Be'melar, Little Bird (Talon)

[Lyra]

10th of Ash, 120 AS

The Plaza of Jeweled Arches, or so it was called. Lyra had overheard a few of the locals mention this place by such a name as she wondered, not quite aimlessly, from one side of Kalzasi to the other. Her steps were slow, but more measured and even than they had been just a few days before. Compared to that shambling gate the hytori felt almost like she was gliding across the stones instead of walking. The woman Milla had a rather... sparse wardrobe to say the least. Within the dead woman's possessions she had managed to find a few sets of robes and matching slippers, a cloak, a bag with several items, and several pieces of paper which served as stand in for this ages currency. As she walked Lyra looked around at the shops and stalls she passed, her hands clasped loosely behind her back. The robes were a darker shade of blue with gold trim, the nicest of the items Lyra had found in the belongings, yet still it left much to be desired.

This one really did nothing to stand out. Lyra mused idly to herself, clucking her tongue with a shake of her head, A shame considering she was quite pretty.

Brown hair fell in waves down her shoulders, framing a rounded face and large almond shaped eyes. The body had been human previously, and Lyra found the rounded ears a bit disconcerting. Still, she felt greateful that she had ended up with a... human body and not one of the other odd creatures that now seemed to infest the world. A frownc reased the woman's lips as she stared at an Orkhan as he passed, the man seeming to feel her gaze and looked rather startled to see a woman glaring at him. Lyra watched his back as he retreated, chewing her bottom lip before shaking her head.

"The world really has fallen to chaos." the words were whispered in Vallenor, the accent light and lilting as if she could begin to sing at any moment. She didn't notice an odd glance as she passed a particular stall, the man there eying her curiously before returning to his conversation.

There was a particular purpose to her outing today, the same as every outing up until now. Explore, find the available resources in this city of Kalzasi, and discover a method to tackle her most pressing issues. Lyra's soul was shattered, broken to the point that her true form could barely hold itself together without a vessel to house it. Magic and aether itself behaved... oddly now, somehow stifled and almost dead in the air around her when once the very air thrummed with power. It did more than make her uncomfortable, the methods Lyra had once utilized to perform magic had changed drastically. No longer could she simply will her thoughts into reality, reach into the void of power and pull out the effects she desired. Now it was a struggle to get the aether to even acknowledge her commands, let alone create as she once had. Finally there was an issue with her memories. At first she had not noticed, as most of the relevant memories seemed relatively intact. She could remember the final battle, her life in Sol'valen, and much of the larger event of her life even to the Age of Dreams as it was now called. However, though she could view the bigger and more vibrant memories with no issue, the smaller details... eluded her. The research she used to do, concepts and experiments she performed, exact details of how and when and why just... blurred. She knew she was there at the last battle, but she could not, quite, recall exactly what she was doing, or HOW she was broken. She remembered her prison, but now how she was put inside of it. It was an odd, and disturbing feeling. Her memories all at once felt whole and incomplete at the same time. The closer she looked, the less she realized she could remember.

Blinking Lyra realized she had come to a stop in the middle of the street, the crowds parting around her with a few mumbling in irritation as they passed. Shaking her head the elf started to move forward once more, but stopped as she looked to the side at a shop that stood out from the rest. Curious Lyra made her way toward it, touching the smooth polished wood of the entrance while staring at the sign. She tilted her head, looking at the odd scripts before examining the door. With her hand on the latch she noticed how... large the door was. Lyra in her original form was only about 5'6, and Milla was just a few inches shorter. IN either case though this doorway towered over her, and was made of a strong wood that Lyra couldn't help but admire. It took a bit more effort than it should have, but as she pressed open the door into the shop itself Lyra was struck by the refreshing scent of cold wind and pine. That observation was quickly lost though as Lyra stepped in fully, letting the door close with a thump as she breathed in deeply.

The aether here, it was dense and moved. Lyra tilted her head, closing her eyes slightly and enjoying the sensation. It was like... Coming down from a mountain where the air was thin to the base where oxygen was plenty. Without meaning too Lyra relaxed a tension she had not realized she had been carrying. It wasn't like what she remembered during the Age of Wonders... but it was infinitely better than the dead world outside.

