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To Ale'Ephirium [Lyra]
Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 11:43 pm
by Kala Leukos
Ale'Ephirium
42 Searing 121
"Are you certain you don't want me to come?" he asked, concern on his face and reverberating along their core bond. Kaus knew better than anyone how fierce and strong his sister was; all the same, he didn't like not being on hand to help her.
She smiled. She thought perhaps she ought to urge him toward the Sky Guard. He needed something of his own, and while their lady mother had assigned her the task of overseeing the family finances and observing the politics of Kalzasi, Kaus had no true purpose since their Warren March.
"If you fly that letter to the Palace of the First Wind, I can walk down to the Plaza of Jeweled Arches. It's just more efficient that way. If you want to catch up with me there, you're welcome to, but you know... books, styluses, paper..."
He gave her a look that might have been withering if it had come from anyone else. But he didn't protest. He knew she knew he was intelligent, if less inclined to scholarly pursuits than she was. That didn't mean he had shirked his studies.
"His forge is in the same district," he reminded her as he tucked the letter into his doublet. He let her hook the toggles to secure his clothes since he would be flying in a moment. "I don't know why you want me to fly it to the Novalys palace when we could just drop by the Skyforge."
"Proper channels," she said with a shrug, patting his chest once his doublet was secured. "And my guess is he wouldn't have much time for runeforging now he's both a prince and a demigod."
"Fair point."
Once Kaus was aloft, Kala made her way through the Commons and the Guilded Expanse to the Plaza of Jeweled Arches to find Ale'Ephirium. She had been wanting to visit the shop since she first saw it nearly a year ago while wandering the city to get to know it better. Sure feet and a decent sense of direction got her there rather easily and she stepped through the door without incident.
Though properly lit inside, it took her eyes a moment to adjust from the Searing sun. But she smelled comforting things: ink, paper, vellum, etc. At the same time, one of her runes tingled, sensing the heightened power of the aether hereabouts. But she was used to magic and that didn't ruffle her feathers. Aplomb intact, she walked down the hall from the door to the desk to greet the woman there.
"Good day to you."
Re: To Ale'Ephirium [Lyra]
Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2021 5:45 pm
by Lyra
Permission granted for the late post for Searing 121 AS
The sensation of the pen across the paper was mesmerising in its own way. The ink flowed smoothly with each stroke, and the paper was thick and tan-colored which made the slight blue coloring stand out in contrast. The lettering curved into twisting lines and shapes as Lyra traced down the page at a feverish pace. Scrolls were thought by some to be the lowest form of magic, but Lyra had always felt that those who believe that were fools.
Spellwright ink, fashioned from equal parts Aqualyth and frostrylyth. Lyra said to Naila through their soul space. The woman wasn't listening of course, but that did not really matter. Lyra thought the words to herself as she worked as a form of meditation, or amusement perhaps, and did not require that her audience actively participate.
There is a balance there. Ice and water, both of the same core yet their state of being is what defines them from one another. Scrolls made to harness the power of ice tend to be made purely from Frostrylyth, but that is like building a boat with no sail or rudder. Lyra smiled at her own analogy as the curving lines became the curling forms of waves, a scene of a frozen lake steadily taking shape as she added in circles laced with pictographs to frame the image in its entirety, The real magic is not in the output but in the control. Ice is a derivative of water, or perhaps the reverse of it, but at its core ice is water that has altered its state. Ice is sharp and rigid and shatters when force is applied in both the physical and magical sense. Its other form, however, is flowing and adaptable. Where ice is fit to harm, water can be both harmful or healing. Because these two are so close, yet so different, if you desire magic to properly handle either you need both to be accounted for.
A few final lines were made before Lyra set down her pen and gently blew across the scroll, watching as the glimmering ink shone slightly as it set into the parchment and activated. The trigger was a simple command, but it could also be triggered by the user through a set of pictographs at the four corners. Simply brush a finger over them and that was it. A single charge was all it held, but then that was all that people desired from scripts such as these. After examining the design one last time Lyra carefully rolled the paper up and tied it with a small piece of twine, setting it on the top of the stack of similar creations by her left hand.
"Welcome." Lyra replied to the greeting that followed the soft chime of the bell as the door was opened. The shopkeeper glanced up at the woman as she entered, but already she was taking another sheet of paper and beginning the next scroll.
"You will find papers and ink, of infused or mundane quality down this hallway. Turn the corner to the right to find the Grimore, though mind you do not touch those under the glass. If you desire wands and staves there are along the wall there." she pointed with her pen as she spoke, "Be mindful of the glyphs along the back wall. They are not dangerous, but have yet to be linked to the mage lights and could cause some pain if tampered with carelessly."
Re: To Ale'Ephirium [Lyra]
Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 2:27 pm
by Kala Leukos
"I will be mindful and respectful of your wares," she promised.
