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 Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 8:49 pm
 As was his norm, Mas D'aun had choosen to move his books and study tools to one of the un-used guest rooms of House Barrith. It was far less distracting having all of his things about him. Drawing his sulky attention away from what he really needed to focus upon. Of course it was all in his mind. Moving to another room did not lessen how badly he wanted to sigh and just flop miserably across the bed. He'd done that for a year or so. it amounted to absolutly nothing. He had not obtained anything other then another year of aging. His Matron had proven quiet perfectly that her interest in him was null until he divinely changed genders. His little brother had even shown signs of surpassing him in that year of moping. He was just fortunate he had not managed to get any wrinkles.
Useless moping was not allowed to take over his life anymore. Mas was focused as much as he possibly could be on learning a wizards art. That was really his only shot at making something of himself. Still...he could not shake some of the habits he had picked up when he had been 'a girl'. Such as his obsession over his hair. Combed and pinned back so as not to tangle, he often found himself spinning a strand of white hair around one finger when he finally found something interesting to read. Such as he was now. Who would have thought enchanting could have been so interesting?
"Hnnn...mmmm....hnnm mmmm..." Mas D'aun hummed softly to himself as he flipped a page in his book and sprawled himself out on his stomach on the bed. Papers and quills and books surrounded him like debrie from a shipwreck.
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:41 pm
 Trielnolu stood, cooling her heels in House Barrith's entrance hall. She and her mistress, Mage Jabbress Brizthara had travelled a ridiculous distance to acquire some sort of object or artifact or ingredient or something. Brizthara had not gone into any detail with Trielnolu about the matter. She had simply told her apprentice that they were travelling to Gallidurth to make acquisitions. In Tri-no's mind, the word "acquisition" meant shopping, and trying on pretty clothes and pretty jewelry. It did not mean haggling with the dregs of society over the price of some kind of plant leaf for a spell. It was not that Tri-no was uninterested in the tools of her trade, but she was not interested in the process of acquiring them, she had discovered. Not in the least.
After several days of being dragged down every alley in Gallidurth and meeting with every merchant who claimed ever to have dealt with a surface raider, her feet hurt, her nerves on edge, and her temper frayed. It was at this point that Brizthara, still dissatisfied with their purchases and acquisitions, decided to go to House Barrith, to see what they might have to offer. As Brizthara explained to Tri-no while walking purposefully through the streets, her mage's staff striking the ground in rhythm with her stride, House Barrith was not of a very high ranking in the city hierarchy, but their reputation for wealth was nearly unparalleled and they excelled at acquiring rare and valuable commodities from Above, because their surface raiders were extraordinarily skilled.
And now the pair waited to be admitted into the presence of either Matron Barrith or someone in charge of Barrith's financial doings. Brizthara looked perfectly at ease as she stood, holding her birch staff casually and stroking its topaz focus unconsciously. Tri-no, however, was hard put not to pace. She contented herself by running her fingers anxiously over the twists of the top of her staff and tracing the runes inscribed in amethyst and set into the blackvine staff itself. She couldn't understand why she looked nervous when she did this, and Brizthara did not. Perhaps it had to do with their differing sizes. Brizthara being relatively huge, probably fifteen stone, and Tri-no weighing closer to eleven stone. When one was as large as Brizthara, every movement looked ponderous, even though she moved with as much grace as most drow, and more than some.
"Tri-no," Brizthara said softly, "Stop fidgeting."
Tri-no struggled to obey, but suddenly had no difficulty when someone attired as a servant appeared and came to take Brizthara to deal with Matron Barrith. Tri-no was invited to make herself comfortable while she waited. She would have protested this abandonment, but her curiosity had been piqued by the servant's garb, and she was amenable to the suggestion. As soon as she was apparently alone, however, she wandered off and sought out a servant in differently colored livery, though it was tailored much the same. From this servant she was directed to a series of guest rooms where she might take her repose while she waited. She smiled and dismissed the servant.
One of the rooms was humming, and it was into that room that she strode, curious.
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Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 5:09 pm
An enchantment that changed the colors of mundane items. That was one spell that Mas D'aun was looking forwards to mastering. He was certain he would have plenty of practice with it as well. With a spell like that he would not have to spend hours fussing over whether or not the shade of his sash matched his shoes or his hair piece. He could just cast the spell to tweak it temporarily and be fabulouse! He wondered if there was a way to apply the same spell to his eyes? Perhaps if he covered over the bright blue with a simple common crimson color he would not get as many looks from his fellow students? Or perhaps even to tint his silver hair a bit more white? Oh....who was he kidding?
