Flashback Taste of the Urban

[Karsynwa]

10th of Spring, 490 AV

The Sasaran was filled with quiet anticipation. Karsynwa stood across from his opponent. A boy about a head shorter than him that went by the name of Zerous. He was a close friend, and neighbor in the Cora apartments. Today they were practicing without a weapon which was one of his favorite ways to spar. With a weapon he was uncertain in the Sasaran, but with his body he was confident. Zerous was almost crouched across from him, his arms tensed to grapple. It was a familiar style to Karsynwa, one that Zerous had been using since they were boys. His friend never took the the combat arts like Karsynwa. Zerous preferred to hunt and fish. Karsynwa didn’t knock him for it too much. He understood that not everyone felt the same way he did about sparring and that was alright. Riverfall needed hunters along with a number of other professions to keep everything running smoothly. Still, their trail loomed so Karsynwa felt it his duty to prepare his friend as best he was able. He would not go easy on him. Their instructor clapped his hands for them to start.

Karsynwa charged. He felt Zerous grab him by the arm before he twisted away. His knee shot out. It caught the side of Zerous’ leg. As Zerous crumpled away from him, Karsynwa stepped forward. He looped his arm under Zerous’ arm and pulled up. Zerous elbowed him in the side. Karsynwa’s side tightened. His nostrils flared as he sucked in breath before spinning around still clutching Zerous. Zerous somehow got his foot in between Karsynwa’s causing him to trip. His grip broken, Zerous stumbled forward an caught himself on the ground. Karsynwa oriented himself towards Zerous and approached slowly. He watched as his friend got up, then he kicked out with his right, pulling back about halfway through. Zerous missed grabbing his foot, and was still leaning forward when Karsynwa swung down with both hands clasped together. Karsynwa managed to strike Zerous in the shoulder with a glancing blow before he backed away. His friend stumbled onto his back with the hit, panting heavily. Karsynwa took an aggressive step forwards. Zerous raided a hand, and Karsynwa stopped. The fight was over.

Grinning, Karsynwa extended a hand to help Zerous onto his feet. He cast a brief look around the room at his peers. Most of them nodded to him as their eyes met. Then he spotted the strange face of a man lurking near the entrance of the Sasaran. Strange because this man was neither a student nor an instructor of the Sasaran. He was a teacher at the academy, though not one he’d ever had the pleasure of being taught by. The man didn’t take many students and had a strange reputation around the academy. He was oft seen carrying a lute around while dressed in all manners of unusual clothing. Karsynwa was wondering why he was looking at him when Zerous clapped him on the shoulder. Karsynwa smiled as he met his friends eyes.

“You’re improving. If you’d just come out with me for afternoon practice I think you would truly catch up.” Karsynwa said, his voice soft as he grasped Zerous by the elbow. “I’ll do that when you agree to a lesson with a bow.” Zerous chided, and started walking towards where they kept their personal affects. Theirs was the last spar of the day so students were already filtering out of the Sasaran as they walked. Karsynwa reached his cubby, and drew out his backpack.

“Don’t tempt me.” Karsynwa said, a brief sour expression betraying his intent. Ranged wasn’t his particular flavor at the moment. He enjoyed being up close with his target and the sense of accomplishment he got from doing well at it. Maybe some day he’d give it a try. After he had gotten more experience on the grass at least. They dressed in their leathers quietly with Karsynwa occasionally looking up to see if that man still lingered there. He did not, so Karsynwa put him out of his mind. However the respite was brief. When they walked out of the Sasaran the man was waiting, plucking idly at a lute cradled in the crook of his arm. He looked at Zerous first and grinned.

“Nephew! Fancy a drink?” The man asked, and Karsynwa experienced a brief confusion as he looked from the man to Zerous. Zerous gawped for a moment, seemingly as surprised as Karsynwa by the man’s presence. Then Zerous looked down abashed before glancing up.

“Uncle. You really shouldn’t have.” Zerous said after a chime, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. Karsynwa straighted his shoulders and shifted in place. This was an odd conversation as far as those go.

“True, but I was bored and its been a while. Come, I insist.” The man said, and finally he looked at Karsynwa again. “You can come along too. Names Resvie.” Karsynwa glanced over at Zerous. His friend seemed to be building himself up for a confrontation so Karsynwa turned to Resvie. He spoke before Zerous could get the words out.

“We’d love to.” Karsynwa said. Resvie smiled.