But before she passed the counter, her gaze dropped to the scroll. The woman was scriving something to do with water and cold; she could tell that much. But she hadn't come to spy, so she didn't let her gaze linger. She was impressed by the woman's efficiency, each stroke sure and concise. It reminded her of her litany of the flags meditation, scriving prayers for the temple. But that was copying the elegant mastery of some ancient monk. Her own original works were hardly so impressive.
The woman was occupied, so Kala took her time exploring the shop. Nodding at the mundane supplies, she clasped her hands in front of her so as not to give in to the temptation to run her hands over everything. The wands and staves were interesting; there might be some occasion to use a wand when working in her own little workshop in the family manor, but she hadn't really trained with a staff. She would rather have her knives and her elemental magics at the fore if it came to such.
There were so many scrolls, so many grimoires. It made her begin to think...
She supposed necromantic supplies were best kept in a cool, dark place and not put on display. The spellwright ink looked identical to what she had seen in Talon's forge, and she supposed it wasn't outside the realm of possibility that Ale'Ephirium just bought it wholesale from him. The infused inks looked similar as well. It seemed a tidy operation, though far too entrenched for Kala to hope that she might draw this place into the family zaibatsu. She had some success supporting budding entrepreneurs and artisans, but this was a different level. It was a shame, but it would also draw far too much attention to her family.
"Pardon," she said when she drifted back to the counter. "I have some small skill with scrivening. I am curious whether the Mistress would deign to instruct me in making my own grimoire."
Re: To Ale'Ephirium [Lyra]
Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2021 10:58 pm
by Lyra
Lyra placed the final touches on the scroll she was working on, holding it up to the light before gently blowing and rolling it up to join the others in the stack on her desk. That would be enough to fill the order, plus a few for the shelves. Normally this sort of work would have fallen to Rean, but it was one of the girl's days off. Thankfully the child was more talented than she knew, which meant the work left to Lyra had been simple and quick to finish. She was just capping her ink vial as Kala approached.
Gold eyes swept over the girl, taking in her appearance fully for the first time. A fine dress, pale skin, and an odd assortment of jewelry. Lyra's eyes lingered on the feathers before she met the girl's gaze.
"You may call me Lyra." The answer was almost reflexive now whenever titles were assumed. The only one that she allowed to refer to her by anything but her chosen name was the little prince, but that was because he was far too proper for his own good.
She could not hear any melodies that said the girl was asking for favors, and in fact, the soft steady thrum of her rhythms seemed to suggest that she was, in fact, interested just as she said. It made Lyra frown and study her symphony closer, for there were very few who truly felt any interest in the scripts. It was one of the greatest complaints that the old elf had about the era as a whole.
"I am no tutor, nor are my services cheap." Again it was a practiced response given to nearly everyone that asked for similar from her. Often it was just easier to dismiss the thought entirely than to allow someone to think that she might be haggled with, for few had any real talent for her craft. She did not care to watch a student struggle in vain... Though the thought itself seemed wrong to her somehow.
As she was about to put an end to the ordeal Lyra paused as she thought on what the woman had said, and instead, she asked, "Why do you wish to craft your own? My shop offers a variety for most needs, and though expensive I can create custom works. There would be no need for you to do so yourself."
Re: To Ale'Ephirium [Lyra]
Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2021 11:57 am
by Kala Leukos
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lyra," she said with a nod instead of a bow. They were, it seemed, communicating familiarly. "I am Kala."
She nodded again her understanding.
"Ah, that is a shame, but I understand." Living in Kalzasi was to live without instruction. She had taken a few lessons, as had Kaus, but they were largely instructing themselves now. That had been a new way of learning, but she was still an apprentice in most regards, and so she was quick to learn from any masters who would deign to teach.
"My instructors always drilled home the lesson that a mage ought to create for herself what she could create for herself, to have a hand in the creation of her own tools." She spread her hands. "I would like to be able to create my own grimoires, to know them intimately from conception to execution. In any case, I would rather learn a thing from a master than muddle through it on my own, but there will be learning in that, as well, I suppose."
Kala had hoped that she might be able to persuade her that it was a magical project consultation, but at Lyra's opening negation, Kala stopped. It wasn't her way to fast talk someone into something they didn't want to do. Nor was it her way to expect favors for her name. But crafting her own grimoire would prove to her, at least, that she had achieved a certain level of skill with her scrivening.
"At least I know where to come for the bookbinding and base materials," she said. If it took several tries, they would each be a learning experience. If she didn't fail, she likely wouldn't learn everything she ought to in the process. And when she understood the process better, she was certain she could pay Master Kilvin to runeforge certain components for her. He seemed keen to collaborate, and that pleased her.
