First Day on the Job (Nira'lia)

[Cael]

42nd of Spring, 512 Cael wiped his hand across his forehead as he leaned against a building, catching his breath. Today was his first day working construction to rebuild Zeltiva and he was already tired. Using so much reimancy was difficult for him. Sure, he had command of air, but it was only his second element and he was much better with fire. He mainly used his control of air to push heavy objects onto higher platforms and buildings. it was difficult, draining work, but if it meant getting paid, he'd take it. Though he always went shirtless in Zeltiva, he'd taken his cloak off as well. It was just too hot for him to keep it on. I miss Avanthal, he thought to himself, not for the first time. I miss snow. I miss ice. I miss Morwen's beautiful lands. I miss the aurora... Gently touching the snowflake shaped mark on the left side of his chest, he sighed and pushed such thoughts from his mind. Concentrating on the power within him, he released some res from his hands and formed the outside into a swirling pocket of air. Once the bubble was formed, he placed it beneath a large piece of stone and shot it straight up into the air. When it got to the edge of his range, he let the inner res form and pushed it forward so that the stone was pushed on top of a building. It landed with a thunk and Cael collapsed to the ground, winded. "Just a small break," he said quietly to himself. "I don't want to strain myself." Closing his eyes, he tilted his head up to the sky and began to pray. "Zulrav, god of wind, please help me as I endeavor to master your great element. Great Izurdin, give me the strength to carry on and not fall into overgiving." He paused, a reverent smile coming over his face as his prayers turned to his divine queen. "Oh, lovely Morwen, I miss your lands dearly. Please help me to stay strong beneath this harsh sun, so far from your embrace. Let me feel the soft comfort of your coolness once more." Though it could have just been the power of positive thinking, Cael felt like he was just a little bit more rested, and a little bit more able to handle the rest of the day.

[Nira'lia]

The skies were clear, and the sun shone brightly, adding to the discomfort of the people of Zeltiva. Earlier that day, famine had been declared on the city. Ever since the storm, food was becoming scarcer. As Nira'lia walked through the streets of Zeltiva, her skin hot from the sun and stomach grumbling with hunger, she observed the people around her. Many people had taken to not leaving their houses. Most of them stayed inside their houses to hide from the hot weather and hunger, though there were a few who were working to rebuild the city. The storm had caused much destruction, and the Konti wondered when Zeltiva would be able to bounce back completely. She held a filled waterskin in her hands. Her mother had asked her to fetch some water, and she was now walking back to their house with it. It was so hot that she was so tempted to drink some of it, but she knew her mother would be irritated. Blinking, she saw a man who was acting strangely. He looked exhausted. His eyes were shut and he seemed to be muttering something, and Nira'lia's first instinct was to inch away. However, it was not within her to simply ignore someone who looked troubled. The Konti slowly and quietly went closer to him, and as she did, she realized that he was praying. She only caught the last few words of his prayer, but from what she gathered from it, he was praying against the harsh weather. "Uhm..." Nira'lia looked down at the waterskin in her hands. Something in her told her that it was not healthy for someone to stay out in the sun, especially if they were not accustomed to it. Judging from his prayer, he was one of those people. "Do you want a drink?"

[Cael]

Cael looked up in surprise and saw a lovely Konti woman before him. Thank you, Morwen, he prayed silently. He hadn't expected anything so immediate, but the gods worked in strange and wonderful ways. He smiled gratefully and accepted the waterskin, taking slow, careful sips. He tried not to drink too much, for water was valuable in such hot weather, and he didn't want to take it all from her. The cool liquid felt wonderful running down his throat, and he couldn't help his little sigh of relief. "May Morwen bless you and keep you cool in this weather," he said as he handed it back to her. His common was not perfect, but his Vani accent made it sound beautiful nonetheless. His smile was warm and friendly. His eyes shifted slightly, hints of warm green and dark blue swirling around in their depths, mixing with the prevalent electric blue. Fishing in his coin purse, he pulled out five copper mizas and handed them to her. "For your trouble," he explained. He didn't want to come across as ungrateful, after all. Besides, now that he had a job, he could afford to give away a little bit of money to kind strangers like her.

