[FY/PR] Duality Ch. 1-6 Up (UPDATE! 10-20-07)

[Leavaros]

VelArian
~~~~~
When Master came in, I hardly recognized him. It was as if he had aged a decade in a single night. His silver hair had dulled to gray, and was disheveled, and his eyes, normally bright blue, were pale, and the whites were streaked with red. The lines in his face deepened with a gravity very unlike my Master, and I worried for his health.

He looked at me, and then at Cook Patti, then back at me, and blinked a few times. "Ah, so there you are. Thanks for keeping an eye on him--Olivia kept me up all night catching up."

Patti smiled. "That's just what you get for being away so long. I'm amazed Vasje hasn't broken down your door and throttled you yet. She was worried about you, too, you know."

Olivia swept in behind him. "Vasje knows that I have my right to hear things from him first," She said a little coolly. Then she tipped her head to the side, and intoned sweetly, "But don't worry--she gets to have her way with you tonight."

"Master, why do you look so worried? You're usually happy when you attract so much attention from women." For some reason, this made Patti laugh. It was the first time I saw her lose control. She looked wild and free, joyful and vivacious as the rapids of a river, but in a moment, she was again as calm and refined as a pond. I felt an odd sense of loss at this. "Cook Patti, you don't have to cover up your laughter. I actually like seeing you laugh. You seem...more real, somehow."

Magistra Patricia exchanged a look with Master and then with Magistra Olivia. She looked at me almost as if she were going to say something, but then shook her head and smiled. I could almost see her decision. She turned to Master and said, "Beryl and I were just discussing your past as an Ethics Magister--"

"Why did you quit, Master? You would be a wonderful teacher of Ethics."

"Excluding his unenlightened views on women." Olivia sniped, then sighed. "And he was. People still talk about his classes all these years later. I bet that if he resumed that class, he would have almost every pupil in all the Towers at his door."

"You really think so?" I had had no idea that Master's influence reached so far.

"Yes." She nodded sincerely and added: "After all, he taught most of their masters, too." Then she met his eyes peculiarly. "They still remember you, Nova. After all these years, after Lionel, after Ilia.... They still remember you best of all." Their eyes locked, and I could almost see something go between them.

Her eyes held his, and he broke the stare and looked to Patricia. "And what do you think, old friend?"

Magistra Patricia closed her eyes for a moment. She bowed in the chair as if she were praying. The lines in her face eased, and her features assumed peace with a decision. She opened her eyes, and they held a soft, mellow light in their pale green depths, so powerful I wanted to look away, but could not. Something strange was happening, and I could not define it. Rather than making me uneasy, it was reassuring.

She rose and walked over to him slowly, never once turning her gaze from him. Her fingers found his face, and for a moment, I thought she would kiss him. Instead, she spoke quietly to him, but her words carried to me with a queer strength. "You should take up once more the position you were meant to have. We need it now more than ever." Her voice faltered for a moment, but when she continued, her words were honest and simple. "And...it would do this old woman good to see you teach your class, one last time." Even the finality of her words spoke to something in me, and tears pricked my eyes.

Master nodded to her words, and then choked and held her close. They were both shaking, and quiet. I looked to Magistra Olivia, whose eyes were wide. She looked at me, and motioned for me to come away from them.

We left silently, letting them hold one another, leaving them to their sorrow and its terrible beauty.
~~~~~  

[Leavaros]

