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 Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 4:10 pm
i hate it here The muffled patter of raindrops hitting the grass had been a comfort to the girl once upon a time, but now the monotonous sound left her cold. It reminded her too much of the past, a past she had left behind only days before. A week ago, she had been the daughter of Maira and Coleth, but now she was nothing more than one of the many students at the Oblivion Sanctuary. No one had ever implied she couldn't be both at the same time, but Eanah chafed against the notion. If she couldn't see her parents every day as she always had, if she was required to go to classes and fight monstrous beasts instead, then she would be a student first and a daughter second. Maybe she wouldn't even be a daughter at all anymore. Her little sister would be thrilled. She had always longed to be an only child.
A single tear splashed against the dark fabric covering Eanah's thigh, and soon after it was nearly indistinguishable from the occasional raindrop that fell from the eave above her head. She swiped at her cheek, soaking up any evidence that the tear had been there at all. This separation between training and family was a necessary one, as far as she was concerned, but that didn't make it easy.
Eanah couldn't remember a time when she hadn't wanted to be a mage. Her mother's line was weak as far as magic was concerned, but her father's positively brimmed with mages. Coleth himself hadn't had any desire in that area to speak of, but Eanah still had hope that she would be a strong mage, so much hope that she had carried around a chipped wooden walking stick wherever she went ever since she had turned five. To everyone else her greatest wish was obvious, but she had never actually spoken it aloud. Hopes and dreams were for weakling Orderites and spacey Dovaa. There was a strained sort of peace smothering the world right now, but trouble was on the horizon, she could feel it. She needed to remain vigilant, to prepare. Just last month, some snotty little Orderite had been chased out of her village after he had tried to steal jewels and food from one of their most beloved citizens. Eanah wished she had been there to see it.
Yes, leaving her family behind upset her greatly, but there was far too much at stake these days for her to dwell on her own unhappiness. Soudul needed Oblivionites willing to defend it from harm, not chatty little social butterflies more concerned with friendship and holding hands than keeping their people safe. She was finally on the path toward becoming a true protector of her people, and with any luck, she would be doing that job with the help of magic. Her dreams no longer felt so far away.
She turned sharply, peeking over her shoulder to make sure that no one was lurking or listening. The girl turned back to face the driving rain more slowly, the ghost of a smile touching her lips. When she spoke, it was for her ears alone.
"I'm going to be a mage."
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Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2012 2:55 pm
field meetingprp | kavanna Eanah sat on her bed for a long while before she began to write.I ran across a Dovaa today who went by the name of Kavanna. She was as haughty and entitled as I have been told their kind are, but she was also impressively powerful. I find myself trying to push my slight... jealousy out of my mind. This Kavanna was also much older than I am, so she has had plenty of time to practice her skills. Much older. Ancient.
Overall, she was not unpleasant. I am interested in meeting more of her kind in situations where we are not fighting.
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Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 8:51 am
totally lamedragon hunt | ysali | win Once Eanah was back in her room and certain she was alone, the apprentice flopped face down onto her bed, kicking off her flat shoes and grinning into her pillow. She hadn't remotely anticipated that she would do more on this trip than see a dragon from afar, if even that, but somehow she had inadvertently killed one of the beasts instead. She had been noticeably happier than usual the entire way home, anyone who knew her could see that, but even so, she had been holding back considerably. Eanah kicked her feet for a handful of seconds, letting out a muffled squeak then lying still.
All right. Enough celebration.
The Oblivionite girl pulled herself upright and reached across the bed for her worn sketchbook. Besides her tousled hair and slightly darkened cheeks, there was little that would indicate she had just been indulging in what was for her, a wild display of unadulterated joy. She placed the book in her lap, letting it fall open to where she had stuck her pencil. Tucking her hair behind her ear, Eanah began to write. I have heard dragons called majestic sometimes, but from what I saw today, they're pretty violent and dumb. Violence definitely has its place but it is something we must learn to control. When you are so full of rage that you chase down those who have done nothing to you, you deserve every tree trunk that smashes your head in. I have proven that I do not need to eradicate every Dovaa I see, even though they do cause us harm by refusing to choose a side. I learned a lot today and confirmed some things I already expected.
And I killed a dragon!!!!
I have to go looking for a box to hold my souls in the market. Maybe even a belt or sash too with pockets to keep them near when I fight. The orb is under my pillow for now. It had better not be so bright that I can't sleep.
Here is a sketch of the dragon I have named Ki. I think I will name all of my kills. It makes them more satisfying somehow.