Mas pushed the book away and sat up on the bed so he could flip his fingers vainly through his silver hair, causeing it to splay out over his shoulder so he could admire it. Perhaps he could color his eyes. But his hair was beautiful and he wouldn't diminish it's shining countanace with a spell as if he were ashamed of it.... He had so many other things to be ashamed of. Starting with his family. Starting with his house...starting with the damn bloody servants that would not leave him in peace.
The door to the guest room swung open and Mas D'aun turned to face it with a frown. "Why won't you stop following me! I said I did not want any interruptions!" Mas' small 'bark' sounded to himself more like a whine of a petulant child then the angry hiss of a House son. Mas currently was beyond caring about upholding any thin veil of being anything more then a unhappy young man. He groped blindly at his side for one of the small decorative pillows, and snapped it across the short distance at the opened door.
"I swear! Once mother is dead I am getting rid of those Goddess awful outfits and replacing the whole lot of you!" Wait...wasn't there supposed to be some bells jingling or something?
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Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 9:03 pm
Tri-no squeaked indignantly as the pillow came hurtling toward her and, rather than try to stop it mid-air or something mage-like, she batted at it with her staff, missing completely because her hand-eye coordination left much to be desired. She was a mage, not a warrior, and there should be no reason why any object should come flying at her, or why, if one did, there shouldn't be a warrior or someone less important to block or intercept it. So, naturally, the pillow hit her.
"Hey," she snarled. "Watch where you're throwing things, or I'll put a hex on you."
She might have been able to put a hex on someone. Maybe. If she was mad enough, and if she was very lucky, and they were already unconscious. It helped if they weren't dreaming while unconscious, so their mind could offer even less resistance to her magic. Casting anything on people or living beings was difficult, she had learned. They could put up resistance. So could certain non-living things, but they were less difficult, usually.
Initally she had no idea who the other person thought he was talking to, but she eventually realized he had mistaken her for a servant, which did nothing to lessen her ire. She was definitely not a servant, and to be mistaken for one was nothing less than a grave insult. She was fully prepared to call for a servant and have this offensive person ejected from her presence when she noticed that he had very pretty hair.
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Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 9:50 pm
The squeak that came from the door was not altogether unexpected.he had just hit with a pillow was not wearing a jester outfit at all. He shifted on the bed so he was upon his knees, his hands propped on the footboard as he blinked his blue eyes at the female. Honestly, he should have been a little more concerned the just...caught off guard.
"Well....your not a servant at all. Unless your a new one. And you certainly will not put a hex on me. Who do you think you are? Threatening me in my own home. I should have you...have you....Oh wait....I can't do that can I?"
Mas faltered, as he often did when his 'feminine ire' came crashing to a halt as he attempted to catch himself and readjust his 'personality' to the correct male sort. Mas lifted his hand, and pressed two of his fingertips to his lips as he fretted over his small outburst. Well, it wasn't like she had to be anyone of great importance if she was here in his home after all, right? Come to think of it....
"Come to think of it...." His words slowly echoed his thought. "what in the name of the Underdark are you doing here? You best not be a thief! No...I suppose someone that squeaks so loudly couldn't be a thief...why are you here?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:06 pm
Trielnolu's chin rose higher with each outraged phrase her assaulter spoke, her already wounded pride becoming engorged to the point she could feel her veins throbbing at her temple and her grip on her staff was so tight it made her wrist ache. With an effort, she loosened her grip and ungrit her teeth, because that would grind them down and give her a headach if she didn't. Still, she was practically looking at the outspoken male with crossed eyes when she checked herself. There was no reason she shouldn't simply call for a member of the household staff and demand that this impertinent male be punished, pretty hair or no.
However, his abrupt change in attitude gave her pause, as though he had realized for himself that he was behaving very foolishly. She waited for an apology, and was more than a little offended when one was not forthcoming, but she was already coming to the conclusion that this particular male was a little soft in the head. It would do no good, in that case, to punish him, or to do anything but humor him. Theoretically, he could be someone important. It would explain the fine quality of his clothing, which suited his unsettling blue eyes very well.
"I'm certainly not a thief," she said, sniffing disdainfully at the mere suggestion. "I'm a mage." Thinking quickly, she elevated her position and altered that of her mistress. "My colleague is doing business with Matron Barrith for several items from the surface, and I was given leave to occupy myself while the discussions are taking place."
