Legend of Ransera

Posted: **Sun Jun 06, 2021 7:00 pm**

7 Searing 121
Ale'Epherium, The Plaza of Jeweled Arches

Over the months since Lyra had made him his grimoire, Finn had kept his promise and helped about her shop when he had time. But spring had been a busy season between singing for his supper, his studies at the Academy, and artistic ventures such as his collaboration with Arvalyn the Hytori singer. As such, Lyra had deigned to hire him on with more of an agreed upon structure, and so he would be spending more time at Ale'Epherium. And so today, he had finished his morning classes and had come directly to the scrivener's shop. He had work to do, but he would do it when he got back to his little room at the inn. Anyway, if he was just to be moving papers about today, that sort of thing kept his hands and a part of his mind busy, leaving the rest of his mind to meditate on melodies and the like. Sometimes it was a good catalyst for composing later. He hoped so.

But today he had something to share with her and so he was red-cheeked when he walked through her door, from excitement as much as the exertion of hurrying across town from the Commons.

"I think I found something," he announced immediately with a child's ebullience when he found her at the desk up front. Pulling out his grimoire, he explained, "I found a fragment in Vallenor. There were a smattering of words I knew and that I knew would be of interest to you, though one of the verbs conjugated... funny. I don't know if it's a conjugation I haven't seen or... well, I recognized the root verb, anyway."

The children in his village had learned Common and Synnekar, the better to venerate the Avialae who watched over them. Elven languages were new territory for him, but he began to recite what he had copied down in his grimoire for her. The last was the tail end of a spell, but fortunately, there was not enough of it that even his partial recitation might cause unrest in the aether. And then he continued with a slice of history that Lyra had lived through, unbeknownst to Finn himself.

His tone was clear, declamatory, and practiced. He had a musician's ear and was eager to please, so he had learned to pronounce things such that he would not offend her ears, even though he didn't know the half of what he was reciting.

Posted: **Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:22 pm**

Finn was heard before seen by the scholar who was bent so low over a scroll her nose nearly smeared the fresh ink as she jerked up in surprise.

"Be'lafel." Lyra said, recognition slowly dawning on her features as her bleary eyes focused on the excitable youth before her. True to his word he had come to her shop and done small chores as was required, and in some ways he had become somewhat of a staple in her little shop. Enough so that from time to time a customer might ask after him, having seen the young man come and go often enough.

The melodies sang around the boy, light and trilling the excitement of his thoughts that seemed to race from one thing to the next. Turning her eyes down Lyra studied the page that was presented to her, and for several seconds she did not speak. She listened as he pronounced the words, but just as he was about to finish the broken line Lyra would raise a finger to halt his progress.

"Speak not the final line here," Lyra said, pointing to the area that Finn had suggested was oddly conjugated, "Lest you bind yourself to an old law."

Curiously Lyra pulled the book closer, turning it around so that she could study the words on the page more closely. She traced a few of the letterings with a finger as she continued, "This is an old edict from High Order of Elis'la, during the time when Giants walked freely before the last great war." The last line drew Lyra's eyes and she pointed to it, "This, broken as it is, was part of an oath which the High Order oversaw. In its completion, it reads..."

The words flowed effortlessly from Lyra's lips as she adopted her own native tongue. The phrasing was musical and lilting, and as she spoke the air seemed to vibrate ever so slightly. When she halted abruptly the wavering in the air ceased, and Lyra smiled, "In this tongue, it translates loosely to an oath of fealty to the acknowledged power spoken at the beginning." This Lyra pointed to on the page, and then trailed her finger to the broken part of the phrase, "But the oath is incomplete. If it is spoken without the terms, and a specified power that is acknowledged before the line is uttered, you become bound to serve the first to claim your oath as if it were to them. This, in particular, caused many problems for the boundless kingdom that could never truly claim dominion over Elis'la or the Elder Kin."

Shaking her head there was a moment of reflection, near nostalgia before the sensation was gone and Lyra looked up to Finn once more, "This is good, excellent even. Where did you find this fragment?"

Posted: **Fri Jun 25, 2021 7:01 pm**

The minstrel's mouth snapped shut with a click of his teeth at Lyra's warning. Though he was rarely entrusted with anything truly dangerous — at least insofar as he knew — Finn was quite aware that when he was in Lyra's shop, he was surrounded by mysteries of which he had no knowledge or defense, and so he was accustomed to reacting immediately to her words.

"Yes, Em'fera," he said in Vallenor, a phrase he had learned early because he would use it often.