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[Karsynwa]

Date, Season, Year

Resvie ended up bringing them to a circular building made up of white stone. While it was rather simple on the outside there was quite a number of people milling about even at this early hour. They took their seats off to the left of a stage that dominated the center of the tavern. Karsynwa had a hard time keeping his eyes from wandering up across the balconies that ringed the room. There many finely dressed people sat laughing and enjoying the ambiance of the tavern. Currently there was a young Akalak man singing falsetto center stage. Karsynwa was surprised by the man’s range, if a bit uncomfortable. This wasn’t really his scene and he’d never heard a man with a voice like that.

“What do you think?” Resvie asked, then tipped a wine glass to his lips. Karsynwa looked away from the stage and took a drink from his own glass. Zerous shrugged.

“Its different.” Karsynwa said, mumbling around his wine. Resvie rolled his eyes at that while drumming his fingertips on the table. “No imagination with you two. You should really look into expanding your horizons more. You might learn something. You might even like it.” Resvie grinned, and then waved a waitress over. Both Karsynwa and Zerous laughed at that. Resvie was much more of a talker than either of them, but at least he was entertaining. Karsynwa took another shallow drink then looked at the blond haired woman who was approaching. She had a well worn smile that was beautiful in its complexity. There was an alluring sway to the way she walked that caught Karsynwa’s eye each time she passed. Caught all their eyes he noticed as they usually shared a quiet look with each other with she left. Karsynwa felt a little foolish to feel so caught up in her, and blamed the wine for the lapse. Not that anyone was judging him here.

“Oh well aren’t you a glorious sight. We were starting to wilt in your absence. Could you bring us more wine, and a flat bread with a small bowl of olive oil?” Resvie asked, leaning forward slightly as his eyes met hers. Karsynwa watched as the compliment seemed to pass her without affect and grinned slightly.

“Certainly. I’ll be right back. Try not to wilt while I’m gone.” She said, clucking at him softly with her tongue before turning back towards the kitchen. To Karsynwa’s surprise, Resvie seemed pleased with her reaction and lounged across the back of his chair like a spoiled prince in one of his stories. He swirled the drop of what was left in his wine glass before downing it in one gulp. Then he took out a silver coin and started to let it dance across his knuckles. Karsynwa eyed the coin curiously as it wasn’t like any miza he had ever seen. It had a crane embossed on one side that was very close to the design on the front of his establishment. He opened his mouth to ask, but Zerous was ahead of him.

“You got a silver crane? How ever did you manage that?” Zerous asked, his voice a mixture of surprise and incredibleness. “I mean your lute is good, but its not.. You know.”

“White Crane good” Resvie said, and then laughed after feigning hurt at the backhanded compliment. “I have other talents dear nephew.”

“Like what?” Zerous asked impudently, but then the waitress came back before Resive could explain. She poured them each a fresh glass then set the food down in front of them. Resvie made a show of digging in his coin purse drawing her eye, and Karsynwa watched a sudden change take place across her face. Suddenly it seemed like she was appraising him, and her eyes flicked over to his lute on the ground. Her voice was kinder this time.

“Don’t worry about this round, just remember to play me a song when you are up there.” She said, quirking a grin at him and hesitating a moment before she left the table. Resvie was grinning like the Yowlwing that ate the Copperin. Karsynwa had to know.

“Whats a silver crane?” Karsynwa asked, his eyes fixed on the coin that continued to dance back and forth across Resvie’s knuckles. Resvie looked at him like he had been expecting the question. It made Karsynwa feel somehow smaller. He brushed it off as his imagination.

“Only the highest honor a musician can get in Riverfall. It allows one to play at their leisure in this fine establishment.” Resvie said, his eyes flicking between the two of them as he took a sip of his wine. Karsynwa nodded along as if he understood but truth was he didn’t get the relevance of this place. It was in a nice part of the city to be sure, however he couldn’t quite get the draw of it. Perhaps it was because of the early hour. Maybe it livened up a bit when it became dark out. Karsynwa made a mental note to come here in the evening when he had the chance.

“While I may not be the finest lutest in the city, my satire more than makes up for it dear nephew.” Resvie said with a slight drawl, and again Karsynwa’s expression quirked up into one of curiosity. Resvie explained.

“Satire is the only sword we poets have against fools and corrupt politicos. I wield a sharp word like you couch a spear, or wing an elbow.” Resvie said, raising an eyebrow at Zerous as he spoke. “An when I string many of these fine words together people laugh.” Karsynwa stirred uncertainly.

“An you get free drinks and a stage for word play?” Karsynwa asked, dumbfounded. Resvie snorted down a bit of laughter at the look and bit off a piece of flat bread.