She glanced down at the fallen pillow, now lying innocently on the floor as if it had not been a projectile weapon moments earlier. "No one warned me I would have to be on the watch for airborne cushions."
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:47 pm
No apology would be coming any time too soon to the insulted drowess. Mas D'aun was in his own element, and as such he was less nervouse then when he normally was outside the walls of Barrith. Had this exchange happened elsewhere the odds were that he'd have fallen over himself in apologies to the female. But this was his House. His home, and his demeanor was not one of weak willed trembleing. Though he did have some small problems with other things.
"A mage?" Mas D'aun could not help tilting his head questioningly to one side as he echoed the females explained profession. Well, at least she was not a thief. He'd have had to think of what to do with her then and Mas really did not like dealing with such inconviences.
"Matron Barrith agreed to take audiance with someone? Now that truely is news....maybe she is...no...." Mas righted the angle of his head by giving it a tiny shake. "She must be having one of her lucid moments. Your colleauge is fortunate. Hopefully she is wise enough to hurry through delegations before Mother loses her grip. You can never tell what will happen then."
The indignant sniff, and obvious glance at the pillow he had flung brought Mas back around in the conversation to the occurance. Glancing downwards himself at the pillow, Mas replied rather candidly.
"Well it was either the pillow, a book, or my shoe. I certainly would not throw a book and I would have had no idea as to whether or not I'd get my shoe back. These shoes match just about every sash I have. So it had to be the pillow."
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:55 pm
Tri-no didn't miss his use of the term "mother" to refer to Matron Barrith, and wondered if, maybe, honesty might be a better policy, and if it was too late to tell the truth and admit she was only in training to be a mage, and not a full mage yet. He had probably already guessed that, though, since she hadn't made the pillow (or him) burst into flames or vanish or something equally impressive and mage-like.
"I believe that was the scenario described," she said a little testily, referring to the meeting with Matron Barrith. "It is of little interest to me, really. I'm just here because I'm a great deal more junior than my colleague, and where she decides to go, I usually end up following whether I will or no."
That was the closest she would get to admitting she was still in training. Her pride was still quite bruised, after all, and his utter lack of remorse was not helping the matter. It was a bit like rubbing salt into the wound. Though, since she had been using a bruise metaphor, that wasn't quite the appropriate simile. It didn't matter. He was rude.
At his candid response, Tri-no felt herself become incredulous as she demanded, "You put all that thought into what to throw, and you didn't turn to look at who you would be mauling?! How thoughtless can one person be?"
In hopes of putting him in his place, she added, "And your shoes aren't that wonderful, by the way."
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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 11:46 pm
Mas D'aun shifted back from his kneeling position on the bed so he could resume sitting in the middle of his paper wasteland. The obviously offended air of the female was slowly starting to be caught on by him, and he was slowly begining to come to the realization that he ought to be careful not to add more to her ire then he already had.
"Ah...so of the two of you, your colleauge is the one who tends to the matters such as busniess." It sounded more like she was a apprentince the way she worded her sentence. Why else would she be here rather then in the room with his Mother during negotiations?
The anger she showed over his response as to the meaning behind his choice of thrown objects compounded the concern that he had perhaps gotten himself into trouble...but...she had not started screaming about pain or punishment yet. So she either was not of a position to truely follow through. Or he believed she felt it wise not to threaten the son of the Matron they were currently in negotiations with. That last was a laughable reason really....but Mas was not going to give her any idea of that.
Ah...but such a slight against his shoes! Mas cast a flickering glance of his blue eyes down at the purple and blue satin shoes. "I will have you know these shoes are just fine. They are comfortable and have held up quite well for the past few months. They are a sight better then the ones you are wearing after all!"
Mas lifted his chin just a fraction into the air, and caught himself before sniffing in disdain. He wanted to say something a bit more scathing, but his tongue was bitten to keep it still. "Besides, this is my House! I was not made aware we had any guests here so in my defense you are fortunate it was not a spell I threw at the door. Ugh...your completely ruining my mood for study now."
Mas lifted his left hand in a flightly flickering gesture towards the intruding female before snapping it back down at his side.
"If your all so offended and vexed go take it out on one of the servants. I doubt Barrith will even notice or care really."
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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:52 pm
"That's right. I'm more of a junior partner," she answered, calming down a little, still afraid to be caught in a lie, just in case it somehow got back to Matron Barrith and made the old bat angry. She'd heard some rumors about Matron Barrith's sanity, and judging by the costumes her staff wore, there was something to the stories. There was no telling what an eccentric - to put it kindly - matron might do to a person.
