross Ignotus had drawn on her palm to help focus her magic. Glyphs, it seemed, were magic put into the physical realm through some sort of medium. Edreina was left wondering how many Glyphs she had seen through the world and her travels but never recognized as being anything other than a type of writing foreign to her. Easiest to grasp of all was the concept of Djed being woven into the wizard's blood; Malediction used blood-Djed to key an item into the user it is made for in order to be more effective.

As more pieces fell into place, more questions were raised. Summoning was the magic used to make the portals drawn in chalk a true gateway to another world, Swalden, in this case. These other worlds could be seen if one were to look up in the night sky; they were what she knew to be stars. The Ukalas sounded familiar, like it had been in a story told about a blazing bonfire; the Void was unfamiliar to Edreina entirely. What were the other worlds, like, she wondered, were they like her own or entirely different, she wondered.

“I want you to pick out any concept or word you might be familiar with in my explanation, you will tell me what it means in detail or where you learned of it. If not, you are wasting both my time and your own, girl.”

The Svefra's musings were harshly interrupted by the demands of the Wizard. Life blood turned to stormy waters in her veins as her heart thundered in her chest, bringing warmth and color to her face. "I... know little. Far less than I should. Magic is new to me; the only magic I knew before last Spring was the power given to my kin by our lord, Laviku. But, I hunger for knowledge and thank you for the tidbits you've granted me." Freckled fingers knotted together in her lap, betraying her anxiety. It was not often that she met one who knew so much more than she did.

"The concept with which I am most familiar is the relationship between blood and Djed. I learned of this relationship by witnessing a Malediction ritual. Djed is the energy that powers an individual and lays beneath the soul, containing the deepest depths of who we are free of outside influence." That was why, Edreina imagined, her Djed always appeared to her as a warm ocean of light. "Blood-Djed is specific to a person, in that way, and becomes useful in Malediction because of that. Use of a subject's blood in Malediction allows the Djed within the bones to become keyed into the particular user's Djed, making it more effective in use. Blood also would probably make Glyphs more powerful than ink or chalk... When I was inducted into Reimancy, the master drew a Glyph on my palm in my own blood... It seemed as if my first casting was easier because of that..." Abruptly, the redhead closed her mouth, blushing more brightly with the realization that she was out of knowledge to display. If only the woman wanted to know something with which Edreina was more comfortable like the fish in the sea or how to use a whip or... For a half tick, Edreina was tempted to tell the woman what she knew of Hypnotism. However, that lesson was now firmly in her head. No one would know of that ability until they figured it out on their own; there was too much danger in others knowing that she was a manipulator.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna listened to Edreina’s explanation of her own experience with magic, the knowledge of her gift from the sea god Laviku being filed away. Likely she meant a mark or blessing similar to Anna’s own from Rhysol, the blood of the dark god having stained her flesh and been imprinted upon her soul. The sorceress did not disdain Laviku, in fact she respected the sea god having grown up in Zeltiva, however he was inferior to Rhysol in her mind. The Defiler was the master of those dark forces that existed in the hearts of every creature in the world, compared to that the sea seemed so small.

The sorceress did widen her eyes and give the Svefra a funny look as she heard her explanation regarding the relationship of blood and Djed. It was a fair guess for an uneducated woman like her, but to Anna it was almost laughably flawed and inaccurate and it was in fact almost painful to hear. Whomever this Nuit had been that had taught her had obviously not been Sahovan, they would have been tossed out of the Citadel for such stupidity. The dark haired woman shook her head slowly, setting herself up back into a sitting position and regarding the red haired woman with a stern look.

“Your explanation is flawed and rough, as is your understanding of Djed. Did your master never teach you the basic principles of the nature of Djed? Perhaps before trying to understand magic, you should try to understand what makes it possible.” Anna commented, standing to her feet and moving to a nearby workstation.

Upon the workstation Anna found a sheet of parchment and took up a brush, dipping it into the inkwell and placing it on the parchment. Slowly the sorceress streaked the brush over the parchment, ink staining the sheet black in the pattern and shape she desired. In the end a triangle was drawn upon it, its form hardly perfect but Anna was not searching for perfection. She was opting to go by a similar why she was taught the ways of Djed, knowing that examples often assisted in the educational process. Once she was finished she turned around and took the drawing supplies with her, sitting down cross-legged before Edreina.