“Words my young friends are more powerful than you realize. They can spoil a party or make one. They can be a source of greatness or cause the great to fall. Words can be your last line of defense against an undignified fate. With the right ones it can transform a man into an unstoppable force.” Resvie said, and it seemed he was enjoying having their fixed attention now. Karsynwa hadn’t even realized he was leaning forward.

“But how?” Karsynwa asked.

“Well, I won’t spoil the show for you. You’ll just have to wait your turn like everyone else.” Resvie said, his voice taking on a cryptic air as his eyes slid over to the stage.

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[Karsynwa]

Date, Season, Year

They didn’t have to wait long to see his performance. As Resvie had hinted at, he was well received accompanied up there with his lute. Most of Resvie’s jokes went over his head but the wordplay was entertaining enough. The man used Tukant in a way that Karsynwa hadn’t seen before. He was seemingly entertaining and informative at the same time with a confidence to his voice that Karsynwa envied. When Resvie came back to the table Karsynwa clapped lightly along with Zerous.

“That was quite the show” Karsynwa said, not hiding his smile. He found he much preferred that kind of performance over the singers. It had a biting levity to it that was refreshing after that somber song. Resvie’s smile was genuine.

“Have you interested have I?” Resvie asked. Karsynwa cocked his head drawing a chuckle out of Resvie. “In satire. You should know I run classes at the academy but have woefully few students whoever entertain an interest in the art.” Resvie said, chewing the inside of his lip as he looked between them both. “I’ve tried getting Zerous to give it a try, but he cares little for anything outside of his grass side jaunts.” Resvie’s tone was exaggerated as he said this and he took an appreciative gulp of wine. Karsynwa was less indecisive.

“Is that what you teach, satire?” Karsynwa asked.

“Among other things. I give treatments on meditation, public speaking, literature, and occasionally I dabble in psychology.” Resvie said as he smoothed his hands out along the table. His eyes were more lively now as they flicked here and there. Karsynwa was suddenly back to being hesitant. Possibly sensing this, Resvie leaned forward to favor him with a disarming grin.

“Oh come now, its not as half as boring as it sounds. Training your inner self is just as important as training with any weapon. In fact, you could say your mind is the most powerful weapon you have. Come to one class and if it doesn’t suit you don’t come to another. Its that simple.” Resvie said, still smiling. Karsynwa chewed on it for a moment before nodding slightly. He did need to work on his meditation and his current instructor was dreadfully boring in comparison to Resvie. He sat up straight in his seat.

“I guess it won’t hurt to try.” Karsynwa said, and forced a light laugh to diminish the uncomfortable feeling he felt making what felt like a deal in such a laid back establishment. That seemed to mollify Resvie for now who sat back in his chair for the moment while taking a deep drink out of his wine glass. When Karsynwa looked over at Zerous, his friend just rolled his eyes at him. There seemed to be a lot of that going around tonight Karsynwa noted amused. It had been quite the unusual day. The next person to take the stage was an older Akvatari woman. She was still playing a mournful tune on her harpsichord when they left half a bell later.

WC - 506

[Karsynwa]

Date, Season, Year

The next day Karsynwa did as he was asked and met Resvie in his classroom. It was a small, unassuming room conspicuously devoid of students or teacher for that matter. He was about to leave thinking he had found the wrong place when Resvie strode in. Instead of leathers he was wearing a ruffled white tunic with a brown vest worn over top. His breeches were equally as strange. They were black and made of a soft, fuzzy material. The legs of the breeches went all the way down over his ankles. On his feet were a pair of simple sandals. Karsynwa stifled a laugh and found a seat near the front of the room. To his surprise, Resvie didn’t carry any parchments with him, or any other materials actually. He simply stood at the front of the room, and started speaking when Karsynwa took his seat on the floor.

“We’ve had some minor problems with student retention.” Resvie said in response to the look, and he took the liberty to get a brief stretch out before he continued. “Now what do you want to know?”

Karsynwa stared at him confused, a frown quickly forming on his face. That wasn’t the sort of question you expected from a teacher, let alone on the first day of class. It was.. Interesting. He’d never been given a choice before.

“I want to know how your mind can be used as a weapon.” Karsynwa said after he took a chime to adjust. Resvie didn’t seem surprised by his question. In fact he seemed to expect it as he came forward a steep and sat back on his haunches.