VelArian
~~~~~
There was faint music coming through the slightly opened door of Elanna's classroom. Olivia entered without protocol, silently, beckoning me with a gesture to enter.

Her classroom was like nothing I had ever seen before. Edges that would seem harsh in any other room, such as those in the desks and chairs were softened by the formation of a semicircle around a desk near the front of the classroom. Flecks of silver danced in the ceiling like stars gracing heaven, while a marble floor veined with grey seemed to glow with an unearthly life. A single leafless, silver tree seemed to watched over a window on the far wall, reaching up from a clear bowl filled with stones azure as the sky, waiting for something. Rather than feeling cold and lifeless, the cool tones of blue and grey were set to shining by the Winter sun, and the room had a meditative, almost reverent air, as if the place itself were seeking a deeper meaning to life.

But what really made me catch my breath was the music.

In the center of the room, Elanna played a strange instrument. It was curved like a crescent moon, and fit the cleft of her arm perfectly, as if made to fit there. In the center was a glowing orb, not unlike the Library's light-orbs, that shone a white-blue. She moved her hands above it gracefully, curiously, almost as if she were playing a harp. A symphony of soft, tingling sound came from it, and she sang quietly, beautifully, eyes closed and head bent slightly, as if praying. But her words were foreign to me, and yet, somehow, sounded natural to my ears.

Then I knew. I've heard this song before.

"You have?" Elanna stopped playing and turned her eyes to me. Her sapphire eyes were deep, as cool and twinkling and blue as the stone, and something in them called to something in me. "I'm surprised. Luna's Lullaby hasn't been sung often in ages."

I thought quickly, and my words flowed a bit too well. "I heard it from an old blind man in Selenia." I almost thought better of it, and then added, "But he didn't call it Luna's Lullaby, he called it Selene's Song."

She looked at me curiously. "Did he, now?" She looked thoughtful, then said, "Well, yes, it was composed by Selene, but it is titled Luna's Lullaby. How curious." She looked at me a moment longer, calmly but intensely. Something in me shifted, almost rising to the surface....

Olivia made a noise in the back of her throat. We both startled, and I thought I saw annoyance turn to dismay in her face, but with Olivia it was impossible to tell. In a moment to brief to detail, she wore a slight smile on her face, asking just how recently the two of us had met. "I've seen Beryl only once before, two nights ago when he arrived at the Campus. I wanted to see Master so badly, I couldn't help myself, and so I greeted him at the Doors. I feared for him for so long that the tears were a welcome relief. Well do we two know just how cold frozen grief is, unsure and terrible." Those eyes expressed a shared fear almost too sad to bear witness to, but Olivia nodded and only smiled sincerely. "But it's over now--our Master is home at last."

"Yes." Elanna said and turned her eyes to me again. "And to think, I almost overlooked such a treasure of a boy in my rush of emotion. Oh, Olivia, you should have heard his speech that night--it was so beautiful, so sincere, wistful and warm just like Master, it brought fresh tears to my eyes, and not mine alone for that matter."

"That's what I keep hearing." Olivia said with a sigh. "I wish I could have been there. It's a shame really."

"Well, I don't know..." I replied, declining the flattery. "I'm nothing special, not really--I was only being honest. And you didn't overlook me at all, Magistra Elanna--you were the one who brought me the cider, remember? I was just the Master's new boy to everyone else, but you treated me like any child that needed to be fed and kept warm. I remember." I thought for a second as Elanna's eyes widened, and then finished. "The real shame is that Magistra Olivia was too upset with Master to welcome him home. I think you broke his heart when he couldn't find you in the crowd."

Magistra Elanna's mouth opened a bit, but no sound came out. Olivia looked torn between shock and old anger, and I feared she would shout at me, but at the last moment, she just shook her head and laughed. "Damn it, boy, you're smart, but you don't have all the facts. Master broke my heart too, he sickened me so with worry."

"Then shouldn't you have been overjoyed, as Elanna was, to find him safe and sound at home once more? If you truly felt as you say you do, why wouldn't you shrug off yesterday's pain and enjoy the new day's warmth and safeness?" I shook my head and met her eyes directly. "You must realize that in feeding your anger, in searching for justification without really trying to find it, you hurt only yourself and the man you still call Master."

"Hold your tongue, boy." Olivia warned, a storm of anger promised in her voice.

"Let him speak." Elanna said quietly, a cutting calmness that smote Olivia's fiery anger.

"Last night, I heard you say that it is a woman's place to repair what a man breaks. If that is true, then why weren't you there with a sympathetic heart and a listening ear, trying to reconnect just as Elanna was?" I sighed again. "Magistra Olivia, you are one of the sharpest people I have ever met. Why do you choose to hurt yourself and those you love? Even in the search for truth, you keep Master up all night, prying him away from his secrets--you must have seen how...old he looked this morning. He can't take that kind of treatment anymore! And yet, there he was. Because he can't say no to you, anymore than Alan can say no to Patti. He might have hurt you, but you know he would do anything to correct his wrong, even if he doesn't necessarily understand it, just as he accepted what happened with Magistra Patricia and me last night. What I cannot understand is why you would first feel such anger that you cannot bear to see him, and then such a thirst for answers that you would keep him up all night just to slake it. You need not ask for any more of him, because you have the whole of him: he accepts your rage and tries to find you, the real you, hiding behind your temper and your intelligence, no matter the cost to him. "

"Amazing." Magistra Elanna whispered, her eyes huge and steady.

Olivia looked like she was going to scream or cry or hit me, but then, her face seemed to lose something in it, and she closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, those green depths held a kind of eerie warmth. I realized that something had just changed inside her, I could feel it. She shook her head at Elanna and smiled with warmth unfettered by anger or sorrow, or even joy, "Elanna, this is Beryl. Teach him well--he should learn to write as well as he speaks." And with this, she left gracefully, closing the door gently behind her.
~~~~~
I think that was the first time I had ever seen true compassion, that warmth that needs no emotion to make it whole.

But it would take another woman, a wise woman with a kind soul and the strength to believe in goodness in the human heart, beauty in the truth, and each in the other, to light in me that same compassion, after I had been so doused by sorrow and loneliness and doubt.

