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 Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 8:25 pm
The Glimmersea was calm, as usual, helping the young Drow who sat at its edge to think and try to get her thoughts to settle as calm as the water before her. First a trip to the Market, and then the incident with the House Barrith; she'd just as soon not remember the shocks that had come from either of the encounters.
The arrogance and manipulative confusion that had come from her forced visit to the House Barrith left her angry and annoyed, her grand Matron's request for the visit ensuring that she would never set foot in another House for a long while. It gave her new insight to the reasons her mother had abandonned the ways of the House to live a more quiet and self-driven life.
On the other hand, her trip to the Market had led her to a case of old memories drifting out of the dust in her mind. The ghost that had appeared had left her frightened, and now, for the first time in a great many years, she found herself wishing her life were not so solitary. As beautiful as the Glimmersea was, and as soothing as it was to have her mists immediately at her beck and call should she have need of them, she still felt as though something could jump out and surprise her into another mishaptuous adventure.
Normally her mists would have drifted to trail about her, their cool touch making her feel as if she were intangible to the rest of the world. But at the moment the sight of them seemed to cloud her mind and let the ghosts trapped within her thoughts and one goal whirl free to haunt her sight. So for the moment the air around her remained clear, letting her big doe-eyes take in the full veiw of the world around her and the gentle sparkle of the Glimmersea from above.
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 8:40 pm
To an uninformed observer, Rusayla was quietly reading and enjoying a light lunch on the shore of the Glimmersea. However, as her twin would have been able to tell, she was quietly seething and not actually reading at all.
Six months! No progress whatsoever for six months! Not even a glimmer. It was that damned superior notion that a flawed drow would not be allowed to live; why fix something if you were just going to kill them anyway? Elitists . . .
She hissed, pulling out a roll, and proceeded to viciously shred it into infinitesimal pieces.
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:04 pm
Valin tried to continue her contemplating, tried to supress her mists that wanted to flow from the Glimmersea and waft comfortingly around her. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to keep them from doing so.
A soft sound coming from somewhere further down the shore broke her concentration, her mists beginning to come to life and drift around her as her head turned and tilted to the side to let her doe-eyes look around for the scource of the disturbance.
Not seeing anything off-hand, she stood and began to walk in the direction she had heard it coming. She wasn't going to take any chances this time; all she wanted was some quiet time alone. Well, not really alone... But conflict was one thing she wanted to stay away from today.
Her mists continued to swirl around her, ebbing with her silent steps on the damp rock as she came closer to the area the small sounds were eminating from. Tenatively, she strode forward until she could see the female Drow who had been making the noises, her eyes blinking in confusion and the hopes that the other Drow wouldn't be looking for a fight.
It seemed like she was just enjoying a book and some bread, but it became evident after a few minutes of observance that the case was not so. A hiss and some ferverent shredding of some bread convinced her that this probably wouldn't be the best Drow to approach at the moment.
Ignoring her silent commands, her mists curled forward to gently tap at the Drow's right shoulder, then up to rub against her cheek.
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 9:41 pm
Rusayla was not quite enjoying her various thoughts of mayhem evidenced upon her bread, but it was a marvelous release of tension.
. . . At least right up until something tapped her blind side.
She flinched, startling violently to the side, automatically bringing up a knife to slash at the- she blinked. Mist? Instantly distracted, she wonderingly reached out to touch it, but remembered herself and casually returned her hand to her side. This sort of thing usually wasn't natural, implying the presence of a mage. The start would be difficult but not impossible to explain away, but groping at the air would likely expose her lack of depth perception.
This logic train worked wonderfully right up until Rusayla noticed that she had been so startled she had fallen over. Make that virtually impossible, she thought rubbing her temples, groaning. "You can come out now," she called, not bothering to get up. Maybe the old "I meant to do it," ploy . . .
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 10:05 pm
Though the other Drow's fall was indeed somewhat amusing to watch, it wasn't what Valin wanted to happen. Her hand waving forcefully at her mists she called them back to her side, silently scolding them for misbehaving, though their actions did favor the other Drow. If her mists were comfortable enough to approach and touch the female then she must not be all that bad.
At least, that's what Valin was hoping; it could be that they were simply tired of Valin's refusal to accept their touch and were looking for another angry aura to comfort. If that was so then it was possible that she could be in trouble with the other Drow, though it didn't look as if she should be wary of the other. But that was always the case when underestimating an opponent, that or the underestimator was just arrogant.