“Right, so take this triangle I have drawn as an example. When trying to understand Djed, you must know that it is not just contained within certain things like blood or bones. Rather, Djed is what identifies them as being such. Take this triangle for example; its Djed would be possessed of its personal Djed, what makes it unique among triangles. However what makes it a triangle in general is universal among all triangles. Much like how my Djed identifies me as both Annalisa Marin and as being human.” The sorceress explained.

As Anna spoke one might have noted that she was becoming more absorbed in her lecture, her hands moving as she talked as though trying to convey the importance of her words through motions. The sorceress seemed to have perked up just a little, a change from her previously irritated or annoyed position. Anna loved teaching, it was a little thing that soothed her pride and assured her as having more skill than another in the art of something. Here she was the master and Edreina the student and that suited her very well.

“There are three universal laws when it comes to Djed, pay attention because I will not repeat myself.” Anna said, lending the red haired woman critical eye.

“The first law is that Djed cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.” She said, drawing a line down the middle of the triangle with her brush and creating two different triangles from the new boundaries.

“The second law is that some forms of Djed are more pure than others. For instance your Djed is more powerful than this triangle, you can move around, walk and talk, and you have free will and the ability to think logically. If you wanted you could manipulate this triangle as I am, the triangle has none of what your Djed does. It is dependent upon us to change it as external sources.” Anna explained and length, waving a hand over the parchment.

“The third law is that some transformations of Djed are irreversible.” Anna said, touching the lower corner of the parchment with her left index finger.

The sorceress lightly tugged at the tapestry of her own Djed, a light unraveling that was barely worth the amount spent in a sneeze for Anna. She willed this Djed outwards from her body, focused upon the tip of her finger and a small pin prick of purple translucent res formed as a liquid there. It dribbled onto the parchment as Anna drew her finger back, snapping her fingers sharply to signal the res to ignite. A small flicker of purple flame formed there, slowly beginning to consume the parchment itself and created a small fire between the pair of them. Once the fire had entirely consumed the parchment Anna would sweep the ashes aside with the back of her hand and peer into Edreina’s blue eyes.

“When you said Blood-Djed, you were speaking a redundancy. Everything is Djed and Djed is everything. Understand these concepts, know them in your mind and keep them close as you move forward with your practice.” The sorceress finished, turning her gaze back to the Portal.

The swirling sound increased and it looked as if a faint watery outline of something was emerging from the Portal itself. After a chime a bluish crystal emerged from the depths of the summoning Portal and clinked upon the floor just outside of the vortex. Anna smirked at the successful summoning and turned her gaze to Edreina. Perhaps the red head could provide a purpose after all, considering that she had just gained an in depth lesson on the nature of Djed and apparently had an infernal curiosity it seemed unlikely to the sorceress that she would refuse.

“Go over there and touch that crystal that just emerged.” Anna said, crossing her arms under her breasts and staring hard at Edreina as the command left her lips.

OOCIf Edreina touches the Memosite feel free to take liberties with the memory she sees.

[Edreina]

Unlike most, Edreina took no personal offense to being made aware of the flaws in her knowledge. Rather, she reveled in having inferior knowledge replaced with the truth of a matter. The Svefra's light blue eyes followed the wizard as she went about, resting finally when the woman did before her. There was a new light in the sorceress's eyes, Edreina realized with a small smile; this woman enjoyed teaching as much as the redhead enjoyed learning. Best yet, Annalisa was rather good at teaching.

The visual representation of a triangle made it easy for Edreina to understand the concepts presented. She had defined Djed too particularly. Djed was her inside and out. It was how others saw her, and how she functioned and what made her who and what she was. Mentally, Edreina took careful note of the three laws of Djed. It could not be created or destroyed, only transformed. Immediately, she thought of water. It was never destroyed or created, only transformed into clouds or rain or fog. It took a tick for her to reason with the second law, but eventually it settled within her mind. Her Djed was pure because it gave her the power to act upon other Djed. Did that mean that gods had the purest Djed of all? The third law resonated within her soul. If she understood the concepts properly, each individual's Djed was constantly changing. As fire devoured the parchment, experiences in her own life changed her forever, one way or another. As experiences changed her, her Djed was changed as well.