As the novelty faded Lyra noticed the glyphs that lined the walls and ceiling, and these she examined with interest. She followed their path with a finger, walking to the wall on the right with the tools and tracing a few designs before becoming distracted by the tools themselves. Several of them held pictographs of their own, and the more she looked the more Lyra began to wonder just where she had found herself.

"She'vala" she whispered as she walked down the line of tools toward the counter, "Sanctuary."

The wood of the counter was smooth, polished to a pristine shine. Looking past it Lyra saw the stairs leading down to some sort of basement, or workshop? A small silver bell caught her eye, and after a brief moment of thought she would lift it up and wring it twice before setting it back down. She stared at the bell for a moment before returning to her inspection of the walls and ceiling, crouching down in the corner near the end of the counter where a particular pictograph had caught her eye.

[Talon]

Talon stood before his anvil with hammer in hand and a pair of tongs in the other. Gripped in the tongs was a dragonshard crystal big enough to fill his palm. His eyes were opened up to the currents of aether flowing within the crystal. The blue and violet swirls of power flickering like a soft flame in his vision. He kept his gaze focused and limited to the crystal in front of him so as not to tax himself too much during his crafting. Bringing the hammer down he struck the surface of the dragonshard. Ripples washed over the surface of the gemstone as the strike of the runesmithing hammer stirred the aether into motion. Talon rotated the crystal and struck again as a current of aether began to pool in one place versus being dispersed evenly throughout the gem’s structure. The pooling and bulging was flattened causing more ripples to wash over the dragonshard.

As Talon worked, the aetherite surface of his anvil hummed softly with power. The pictographs chiseled into it glowed with a gentle violet-blue glow, the same as the crystal he was working on. This task was simple enough. He had been approached by a regular patron, one of the emissaries of House Briathos. They desired a batch of dragonshards to be refined and then worked into a set of staves to be gifted to the handful of newly mages soon to graduate from the Circle of Spells.

It was an annual event. The graduation of those mages who had managed to survive their trials in the Circle and be welcomed into Kalzasi. Many went on to join one of the vassal houses of House Briathos. Others joined the battlemages of the Sky Guard and there were some who went their own way. Talon had never had the honor of formally studying in the Circle but he’d been tutored in his youth by an honored member. Just as he was bringing his hammer down to smooth out another grouping of aether, he heard the bell ring. Talon heard it ring a second time. He set down the dragonshard on the surface of his anvil. The glyphs and power of the anvil would keep the crystal stable enough to return to when his business was finished.

“I really do need an apprentice.” Talon set aside his tools and removed his apron. He tugged off the thick leather gloves on his hands as he stepped away from his anvil. As he set foot outside the carefully made circle of pictographs that surrounded his anvil, he examined it carefully out of habit. The circle was designed to capture latent aether that may spiral off anything he was working on at the anvil. Satisfied that everything was in place, Talon made his way to the wide wooden stairs up to the ground level of his shop. He flexed his wings and stretched his arms as he made his way up the stairs. He didn't know what time of day it was as he'd been working away at the forge most of the morning. The work of crafting came much easier to him than did other things at the moment.

He'd been away from Kalzasi for what felt like ages but in truth had only been a short while. The city, his city, felt tense and on edge though he couldn't place why. In the days since his return he'd yet to see his father. The Sovereign of Kalzasi was away, visiting the city of Antiris but was set to return in a few days. Talon would be expected to present himself to his father and from what his mother had told him...there were plans for his time ahead. He sighed heavily to himself just thinking about it. The heavy thud of his boots upon the stairs heralded his arrival. He ran a hand through his hair, catching a few loose strands. Undoing the tie for his ponytail he gathered his hair with a few easy sweeps then redid the tie. Moving to the front part of the shop, his grey eyes came to settle upon a human woman.

The first thing that Talon noticed about her was that she was covered in intricately designed patterns from head to toe. He immediately recognized them as more than just elaborate tattoos but as glyphs. Opening up his awareness, Talon drew his aether into motion so that he could perceive her aura. Talon noted tension. But more than that he observed the familiar shade of curiosity. He couldn't quite place it but something in her aura felt...different. He wasn't put off exactly but it gave him a feeling of slight unease. Talon wasn't surprised. If the woman was covered in pictographs she was undoubtedly a mage of some sort. Sorcerers often exposed themselves to strange occurrences. Talon would know, he dealt with strange and dangerous energies often. He wouldn’t have been surprised if the glyphs on her skin were put in place to protect her from some of her experiments.

