The Valley of Stars and Dew, Part II (Sivan)

[Torin Kilvin]

Glade 40, 123

Torin had applied the stones that allowed the doorknobs in his possession (one which he kept at his property in Kalzasi, and one which he left in the Valley for emergencies) to take him to and from his two properties the day before, so he was now able to step between the two without Aurin's aid. This meant that Aurin could get back to his own work and travels without having to be more or less constantly on hand as he had been for the work in the Valley to begin and continue for the first month. Torin was both glad he did not have to ask so much of his man and sad that he wouldn't see him quite so often, but the emotion was, for once, a background one with all else that was going on.

In addition to all the building and planning that was going into the Valley, Torin had decided to expand his shop front while he was at it, doubling the size of the space inside and adding some magical security. Without such precautions he hadn't felt comfortable displaying any of his own handiwork, nor Sivan's, but now there were display cases and stands as well as a second counter and display area dedicated to what common alchemical substances the elf might want to make in bulk enough to have on hand for sale. Timon had been adapting to and learning enough of alchemy to be a proficient and accurate salesman for this addition since Sivan had started working with Torin months before, so, by the time the addition was finished, he was able to comfortably bargain with customers on behalf of both the craftsman who sold their goods within the shop.

Sivan himself had been faithfully aiding in keeping said shop going when Torin, and often Timon, had been away so often, and thus had not yet come along to see the grant that had elevated Torin to the lowest rank of the nobility. In his imagination, Torin had envisioned taking Sivan through just as spring took hold, when everything would be fresh and growing with new life and rejuvenated old, but that dream was not to be, not this year, at least.

Still, the elf was pretty well up to date via osmosis of information and because Torin could talk of little else. Now, more than a month into the Glade that was not to be, the smith was waiting, bundled against the cold that they would soon be wrapped in, inside his shop, for Sivan to arrive for a day of consultation. He'd insisted on paying for the it, even if spirits didn't end up being a viable option, he was still calling on his friend's expertise in the capacity of a master Summoner.

When the door to the shop opened he turned from where he'd been glancing over the large ledger that they (mostly Timon) used to keep track of sales and acquisitions for the shop. Timon never said anything when Torin attempted to 'go over' the book, but his lack of words were served with a decided air of indulgence. Thankful for the excuse to stop pretending to understand he gave his friend and lover a welcoming smile.

"Good morning," He offered, not without enthusiasm, but with more of the quiet assurance that had been growing on him since he'd gained the responsibility of lordship. "Is there anything you need, before we go?"

[Sivan]

Perhaps unexpectedly, it was from the back door that Sivan emerged, a crate in his arms.

"What? Oh. Good morning!" Sivan was often cheerful around Torin and Timon, far from the taciturn presence he had been at Jacun's shop. "No, I just need to give these to Timon. He doesn't like for me to arrange the displays, but I wanted to tell him... Well, I wrote it all out in a note so he doesn't have to remember everything."

The elf set the crate down carefully on the counter, peeking inside to ensure that none of the lyrethillium glass had broken in trasport. Satisfied that his alchemical glassblowing skills were not lacking, he nodded to Torin and grinned.

"I alchemized enough stock to last while we are away, and a few new things for him to sell... I listed the material costs as well as how much time I spent on them so he can fiddle with his equations and come up with the best price. Oh, and I have a few things that might help at the valley..." He patted at his belt of many pouches. Those bottles were scrivened to withstand more severe jostling given they were going to do some traveling. Sivan straightened the cloak Torin had made for him, his hand erring to brush at the brooch to assure himself it was still there, and then he nodded.

"That is to say... I am ready when you are, Sir Torin."

He bowed in the fashion of the court of Silfanore. The closest he had been was as his old Master's apprentice, and it had all seemed quite formal and stylized. Still, it had the grace inherent in the First People.

"Unless... is there anything you think I need before we go?" The question itself was innocent enough, but then he thought about how it sounded, golden skin turning pink. "I mean, we should probably go, right?"