Edreina had never seen purple fire. As a child would, her hand reached forward tentatively and her fingertips hovered a hair's breadth above the flame. They were pulled away relatively quickly, but not out of surprise. Her fingers were pink and faintly sore, but the Svefra had learned that this fire burned as hot as one created in mundane ways, which satisfied her curiosity.

Something about the woman's stormy gaze, not her words, made Edreina blush faintly. Everything is Djed and Djed is everything. For a tick, she wondered if that meant that one could take Djed from another. Surely, she realized abruptly, that was what happened when one ate, they merely absorb the Djed of another. But, beyond that, was it possible for someone to steal Djed from another without eating them? The thought was repugnant for, in a way, such a mage would be stealing part of what made someone himself or herself.

Clink.

Edreina spun, leather pants making an odd squeak against the stone at the speed of her movement. Upon the floor was a small piece of what looked to be pure ice. It was grayish white around the edges and a faint blue towards the center with fractal edges that spoke of ice, to Edreina.

“Go over there and touch that crystal that just emerged.”

Glee flashed through the redhead's eyes; she had been on the verge of asking Annalisa what it was. But, even better, she got to find out for herself! Nevermind that it was a strange shard of gods knew what from some strange place named Swalden of which she knew nothing. She got to sate her curiosity! That was all that mattered, right?

Quickly, Edreina crawled over to the portal and the shard beside it, settling on her knees before it. The wizard had instructed her simply to touch it, nothing more. Did that mean something would happen once she did? It could be bad... Or it could be good. Either way, there was no finding out until her fingers fell upon the angled surface. With a deep breath, she outstretched one hand and lay it upon the crystal.

The world fell away.

A moth flew into a flame, and shriveled into black nothingness. It's smoking remains came into focus as it lay at the base of a candle. Embers outlined its tattered wings as life twitched from its limbs.

A symbol flashed in inky black and parchment tan.

A small girl's green eyes crinkled in joy, then she turned to chase someone unseen through tall grass. Her bright red cloak fluttered behind her. Someone laughed.

A symbol flashed in inky black and parchment tan.

Leth emerged from behind the clouds, but it was not the Leth she knew. His surface was a deep gold. It fell into a blood red, then slowly was eclipsed into nothingness.

A symbol flashed in inky black and parchment tan.

Low flame caught the edge of a blade as it twirled on the surface of a table, never slowing. Round and round it went, silent as death.

"Hea. Isikai. Abase. Zapatl." The voice was deep and hypnotic, but definitely female.

A symbol flashed, carved into a mossy stone.

But that was not all. Even as Edreina's vision returned to her, she was filled with a sense of expectation. Something within her - not precisely her soul, for it felt foreign and expressed without words - called for her to give something. Give... what? Her mind reeled.

There is only one thing she can give to a stone, she realized.

Blue eyes were obscured by pale lids as she swam through the current of her thoughts, moving backwards into her memories. What had been given to her was broken, eroded into pieces by time, fragments of many different memories, or meant to be without sense to all that were not meant to receive it. Hers would be a gift to any.

Edreina pushed her thoughts toward the stone, willing their Djed to mingle with her newly found knowledge. The Suvan Sea was what she gave to the stone. On a clear, bright day, she could remember the way the waves danced together, looking wild and without reason when examined up close. But, when one saw the Sea as a whole, they would be able to pick out its rhythm, the way that everything moved together. The smell of salt water filled her mind as clear as if it were only ticks past. The wind that moved across the Sea was pure and clean as it seeped into her pores, washing away all negativity in her soul if only for a moment.

That was what she gave to the stone in return for the obscure gift it had laid upon her. In all, it seemed satisfied and the Svefra set the crystal back upon the stone.