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Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 5:04 pm
run awaydragon hunt | ysali | lose Eanah sighed as she pulled open the door to her room. She was exhausted, having run practically all the way home, even after her dragon had stopped pursuing her. She supposed she should have been proud that she hadn't passed out along the way, but she was so tired now that she wondered if that wouldn't have been the better option. Before she gave in to her weariness, the girl pulled her journal out from under her pillow and scrawled the date at the top of a blank page. She began to write.I ran. I know there wasn't much else I could do, but that doesn't make me feel any better. I eagerly wait for the day I can strike these beasts with a fireball or even just a magical fist. I won't run then.
This Ysali doesn't get a name. Until they fall to me, they aren't worthy of one.
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:11 am
first dragon, first killdragon hunt | ysali | win Eanah returned to her room breathless, even though she and the timid girl had rid themselves of the dragon hours ago.I know Dovaa can't make up their minds, but when they almost get me killed because of it, I don't think I am out of line if I take offense.
At least I made it out of there with an orb.
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:14 am
not againdragon hunt | ysali | lose The girl was so exhausted that she didn't document her hunt until the next morning.I came across a pack of Ysalis fresh out of their eggs last night. I wish I hadn't been so tired. Think of how many souls I might have come home with.
Enough of that. Dwelling on it just makes me angry.
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:15 am
making progress It had been quite a while since Eanah had arrived in the city with the intention of staying for longer than a day, or at least it felt like a while to a twelve-year-old girl. Since her first week of classes had ended she hadn't spent more than a few of nights crying, and none of those nights were in recent memory. She was attending at least one class a day now without fail, even on the weekends. As a result, she was finally seeing improvement in her hand-to-hand and defensive capabilities. Mostly defense. The girl remained horrible at close range fighting, and the more she realized this, the less she wanted to practice at all. Eventually, her melee tutors... they hadn't exactly given up, but they did agree to see what they could do about getting her into a beginner's magic class, on the condition that she make a greater effort at brawling. The first of these magic lessons was today, and whenever Eanah thought about the reality of learning anything concrete about magic, she felt as though her stomach housed a nest of angry butterflies. To be perfectly honest, whatever was in there felt more like a Ysali than a butterfly.
She wasn't going to be taught any actual magic yet, that was reserved for when she had proven her intent to protect her people and had taken up her weapon, but she would be drilled in meditation and techniques designed to quiet her mind and augment her power. She was a mage in all but name now, and it was an occasion worthy of nerves. That didn't mean she had to like the feel of them.
Eanah had been in this wing of the Sanctuary before, but never in the specific room she had been directed to now. The door rose in front of her, an impossibly high expanse of intricate carvings inlaid with onyx and the occasional amethyst. It was lovely. She glanced down at her deep purple dress, tugging her much darker scarf over her shoulders. Lovely, and fitting. The handle was carved of the same wood as the rest of the door, and Eanah barely had to push at it at all before it silently swung open, revealing a large sparring circle and a collection of daggers and swords, some ceremonial, some practical. For a moment, Eanah thought she had been tricked, and she only became more certain that this was the case when she noticed the other person who was in the room with her.
He was older than her by several years, taller by at least a foot and a half, and the only things that kept her from turning around and leaving on the spot were that this young man held no weapons of his own and was dressed nearly as carefully as she was. Neither of them would be doing any fighting in these clothes.
"Eanah," he said, moving forward into the center of the circle. "I am Leyn. I will be teaching you all I have learned of stilling the mind and preparing for battle."
"You're not a Master," she said, matter-of-factly. It wasn't an accusation or statement based in discontent, it was more a question she did not expect an answer to because the answer was obvious.
"No," he said with a small smile. It would have been easy to laugh at this child who thought herself worthy to be taught by a Master when she was barely an Apprentice, but Leyn did not. "I am still in training myself. Teaching you is a part of it."
Eanah nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you then, Leyn," she replied, dipping into a shallow curtsy.
"You as well." Leyn gestured at her to come forward. "Have a seat. We shall begin with your breathing."
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:18 am
focusdragon hunt | ysali | lose In Eanah's journal, this hunt was only documented by four words.I should be dead.
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:34 am
let me show you how it's donedragon hunt | ysali | win This entry is quite messy compared to the rest.Leyn is a dirty showoff.
This is the sort of journal entry that makes me with my dorm was shared so that someone could play a prank on me and rifle through my private things to find out how I really feel about everyone and then he could see this without me telling him.SHOWOFF!I am not giving this dragon a name.
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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 1:27 pm
a colorful paint fightprp/battle | kadryn It took three hours to get clean again once she had arrived back at the dorms, and even then she was still coming across bits of paint she had missed. She had received quite the reception upon reboarding the ship to Soudul, but the stares and whispers of her kind were easy to take. They were simply curious, not gossipy or catty like Orderites would have been. Orderites. Kadryn had been nothing if not interesting. Not at all like what she had pictured.
Eanah doubted she would ever consent to such behavior again, but their impromptu battle had been enjoyable enough while it had been going on. Fun, even.
