Summer 90th, year 513
Summer had finally come to a close, and surprisingly, Svan still had a job. It had been 55 day since he had begun working as an assistant to the Dusk tower, and in that time he had become one of the hardest working assistants in the tower. He certainly wasn't the smartest, nor the most influential, but few could deny that he did a good job. It wasn't always like this though. The first two weeks of his employment had been torture, and he had just barely managed to scrape by. There were rules, locations, and people that Svan was supposed to know of before he took the job, but he had been completely ignorant of that. He had been forced to ask the dumbest of questions, and all but beg for help in some cases. However, due to his athletic body, unyielding determination, and a bit of good luck, Svan had managed to make the cut each and every time.
Eventually things began to turn around for Svan. Refusing to fail, Svan had taken it upon himself to familiarize himself with every inch of Lhavit that he could. Taking full advantage of his ability to function off of little sleep, Svan had walked down the many streets of Lhavit every night, and forced each and every building into his memory. Some times he could remember a place's location by seeing it only once, but usually he had to stare at it 3-5 times before he could recall it from memory alone.
He also talked to the citizens of Lhavit on his little midnight walks. He was always surprised to see how lively Lhavit was at night, but he didn't mind it. The surplus amount of people at night gave him a chance to speak with people, and learn more about the city. Early on he had stumbled upon an elderly couple that spent every evening sitting on a bench in Ahleas park, and watching the flora come to life. Pushing aside his antisocial tendencies, Svan had forced himself to make conversation with the two. It turned out to be one of the best decisions he ever made. Had been born in the city and lived there for nearly 70 years. They were more than happy to share stories with Svan, and tell him all that he needed to know about the town and its culture. He had spent most of the beginnings of his nights there, just talking with that couple. After the first few visits, Svan actually came to like his chats with them. For people so old they seemed so full of life. Their stories didn't always have happy endings, but their smiles never wavered. But there was something else to it. Each time Svan visited them he was filled with a bittersweet feeling. They way they smiled at each other...the way they wrapped their arms around one another when one began to dive too deep into a painful memory...It made Svan's heart ache. He had no one like that for him, and it was possible that he never would. Svan was alone in the world. He always had been, and seeing their love made the hollowness of Svan's own love life echo within his empty heart. As the season wore on, Svan began visiting the couple less and less. He had gotten all he needed from them, and he couldn't bare to see their affection any longer. He still visited briefly from week to week, but the visits were always short.
Svan spoke with other people too of course. Some he met only during his jobs, and others he had seen repeatedly on his night time strolls. Those he met during his jobs were the most important. They often were people of importance to the tower, and staying in their good graces was easily the wisest thing to do. Keper, the book store owner, and grown become something of a friend to Svan. His kind disposition and helpful personality made it easy for Svan to get on his good side. All Svan had to do was put up with the myriad of conversations of how to make books, and the man's incessant singing. Keper's proximity to the Tower's certainly didn't make the relationship with him any harder.
Svan also met with the various merchants, and store owners that the Tower worked with. Being one of the fastest and strongest of the assistants, Svan was routinely sent out to fetch goods, and retrieve pickups from around the city. While some might complain that such tasks limited their time to forge alliances and partnerships within the Dusk tower, Svan saw it as the perfect opportunity. It allowed his to extend his image throughout the town and make friends with many of the more influential citizens. By the 90th it was well know by many of the shopkeepers of Lhavit that Svan was a Dhani, and most didn't seem to care. Fai Piramba of the pet shop didn't exactly find his presence around her delicious looking animals comforting, nor did the owner's of the Okomo villa. Somewhat luckily, Svan rarely had business that took him to either place. The only problem was that it had been one of Svan's goals to get the villa more accepting of him, but he supposed that he could tackle that issue when the time arose.
Back at the Tower things were going a bit differently. While most people who got past the whole "carnivorous snake monster" thing where more or less fine with Svan, there were those in the tower who had found other reasons to detest him. The main two reasons was his association with Alses, and his knowledge of morphing. The many of the purists considered him to be a stain upon their art, and it certainly didn't help his case that he had admitted that he had joined the tower to learn two magics instead one. Unfortunately, that was just half of the snake's troubles. Any enemies of Alses quickly became enemies of Svan despite his best efforts to remain neutral. Some believed that the only reason he had been accepted into the Tower was because of Alses, and the Dhani honestly wasn't sure if they were wrong or not. The serpent also spent more time working for Alses than most of the other assistants. The Eth woman's reputation was a mixture of both fame and infamy so working for her was bound to cause mixed reactions. Svan never had any trouble with her "eccentricities" though. In fact, Svan often focused on the teachers and workers who most assistants avoided because they were too harsh or strange. This often caused the Dhani to get some of the hardest and most outlandish jobs, but it also meant that he had little competition in gaining the approval of those he worked for. Why most of the assistants and students kissed up to the low ranking easy targets, Svan went for the top. And after being crushed, dropped, cut, and scalded, the snake had managed to gleam some of their approval. Though some days it seemed less like they were trying to give him a trial to overcome, and more like they were simply trying to kill him. It was slow tedious work, but rewarding all the same.
Today was NOT one of those rewarding days.