[Nira'lia]

'Morwen, the Goddess of Winter?' Nira'lia took the waterskin from him, making an effort not to let their skins touch in the process. The way he spoke sounded foreign, and she immediately arrived at the conclusion that he was not from here. There was a snowflake mark on his chest, and Nira'lia gazed at it. 'Oh, he is marked by the Goddes...' she realized. Her eyes trailed up to his and she gave him a bright smile, and that was when she noticed the shifting colours of his eyes. 'And a Vantha!' It was one surprise after another. She always found the Vantha race very amusing. Looking into their eyes and watching the shifts always left her feeling curious. They seemed to have a mysterious air to them, one that she could appreciate with interest. As he reached out his hand to give her a couple of coins, she quickly shook her head and waved it away. The water had not caused anything but the effort of fetching it. Her mother would scold her for bringing back a waterskin that was not full, but that was about it. "Don't worry about it!" said the Konti. Her eyes twinkled with amusement. She looked at him from head – a rude gesture for some, but for her, she was simply observing what she could. "What's a Vantha doing out here in the scorching sun? Perhaps some shade would be better for you?"

[Cael]

Cael laughed as he put the coins away. "I'm here to enroll at the university," he explained. "Unfortunately, my job involves staying out in this sun." He gestured to another large piece of stone beside him. "I am a reimancer, you see. My job is to move these heavy stones on top of that roof over there. It takes just as much effort as if I'd lifted it, but it's much faster this way." He concentrated on making another air bubble, forcing it under the rubble, and pushing it up and onto the roof. This time, though, he was careful to give it a softer landing. He didn't want to break anything his first day on the job. "It's not exciting, but it pays well enough. If I'm lucky, I'll even be finished with this area before the next chime," he said optimistically. Continuing his work, he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes and grinned. "What about you?" he asked her curiously. "I see those scales of yours," he teased amicably. "I'm sure this sun can't be too pleasant for a Konti either. Are you here for the university too?" The work was easier now that he had a conversational partner. He wasn't sure if she had some place to be, but her company was welcome for as long as she could stay. When he talked to her, he could keep his mind away from his discomfort. He'd hoped to have coworkers with him during this job, but his employer figured that a single reimancer was enough to do this job. Cael couldn't blame him; with a whole city to rebuild and only a certain amount of workers, everyone would be stretched thin.

[Nira'lia]

"A reimancer, huh..." she mused as she watched him do his job. Magic was something that Nira'lia couldn't fully understand, but it was nonetheless amazing to watch. Zeltiva was one of the few cities that were open to magic. She had met quite a number of mages during her time here, and most of them were in the city to study in the University. As he spoke, she gave a weak laugh and scurried away towards the establishment he was working on. She found a spot by the wall that gave her the shade that she needed. Nira'lia just hoped he wouldn't drop any stones on her. He was right, warm weather was not comfortable for someone like her. Over the years, she had gotten used to it, but that didn't retract from that fact that she'd rather just stay in the shade. "No, I'm not a student," she told him simply. She would want to be one, though. Nira'lia didn't walk away too far from him, and thus she could speak with the same volume as before. "Is what you're doing safe?" The Konti gazed at the stones he had left. They looked like a lot to her, and she had no idea how far along he was with his skills. Nira'lia didn't have expert knowledge on magic, but she knew how overgiving worked. As a medic, any situation that might end in mishap worried her. She laughed. "I don't mean to tell you what to do, but please be careful!"

[Cael]

Cael was very careful to keep the stones away from his new friend. "Don't worry, I won't hit you. These aren't too heavy yet, and I have a good amount of control over these." He moved his hands as he worked, mimicking the action of picking up the debris and throwing it onto the roof so the masons could begin fixing the taller building beside it. He found that it was much easier to control the rocks when he moved his hands with them. "If I start to feel any symptoms of overgiving, my employer told me I'd have to do it by hand," he told her. "And I'm not looking forward to walking each of these one by one onto that roof." He shuddered at the thought. He wasn't anywhere near that tired, though. Sure, he was feeling a little drained, but he felt confident that he'd be able to finish the lot before any symptoms started. "I'm Cael, by the way," he told her. "It's nice to meet you." He flashed her another smile before moving on to the next rock. Although the work was undeniably straining, he found that it got easier as it went on. He fell into a comfortable rhythm that required little concentration, other than to make sure the building materials went in the direction he wanted. He was only supposed to lift the largest stones, the ones the masons could still use to fix the buildings. Anything too small would just be thrown out in favor of less compromised materials. Unfortunately, Cael had no idea how small "too small" was. He may have been a semi-decent carver, but masonry was above and beyond his skill set.