She took a seat on her bed—wet hair done up in a pile of loose braids—and began to write.Serenia is the most obnoxious continent I've visited so far. Trees as bright as the sun, paint flying everywhere, ugh! It makes me tired just thinking about it.
Kadryn was all right for an Orderite. I'm not saying I won't fight her to the death when the time comes, but she is one to look out for. She is crafty and will prove craftier when she's using her wings, I'm sure. I must practice. Serenia and its people will not overwhelm me again.
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:17 am
more than magic "Have you ever considered trading your staff for a knife?"
Eanah peered over the top of the sketchbook where she had been painstakingly rendering Leyn's profile and gave him as piercing a glare as she could muster, considering her lack of eyes. He chuckled once, a soft huff of air pushing past his lips.
"All right, all right. I see the answer is no." He turned away from her again and she continued her sketch, though her scribbling was much less enthusiastic than it had been. What had been a fun stretch of leisure time suddenly seemed more like a lecture. "You must eventually come to understand that the more ways you know of to defend yourself, the better off you'll be. The longer you'll live." Yup, a lecture. The scrape of Eanah's pencil ceased completely, but when Leyn turned to face her, she wiggled her fingers at him irritably, urging him to continue posing. He smirked, presenting the side of his face to her again. "You might consider tying a knife to the end of your staff if you won't use one by itself. I can show you—"
"No." Eanah lowered her knees, her dress billowing out around her as she appraised her tutor. "I have never considered... tying a knife to the end of my staff." Her tone made it clear that the very thought was on par with stepping in something foul. "And I won't. But if you believe some clumsy blade will help to keep me alive when I fight Orderites and Dovaa, then I will carry one." She rose slowly to her feet, gathering her papers and pencils and stowing them in her canvas bag. "If there was one thing I learned on Serenia, it was that I must practice defending myself, especially in close quarters." She had also come to understand just how difficult it was to get paint out of one’s hair, but Leyn needn't concern himself with that.
The older mage nodded, clearly pleased that she hadn't put up much of a fight on the subject of taking up a secondary weapon. He bent quickly, pulling up the baggy leg of his pants to reveal the dark knife that rested against his calf. Leyn passed it to her handle first, and when she had wrapped her fingers around its warm hilt and was clearly hefting all of its weight herself, he let go and crossed the room to one of the armament closets she had turned her nose up at when she had first entered this room several months ago. Eanah trailed after him, holding his knife away from her body as if it carried the plague.
"If I keep a knife under my skirts, I'll be murdered before I can even find it," she muttered.
"I think it will be far more effective for you to carry your weapons out in the open. Well, some of them." Leyn pulled open the closet, choosing a smaller, shinier knife and trading her for his. "I hope to someday convince you to wear pants occasionally as well," he continued, earning an even more scathing glare.
"I do."
Leyn nodded. "More... occasionally."
Now it was Eanah's turn to smirk, though she managed to hide most of it under the fall of her hair as she shook her head. "We'll see." Surprisingly, she wasn't opposed to trousers of a certain cut, it was just that she was rapidly running out of funds with which to have such things made. She looked forward to the day when she could earn more without getting looked at funny for trying.
Eanah sighed at the knife, bringing it forward in what she hoped was a passable battle stance. "Like this?"
It took a lot of effort not to lunge at Leyn when he began laughing at her in earnest.
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:34 am
on my own againdragon hunt | ayrala | lose The girl was barely visible from her position in the corner of this section of the cavern. Portions of it were well lit, but this bit was just dark enough to hide her from prying eyes as she huddled over her well-used journal.Ayr is very large and very windy. At least I think it's large. The fog is so thick that I cannot really tell.
I heard some dragons overhead near the docks, but I need some time by myself to get my wits about me. I am not sure how I'm going to fight something I can't see.
I will fight them though. I must.
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:39 am
big troubledragon hunt | ayrala | lose Eanah had plenty of time to herself in the hours after Leyn had escorted her home. She had acted irresponsibly, she could see that now, but that didn't calm her restlessness or make her any less embarrassed by the scene they had caused. She needed a distraction. She tugged her journal out from underneath her mattress and opened it to the next blank page. She had a feeling she would be writing a lot more in the coming weeks. Best to get started now while it was still fresh in her mind.Leyn is very cross with me. I know now that he is just concerned, but to be honest, I doubt I could have injured myself on Ayr even if I had been trying to. Their dragons fly so high! And the fog! I couldn't have brought one of the beasts down without a spell. A spell I don't know. I must get my scepter and begin my proper training.
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:43 am
mine It took Eanah another three months to get her hands on a scepter of her own.