And that possibility only reminded her of another Drow's arrogance in his ability to manipulate her. She cradled and stroked her mists, this time warming to their offer of consolement as she stepped from her hiding place and into the open veiw of the other Drow. At least, what she thought was an open view.
It had been odd, her reaction to the mists, as if she hadn't noticed them until they caressed her skin. She could just have been to deep in her thoughts to notice it and was thus startled in that manner. But why did she reach for the mists the way she did? It's almost as if she couldn't tell where they were...
Valin dismissed her thoughts with a shrug, her doe-eyes looking down at the other Drow and her now reduced to crumbs bread. "I apologize for the actions of my mists, they normally do not behave in such a rebelious way," Valin said, standing still where she was at the edge of the other Drow's small picnic, "I shall assure you they will not act up again."
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 7:39 pm
Rusayla heard the footsteps of the supposed mage, although they stopped just before they entered her range of vision. Clearly though , the other Drow believed herself to be in range, so Rusayla merely tilted her head enough to bring the mage into her peripheral vision.
"I should hope not," she replied dryly. "Whatever would that say about your level of control?" Rusayla winced a bit hearing the words come out of her mouth, but made no apology for them. Normally she would have just accepted the girl's apology, but her lack of advance in her research had made her snappy. Her hand twitched, but she refrained from touching her eye, instead turning it into an invitation to sit down.
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 7:49 pm
"My control is just fine," Valin stiffened, "I choose not to use an iron will lest they become some cold tool that has no desire for my company and will only do the bare minimum of its desired action." She stroked her mists one more time before leting her hand fall to rest at her side, her big doe eyes narrowing slightly in mistrust.
Instead of sitting in the proffered place Valin simply moved a few steps closer and sat on the rock where she was, not caring too much about dampening her dress, though that was not why she had chosen to remain distant from the other. She looked around at the food and the other Drow for a moment before opening her mouth to speak. "I suppose this means introductions would be desired? My name is Valin," she said without bothering to blink.
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 8:07 pm
Rusayla lifted her shoulder in a slight shrug. "Did I say it was otherwise?" She didn't believe that she had even implied it, but it was less than complimentary, nonetheless. "There are some who would say that it is a mistake to allow that much freedom to your object of power, however, I am not one of them," she continued, raising herself to a sitting position, facing the mage.
"Rusayla," she replied, studying the other Drow, not bothering to give her House name. One, Valin had not volunteered her own, and, two, Drow were more given to exposition when they believed themselves superior. This Valin had probably already finished her mage studies, while Rusayla was still receiving at-home "instruction," although she was mostly self-taught at this point. Her budget allowed the purchase of spell books and ingredients, but nothing really compensated for the absence of a teacher.
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 8:20 pm
Valin remained in her same position, returning the studious gaze of the other without much further comment. What was it exactly she was doing here? She had to ask herself this.
Well, her mists appeared to be correct so far in that this Drow did not seem as if she meant any harm, and her view towards the handling of her power gave her reason to contemplate further on the other's possible thoughts. Most Drow she usually came in contact with would have gloated their House name to the whole Glimmersea if given the chance, yet this one failed to mention it. That concluded either she was houseless as Valin had been before her grand Matron sent for her, or she simply did not wish to state her House.
Either reason was a plus in Valin's mind as she despised those Drow who were obsessed with social power and flaunting their supposed talents and wealth. If one could not make their own living they had no good reason to own anything of power. The kind of power that Valin desired was the same pride her mother had attained to live and die with. It made her wonder exactly what kind of power the other desired. Those none of these thoughts gave any evidence on her face as her gaze remained solidly stationed on the other until Rusayla might voice a question or remove her gaze from Valin.
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:37 pm
Perhaps her theory needed a little tweaking.
They had been staring at each other for a while now and the silence was beginning to grow a tad uncomfortable. Most other girls Rusayla met had disliked silence, needed to fill it, but not Valin. It was strange, suggesting that she was used to silence . . . and, in turn, that her failure to mention her House name was from the lack of one.
Other Drow would have looked down on her for that alone, but Rusayla was not one of them; in fact, she found herself rather repecting her for it. Being able to live outside the House system required self-sufficiency and courage, the former of which Rusayla had never posessed much of, and now . . . Well, being half-blind didn't exactly instill much confidence in her abiltity to take care of herself.
