Welcome to Gaia! ::

Panting after many days of wandering the desert, Ralian gave a sigh of relief as he finally found himself entering Umbrionia's town borders. The bustling of the market - carts rolling on the cobblestone, shop owners calling out to passersby, the overall sound was a welcome change to the boy's ears. Deciding to take a breath, he pondered a visit to the tavern before stumbling across the entrance to the town's library. He narrowed his eyes, curiosity getting the better of him. Maybe he could find information about the surrounding areas, and maybe even learn about the magic that seemed to flow in him.

As he walked inside, removing the cloak and running a hand through his black hair, he nodded at the custodian and walked past the wooden front desk to the aisles of books surrounding a room of tables. He gave a nod to another figure also perusing the shelves. An encyclopedia of Umbrionia grabbed his attention, and he grabbed it off the shelf before continued on to the magic section. He settled on a tome covering a variety of fields of magic, and walked over to sit at a table. Looking around, he ate the last of the rations in his bag and delved into his reading.

Ralian's eyes glanced across the pages, learning of the beginnings of the world - history of the gifting of magic from the Demon Lord to a human, the spread of magic, the creation of demi-humans and mages, and the War of Magic filled his mind. He closed the book, opening the other text to read about the different types of magic. Usess ranging from basic alchemy to darker ideas like necromancy. As his mind continued to take on new information, Ralian found his eyes growing heavy from his journey, and he soon found himself dozing off.

He found himself in complete darkness, a feeling of loneliness clouding his thoughts. From nowhere, a mote of light began to grow in his field of vision. He tried to make his way towards it, his feet not finding any floor beneath him. All at once, the light filled the space around him, and he was back home in his father's shop. The rear of the store had a small living space, where Ralian's mother cooked dinner, his father helping a customer out front. All was normal. He cracked a smile for what felt like the first time in a long time. He closed his eyes, and opened them. His mother was gone. Fear and surprise flooded his mind, and he stood up with his heart beating in his ears. He looked out to the store, where his father had also disappeared. He took a step back, and a hand covered his mouth from behind.

Jerking awake, Ralian found himself once again in the Library, having temporarily fallen asleep for about 20 minutes. He exhaled slowly, feeling a bit of sweat on his forehead. He looked down to the page he had been reading, seeing a picture of a skull surrounded by seven hands grasping archaic symbols. He shook his head to clear his mind, closing the book and burying his head in his hands.

Hearing a soft voice from across the table, Ralian raised his head to look over at the source. An admittedly striking beautiful woman was looking in his direction, her blue eyes flicking down to the book he had closed earlier, than back up to his. His golden brown eyes as he looked away, his cheeks slightly blushing in embarrassment when he realized she had seen him fall asleep earlier. "Uhh, yeah, I-I guess you could say that," he began, gathering himself, looking down and tracing his finger the cover of the book.

"I don't know," he continued, looking back at her as he spoke, "Just trying to get more of an idea about this stuff. What I have learned is all self-taught." Ralian began staring off, bringing his hand into his view and absent-mindedly rubbing the fingers of his right hand together. "It's just, I just hoped I could find who I've been looking for. Maybe then I could learn why this thing has been given to me. Whether it be a gift..." he paused, tapping his finger against his thumb. As he did, a small drop of what looked to be black liquid fell from his finger and onto the table. As it landed on the wood, it spread out and faded away into nothing as Ralian finished his sentence: "...or a curse."

He looked back at the woman with a small nod and a shy smile. "Sorry, not really fair of me to drag you into my problems." He opened the book back to the same page, looking back at her one more time. "I'm Ralian, by the way."

Ralian nodded at the woman's suggestion, giving a small chuckle. He didn't say anything though, the laugh making enough of a statement. Asking for any help regarding darker types of magic didn't often go well, usually resulting in dirty looks or worse. As she introduced herself as the Sage of the night, Ralian's eyes darted up, involuntarily giving off a small sparkle of interest. He had heard the name in small whispers throughout his travels, but never gave it much thought. Suddenly, here she was. He smiled at the offer of apprenticeship, and sat upright at the formation of the small Shadow Puppet.

"Wow..." he said aloud, observing the small illusion. He reached out to touch it, and as his finger nearly reached the miniature snout, it poofed away into nothing as quickly as it had appeared. Ralian returned his gaze to the Sage, his uniquely-golden eyes carrying a slight magical glow (though it seemed oddly 'dormant'). "I'd expect nothing less from the Sage of the Night. My magic, though - it seems like shadow, but it's definitely different. I'd show you, but this is not exactly the place...may I show you?" He gave a curious look, holding out his hand to Luna.

He couldn't quite place it - there was something both mysterious and enticing about this woman. He stumbled on his words as he gained her hand - where did that even come from? He hadn't really made a connection like this for a long time now. Ralian gave a cool smile as he stood up, helping Lunar up from her seat. Before they embarked, he decided on returning the book to its proper shelf. He did so, giving a small exhale of breath. The slurry of words he read before dozing off danced in his head. Whether he would be able to make sense of it all had yet to be seen. When finished, he turned and walked with the sage. He nodded, thanking the librarian before exiting out to the cobblestone streets.

As they walked and talked, Ralian pondered on places where they could go. Somewhere they wouldn't cause trouble, and more importantly not draw unwanted attention. As they neared the outer walls of the town, he stopped as he noticed something. "So, here's an idea. If we follow this road out of town, we'll eventually get to the forests on the kingdom Outskirts. Or..." he paused, looking over to a small lone doorway built into a stone structure. He continued: "I've also heard stories of the Umbrionia Catacombs. Heard of those? That old maze of tunnels that weave underneath the ground. Could be interesting. What do you think?" He looked at her curiously.

Edit: It was at that point that Lunar looked away and said she had something else to do that she had forgotten about. Dissappointed, but trying not to show it, Ralian nodded and looked at the path leading out of the village. "Well listen, I'll be heading to the forest outside of town. If I don't hear from you, I guess I'll be on my way," he said, nodding again as they part ways. Ralian made his way out of the town, and onwards to the Ancient Forest.