"I saw... strange things..." Edreina explained to the sorceress, knowing now that it was expected of her. Across the stone she crawled until she came to the tiny nub of chalk; if anyone she knew would understand the vision, she figured it would be Annalisa. She then moved away from the portal for fear of what she was about to draw interfering with the Glyphs that Annalisa had made. "Many little flashes came to mind... None seemed to relate to the other... But there was this symbol..." Ever so slowly, the Svefra began to scratch a design out on the stone. She paused at the end of each line, closing her eyes and dredging up the image conjured by the stone again before continuing. The symbol resembled a triangle at first, but the top point had been cut off by a sharp line leaving it four sided. Two circles, rough and wavering, appeared on either side of the four-sided shape before being connected by a line that bisected the triangle. A line was then drawn beneath the two circles, shorter than the first. Finally, a vertical line was drawn, starting between the four-sided shape and the circle, intersecting the two lines, crossing the not-triangle, and then dropping below the base line of the entire arrangement. "It should be more... symmetrical than this," she explained, frowning at her rough chalk-work.

With a shake of her head, she moved on. "I saw a moth burned by flame. A child with green eyes ran through a golden field, and there was laughter. There was a blood-red Leth-eclipse. A knife spun on a table and showed no signs of slowing or stopping..." Copper brows crinkled as her thoughts organized themselves. Of all else, the words seemed second most important after the symbol; it was important that she get them exactly right. Edreina did the best she could to remove the lilt from her voice, impressing upon it the rhythm the woman had possessed. "There was a woman's voice... 'Hea. Isikai. Abase. Zapatl.' And that was all that she said... That is all there was." With a sigh, she sat back, hand mussing her hair in frustration. Puzzlement did not suit the Svefra well at all. Even worse than that was the fact that, try as she might, she could see no pattern or relationship between the images. Perhaps there was one.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna smirked as she watched Edreina bound over to the Memosite, she was certainly eager to learn all things considered and that tugged at something deep with Anna. The sorceress pushed the nagging feeling aside and merely admired the view from behind with a bit of pleasure, reflecting once again that any lover of hers would be rather fortunate to have her. Her muscles were toned and defined and her body was well formed a sculpted, a stark contrast to Anna who, while tall, was more willowy and slim. Average one might say for a Zeltivan woman and further so for a living woman on Sahova.

The Svefra tensed up, her mind no doubted flooded with the images contained within the Memosite and Anna herself knew of the feeling. It was always a shock, but the tall dark haired woman had learned to revel in the new if confusing knowledge. Swalden was a treasure trove of knowledge; it was just the deciphering of the memories within the crystals that was difficult. Her own experiences had been fragmented, no doubt a Sahovan Nuit would know the answers the dark haired woman sought but she stubbornly kept to herself and hoarded the knowledge jealously.

The vision clearly ended for the other woman as her eyes fluttered open and the Svefra closed them again, no doubt filling the crystal with her own memories. Anna stood and moved over towards her, already seeing the thin cord that extended from the Memosite and the Portal itself. The Summoner’s Leash that was under Anna’s control due to the Portal being connected to her Djed, it afforded her some control over the crystal. Edreina would be unable to see it, as would any that did not practice auristics and were not the summoner themselves. The tall woman would wait for the red head to finish placing a memory inside of the Portal before willing the cord to pull the Memosite back into the Portal and close the connection.

As the swirling vortex died down she turned her attention to Edreina, watching her and listening to the knowledge she had gleaned from the stone. She crossed her arms under her breasts again and pondered the information that was being given to her, her pink tongue peeking out from behind her lips to moisten her lips. It was understandable that the images would be fragmented and confusing, but this talk of a symbol that was remembered intrigued her. Long pale fingers drummed over her chin idly as Edreina claimed a piece of chalk and started drawing it out.

Anna watched carefully as the symbol was drawn, at first guessing that he was a series of Glyphs but their pattern looked a little different than what the sorceress could decipher. It didn’t resemble any known sigil to Anna, who was a master of the art of Glyphing thus was quite knowledgeable about such things. As such she was forced to merely wonder if it had some significance elsewhere in the world or some hidden meaning only a few could grasp. Whatever the case was, the dark haired woman was coming up empty.