Summer had finally come to a close, and surprisingly, Svan still had a job. It had been 55 day since he had begun working as an assistant to the Dusk tower, and in that time he had become one of the hardest working assistants in the tower. He certainly wasn't the smartest, nor the most influential, but few could deny that he did a good job. It wasn't always like this though. The first two weeks of his employment had been torture, and he had just barely managed to scrape by. There were rules, locations, and people that Svan was supposed to know of before he took the job, but he had been completely ignorant of that. He had been forced to ask the dumbest of questions, and all but beg for help in some cases. However, due to his athletic body, unyielding determination, and a bit of good luck, Svan had managed to make the cut each and every time.
Eventually things began to turn around for Svan. Refusing to fail, Svan had taken it upon himself to familiarize himself with every inch of Lhavit that he could. Taking full advantage of his ability to function off of little sleep, Svan had walked down the many streets of Lhavit every night, and forced each and every building into his memory. Some times he could remember a place's location by seeing it only once, but usually he had to stare at it 3-5 times before he could recall it from memory alone.
He also talked to the citizens of Lhavit on his little midnight walks. He was always surprised to see how lively Lhavit was at night, but he didn't mind it. The surplus amount of people at night gave him a chance to speak with people, and learn more about the city. Early on he had stumbled upon an elderly couple that spent every evening sitting on a bench in Ahleas park, and watching the flora come to life. Pushing aside his antisocial tendencies, Svan had forced himself to make conversation with the two. It turned out to be one of the best decisions he ever made. Had been born in the city and lived there for nearly 70 years. They were more than happy to share stories with Svan, and tell him all that he needed to know about the town and its culture. He had spent most of the beginnings of his nights there, just talking with that couple. After the first few visits, Svan actually came to like his chats with them. For people so old they seemed so full of life. Their stories didn't always have happy endings, but their smiles never wavered. But there was something else to it. Each time Svan visited them he was filled with a bittersweet feeling. They way they smiled at each other...the way they wrapped their arms around one another when one began to dive too deep into a painful memory...It made Svan's heart ache. He had no one like that for him, and it was possible that he never would. Svan was alone in the world. He always had been, and seeing their love made the hollowness of Svan's own love life echo within his empty heart. As the season wore on, Svan began visiting the couple less and less. He had gotten all he needed from them, and he couldn't bare to see their affection any longer. He still visited briefly from week to week, but the visits were always short.
Svan spoke with other people too of course. Some he met only during his jobs, and others he had seen repeatedly on his night time strolls. Those he met during his jobs were the most important. They often were people of importance to the tower, and staying in their good graces was easily the wisest thing to do. Keper, the book store owner, and grown become something of a friend to Svan. His kind disposition and helpful personality made it easy for Svan to get on his good side. All Svan had to do was put up with the myriad of conversations of how to make books, and the man's incessant singing. Keper's proximity to the Tower's certainly didn't make the relationship with him any harder.
Svan also met with the various merchants, and store owners that the Tower worked with. Being one of the fastest and strongest of the assistants, Svan was routinely sent out to fetch goods, and retrieve pickups from around the city. While some might complain that such tasks limited their time to forge alliances and partnerships within the Dusk tower, Svan saw it as the perfect opportunity. It allowed his to extend his image throughout the town and make friends with many of the more influential citizens. By the 90th it was well know by many of the shopkeepers of Lhavit that Svan was a Dhani, and most didn't seem to care. Fai Piramba of the pet shop didn't exactly find his presence around her delicious looking animals comforting, nor did the owner's of the Okomo villa. Somewhat luckily, Svan rarely had business that took him to either place. The only problem was that it had been one of Svan's goals to get the villa more accepting of him, but he supposed that he could tackle that issue when the time arose.
Back at the Tower things were going a bit differently. While most people who got past the whole "carnivorous snake monster" thing where more or less fine with Svan, there were those in the tower who had found other reasons to detest him. The main two reasons was his association with Alses, and his knowledge of morphing. The many of the purists considered him to be a stain upon their art, and it certainly didn't help his case that he had admitted that he had joined the tower to learn two magics instead one. Unfortunately, that was just half of the snake's troubles. Any enemies of Alses quickly became enemies of Svan despite his best efforts to remain neutral. Some believed that the only reason he had been accepted into the Tower was because of Alses, and the Dhani honestly wasn't sure if they were wrong or not. The serpent also spent more time working for Alses than most of the other assistants. The Eth woman's reputation was a mixture of both fame and infamy so working for her was bound to cause mixed reactions. Svan never had any trouble with her "eccentricities" though. In fact, Svan often focused on the teachers and workers who most assistants avoided because they were too harsh or strange. This often caused the Dhani to get some of the hardest and most outlandish jobs, but it also meant that he had little competition in gaining the approval of those he worked for. Why most of the assistants and students kissed up to the low ranking easy targets, Svan went for the top. And after being crushed, dropped, cut, and scalded, the snake had managed to gleam some of their approval. Though some days it seemed less like they were trying to give him a trial to overcome, and more like they were simply trying to kill him. It was slow tedious work, but rewarding all the same.
Today was NOT one of those rewarding days.