And then he insulted her shoes in return, which made her narrow her eyes in irritation at the male's outspokenness. Males were not supposed to talk back to females. And they were not supposed to insult them, or their footwear. Even if the footwear in question is rather worn looking from a great deal of recent hard wear.
"I wouldn't be offended or vexed if you would quit offending and vexing me," she pointed out, still argumentative, but reluctant to leave. The Barrith manor looked dull, and at least this odd male was someone to talk to.
Making an effort to be polite, she asked, "What are you studying? Surely not magecraft?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 8:20 pm
"Well...at least you are something." Mas D'aun murmured after a moment. By something he had meant she wasn't a nothing, or a nobody. She was at the very least not a thief or a beggar. All the same though. He did not seem to be getting on very well with her. What with how he continued, and she was keen enough to make mention of this, to anger her over and over again.
He couldn't help it....well maybe he could? It was just...difficult! Mas placed a hand on one side of his head and gave it a firm shake. He was the one feeling vexed now, and it really had little to do with the female. He was slightly grateful when she directed a question at him that was something of a distraction from their current insulting banter.
"Ah! Yes...yes this is..." Mas removed his hand from his head and placed it over one of the books he had open and flopped to one side of him. "My books. Some of them anyways. I am studying wizardry. I am thinking of focusing on Elemental magic....well I was till I read some of the fascinating properties of Enchanting. The mechanics and principlas are so utterly different from my training though. I'm ill prepared for the classes and it is a damn frustration trying to keep up with students half my age. You've no idea how embaressing it is."
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 6:10 am
Tri-no showed marked interest for the first time when the matron's son mentioned that he was, indeed, studying magecraft. Naturally, there were male mages. She knew that logically, but the only one she had any dealings with was the mage who taught her lessons in the history and ethics of magic, which was a class she found very dull. Based on that, she had assumed that all male mages went into the theoretical aspects of magecraft, rather than the practical ones. Mentally she chastised herself for being a dense, thick-witted rothe.
She had very little practical experience with magecraft yet: her school of study placed more emphasis on knowing the theoretical over the practical, or so it felt. Her lessons in practical magic with Mistress Brizthara always felt woefully short in comparison to the other lectures she attended. Since she'd gotten her staff, thing had gone more quickly, and there had been fewer classes on theoretics and more hands-on learning, which suited her much better, but she still felt that the proportions were wrong, and that there shouldn't be any theory at all. Knowing why a spell works is hardly the same as being able to make it work, after all.
"I have some idea," she said dryly. "I was the most talented mage my house had produced in nearly a century, and when I was sent to train I was placed in a beginner-level class, for people who knew nothing except that they had some sort of magic."
She neglected to mention that was the level she had been at initially, though she had improved over the months. At home, being the only one who was magically gifted in her house, she had been the big fish in the small pond, and given to unconscious magical outbursts. When she was angry, bad things happened. When she wanted something, matters seemed to be facilitated. She could also throw small jolts of magical power at people to sting them and make them jump. It was all very immature, she now realized, and undisciplined.
"Even now, I feel as though I am perpetually behind in my studies. We haven't really begun to look at different areas of specialization yet. A lot of people in my lectures are still learning to keep their magic and their emotions separate." She had mastered that, at least. "So it's slow, boring progress."
She had no idea she'd just admitted to being basically little more than a beginning student.
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:27 pm
Mas D'aun shifted back on the bed and began to tidy up the spill of papers. Somehow he had manaed to knock some sheets loose and now, in his movements, pages were spread out that he had been taking notes on. Mas picked up a trio of papers and gave them a glance over before looking about for the book they belonged tucked into.
"Truely?" He asked as Tri-no would seemingly identify with his problem. Mas set the pages down beside him that he was holding and looked back up at the female. "Well then, at least you have a promising begining. I'm afraid I am utterly talentless when it comes to magery. Switching from blind faith to...to... to all this-" Mas lifted his hands and fluttered a gesture over the books on the bed. "it is just not so simple at all. There are rules and specifications and timeing that all impact the effect of a spell. All these little added nuisences! I rather wish I had been born a sorcerer at least so I could have an excuse for not wanting to comply with all this book studying."