[Torin Kilvin]

Timon perked up at the delivery, not even making a face when Sivan mentioned to Torin that the elf was now allowed to set up any displays himself. It was true; if the alchemical lab was Sivan's domain, and the forges were Torin's, the shop was Sivan's, and that was that as far as the boy was concerned. Moving over to begin perusing the contents of the crate, making appreciative and inquisitive little sounds as he examined the extensive 'note' and compared it to the contents.

Torin repeated how long he intended to be gone and a few other totally unnecessary instructions, which Timon managed to pull himself away from his inspection long enough to acknowledge with all the grace of a teenager who is really trying to remember that adults mean well.

The smith managed not to blush at the use of his title, having heard it so much over the last month and more that he was, if not used to it, unable to summon embarrassment around his friends over it anymore. Aurin had told him that turning red any time one of his farmers addressed him was really not good for his authority and since then he'd made an effort to let it roll off his back with them as well.

It Torin's turn to perk with curiosity at the vials and bottles Sivan had prepared for the journey, but he was more than willing to wait until the elf wished to show them off. Clearing his throat at the unintentional but still heard suggestion of intimacy he shook his head, not trusting himself to answer and then led the way to the second back door. There were two now, one which always just opened into the yard, and one which, when the knob was activated, led into a much larger wild space.

Turning it still felt like real, proper magic to Torin. It was silly, he knew, as he'd made it himself and knew all the principles involved, but, still, he turned a knob and opened the door into a new land, which might not be a 'magical land', yet, but it still felt like a something from a Fae tale.

He stepped back, letting Sivan go ahead of him for the better view. It was a little disorienting, not only because of the instant journey of hundred of miles but also because mountains quite literally rose up on all sides quite dramatically and sometimes it took the eye a little while to adjust to seeing things rising on all sides. A lot of the valley was visible, due to it's elevation, from where the door let out. though it was long enough that the naked human eye wouldn't be able to see directly from one side to the other. It was currently all frozen over, except in odd little bubbles of Negation magic that couldn't be seen, but the thaw inside them could. It wasn't a proper thaw, but some more heat built up in them than the surrounding area so they looked more or less soggy as opposed to snow and ice covered.

The door was just a doorway, for the moment. Torin planned to have his house built there over the coming season but it hadn't been a priority so this was just the frame, a stone foundation and a little roof to keep the snow off. It was set a little apart from the 'village' proper (Torin had trouble thinking of it as a village since it had only four houses and the buildings they needed), near enough the river that when he build his forge he could make use of a waterwheel.

There were around 20 new buildings visible, build in circles around a central area that, whatever Torin thought, did look like a mini village, build around what would, gods willing, someday be a green lawn space in the center where festivals and holidays could be celebrated. At the moment, the central area was a combination of slightly damp earth and dead wild grasses from the previous year.

"I know it doesn't look that well, at the moment," He commentated on Sivan's first view, "I was hoping for Glade to show it off, but," He shrugged, "Even frozen, I think it's beautiful."

[Sivan]

Sivan stepped through the door, taking several steps into the valley so there was room for Torin to follow. He saw with his eyes, smelled with his nose, even felt the temperature drop as a gust of wind flirted with him before the his cloak; more importantly, perhaps, he sensed through his Rune, and could hear the wild spirits in everything. It took him more time than most to find his new balance here, but there was more he was taking in.

He took Torin's hand.

"It is beautiful," he said, eyes still squinting in the strange twilight of the eclipse. He was glad of his brooch now, which would allow him to do what needed doing should the shadows gather.
"It is always beautiful. Nature just changes colors from time to time."

The elf continued to take everything in for a moment, then turned to Torin, both hands holding onto his still.

"All right. Do you want to show me around first or do you want me to reach out to the spirit of the valley right here and now?"

This was a wild place for all the small incursions of Torin and his people. The valley had a sense of quiet solitude to Sivan, and he felt as though the spirit was largely benevolent and protective given the way the valley itself was protected. It would just be a matter of befriending it, such as those things happened. But Torin had a relationship with the spirit that watched over his home in Kalzasi, and Sivan had helped forge that relationship based on the spiritual capital he had built up in the neighborhood for his own gardens. This was much farther afield, but spirits communed in their ways and left marks on those they favored. It would not be a terribly difficult endeavor, though it would take time for a bond to well and truly develop.