“Welcome to the Skyforge. I am Talon. How may I help you?” Talon came to stand directly behind the counter. He was forced to lean on it a little bit in order not to loom over the woman whom was considerably shorter. He was dressed in humble clothing. A thin cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up to expose his forearms. A pair of worn dark brown leather pants tucked into knee high black leather boots that had seen much use around the forge. His grey eyes were made more stark due to the blue runic symbol that covered the left side of his face. This mark was further accented by his pale skin and the blue-violet runes covering his forearms and the backs of his hands.

[Lyra]

The pictograph was an odd one, seemingly out of place. Lyra's finger traced the edges of it, following up as it moved up the wall toward the ceiling above. Frowning slightly she tapped at the line, tilting her head slightly. The voice behind her however made her pause and turn, golden eyes looking toward the counter... and then up. Blinking Lyra had to crane her neck to finally see a man's face from her position, and she stared at him for several long seconds with one hand still resting on the wall.

"Amanioel?" She asked quietly looking at Talon. Was this man one of the giants? He was certainly tall enough to be one of their kin, but... Her eyes rested on the rune over his eye, tracing its lines with her gaze and chewing on her lip. A rustling finally drew Lyra's eyes to the great wings at the man's back. Beautiful things, powerful, and definitely not something would find on the giants. Curiosity changed almost instantly to disappointment, and she stood with a sigh.

"I am unsure how I am supposed to respond to such a question." Lyra said softly in Common. Her dialect, the tone and phrasing, while correct and precise were slightly off. The light and airy tone of her native tongue slipped between the syllables, and her tone was slightly forced. In retrospect Lyra should have done something with this body's vocal cords. She had allowed them to remain stagnant for too long, and now struggled to produce sounds above a whisper. It was an oversight that the elf would one day have to correct, in future body's of course.

Coming closer to the counter Lyra's eyes continued to search the man, eyeing his clothes before looking back over her shoulder at the tools and weapons that lined the walls.

"You are some form of smith?" she asked, looking back at Talon, but before he could answer she shook her head and looked directly up at the ceiling, "No, perhaps not. A smith would not need a primitive form of Thallium's Cage on the inside of their shop." Still staring up Lyra turned in a slow circle, raising one tattooed hand to idly trace the path a glyph took toward the wall, "Contain, capture, disperse and redirect." Her finger followed down the wall, pointing once more at the spot she had been examining before, "Redirect too... " her finger trailed down, pointing toward the ground now. Gold eyes raised and fell on the stairs that lead downward.

"Modified." Lyra said finally, "Poorly done, but I believe I understand the intent." Finally Lyra looked at Talon again, searching his face before moving down to look at the runes on his forearms. These she stared intently at, almost glaring at one in particular. Leaning across the counter Lyra pointed at the Negation rune, glancing up at Talon, "Tell me Be'melar, what is that you bear on your arm?"

[Talon]

Talon let his aetheric gaze disperse. The need to observe her aura passed after the initial question and cursory glance to perhaps glean insight into her character. It was nothing more than a habit of greeting that Talon had picked up while travelling abroad. He’d found that people were not quite as trustworthy as he wanted to believe. The word that came out of her mouth was in a language that Talon did not recognize, at least not in full. It had the musical whimsy of Silandris, a language that his mother spoke often and he often spoke with her. That had him believing that it was some form of elvish. It was soft and elegant but still succinct which seemed strange to him. Especially with how forced her voice seemed to be. He was a little confused by the statement that followed.

“Apologies, I do not think that I follow.” Perhaps the woman was lost. She seemed a bit lost. Her next question only seemed to affirm that suspicion in his mind. Before he could answer though she was dismissing the question and speaking on something referred to as “Thallium’s Cage”. The name sounded elvish to his ears but it was not a term that he recognized. He looked over to the glyphs that lined the walls of his shop, where she pointed. Instinctually he drew his aether back to the forefront of his vision and observed the pictographs carefully. A cursory glance told him that he would need to discharge the built up aether in many of them in the near future. He was due to make another batch of Sorcerer’s Sand or some Spellwright’s Ink at any rate. That was another project that he mentally ticked off to himself. It again made it plainly evident that he needed to find an apprentice to help him around the shop. He glanced around. Perhaps more than one.