She didn't mention the tawdry topic of coin. Her mother had agreed to furnish her with an allowance based on her work for the family zaibatsu. If her calculations were correct, and they were, she would be making more money at the end of Ash than she had previously for a quarterly review. Most of her needs were met, so if she couldn't afford something at the moment, it was only a matter of time.
"Might I bother you for some assistance selecting those base materials to begin my experimentation?"
Re: To Ale'Ephirium [Lyra]
Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2021 11:45 am
by Lyra
The response was not one that Lyra had expected, and her expression showed a hint of surprise and confusion as she searched Kala's face. It seemed absurd, especially given the typical type that crossed into her shop, but this woman did, indeed, seem interested. A feeling of... something pushed up against the cold exterior she normally upheld, and when she stood Lyra gave a small smile.
"Your instructors were wise." She said as she walked around her desk, passing Kala and motioning for the woman to follow her down the hallway, "Mages of this era seem to forget that without proper foundations, spellcraft is incomplete. Even a mage who works with the elements would find great value in being able to craft a wand for focusing their energies, or one who sees the unseen would benefit from scrolls that enhance the auras of those they target."
It was an old argument, which in her time had not been an argument at all. Archmagic was by its very nature a combination of personal and world magic elements. Magic of this age, in Lyra's eyes, had become fragmented and disjointed. Alchemy and Runeforging, Lyra suspected, both drew from the same roots, the world shapers of old, but over centuries the practice was divided and segregated from one another. Pictographs, and the scripts in general, had become something of an ancillary art in the current age when in the age of dreams all magic had been linked through the Scripts. It seemed obvious to Lyra, who could see the history of the magic in the pictographs that each world discipline used, but perhaps that was not so obvious as she thought.
Lyra would lead them around a corner, into a room with shelves of books, grimoire, that gave off their own feeling of magical energy. Lyra placed a hand on one of the engravings on the wall, a series of runes flashing to life as protective wards came undone, allowing them to touch the books as they wished. Several long cases of glass revealed books as well, open to non specific pages that showed pictographs and glyphs for various purposes.
"A grimoire is a personal tool of the one who wields it." Lyra explained as she motioned Kala to the books on the shelf. None of the tomes were titled, but each had colorful covers and glyphs along their spines. Some had gems, others clearly had dragonshards embedded in them. A few of the open books under glass gave off faint light from the inscriptions on the page.
"Often I ask a customer what they do, what they would like to use their grimoire for. Some wish for just a place to store their notes away from prying eyes, protected from those who would steal their secrets. Others desire utility, still others simply wish for a journal with a few modifications." Taking one of the books from the shelves Lyra opened it to a marked page at the center. There was a pictograph that filled the entirety of both pages, and when she pressed her hand against the page words began to form where there were just symbols before. The words were a simple recipe for bread, but it was a demonstration of what could be done.
"Most are content with the tomes I have for sale, but I have made custom works for specific clients." She closed the book with a snap before turning to look at Kala with an almost eager smile, "Tell me, what is it you wish to use this grimoire for? The materials, the magics, all will be determined based on that answer."
Re: To Ale'Ephirium [Lyra]
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:40 pm
by Kala Leukos
Kala followed as the woman bade her, listening as well as anticipating at least some guidance into where she ought to begin this scrivening project. For all she knew, it might incorporate her other magical disciplines as well. It had always seemed as though each Rune was searching for where it ought to interlock with the next, but she didn't speak of such things as it invariably drew odd looks from other practitioners.
She had to wonder if the woman could read her runes in her aura or if mention of elementalism and semblance were just eerie guesses.
Her eyes and her runic-enhanced senses remained open as she saw Lyra fiddle with her wardings, as she perused the grimoires and other works kept under guard. It would take her quite a bit of time to truly understand anything she was sensing, but she let the information flow into her all the same. Perhaps it would remain somewhere in her mind and synthesize into something at a later date.
Bread. She smiled at the simple secret hiding behind the elaborate defenses.
"Surely some of what I think ought to remain hidden would only be a bread recipe to someone else. I have focused on Elementalism, Semblance, and Scrivening, though I would like to learn more, master more. I oversee my family's business ventures in Kalzasi. I see something greater than myself.
"Security would certainly be something I would require in a grimoire, though I have been wondering of somnosyte or something similar might be worked into the binding in such a way that it could also be a tool to help me find patterns in the knowledge and secrets I commit to its pages. A tool to help me put my thoughts in order, to find connections between an elemental lodestone and a scrivened glyph..."
Kala looked to Lyra, curious how she might answer.
Re: To Ale'Ephirium [Lyra]
Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2022 12:54 pm
by Finn
Review
Experience: 8 xp, unavailable for magic.
Lore: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Loot: N/A
Note: Please let me know if anything is in error!