Now Edreina described the other parts of her vision, the majority of it sounding like nonsense to her mind except for the words in Ancient Tongue. Those particular words could have many different meanings depending on the inflection; however the dark haired woman could understand the meanings as a base. There was only pure speculation to just what those words could mean in that particular combination, but now Anna was finding she did not wish to discuss this here in the Common Labs. Her grey eyes darted about, one never knew who could be listening and when and this place was very public.

“Hmm… interesting… walk with me Edreina. Let us go someplace that is a little more private to discuss any theories regarding this.” The dark haired woman said, turning on her heel and expecting Edreina to follow her out of the lab space.

Her strides were long and confident, something she rather liked as it forced people to keep up with her at most times. Her destination in mind was the Sahovan Quarters and her room was rather safe all things considered, as well as isolated and out of the way of more public areas. She walked through the general purpose common floor and cut her way to a flight of stairs that led down to the ground floor of the Gug Andjak. As she walked Anna opted to offer the basic information regarding the vision, more explaining the words out of context carefully.

“Right, so the words are Ancient Tongue, also known as Nader-Canoch. Most civilized wizards know at least a little bit of it, the word Djed for instance is Nader-Canoch and usually means backbone when referring to the Djed of the world itself.” Anna explained, turning down a corridor sharply with her pace not slowing by a fraction.

“Nader-Canoch is different from other languages in that it has few words, but each word has manifold meanings. Hea can mean to reach, look for, or to touch; Isikai can mean faith, to believe, or to trust in; Abase can mean life, beginning, spring, and that which moves; and Zapatl can mean legacy, heritage, and that which was passed down.” The sorceress elaborated as they reached the ground floor, her steps carrying them across the common floor and towards the exit to the Courtyard.

“So, as you can see, what you… saw could possess several different meanings and interpretations that could also mean a myriad of things based on their placement. Are you sure that was the exact placement of the words? Without a doubt?” Anna questioned, casting a glance over her shoulder at the other woman before stepping into the Courtyard proper.

[Edreina]

“Hmm… interesting… walk with me Edreina. Let us go someplace that is a little more private to discuss any theories regarding this.”

The Svefra quickly scrambled to retrieve her rucksack and then catch up with the Wizard. "You move with purpose instead of ambling about..." Edreina commented, glad to see that the apathetic behavior and movements of the Nuits had not rubbed off on Anna. The struggle to accomplish one's goals before death was part of the beauty of being mortal, in Edreina's opinion. Her steps lengthened in response to Annalisa's, hips rocking with each step like the waves of the sea she called home. At the stairs, she had to slow her instinct to take them two at a time for fear that the sorceress would take some secret passage and be lost to her.

Ancient Tongue. Nader-Canoch. With the familiarity in Annalisa's voice, Edreina supposed that the unfamiliar words spoken earlier may have been Ancient Tongue. The redhead trotted around the corner to keep up with Annalisa before falling into step with her once again.

Hea. Isikai. Abase. Zapatl.

Look for. Faith. Beginning. Legacy.

Of course, that was only one of the innumerable combinations. Perhaps the message was from a parent to a child or had to do with someone's children or their line in general. It was easy to conceive, however, that Edreina was entirely mislead.

“So, as you can see, what you… saw could possess several different meanings and interpretations that could also mean a myriad of things based on their placement. Are you sure that was the exact placement of the words? Without a doubt?

"It is," she affirmed with a sharp nod, following the woman through the Courtyard. Her mind was buzzing too sharply to care about the whispers. "They were spoken precisely with emphasis on each. They may be separate ideas," she postulated with a shrug, "or they could be toge-" Edreina stopped abruptly, agog at the realization as it flashed right before her eyes. If Annalisa had stopped, she would spout the fact of which she had quickly become conscious. If not, she would trot up beside her in order to add another fact to the puzzle.

"The last time I saw the symbol, it was on a stone... I think that the stone was one of those!" Her hand motioned to the tombstones without betraying the fact she knew not what they were. "I'm... fairly sure of it. I could see only part of the stone, but I could tell it was not part of a wall or building." After that, Edreina would be sure to keep up with Annalisa despite how far away her thoughts were. The sooner they were alone together, the sooner she would have some of her curiosity sated. Of that, she was sure.