He listened raptly, even opening his senses through his rune to glean more context and meaning from what she told him. This was something he often did and she never chided him for it, perhaps understanding that he meant only to improve communication between them. And he had never dared to meddle with her melodies. Even had he been daring enough, it seemed unethical, and while he felt like she was more expedient than ethical, she had never done him wrong in the seasons of their acquaintance.

His mouth moved silently around some of the words.

"I was looking at ancient maps in the archives," he replied when she asked for more information. "Most of them are carefully rolled scrolls but there was one that was an actual bound book. It's called an atlas." He learned something new every day at the Academy, some of it of use and some of it trivia. "Anyway, it had a dust cover and I saw this peeking out from behind it, a different color from the rest. I was careful. You have to be in the archives. Everything is so fragile. The book was in some dwarven tongue, I believe, so whoever had this last might not have known what it was. It was folded so perhaps they were using it as a bookmark."

He shrugged. Ultimately, he didn't know.

"That's just a copy, of course." Finn had put the thing back, not showing it to one of the archivists just yet. He wanted to know what it was first, not that he was thinking to filch it or anything, but he liked having a secret. He already had about a thousand questions about the High Order of Elis'la, the Giants, and the Elder Kin, but he was waiting. When he was patient, Lyra often offered more information than if he peppered her with questions.

Posted: **Sat Jul 10, 2021 6:19 pm**

"A bookmark?" Lyra scoffed, "Would I like to see the faces of the Elders should they learn their writs are used in such ways now."

How amazing it was that in a few short millennia that which was sacred could be reduced to merely an absent note to be discarded, unfinished, and unread. Still, small though it may be, Finn had managed to find a trace of that ancient past. That lone gave Lyra confidence that her investment in the child was well worth the expense.

"It was found in a book of ancient maps." her voice was musing as she picked up a quill and piece of paper. With a few quick strokes, she made a simple outline of the contentment of Ransera, though notably what she sketched was slightly different from the typical maps available for purchase. Most notably was a sizeable island off the southwest coast of the continent, and it was this that Lyra tapped with the quill tip for emphasis, "Tell me, did you see an island such as this depicted on any of the maps in the book itself?"

Posted: **Sun Jul 11, 2021 6:37 pm**

Finn was fairly certain he could tell when a question was rhetorical, and so he didn't respond with aught more than a commiserating shrug. Silently, he was memorizing the words in Vallenor, though he knew better now than to speak them aloud. A magical binding was interesting, and he wondered whether, if he became a Leh'anafel, he could magically bind people with his voice and his Mesmer. In a violent situation, it might be helpful to bind someone against harming rather than risk life and limb with more violence. He could handle a sword, but he was no swordmaster, after all.

When she called attention to her map, he looked carefully over it. He had been more attentive to the dwarven runes and the secret he had uncovered than to the actual maps, but his memory was good—not just aural memory, either. He frowned thoughtfully, calling up his memories to see if they jived with what she had drawn. After a few moments, he nodded, slowly at first, then with more enthusiasm.

"Oh, yes! The coastlines everywhere were different—sometimes slightly, sometimes more dramatically. There was an island like that on the continental map, and other irregularities. Should I go back and copy out the dwarven runes so you can have them translated?" Or perhaps she would translate them herself. She was a font of knowledge, after all. He wouldn't be surprised if she spoke the tongue of the Dragon Gods.

"I didn't know it was significant or I would have looked for it on other pages. There were regional maps... some focused on political boundaries, others on topography, still others on trade routes by land and by sea and by air. At least, I think that was what they were. I didn't have the context of the words... I should really start picking up various languages while I'm at the Academy. There will be no better time."

Of course, picking up languages was no easy matter, but he thought it might come more easily to him if he listened to a person's symphony while listening to them speak, having the added context of their emotions to help guide him toward comprehension.

Posted: **Sat Jul 31, 2021 12:35 pm**

Lyra studied the crude map while she listened to Finn, idly doodling a series of symbols along one corner as she contemplated. She had noticed before that the world had changed, not just empires and people, but the land itself had been shifted. Landmarks older than her were now nothing but dust, and history seemed to have forgotten much of what had been common knowledge back before the great war.

"This place, and its importance, has been forgotten it seems." Lyra said softly as she circled the island. She stared at it and frowned, "One there were none who did not know of the Isles of Elis'la, and the Elder Kin who resided there. Now it is as if they never existed at all." She nodded to the paper Finn and brought, "They were the overseers of oaths such as this one."

A thoughtful expression came across Lyra's features as she looked back at the map, "It seems that Elis'la existed in recorded histories." She looked up at Finn, "Yes, return to the place where you found this fragmented oath. If possible, I would wish to know when the maps changed and the island itself faded from common knowledge. Can you do this?"