It would take another woman to teach me how to pray.
~~~~~  

[Leavaros]

VelArian
~~~~~
For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then Elanna turned to me, and said, "I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen Olivia look at someone that way." She sighed. "You do have a way to you, Beryl."

I sighed. "I almost wish I didn't. I've had more people angry at me and worried about me in the last two days than I have since...." Since the fire? No.... Everyone was angry or worried about themselves, not me. I shrugged lamely.

"You shouldn't think that way, Beryl. I think that you just solved a lot of conflict by making just a little. I couldn't have done it better myself. And even if she was upset with you, she didn't seem so by the end. I think you've earned her respect today."

"Maybe you're right." I looked at her, and then the instrument, then back at her. Then, "You're from Selenia, aren't you?"

She looked genuinely intrigued. "Why do you say that, Beryl?"

"A lot of little things. The colors of the room are predominantly gray and blue, typical of Selenia. You have that"--I nodded towards the instrument--"which I have never seen anywhere, but have seen in Selenian tapestries. Master likes to indulge in rich inns when he gets a chance."--here she nodded sagely--"And you know Luna's Lullaby by heart, when I've not heard it played but once, in Selenia."

"That would make a sound conclusion...." She said, closing her eyes and nodding silently.

"Was I right?" Curiosity filled me.

"In a way. Tell me, how much do you know of the ruling system of Selenia?" Her face was unreadable, but not stony. Fluid, deep, entrancing.

"Ruling system?" I was caught off guard.

"I'm sorry, I remember, Master tries not to talk much about civil politics with young students--he says they are too impressionable."

"Oh." My heart sunk again, and I realized that Master still thought of me as a child. But then I remembered how confused I had been when he talked about Magistrate Ilia and the Council, and how much I didn't need to know to stay safe. "Well, I guess that makes sense."

"I disagree. I think that children especially need to know what government that they grow up under, and that there are alternatives. You grew up outside of Cuiet, right?" I nodded and she continued, "An aristocracy of merchant houses rule there, and it is where the Academy is centered--the branch of the Campus where Master was studying before he met you--mostly because they don't take issue with our studies, and they aren't ones to complain about more customers and new markets."

"I had no idea." Astonishment, then upset.

"And you have a right to know, Beryl, because it was your home. Just as Selenia was my home." She paused then continued. "Selenia is a theocratic aristocracy. That is to say, a religion, or more aptly, a number of royal houses vie for power over the city, not by war, but by...." She stopped here, then continued. "By marriage, and by heredity."

"By...heredity?" That seemed to me like a very foolish way to determine who is fit to lead.

"Well, yes. The house with the most royal blood rules over the city. There are five Upper Houses, four to rule each quadrant, and one to rule those four. The Lower Houses are innumerable. And mostly unimportant--sometimes, an Upper House absorbs a Lower House, exchanging a pure bloodline for wealth." She sighed.

"Wait...people marry people for...money?" The idea was ludicrous.

"Not just for money, Beryl, but for power. In Selenia, the one with the closest relation to the city's first queen, Selene, holds the crown."

"But that's crazy. Selene died unmarried, and childless. Her city was abandoned. No one alive carries the blood of Selene."

She was silent for a long moment. "What did you say?"

"I said that no one has Selene's blood."

"No, you said 'sanguine Selenae'." She looked at me avidly. "How much do you know about her, anyway? And how do you know she was without heirs?"

I became uncomfortable. "It's common enough knowledge."

"Maybe. How did she die?"

"She...she stabbed herself."

"When did she stab herself, Beryl?"

"On her wedding night."

I gasped. I had not known, and then I knew. It is as if she had pulled it out of me, up from me.

"Yes, that's right. Some say she went mad, that the prophetess finally had what was coming to her, others say it was in misfortune, that she had chosen wrong and killed herself, and others say that--"

"She was betrayed." My voice was small.

"Yes. And that is the most common of all. But every one of her visions came true, each word she spoke held unbreakable truth, and limitless foresight. Even after her death, her words were cherished. They were set to scrolls, and a new church was founded in the heart of the city, the Temple of Selene, a testament to her immortal words."

"Truly?" Tears sparkled in my eyes.

"Truly. That is what what is written on her statue."

"But...no one really knows, huh?"

"No. Remember, the city was discovered after...after it was lost."

"Yeah, that's right. Lost."

"So, no, no one has more than a drop or so of blood, anyway. But somehow, the Sacred Fount never lies." She sighed. "I think it's a bit silly to take the word of an old well, but when the babes are presented at their thirteenth moon, they are almost unanimously true to their parents' lineage."

I wondered what she meant by almost, but another question burned me through--"But then wouldn't people...." I paled. "They would be marrying their cousins?"

"And siblings, in the old days. That was outlawed, though."

"We can only hope." Siblings!?! "Why is the Temple only allowed to members of the Houses?"