Mas accepted the fact he would not be able to organize his papers while there was a distraction in the room, and instead began to shuffle all his notes together randomly. "Oh! Yes yes! I understand that completely. I've no problem keeping my emotions under control. It's simply accepting the difference between the type of power I was trained to accept and the type of power I can only achive that is frustrating. I assume another three or four years is all I need to adjust. Then I should be able to make more headway. Providing Matron Barrith lasts long enough to give me the chance. I do not think Quavvira will be as understanding a Matron if I did not provide results immediatly for the amount of coin being spent on these studies."
Mas smacked the pile of papers between some books and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. There would be no studying now for certain. He was simply too flustered! "Why do you not just find yourself a private tutor? Then you could proceed at your own pace without the teacher getting hung up on other students? Surely if you have such promise your Family would see fit to pay the extra coins for such a tutor?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 5:56 am
Tri-no looked in askance at a free chair, and then seated herself. She had been run off her feet all week, seemingly without rest. Her shoes were not meant for such things, as she had packed for a shopping expedition like the kind she usually took, and not an exploration of every filthy corner of every market in the Underdark. The trip had been hard on her shoes and harder on her feet. When she got home, she was getting a pedicure. That was definite.
"Talent," she intoned, reciting from memory what her teachers had drilled into her skull, "is often overcome by hard work when talent doesn't work hard. Which I think means that having talent isn't everything."
She really wasn't sure what the expression meant. It had just been repeated ad nauseum at her class, mostly by Brizthara. Subtleties were frequently lost on Tri-no, who wasn't stupid, but she also didn't have a mind conditioned to thinking deep thoughts. The most she could manage was double entendre and innuendo. Triple entendre and certain types of allusion were beyond her. She was frequently frustrated, able only to see the top layers but knowing there must be deeper meanings to what was spoken, if she could only see them.
"Who is Quavvira?" Tri-no asked, suddenly wishing she'd listened more closely to Brizthara's lectures on House Barrith. "And what do you mean, you switched to magecraft from blind faith? Surely you weren't going to be pledged to a temple?"
"As for why I don't find myself a private tutor, that's simple: my house doesn't really care about me or my talents. They sent me to be trained because that's what one does with people who show an aptitude for something, and because it means they can ignore me more effectively. All anyone in my house ever thinks of is my pretty little cousin, who's going to grow up and be the pretty little matron, even though there are older females with just as much claim to inherit." Oh, yes. That had touched a nerve.
"My aunt wouldn't pay extra money for anything for me. I get an allowance, and they pay for my schooling. That's it. Just because I'm not a priestess. I could have been a priestess if she'd sent me to train that way, but she didn't of course. And she delayed my education so I'd be one of the oldest people in my classes."
She managed to shut herself up before she got too heated. Controlling her emotions. Yes. Right. Mostly she'd mastered the technique. At least nothing had begun to levitate or something equally destructive. She decided to count that as a victory.
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Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 1:50 pm
Mas curled one leg under him and propped himself up with one arm while Tri-no choose a chair for herself to sit. His brows furrowed slightly as she recited the much repeated mantra to him.
"I mean no disprespect to those who have obviously been far more educated then I in the art of magic, but that sounds like nothing more then a reason to bare down on those that obviously have skill. Or perhaps to demand more from them... If you already have talent your obviously better then the rest in your class. They should at least acknowledge it. Or...maybe I'm just not getting the point."
Mas flicked the fingers of his free hand up to his lips so he could begin rubbing his index fingers soft tip against his bottom lip.
"Mmm. Quavvira is Matron Barriths adopted heir. She's around here somewhere I am sure, though normally she harasses me to no end. It's not like her to give me such breathing room." Mas withdrew his fingers from his lip0 and made a fluttery gesture towards the ceiling.
"I'm afraid I really can't go into that. You'd most likely get the wrong idea, and those can be so very dangerouse. It doesn't matter anymore anyways, I'm to be a wizard...once I finish my training. Hmm. Well now. It doesn't sound like your so much the glittering gem in your familys crown are you?" Perhaps that was a bit too crule to say, but Mas viewed it as possibly true. Why else would she speak in such a tone?
"It sounds like your..Aunt is it? Well, it sounds like your Aunt has the right idea." Mas spread his lips slightly as he tilted his head to look at the discontent female across from him. "Since she is your Aunt, and not your true mother, of course she would see your aptitude as a threat to her own line. Most likely she wants you at a disadvantage so you won't be able to usurp her offspring as the future Matron. After all, if you prove more effective and accomplished then any of her girls...well...how would that make her? I certainly wouldn't let any children of my brother do better then my own daughters!"
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