No one had discouraged her from making an official weapon choice much sooner, in fact, when Leyn had finally gotten over his reaction to her little solo jaunt to Ayr, it was the first thing that he recommended she do. Eanah's hesitation was all her own. She wasn't afraid, she simply wanted to feel worthy of becoming a mage before she was truly named one. And fine... maybe she was a little bit nervous about the whole thing.
The Oblivionite had subsequently spent nearly all of her free time since returning from Ayr with her nose in one book or another, researching the most effective ways to fight the dragons there. She was going to be prepared. She was not going to marvel at their size or find herself frozen with indecision while under attack or get dragged off by her angry tutor for taking one on by herself. She would walk right into their territory and take one down with no trouble. Easy as you please. It proved to be a more difficult scenario to master than she had anticipated. A three-month-long undertaking, to be exact.
The morning she finally decided it was time to make her declaration was a chilly one, an oddly appropriate day for someone like her to be starting her new life. The sun was bright in a cloudless sky, the air sharp as Eanah hurried across the courtyard toward Leyn's chamber. Together, they would make their way to Maon's office, Leyn's magic instructor. Once in his presence, Eanah would announce her intentions, some questions would be asked of her, and her scepter would be granted. Leyn hadn't been willing to elaborate on what the questions entailed, only revealing that they weren't a test, simply a nervewracking way of quelling her future masters' curiosity.
She knocked on her tutor's door before pushing it open and slipping inside. Much as she did, Leyn didn't keep many personal belongings, but unlike the girl, he also kept his door unlocked. She was welcome in his rooms, he had said, as long as she knocked first and didn't try sneaking in after curfew. The other mage was waiting for her this time, his eyes trained on the door as she entered. As always, she took a moment to admire his quarters, the same sort of space she would have for herself someday, hopefully sooner rather than later. Each of his two rooms wasn't much larger than hers by itself, but the connected pair made for quite a lovely little living area.
Leyn stood up with a small smile, smoothing his cloak and grabbing his scepter. "Ready?"
Eanah nodded.
* * *
The path to Maon's work room was no different than any other corridor she'd seen in the sanctuary. Deep black walls, high ceilings, smooth, shiny floors. All crafted with the sort of malevolent opulence some circles of Oblivionites strove for. She wasn't exactly intimidated, but Eanah did feel very small.
"Here," Leyn whispered eventually, leading her over to one of the many doors along the eastern wall. He knocked, then slid the portal open with a faint shove. "After you," he said, motioning her forward.
The first thing Eanah noticed was the smell. It wasn't a bad smell, although her nose did wrinkle at it, right before she let out a sneeze.
"Little Girl is sensitive to wisteria," a deep voice intoned.
Eanah drew in a breath, but held it. A man came around the corner, the edges of his empty eyes lined with sparkling gold.
"Little Girl has something to say?" His smile was the only thing that held her snappy comeback behind her teeth.
"Little Girl thinks that she is perhaps not so little?" Eanah stared, her mouth dropping open a fraction.
"I think Little Girl should enjoy being little. She will wake up one morning a plodding oaf like Leyn, unused to her new body. All of our training negated. But we will press on. Maybe we will even get Little Girl a Littler Girl to tutor as our Leyn has." The man, Maon, laughed, clapping the boy on the shoulder as he circled behind the pair.
"Eanah," Leyn said. "This is M—"
"She knows, silly boy. And I know why you are here. It is a most marvelous day. Young Eanah chooses her weapon! It will be all anyone can speak of at supper."
"Really?"
"No, my dear," he chuckled. "So arrogant, too! We will have fun, you and I and Leyn, these coming years." The older Oblivionite started back the way he had come, stopping to gesture at them to follow. Eanah hesitated, but a firm push between her shoulder blades moved her forward. She was to go first.
The rear area was cramped, but it felt more cozy than claustrophobic. Along one wall, dozens of scepters rested. They were all about the same size, but their bodies and gems came in a variety of colors, though Eanah couldn't discern that. Her empty eyes grew wide at the sight, and the barest hint of a smile lifted her lips.
"She smiles!" Maon gave a little hop and clap. Eanah couldn't help it when her grin grew wider.
"So! Little Girl! Do you wish to pick, or shall I?"
"I would? Please."
"Very well." He waved her forward. "Go on then."
Eanah slid forward a couple of steps, her eyes on the scepters in front of her. Not too ornate, not too plain. She didn't want a gaudy gem, but she liked the idea that everyone might know what she was from afar, so it couldn't be too small either. Her fingers brushed past one, two, three, four of the scepters, rejecting each in turn for reasons she couldn't quantify. What was she looking for?
The answer came to her as soon as she saw it. Thin, dark, with a gem at either end, the one farthest from the handle nestled in a cage of metal. Eanah reached out and grabbed it without thinking, holding it out in front of her as she spun to face her tutor and teacher. It was heavier than she thought it would be, but the weight was perfect in her hand.
"This one."
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