"That's more a technicality than a law. Almost every citizen in Selenia is the member of some house through extension. That rule only applies to outsiders."

"Does Selenia frown upon the Campus?" I asked, concerned.

"Heavens, no! Selene's first teaching is 'read'. This means literally and metaphorically. Reading was important, because it attracted thought. But also, it developed a want for knowledge and for truth that is palpable within the Temple. Outside of the Campus, the Temple is the largest center in the world for knowledge. Her third meaning was--"

"That those words which are written can survive the rise and fall of empires, and that, through reading these words, we inherit the voice of ages." I said it quietly, surely.

"Who are you, Beryl?"

"I am my Master's apprentice. But who are you, Magistra Elanna? And from what House did Master take you?"
~~~~~  

[Leavaros]

"Well...I suppose Master was rather fond of that command, anyway." She said, doubting the meaning of my answer, but taking it for what it was. I felt sure that she would not attempt to pry the truth from me--I didn't even really know if I had it--and was secure with our discussion. "As for me," she continued, as though I had said nothing unusual, "I was born Elanna EngelAvia"--she said this as though there were no separation between the words--"of the Upper House Engel and the Lower House Avia. My house was third in line from the crown, and I was the third child besides.

"My oldest sibling, and half-brother, Lucas Engel, will succeed our father's lordship. My half-sister, Sofia Engel, my senior by seven years, entered the Temple's service when she came of age, and lost her surname, taking on the name 'Sofia Aria-Engel', 'Aria' being the style that Selene herself preferred, and 'the last 'Engel' meaning 'from'.

"Shortly after my half-sister was born, her mother died. Within the year, Father had remarried my mother, a wealthy successor of a Lower House, and seven years later, after many tragic miscarriages, she bore him a second daughter, me. They named me Elanna, meaning 'sun ray'. And so I was. I was my father's favorite, and the picture of my mother. I excelled in art and music, and lived a happy childhood.

"But I grew lonely. Lucas had no interest in children, especially competitors for his throne, and my sister spent most of her time in her study, mulling over old scrolls in foreign languages. Father was busy teaching my half-brother stewardship and managing our assets, and Mother spent most of her healthy time managing the servants and keeping tabs on court politics. The happiest moments of my childhood were whenever Mother and Father got a few minutes to play with me. I remember though, that every night, Mother tucked me in, and sung Luna's Lullaby to me, just as her mother did before her."

Nostalgia bloomed on her features, and for a moment she lost her voice. "Sometimes, I get homesick, too, Beryl.

"As I had been saying, I grew lonely. I had no true friends, and when my sister left home when I was six years old, I became terribly sad. I hadn't even a pet to my name, and Mother's songbirds could not sing to me her song. The blue sky and the splendor of the city held nothing for me, for I had no one to share them with.

"The weather grew foul. The world of rain and grey skies and heavy air suited my mood well. Too well, perhaps. In a way, it was a blessing. One night, a man my father knew, a tall, thin man with gray hair and shockingly blue eyes, came in, telling my father that every inn was full, and he would gladly pay for a hot meal and a warm bed. Father only laughed, and said that he'd pay with a story, to amuse his daughter with.

"I remember meeting him so well. I wore a royal blue frock, with midnight blue lace and black flowers edging the outfit, with dark blue shoes on my feet and ribbons in my hair. Dinner was wonderful--the spices in the food tasted richer, the air lighter, the room brighter, as if this old man was a walking festivity. I had never met anyone like him: he talked with his hands and used his voice to emphasize words--which until then had only been done in scorn or song, in my house--flirted with my mother, complimented my dress, praised my father for having a beautiful home, with a beautiful wife and daughter--honestly, too, which was unusual--ate with relish and gave his compliments to the chef, asked about my half-siblings, nodded to the accounts of their studies, made intelligent observations, made Mother and Father laugh so hard they cried, and noticed me.

"He talked to me like I was a person, rather than someone's daughter, or sister, or lady-in-the-making. The longer he talked to me, the more open I became with him. I told him that it was lonely, that I missed my sister, that I had no friends, that the weather was my best companion, and that when I was happy, it was sunny and bright outside, when I was thoughtful, it was crisp and clear, when I was sad, it was rainy.

"He looked at Father and Mother. I realized that his jaw had dropped in shock, and she was crying. But he was smiling, softly, quietly. He rose and pulled my father aside. My Mother wept and hugged me, saying over and over again that she was sorry, that she had had no idea. I told her it was okay, and the next thing I knew, I was crying. Father and the gray man were talking in a heated whisper, Father finally nodding to the other man's insistence. The old man came to me and said that there was a place with people just like me, with friends closer than family, a magical place, where I could live happily and safely. It was almost too good to be true, but there was a catch--I would lose my surname, and visit my family only once a year until I had finished my schooling.

"Within the week, I left with Magister Nova, my Master, and set off to the Campus."
~~~~~