“It is a weapon by the way you use it. Your words and charm are its edge. Your reasoning is the guard. Your knowledge is the metal used to forge it. The more you know, the stronger your weapon will be. Best part about it is you have been using it all your life without even knowing. When you try to convince your father to purchase you a treat, or explain to your mother why you have fallen behind in your studies, you are using that mind of yours to argue those points. To persuade someone to your point of view. Satire is just another form of that. Its criticism embedded into comedy which allows me to slip the points I want to get across without any confrontation from the audience because I’m not saying anything they can disagree about. You see if you confront someone directly about their stance, their guard will come up, and they will stand their ground no matter what logical point you make. However if you coax them onto a neutral piece of ground you’ll find that it is there that you really get the chance to change minds.” Resvie said, and paused for a moment to watch him.

“I know it is hard to think about in the abstract so just picture something that you might want but is hard to get and then try to think about the steps you would need to achieve that goal.” Resvie said. Karsynwa nodded, grasping at last what he meant as he leaned back to consider the question. Resvie seemed to be eager to hear his response as the man hardly blinked in his watchfulness. It was almost uncomfortable, but Karsynwa shrugged it off as he thought of his response.

“I’d like to go on a private hunt away from my peers so I can focus on what the instructor is saying and doing. I suppose to convince him I would have to help them understand why my need merited it over the others, and for that I would need to get them to see it from my point of view.” Karsynwa said, proposing a potential solution.

Resvie nodded slightly. “More importantly, you would need to sell your self. They need to know how dedicated and hardworking you can be towards a task so they know they aren’t wasting their time with you. So why don’t you try that. Sell yourself to me.”

WC - 681

[Karsynwa]

Date, Season, Year

The statement made his skin crawl. It was an odd turn of phrase and no harm was meant by it obviously. Still it unsettled him more than just a little bit. He leaned back a smidge just to put some space between them before he spoke up.

“My name is Karsynwa and I am at the top of my class in both Sasarans. I always score high marks in my studies. I have a reputation for being on time to all of my appointments. I train harder and longer than anyone else. I want this more than anyone else.” Karsynwa said. As the words left his mouth he could feel the inadequacy of his argument. An the shame that came from such a prideful declaration. Resvie favored him with a sympathetic expression.

“Not entirely terrible for your first concentrated go of it. However if you will allow me to make a recommendation, heres how I would shape it. I would like the opportunity to learn how to hunt from you. I have heard about your skill with a bow and your knowledge of the plains, an I can think of no better teacher than practical experience. I will not waste this opportunity. At the Sasaran I use my time to the best of my ability, staying longer when able and volunteering when the need arises. I stay up as long as I need to with my studies to make sure that I have a comprehensive view of the subject. I would be proud to be your student, and I hope you will give me the opportunity to prove my dedication by taking me out on a trip.” Resvie said, then added. “You see how that sounds a lot better. Its a lot more convincing when you put a little heart into it. Passion goes a long way in persuasion, but only a little. You want to keep things logical.”

Karsynwa nodded, pleasantly surprised by how smooth it sounded coming from him. He’d have to start considering his words more carefully if he wanted to be an effective speaker. That hadn’t even occurred to him until now that he wanted that. It was a warm feeling to be understood, and it gave him a sense of accomplishment even though he had failed terribly. At last he commented.

“It seems there is a lot to consider in the way you phrase your words. I hadn’t really thought about it like that.” Karsynwa said lightly, before glancing down. “Well that is just a start, but I have little doubt that you will get the hang of it.” Resvie said, and then shifted position so he was sitting with his legs crossed. “Now how about we try something a little easier on the mind. Meditation. We’ll want to clear some of the day out of that head of yours so we can keep you focused on the task at hand. Lets start by closing our eyes and breathing slowly in and out through our nose.” Resvie said, slowly closing his eyes. Karsynwa did likewise and started steadily breathing as instructed.

“Now concentrate on which side the air is going in and out from. A good exercise is to focus on which side it is coming through at any given point in the day and to consider where you are mentally at that present moment. For now though just focus on clearing your mind of everything, just breathing in and out slowly.” Resvie said, his voice growing softer as he spoke. Following along, Karsynwa noticed that he was breathing in through his left nostril, and his mind felt weary. As if it had just gone through a strenuous effort. He worked on blotting everything out as the sound of their breathing filled the room.

“Don’t worry about if thoughts continue to bounce around in your head as you try to clear them. That is normal, especially for a beginner. Just relax and breath.” Resvie said, continuing in a soft voice. Karsynwa sighed slightly as he took in slow, deep breaths. His mind was almost quiet except for the worry here or there. An idea about a new pose he could try. The smile that waitress gave them as they departed the White Crane. Other pictures flitted across his mind. It was as if he was adrift in his own mind with only Resvie’s voice to guide him. He kind of liked it.

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