OOCI do not envy whoever has to write out all the lore Edreina is learning in this thread.

[Annalisa Marin]

The dark haired woman did halt as Edreina did, her stormy eyes roving over the other woman’s freckled face as she added another piece to the puzzle. It was one that Anna herself drew inwards to ponder and consider, the implications being manifold and raising more questions than answers as was the norm for Sahova. The Mad Master of Reimancy’s cackles sounded out in his mind as he commented on the insanity apparent in the questioning of things, that there were never any answers but only more and more questions. Anna was starting to think that the old mad man was right; her thoughts turning towards how many answers she had gained were actually final.

The implications of what Edreina spoke of were interesting to note, one particular possibility being prominent. That whatever she had witnessed was within Sahova, and that the symbol was a marker of some kind. A marker for what though and for why? The tall woman drummed her fingers over her chin, pondering on the subject for a good long chime before shrugging visibly. It was something to discuss in the sanctuary of her private quarters, as meager as they were they afforded privacy of some description. Enough to figure out this mystery without drawing the wrong kind of attention, at the very least.

Anna’s steps led them through the mist filled Courtyard, her steps kept to the marked path Mistress Wanda created. Her higher sense towards ghosts made the spirits that dwelled here a little more noticeable, but Anna handled it as though it were a mere stroll. She ignored the whispers and light tugging at her robes, having grown accustomed to the Courtyard as being normality. Besides, having a daughter like hers meant that being unnerved by mere lesser ghosts was hardly something she could afford.

Their path would lead them under the large archway that led into the Quarters, the air there possessing a kind of artificial silence. The ancient stones of this place were often trend upon, yet for the entire world this place seemed so very empty. Most permanent residents here were pulsers as the Nuit had no need of this place, needing no sleep or physical comforts. Anna herself either slept here or ended up collapsing over a workstation in the Common Labs, engrossed in her work as she often was. The one thing that had rubbed off on her here was the work ethic, her research taking up the bulk of her time.

Anna glanced back at Edreina, feeling oddly good about the other woman’s presence and rather enjoying the stimulation of teaching another. Though, it wouldn’t last forever and most likely the red haired woman would vanish without a trace soon enough. Leaving from this island while she still could, meanwhile Anna would be here in this torment of her own making as she worked and researched until she was either worked to death or no longer useful. It caused a bitter flare to course through her mind, hurt in some way and being that Edreina was the only one nearby it was reflected onto her.

The tall woman locked her jaw, attempting to curb the line of thinking as they drew closer to her Private Quarters. It didn’t fade though; it just kept growing inside her like some dark beast that had remained dormant for far too long. The feeling and knowledge of just becoming nothing more than a memory to another person hurt her on the inside, it rubbed raw at the human side of her. It just kept growing and growing inside of her, her every step seeming to get a bit more weight and an odd lump forming in her throat.

“Most of these places are empty save for the few Pulsers that live here, or Nuit undergoing body transference. Most Apprentices dwell in the labs of their masters, those with a bit more freedom live here.” Anna explained to Edreina as they would travel up a flight of stairs to the second floor.

After a bit more walking they would come to her room, Anna opening the door and motioning for Edreina to enter. If she did she would find a small room no bigger than a broom closet that possessed a mat on the floor, a small table with a washbasin, and a chamber pot as furnishings. There was an overstuffed pack lying against the far wall, and a pair of worn boots and sandals next to it. Other than that it was rather sparsely furnished, there wasn’t even a window to let light in. It looked less like a room and more like a cell.

For her part Anna would stand a bit outside of the room, her hand resting on the door as thought flickered through her mind in a flurry. Perhaps to Edreina it might appear she was simply deep in thought about their current quandary, but really her thoughts were delving too much darker placers at the moment. It was still growing inside her and the more she stared at the other woman the more she realized how much it hurt, the feeling of going back to nothing but the cruel monotony of Sahova. It was enough to create the taste of ash on her tongue.