Talon’s eyebrows were going up slightly as the woman ceased examining the glyphs that lined his shop. She focused in on him then seemed inexplicably drawn to the runes of magic on his arms. One in particular. He looked down at the Rune of Negation that glowed softly upon his arm. It was his newest discipline of magic and one that he was still learning carefully but he was already seeing its usefulness, especially in his crafting.

“My lady, I apologize but it is impolite to ask a mage their disciplines without introducing yourself. You are correct, I am a smith. A runesmith to be exact. This is my shop, where I repair, craft and sell artifacts enhanced or enchanted with magic.” He gestured widely to the assembly of objects both mundane and magical that were arrayed around them. Most of what Talon had on display possessed no real magic of great consequence. Simple enchantments or merely a basic reinforcement. Objects of real power and significance were made directly by commission and delivered specifically to the commissioner.

“You are welcome to anything in the shop if you have the coin for it or something of value to trade. Unless you are here to discuss a commission? I can promise that my rates are fair and endorsed by the Circle of Spells and that I am a shop in good standing with the guild.” Talon folded his arms over his chest and observed the odd woman curiously for a moment.

“Now, if it is the trade of magic that you are here to discuss, I know and practice several forms. If it’s a teacher you seek, I might advise that you seek the Circle of Spells.”

[Lyra]

Lowering her hand Lyra frowned slightly at the implication of her rudeness, though if she thought back perhaps she had been a bit forward. Even as she was admonished, however, she continued to stare at the foreign rune, head tilted slightly as she leaned back once more. One arm wrapped around her chest, the other resting on top with a finger tapping her cheek as she continued to stare at the negation rune, whispering softly to herself before shaking her head. A part of Lyra had come to expect differences in this age. The creatures had multiplied, humans filling in far more vibrantly than ever she would have expected. Other... deformities had sprung up, a thought which made Lyra glance at the man's back where the odd wings attached.

Mulling over the rest of what Talon had said Lyra turned and looked back at the products along the wall, raising an eyebrow somewhat in surprise. That word, runesmith was an odd one. The way he described his work, or profession, sounded remarkably similar to the Quei'mora, or World Shapers. The thought made Lyra smile. That was not what their official name had been, but those who took the aether of one thing and refined and transformed it were rather... uppity in Lyra's foggy memories. Was this what had become of their art? Reduced to simple... tool crafting?

Without meaning to Lyra's face contorted to a grimace, and finally a frown as she thought once again about what the world had become.

"Your wares interest us not." Lyra said with an absent wave, still in thought as she turned to look the man up and down, "You know much of magic then?"

Breathing in Lyra opened herself to the flows around her, tapping into the Rune she bore to listen to the Symphonies of this man. He was a mellow tone, thrumming with base and rhythmic beats. It was a beautiful sound, and with a breath Lyra tuned the beats of comfort and amplified them, pressing on the sharp trills of doubt and suspicion to bring the melody closer to one of trust, warmth and certainty.

"Perhaps you can assist us..." Lyra said softly, frowning slightly as she set her hands on the counter, furrowing her brow as if in thought, "We are... somewhat at a loss. What do you know of magic? What disciplines and... runes," the woman's eyes fell on the negation rune once more before looking up to find Talon's eyes, "Are you aware that exist."

There was a slight hesitation as Lyra chewed her lip once more, this time the confusion true on her face, "And what is this Circle of Spells you speak of?"

[Talon]

Talon observed the woman’s facial expression. She seemed displeased about something. The impression that she was not at all where she actually needed to be was growing stronger. He was just about to speak so that he could direct her toward one of the Sky Guard for directions on the nearest community hall when she spoke. He blinked at her.

“If my wares do not interest you, my lady, then I am not sure--” She pressed on. Talon had to bite back a sigh of annoyance. While he bore no shame in being a mage, firstly because magic was welcomed in Kalzasi and secondly because of exactly who he was in the city, it was still impolite to be so blunt in one’s approach. Again he was about to direct her toward one of the Sky Guards who could better assist her in navigating toward something that did interest her when a new train of thought entered his mind. It would have been rude of him to dismiss her questions so outright. Was she not a visitor to not only his shop but to his city as well? He had been travelling abroad to places that were so different that he had been having to remind himself of Kalzasi’s pride in its hospitality. Talon let out a steady breath as his thoughts on calling the Sky Guard to assist her faded and he was reminded of his upbringing and the importance of hospitality.