Sivan just wanted to let Torin do some of the leading since this was his place now, and Sivan, though friend and lover, was performing a service for him. He wanted all parties to be pleased.

[Torin Kilvin]

Closing the door behind him so the knob would click back to it's neutral setting, Torin stood quietly behind Sivan, letting his own Semblance flare silently. He loved the way his land felt, perhaps more so because it was his, but he had loved it the first time he'd made the stupid descent from the high mountains alone. It had worn Ash like a gown of gold and fire and he'd been enchanted from his first glance.

The feeling had only deepened, matured, like wine, with the gifting and developing of the land. He only intended to develop a small piece of it, feeling like trying to tame it would be as wrong as trying to make Huntress into a lapdog. Thus he appreciated when Sivan took his time to take it all in.

When a hand was slipped into his own he gave it a squeeze, sort of wanting to pull Sivan in close so their cloaks, which were matching today, he realized, covered them both in a little bubble. The smith seemed to set his own enchanted cloak to match that of whoever he was spending time with out and about without realizing he was doing it. He would need to train his mind not to, in case it ever gave them away in a dangerous time or place. He was wearing little more than his Searing clothing under the cloak, for ease of movement if they decided to go hiking out to examine all the fields he intended to have cultivated or up to the little lake.

The 'bubbles' of negation that covered the houses had illumite inside them, giving the villages safe havens when shadow creatures spawned. Not that many did in the valley, which made Torin wonder if they were drawn to larger groups of sentient beings. The large pieces had been expensive but Starfall had been kind in their bargaining for them. They had been offered as a loan to keep his people safe but he'd wanted to buy them outright, knowing, if the world was ever right again so they were no longer needed, that he could turn them into other things in his forge.

Torin was touched when Sivan returned his sentiment, but not surprised, Sivan found the beauty in nature even when others failed to. He was taken a little aback when asked immediately about the spirits, having thought, for some reason, that the elf would need time to... assess?

"I was going to show you the areas where I was hoping you could get spirits to thaw the earth, provide the 'sun' light needed to grow things, maybe keep the houses warm so we won't need to much fire wood but, if you think you know enough, you can do whatever you want."

That Sivan could talk directly to the spirit of the whole valley was so big in his head that Torin was a little worried, like waking such an immense being might cause it to rise, lifting the hills and shaking the ground. Nothing like that had happened when Sivan had spoken to the spirit of his little property but... It was little. Swallowing he waited to see what his friend would choose, asking only,

"Is that... safe? For you?" He'd read of bad things happening to Summoners who overstepped or reached out to spirits that were too strong for them.

[Sivan]

Sivan smiled. There was occasionally an almost giddy feeling when it was proven over and over again that Torin always thought about his safety and happiness. It was reciprocated.

"Perhaps you are right and we should start small," he allowed. "When I can see how large the domes are, I can encourage the elementals to balance themselves favorably, set up little wells of aether to last them a season for their service. Like I did at first with my garden. But before I leave, I should meditate and commune with the spirit of the valley... I can't properly speak to it without being in a trance, but perhaps when I show it that I... that we... understand balance, it will be more inclined to work with us. I can tell 'tis a Gritaeri. Powerful as a dragon in its way..."

The elf got a faraway look for a moment. He could sense the Gritaeri and it could sense him, but he hadn't done anything to upset the harmony of the valley, so it was largely ignoring them.

"They tend to think slowly. Like trees. Anyway... show me your valley, Torin." He slid his arm under Torin's cloak and around his back, low where it wasn't quite so broad. That people had been allowed to devastate other biomes just went to show that the wild spirits didn't always intervene, but he knew from experience that an active, positive relationship with local spirits made a place magical. His garden was an example. His home was growing like it was a living thing and living things thrived there. Destyn's magical seed had taken root there and even Talon had seen fit to place a divine lamp within. That was an honor, though he still hoped to get some kind of an explanation from the demigod.

Then again, he didn't want to get evicted from his city, so Sivan wasn't exactly going to complain.