And speaking of . . . "I don't suppose you've run into any surface world spell books?" She asked rather abrubtly. They were fast becoming the only thing she hadn't checked.
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 1:55 pm
Valin was indeed used to silence; she had lived nearly all of her years after her Mother's death in such silence with only her mists or an occasional raid of a passersby for information to break it. The only name she could stake claim to was her own, knowing that she had no House other than when her grand Matron sent for her and that she could not officially hold the Name of Piranor as her own until she had retreived her sword.
She fingered the empty sheath at her side, a thing she often fell into doing whenever she was thinking or confused. Her thoughts were interupted by Rusayla's question and for a moment she couldn't think of who she would be asking the question to. Finally realizing it was to herself, Valin shook her head and replied, "I am afraid I have not, at least, not into any you would be interested in."
The only spellbooks Valin really desired were music books, such as the one she had found The Moldau in. Her power and control was based off of her singing, what she liked to call her 'Siren's Song'. Sometimes she would add her eyes, drawing on her inner power to cast the reaction she desired from her prey between her eyes and theirs. In many ways she thought of herself as a Siren, as the mythological being who ensnared men with her song to dash them upon the rocks to their death. She could also go by the name of Loreley, of 'murmurring rocks' for all that she hid in her mists to call out her song to her victims.
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 3:33 pm
Rusayla raised a brow, wondering what exactly the other Drow thought she was interested in. She was looking for books on the theory of magic, for she had long accepted the fact that the Drow practice of killing those with defects meant that there would be no existing spells to heal her eye.
Besides, it was exceedingly difficult to research something when you couldn't say what exactly you were looking for. Although she could probably spin a tale about comparing the healing techniques of the surface world with their own, such a technique required very careful handling, as it wouldn't do to suggest she found the surface world's methods superior. Searching for details on the underlying magical theory was much safer.
Not that she would tell Valin any of this. Instead she merely replied neutrally, "You might be surprised."
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 3:45 pm
Valin shrugged, figuring if the other Drow was so interested in what Valin might have she might as well see it with her own eyes. Reaching into the back of her small corset she pulled out a few sheets of thick paper that had been folded until they might fit into the pocket she had inside the back of her corset.
"If you can even understand it you'll be welcomed to make a copy if you want," Valin said with a blink. She unfolded the papers and handed them to Rusayla, their printing held open before the other Drow. The first sheet, as well as those after it, was covered in a series of horizontal lines with small black dots, almost all of the dots having some type of small vertical bar connect to it or connecting it to another or other dots. The large print at the top of the page was underlined and italisized and read The Moldau.
Valin surrendered the papers and waited to see what Rusayla reaction to them might be. It was in fact Valin's type of spellbook, but she didn't know anyone else who might use music to enact their power.
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 4:15 pm
Rusayla acepted the offered pages, leafing through and scanning the marks on the papers. She knew enough to recognize it as a music score, but beyond that she wasn't sure. Yet the fact that Valin had produced this in response to her query on spells . . .
"Amplification or method?" she inquired, raising her eyes from the paper to meet Valin's. Either way, it opened up several intriguing new direcions she could research, as well as insight into the workings of magic. Truthfully, not what she had expected to find, but welcome nonetheless.
Returning her gaze to the paper she frowned at the markings, humming a bar of the melody line. Members of the higher houses usually instructed their children in music, at least enough to appear knowledgeable if asked about it, but it had been many years since Rusayla's last lesson and she was very rusty.
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 4:31 pm
"Both," Valin replied, not able to resist finishing the bar that Rusayla had begun to hum, "It can depend on the music or on the way I sing the music." Normally she used her singing in her spells to mess with the emotional response of her prey, but occasionally she came across a direct way to use the music to affect the initial emotions.
As she had tried to do when brought to her temporary quarters in the House Barrith. The quarters themselves hadn't bothered her, they were much the same as House Piranor's, but the Drow who had led her to them was the one who had instilled her voice to act out on her. She guessed it was some type of empathy response, but she was still experimenting with how exactly she was able to make it work.
Her mists came naturally to her, little movements and twitches of her hands able to tell them where to go. Anything beyond that called for her voice and sometimes a song. If she were not desperately searching for her sword, she would be looking out for different songs.
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