“I would be glad to assist you.” Once more she brought up the question of magic. Her questions seemed strange but still...he was the Firstborn Son of the Shokaze. It was his duty to guide as well as guard those who visited his city. What would his father think if he rebuffed her so callously? What would his mother think? A sorceress of the mighty family of Briathos, the woman who had instilled in him the ideals of compassion as much as duty. Talon felt some of the tension in his shoulders ease. The feathers of his wings settled as he felt a note of calmness pass through him. His grey eyes fell upon the woman. For a moment she was all he focused on. She did not seem as though she was untrustworthy. Perhaps he could divulge some things to her despite not knowing her. He mulled those thoughts over for a moment when suddenly he felt a warmth pass across the tethers of his heart. In his mind’s eye he saw his companion’s face filled with concern and Aoren’s presence filled his chest. Like coming from a fog, Talon blinked as though his gaze had gone unfocused for a moment. He narrowed his eyes at the woman.

“My lady, Kalzasi is a city of great hospitality and I welcome you here. However what you ask is a discussion I only have with more personal associates, if it is not business you seek to discuss then I am afraid I must direct you elsewhere. The Circle of Spells is the honored guild of mages here in the Northlands. I welcome you to speak to them. The Tower of Lore is just past the western arches. There you will find the Guilded Expanse where the tower is located.” Talon sent a sliver of reassurance and calmness across his bond. He felt Aoren’s apprehension ease and though Talon felt a little light headed, he quietly assured his companion that he was fine. He had been working at the aetherforge and the anvil practically all morning. He told himself that he just needed to take a break and perhaps eat something.

“I really do need to find a shopkeep and an apprentice.”

That thought went through his mind. He would set about finding help as soon as possible.

“If there is nothing else, my lady? I must return to forging the enchanted staves for the upcoming graduates of the Circle’s trials.”

[Lyra]

Disappointment slid into irritation, but was quickly masked with a sigh and a shrug. Lyra's eyes wandered up to Talon's face, inspecting it, especially his eyes, as if she could see some secrets there. Hard, but not unfriendly, this man's gaze was suspicious and his words like stone baring all further conversation on the topic.

A shame. Lyra thought as she straightened and crossed her arms, It seems my powers have waned somewhat.

It was true. In the past the elf need only give a passing glance and those she wished would throw themselves to the ground, offering her their deepest, darkest desires. A memory bubbled up, slightly blurred at the edges, of her drifting through a crowd, a whisper on the wind, a breath of air that carried with it temptations and malice. Where she had tread the people gave themselves to their base desires, and bent themselves to her will. Now, though, she could not even push one little bird to the edge of the next.

Still, it was not all for loss. Now she knew where she stood. Raising a hand to her eyes Lyra wiggled her fingers, turning her palm down as she eyed the markings on her skin with some scrutiny. Perhaps it was this body? It would merit further testing. There was still so much she didn't know.

At the mention of the words 'enchanted staves' Lyra's eyes snapped back to focus on Talon, a new intensity there like burning gold behind her eyes. A few more pieces clicked into place, and she remembered that he had said he was a runesmith.

"Artifacts enhanced or enchanted with magic." The words were repeated slowly, as if she had not really heard them before. Once more Lyra looked over her shoulder at the walls of items, and this time she turned and walked to the wall of weapons. There she paused before a particular sword, looking it over with a critical eye. She tapped it with a finger, but could see no obvious signs of its modifications.

"I am unaccustomed to the way of things here." Her eyes stared over the sword, and then at a hammer a few rungs up, "I am but a few days in this city. I know not the people, the laws, those who govern or rule. It is an odd situation." As she spoke she moved down the line of weapons, looking at each in turn before looking back toward Talon with a shrug, "If I may be honest with you Be'melar, I cannot speak much on what you might call proper or right. Your ways are... foreign. Magic, however, is a language I know well, and seems to be the only common ground between myself and your people."

As she spoke her words were laced with power, and with some restraint Lyra held herself back from a direct manipulation. Instead she tuned herself to Talon's melody, closing her eyes as she listened for a few seconds before continuing.