[Torin Kilvin]

The smith smiled back, unable to help his mirroring behavior but while the words were mostly reassuring, the last of it, about the spirit of the valley being a Gritaeri, was anything but.

The knowledge that the valley had something, if not 'living' exactly, that could be sentient, could be harmed or protected made him feel even more connected, but also afraid. Like someone trying to tame a wild wyvern or other giant creature; however good your intentions were, at any moment the thing could turn on you and rip you apart.

As Sivan went on it was more comforting, remembering that such spirits thought and moved as slowly as the land itself, adjusting only with time was useful in stopping his imagination running wild with the idea of a dragon as big as the whole valley sleeping just below its surface. The touching helped too. He kept his arms free to gesture at things but leaned into the touch, feeling held at the same time as he felt pride in showing his land to his lover. Though he knew his value to his friends had little to do with the money he made or that he now had a title, it did go some way into settling the idea that he wasn't worthy of them in his own mind to recognize that he had done well for himself, that others found him worthy of responsibility.

Doing as he was told he took Sivan around the broad ring of fields that had been portioned off, more in his mind than realistically, though he had had the woodsmen who had come to chop trees for the buildings clear them of any major brush that would hinder in the rest of the clearing and plowing. It was all in his head, but he and Sivan were used to being in each others' heads over projects so had a good shared vocabulary for imagery.

Painting the place in words filled the frozen quiet of the landscape as they hiked around the area surrounding the central buildings. Each farm house was built away enough that getting to the fields was easy but the rest of the buildings were in roughly a circular area that was central to all four of them with room for as many more farm houses and plots of land again on the other side of the river if ever it was wanted. Sivan could, of course, see the aether of negation that currently protected the homes and their buildings, as well as separate ones on the currently fallow fields and a large one over the central buildings.

They did not visit the first two farm houses, nor the last, as the residents were already living there and it would be rude. The third one, however, had just been finished and not moved into yet so Torin was able to show off the large, well appointed houses he was providing for his people. The kitchen was stocked with all new things and the best technology that money could currently afford, or, at least that which was practical for a farmhouse. Pumps were installed in both the bathing room and the kitchen so no one had to go outside for water. The fireplaces was beautiful, crafted by Kala herself, and there were broad porches with decorative eaves around the entire building. The house was, in all respects, much nicer than Torin's own back in Kalzasi, but that was not a thought that he had. That he was very pleased to be providing such accommodation for 'his' people was all but bursting from him.

Lastly they came to the middle of the set up, consisting of a big barn for the oxen, a granary, an infirmary, an herb drying hut, a workshop for storing and repairing tools, two large storage sheds for whatever they might be needed for. There were two, larger buildings that were not yet complete, but it was a day off for the builders so Torin gave a little tour of each and explained that one was a brewery and the other a sort of combination tavern and meeting hall where the villagers could all get together to discuss things or celebrate when they wanted to. Pointing back to where they'd arrived he added,

"I'm having a bigger forge put in over there, by the river so I can power bellows when it is flowing, and the manor house a little further in. I wanted to put a better alchemical lab opposite the forge, if you're interested, and I already committed to the clockwork and gadgeteers workshop so it'll be a sort of little circle around the house with the front left open towards the village, but those aren't priorities since we already have a space we can work in."

Having said this he turned a slow circle, wondering if he had missed anything. The pens, styes and coops had been set up for the animals but it was too cold yet to purchase and move them over.

"Oh! I wanted bees. I paid a craftsman to make hives of the newest design, supposed to be healthier for them, but," He waved an arm at the valley and weather in general, "Too cold. Same with the other animals. I understand you won't be able to magically make it Glade again, and it might be too much to get spirits in all the negation bubbles to get the whole place up and running. I don't want you over taxed. Maybe you know another Summoner, or several, that I could hire to maintain it until the seasons right themselves?"

[Sivan]

There was a great deal to take in, but it was all underscored by Torin's love and pride, which helped to etch details into his mind for later. Otherwise, he used his mundane senses, as well as his magical senses to take in the place. The Gritaeri slumbered—sort of—as winter was a time for rest. He didn't think it would be a problem making peace with the great creature; Torin had no desire to pervert the natural order of things here. It was simply a matter of building familiarity and trust.