Posted: **Sat Jul 31, 2021 5:24 pm**

"Yes, Em'fera," he replied in eager Vallenor. "Of course." He much preferred scouring the archives for her than moving stacks of books around in her storeroom. A directed research assignment felt even more like an intellectual adventure, and more like he was a junior partner in something grand than menial labor that didn't suit his talents and skills. "I'll go back right now."

If she wouldn't explain about the High Order of Elis'la, the Giants, and the Elder Kin, perhaps he would just pick up a thing or two while doing her bidding.

"Many of the maps and atlases are dated," he informed her, "and if a precise date can't be determined, the archivists have usually left notes with their best educated guesses. I should be able to narrow it down, though, if not find an exact date."

He wanted to know what Elis'la meant, if it was another word in Vallenor to add to his collection. He was definitely going to start copying things out regardless of the languages, then find people to help him translate. If he was going to be a bard, he would have to master many tongues, the better to be silver in all of them. Perhaps Arvalyn could tutor him in Mythrasi, and he supposed he would just have to start polling the people he knew to find out who spoke other than Common or Synnekar.

But he waited for Lyra to give him her blessing and dismissal. She was, after all, the boss. If she kept what he had copied out, he would just have to do so again, which wouldn't be much trouble since he remembered where all the relevant materials were in the archive.

Posted: **Sun Aug 22, 2021 2:13 pm**

Time progressed without pause, and with its passing, the world around Lyra had changed in strange and peculiar ways. She was reminded again and again how very old she was, and like with the maps she suspected her knowledge was outdated. The theories and concepts of aether remained the same, but everything surrounding that kernel of absolute truth shifted like the tides with each passing season.

"Collect what you can, and return to me." Lyra nodded and shifted her attention back to the other papers on her desk, "The sooner we learn what became of Elis'la, the better."

As she said this she was overcome with a sense of foreboding. Somehow the words felt far more true than she had originally intended, but with a shake of her head, she let the thought go.

"Before you leave," Lyra said, pointing toward a stack of boxes near the door, "Deliver those to the Alchemist Jacun. They are the inks he ordered, and a list of supplies I need as well."

With that and a wave of her hand, Finn was dismissed, and Lyra engrossed herself in her work once more.

Posted: **Sun Aug 22, 2021 6:05 pm**

"Yes, Em'fera," he replied. It was his most oft-repeated phrase in Vallenor, and while he daren't listen to her symphony without her permission, he got the sense that it lightened her just the slightest to hear it, as if it was one familiar thing that set her more at ease. Not that she seemed constantly uneasy, but—he wasn't sure what he meant as he didn't articulate it clearly even in his own mind. It just seemed to please her even as it pleased him to say things in the musical language that had died long before he was born.

Finn fit one box into his rucksack with his grimoire, then hefted the rest in his arms. They were heavy enough that the walk wouldn't be exactly pleasant, but that was why she paid him. And it would be good for his stamina; he really did need to practice with his sword more in case he found himself down in the Warrens again. He looked to Lyra to bid her farewell, but her attention was captured by her work so he didn't bother with niceties that would only distract her. It wasn't like his parents would travel from the village to berate him for being impolite this once.

He managed to let himself out without dropping the boxes though it took some creative redistribution of weight, and then he was out in the fresh air again. The atmosphere in Ale'Ephirium always felt like a different world to him; different from the book smells of the archives, even. But he would drop these off at Master Jacun's, have a cup of tea, and then back to the archives yet again. He wanted to make another copy of what he had given Lyra, and then dive into her latest assignment. There were more pieces of paper slipped between the pages of his grimoire than actual writing, but the book didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

An academic adventure awaited!

fin.

Posted: **Sun Oct 24, 2021 5:47 pm**

R E W A R D S

Name: Lyra
XP: 8. Not for magic.
Requested Lore:
Teaching: Explaining the basics of old contracts
Teaching: Catching a student before they make a mistake
Teaching: Revealing old truths about the Isles of Elis'la

Leadership: Giving tasks based on current information
Leadership: Providing just enough information to work with

Business: Getting 2 tasks done with one request

Name: Finn.
XP: 8. Not for magic.
Requested Lore:
Linguistics:
Conjugating Verbs
Recognizing Root Verbs
Studying Dead Languages
Learning the Dangers of Magical Languages
Honorific Usage
Memorizing New Vocabulary While Listening
Languages That Are Themselves Magic
Recognizing Vallenorean Script

Cartography:
Use of Old Atlases
Understanding Changing Topography

Note(s): Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Legend of Ransera

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