"Where I am from it is not forbidden to talk of such matters, so I apologize if I have offended." She heard the thrumming beat of resolve, and distance. A wall being built, or was put in place to protect the heart. Opening her eyes Lyra tilted her head slightly and pointed to one of the items on the wall, "You say you are a... runesmith?" the word sounded odd to her own ears, and she grimaced slightly, "Tell me if you can, how do you enchant with this method? I see no signs of your rituals on the items themselves."

[Talon]

The tension in Talon’s shoulders eased as he listened to her words. He sighed inwardly and reminded himself that travelers came from all parts of the region to the city. Of course there would be different customs and traditions to honor. He quirked a brow slightly at her explanation of her familiarity with magic. Again he was reminded of the touch of a foreign tongue in her accent. He still couldn’t quite place it but he kept it firmly in mind. This woman must have been from a place far from the Northlands.

“Magic is a way of life in Kalzasi. It is a life we must walk carefully.” Reaching up, Talon ran a hand through his hair. He stepped from behind his counter, reaching beneath it to grab a hold of a set of eye glasses as he did so. Approaching the woman he extended the glasses to her.

“The objects are not meant to look magical in appearance. Not unless I want them to. I know the enchantments I have placed on every object in my shop. From the smallest thread to the most elaborate of weapons. What you see on display is mostly simple enhancements but I often take commissions from more specific clients.” He again proffered the glasses to her.

“These glasses are of my own making. Aura glass. They will allow you to focus on an object in front of you and discern its enchantments, though I could tell you myself if you so wish.” Talon gestured back behind him.

“My workshop is in another part of the shop. It is where I work my forge and build my enchanted items or modify those things that are brought to me. Everything on display was made by me entirely. From the clothing, to the jewelry, to the tools, to the weapons.” Talon spoke with a note of pride. There were many runesmiths who commissioned clothier’s, blacksmiths or jewelers to fashion high quality objects for them that they then brought to their aetherforges to enchant. Talon constructed everything himself from the beginning all the way to the end. He prided himself on knowing exactly where the source materials came from and how they were fashioned. It was that meticulous attention to detail that made him one of the more sought after runesmiths in the area.

“I am surprised, my lady. Do they not have runesmiths where you are from?” Intellectually, Talon understood that his craft was not common even among practitioners of magic. The resources required and the dangers of manipulating aether in such a raw state was well known to arcane scholars. It was something largely avoided where things such as alchemy or scrivening would suffice. Even so, the work of enchanters was known to most mages. Perhaps they simply called runesmiths something else where she was from.

[Lyra]

The melody shifted slightly, the heavy thrum softening somewhat as Lyra watched the man run his fingers through his hair. Once more her eyes were drawn to the runes on his body, sliding over them before flicking back to his face as he rounded the counter and made his way toward her. He towered over her, and some instincts must have remained in her body as she unconsciously took a step back as he extended the eyeglass toward her. She looked at it curiously, recognition widening her eyes slightly as she lifted a tentative hand to accept the piece.

The Hytori was only half listening as she turned the glasses over in her fingers, an odd feeling in her chest as she raised them to her eyes to look through the lenses. The breath caught in her throat as a world of color opened before her, each item on the wall shimmering with light and wavering forms that almost seem to respond to her gaze, shaping themselves in such a way that her mind began to intuitively understand what it was she was looking at.

"These are... " one hand still held the rim of the glasses. Her lips pressed firmly together, the tattoos at the corners twisting slightly as she chewed the inside of her cheek. That feeling welled up within her, making her throat feel tight. Frustrated Lyra shook her head, absently rubbing at her neck as she stared through the lenses at one of the items. It took a few seconds, but the longer she looked the more that the glasses seemed to reveal. The colors and shapes oriented themselves in a way that her mind could perceive, and she realized that the sword before her was augmented with durability and sharpness.

Taking the lenses off Lyra looked at them more closely, squinting slightly as she moved the glasses close to her eyes. She examined the rim, the surfaces, every inch for any signs of glyphs, wards, or any form of pictograph. Looking to the side Lyra could hear the music growing, and she smiled as she heard the distinct tone of pride and satisfaction that laced through Talon's melody as he spoke of his shop and accomplishments.