[Nira'lia]

Nira'lia nodded, relieved to see that he would stop at any symptoms of overgiving. She had met silly mages in the past who stubbornly insisted that they would do all they could despite the consequences. She had never actually seen a mage overgive to the point of no return, and she had no desire to. She also doubted that a mage would push his body just for the sake of a job that involved moving stones. All this thoughts about magic awakened a familiar memory in her mind. A memory about a vision, about something she had to do and the reason she was leaving Zeltiva before the season was done. "Nice to meet you, Cael," said Nira'lia enthusiastically. "The name's Nira'lia." She stood there and watched him do his work. Nira'lia didn't even know why she was standing around as her mother was probably waiting for her. However, even if she had no sensible reason to do so, she just observed Cael. Magic piqued much interest in her, and she had to learn as much about it for the sake of her Konti Call. "What are the symptoms of overgiving?" the Konti asked him curiously. She realized that she didn't really know much about the condition. She was a medic and she had general knowledge about most illnesses and injuries, but mages were a mystery to her. It frightened her that she had to assist mages soon even if she didn't have enough information about them. This was probably a good time to learn more about mages, then. "Is there, uhm..." she thought about it, attempting to gather her thoughts. "Is there something a medic could do if a mage overgives?"

[Cael]

"Nira'lia," he repeated slowly. It was a beautiful name, and fit her perfectly. Cael liked it very much. He continued moving stones, getting slowly faster as he became comfortable with the movements and strain. It was hard work, but Cael knew that the more he did it, the better he'd become at not only reimancy, but control as well. Perhaps this job was more than just a way to earn money. That was a possibility that Cael hadn't thought of. This job could be a perfect way to practice and hone his skills. He paused as the Konti asked him about overgiving. He'd only experienced minor symptoms when he'd first began practicing reimancy. That was before he knew his limits, though. "I've never experienced anything more than minor symptoms, but I've read a lot about it," he told her, resuming his work. "I know that in severe cases it can cause body mutations, heavy bleeding, insanity, and even death. At that point there's really nothing a healer can do, unless they have a god's help." He frowned as he thought about the possibility that such things could happen to him if he ever pushed himself too far. "But it's not always so bad," he continued in a lighter tone. "Mild overgiving causes things like difficulty in controlling djed, a faster heartbeat, and hallucinations. The most dangerous thing is that it makes you want to do even more. You don't really realize what's happening to you." He struggled to find a way to describe the sensation. "It's like controlling djed gives you this high and you don't want to stop." He glanced over at her as he finished speaking. "Are you a healer?" he asked curiously. It would fit her. She seemed very caring, a trait that all medics shared. She'd given him water, after all.

[Nira'lia]

As he explained the consequences of overgiving, the Konti couldn't help but wince. It sounded very serious, mentally and physically. What he said about a mage not realizing that he needed to stop and was overcome to do even more made her worried. Lastly, she was most worried at the fact that only a God, or someone with a God's help, could help those who went down the most severe path of overgiving. 'Rak'keli...' she prayed in her mind. 'Please help me when the time comes.' She looked at Cael, and blinked at his question. Was it obvious that she was a medic? The Konti were mostly known to be seers and healers, and maybe he arrived to the conclusion because of that. Aside from that, it could also be obvious from her questions. "I'm still learning, but I'm a medic." Nira'lia gave him a weak smile. She stayed in the shade, but the surroundings were still hot. Her mind was starting to feel woozy because of it. It was still Spring, and the weather was usually nicer than this, but not during this time of day. Staying out in the streets at a time like this was probably not healthy for someone like her. However, she chose to stay there—this man was interesting to talk to. "The reason I'm asking about overgiving is because I need to leave the city soon to help some mages," she explained. She thought it was fair to tell him why she was prying about his area of profession. "I'm going to help them as a medic, but... honestly, I'm not too familiar with magic. Silly, isn't it?" The Konti gave an uneasy laugh. She was very much frightened of what would happen to her once she left the city for Alvadas. Nira'lia was very unprepared for what was to come.