Some spirits began to follow them around. This often happened when they realized a mortal could sense them, let alone communicate with them. Curiosity was common among them, and this place wasn't well-trodden by mortals.

"You are giving people the best of new starts," he murmured, then smiled at Torin. The big man did need validation, and Sivan was only too happy to give it to him when appropriate. If he didn't meet them now, he certainly would soon enough, so he didn't say anything about that.

The elf nodded as he envisioned the forge and mill and all.

With a little laugh, he said, "We do have the forge and labs back in Kalzasi, and the portal openers, but it might be nice to have a satellite here in case other people need the portals for a while. Perhaps once we speak to the Gritaeri, it will have some input on how best to arrange things in the future. There are natural ways the aether flows... powerful, but so slow 'tis difficult to know them even with Semblance. Certainly if you decide to plant the magical orchard here, which seems best. And perhaps once I have a form that can fly, I can look down from above and help with further growth. You could lay out the buildings using scrivening and make powerful magic that way.

"Oh, bees! Yes, I did sense one slumbering nest while we were walking. Perhaps we can coax them into a brand new home whenever it gets warm enough? And... I could bring my student here, let him practice longer-term contracts with natural spirits."

[Torin Kilvin]

Sivan's ideas were all good, they went deeper and with more knowledge that Torin's did, in their own way. He was nodding, delighted by the elf as well as his words. It was sometimes a struggle not to be distracted by the reality that he was allowed to think about Sivan in intimate ways. It was also sometimes a struggle not to talk about their multitude of connecting ideas when they had planned on being intimate. It evened itself out, or so he thought, the times they were in the middle of physical affection and began talking, so forgot to keep touching and the times they were trying to have serious discussions and lost the trains of thought in each others' bodies.

If it had been Glade weather, as it should have been, he knew that he would have been helpless to combat the need to be bare and free in the beauty of new growth all around them in the valley. As it was, all frozen over, he could content himself to actually do the work they had come to do.

At the mention of the orchard he spun around slowly, thinking of where it might end up. Of course it should be in the valley, though he would be asking Aurin for yet another Negation enchantment to keep anyone who shouldn't be there out.

"Knowing where the Valley wants the orchard, and the forge, all of it, would be wonderful." It would feel like less an intrusion and more like a collaboration.

"Kaus actually took Timon flying over the valley. I didn't want to go, even though Kaus explained that his flight is magical and he wouldn't fall under my weight. I hope the birds are alright and come back when the season finally changes." Torin wasn't afraid of heights, exactly, but he had spent his whole life no higher than a second story, at least until Sivan's tower had grown to a third.

When they had funny completed their circuit he looked his friend in the eye and asked,

"Well, what do you think? Is it possible to give us little pockets of warmth to start growing in?"

[Sivan]

"I mean... listen to your gut," he said, giving Torin's washboard stomach a pat. "You are a Master Sembler now. You have been long enough to have an innate sense for how aether flows. Just make sure you are present when they lay the foundation for the mill that will power your forge and I think it shouldn't be displeasing to the Gritaeri. But we can definitely ask about the orchard as that... well, it might have a better idea about that than we would."

Sivan laughed at the mental picture of the birds being so frightened by an Avialae carrying a teenager through the air that they fled the valley.

"I will ask Lord Kaus about it. Perhaps he can do some basic cartography for us."

At the end of their tour, he smiled at Torin's question and tugged him into the nearest dome.

"I don't know why, but they... evolve the longer they are with me," he said as he began to trace the requisite glyphs into the air, summoning local sprites of Fire and Earth and Air and Water. He explained to them the temperature, humidity, and all that was required and poured a well of aether into the space to feed them for the season. He would have to return at least once per season to feed them, but he was certain that would be no problem given Torin's door knobs, his lover's Traversion Rune, and all. He knew his friend could sense the work he did even if he couldn't recreate it or necessarily tell him what he sensed, so when it was all finished he explained.

"All right. They know the goal, but they aren't powerful yet, so the changes will be slow. But if your people plant on the morrow, it oughtn't to be too late for a normal harvest for the area."

"Shall we move on to the next?"