No matter the era, men are still men. Lyra thought. That thought seemed to loosen something in her, and she visibly relaxed slightly as she put the glasses back on. The world itself might have crumbled to dust, but people... mortals never truly changed. Pride, jealousy, greed, lust, and all of their baser desires still drove them, guided them. Her gaze drifted upward, and with surprise, Lyra realized the glyphs on the ceiling shimmered slightly as well. Stepping back closer to the middle of the room Lyra followed the path of glyphs, her hand raised once more to trace the same path, but with the glasses, she realized she could SEE the flow of aether as the glyphs performed their work.

When the question was directed toward her it took Lyra a moment to realize. Bringing her gaze down from the ceiling Lyra looked up at Talon, puzzling through the question until it finally clicked.

"We had something of the sort. Though I would not compare their works to what you do here." she said this simply, her tone slightly aloof as she did not wish to continue this line of questioning. To shift the conversation Lyra continued quickly, "These things, Aura glass?" she removed the lenses and closed them delicately, holding them out to Talon once more, "They are quite useful. I did not realize you could craft something with so much utility."

Goldeyes flashed to the back of the shop where the stairs leading down resided. Pointing Lyra attempted an awkward smile, "Would it be rude to ask to see your workshop? I am curious as to the process you use to make such items." pulling her hand back she looked down for a moment, and then shrugged before looking for his eyes once more, "In exchange, perhaps I can share with you a bit of my own craft. If such a thing is of interest to you, that is?"

[Talon]

Talon noticed the shift in her disposition immediately as soon as she put on the glasses. He stirred his aether into motion, drawing upon the powers of Semblance in order to glean better insight into her state. Again, as Talon observed her aura he got a feeling that it was just slightly out of focus. It was as though he were trying to make sense of a silhouette while staring through frosted glass. He could discern the shape but it remained largely unclear. At a glance he noticed feelings of uneasiness, confusion but eventually as she seemed to take in more of the work around her, those feelings subsided into something resembling what he could only guess was curiosity. There was something else there and Talon couldn’t quite place it. It flickered in and out of his gaze. If he concentrated he might be able to discern it better but at the moment it was not worth the effort. Especially after having spent so much time at the forge that morning. He dismissed his aetheric gaze and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Again he felt a sliver of...something. Again he felt Aoren’s presence swell in his chest. This time, he got the sense that his companion was making his way to the shop.

“They are simple in construction. I can fashion you a pair if that is what interests you.” He found himself interested in what this woman had to say regarding her craft.

“It is not rude to ask but sharing in my process? That would depend on what your craft is, my lady.” Talon was not so dense that he would miss an opportunity to perhaps glean insight into a form of the arcane that he did not yet possess. If this woman, with her strange speech, and odd glyphs covering her skin, had something of value to offer he would hear what she had to say. Talon was not one of the robed mages of the Circle but he appreciated the need to expand his understanding of the arcane arts. Everything he learned was learned primarily as a means of furthering his worthiness to carry on his family’s lineage. He may have begun his path toward magic in a moment of defiance against his father but that had long since passed. He put his skills toward the protection of his city and that required knowing exactly how far he could push himself with what he knew and also having enough elasticity of mind to accept that there were things he did not know.

“You seemed deeply fascinated by the glyphs that are lining the walls of my shop. You are also covered in pictographs. If I were to guess, might I assume that you are learned in the ways of Scrivening?” Talon folded his arms over his chest. The move was in no way meant to be intimidating but was merely the stance he found himself to be the most comfortable at that time. He stretched and relaxed his wings briefly. The need to exercise and go for a flight nagged at him in the back of his mind. It had been a few days since he had taken to the skies. He pushed those thoughts aside.

“If this is true, I would be interested.” Talon had been wanting to learn more about Scrivening for some time. He could glean some understanding of the art from the glyphs around his shop. He certainly used pictographs in his runesmithing in order to manage and control the energies of what he was working with. However, what he had was a limited understanding of what pictography was capable of. Scriveners understood how to manipulate the flow of aether through their glyphs in ways that made even Talon quirk an eyebrow. Besides, it would be nice to not have to seek an outside source to touch up his glyphs around the shop. Being able to do it himself would lend further insight into how to reinforce and perhaps even improve them.