[Bharani Library] Hollow Points [Mauriel]

Two eternal beings of vastly different means meet in the Library

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The Diamond of Kalea is located on Kalea's extreme west coast and called as such because its completely made of a crystalline substance called Skyglass. Home of the Alvina of the Stars, cultural mecca of knowledge seekers, and rife with Ethaefal, this remote city shimmers with its own unique light.

[Bharani Library] Hollow Points [Mauriel]

Postby Savis Maren on September 23rd, 2018, 9:56 pm

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Savis Maren didn't need to identify a reason to hate the Ethaefal. The race in general tore illusory shivers of disdain down the plane of her back. They ruled over Lhavit, the crown jewel of Kalea with their dazzling, shining fists. They brandished their impeccable beauty and flawless horns for all to see... so arrogant, so devoid of struggle. Savis, after all, did not understand the Ethaefal. So consumed she was by what she saw that she had little option but to hate them entirely. Mauriel's retort was not missed, the chuckle set upon her lips momentarily bringing red that overwhelmed the Nuit's sight. How she despised those who saw thsmselves as more, so ingrained it was into her that she found such rage difficult to banish. And yet, a breath pulled into her lungs. She felt her worries slip aside as she whipped her astral limb forth.

Savis' control over the astral forearm was similar to that of the hand by iself. The hand that remained limp at her waist was held shut in a fist, her inability to move a single muscle encouraging it to remain perfectly in position. Within her palm, the Glyph withered away, her use for it wrought with the continued manipulation of her astral body. She toyed with the Ethaefal before her, letting fingers weave into the tresses of the woman's hair before Mauriel resumed her position with no clear intention to leave. Savis Maren, when one got to know her, was a generous and friendly woman, but her prejudices for the Ethaefal in particular made it so easy to despise one that lacked the power to dissuade her from such a notion.

Mauriel? The Nuit didn't know how yet to feel about the stunning Ethaefal, but her questions brought an easy chuckle to her lips. She nodded as she withdrew her projected hand. She manipulated her djed a final time, pulling forth at the reserve. She took her time in re-connecting her astral body and arm together. Once it was done, she returned her gaze towards Mauriel and told her,

"I will not. I'll tell you now and listen to your story later, darling. It's only fair, for my treatment of you has been... less than satisfactory." The Nuit put her actions in a curt description, her apologies nowhere to be seen now that she had what she wanted.

"While you are but a season old, Mauriel, I have seen the turn of a century, the whims of Tanroa's passage burgeoning with misery and ill will. Once, as I suppose you were as well, I was mortal. My mortal flesh failed me and I was offered to a powerful mage to 'fix' me. He did not. He transformed me into something like him, a being told at campfire stories, one who seeps into corpses and manipulates them like a ventriloquist's toy. In exchange for such a... privilege... I was made a servant. Decades later, I'd become such a servant to another master. Magic itself is not the culprit of the life I have experienced. Instead, the fault is with the mages themselves. The soul changes with the manipulation of djed. It stems from that soul, it is, in essence, the person we are meant to become. Magic reveals the teeth unseen beneath the surface," she mused. The Nuit did not need to breathe, and her words came in a flurry, her eyes closing in the moment of her telling for so it wounded her to divulge such knowledge. Savis Maren was, behind the shell of a corpse and the boundless perfume she wore, the helpless human dying with no one to help her.

"As for the inability to see... My first experience with Lhavit was not the best. The practice of magic was polluted by... something... last season. Something I cannot, and will not, understand. Something I don't care to understand. It robbed me of my sight, my voice. I stumbled through both blind and dumb with no assurances of my survival." If tears could fall from the Nuit's cheeks, they would, so burned the utter rage that fell upon her once she emerged from that sightless hell.

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[Bharani Library] Hollow Points [Mauriel]

Postby Mauriel on September 24th, 2018, 1:31 am

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"Huh..." Mauriel slapped her own shoulder thinking she's felt a bug before realizing that it was just her hair moving on its own. Wait. She let out an exasperated sigh again when she figured the woman was still messing with her. How was she even making objects fly? Mauriel noticed her unusually still hand, but she thought it may have to do with her... condition.

Either way, she let the woman explain herself, though her unspoken apology did nothing but anger the Ethaefal. You can't just be this awful to somebody and expect them to just forget it all just because you've recognized that you were awful. You'd have to be blind not to recognize that. Yet she bit her tongue again, wanting to get this over with. Whatever this was.

As Savis began talking, Mauriel's mind started racing. Yes, she had seemed very, well, dead. It would make sense that some sort of magic was the only thing sustaining the woman, and somehow it wasn't too hard for the Ethaefal to believe it. She was a walking immortal miracle herself, so why not one of another kind? But the story grew grimmer with every word, the woman confirmed Mauriel's suspicions and more. She was forced into this life, not unlike Mauriel, but she was forced to suffer in a body that was not her own in a whole different sense from what the Ethaefal was experiencing. A body that was dead, at that, and probably thus preserved by various chemicals that she could smell. She felt a tingle of guilt upon thinking that, but reminded herself that she couldn't have known and safely tucked any and all responsibility away. Perhaps she was still a bit angry, enough for a prideful refusal to own up to her own mistakes here, though not enough to actively seek conflict.

Somebody else would probably question this way more. How was she to know that Savis wasn't just using makeup and scenting herself to trick people into believing this? She did seem rather mad, so it wouldn't be too far-fetched. But to Mauriel, the idea of immortality seemed as normal as seeing starglass in Lhavit. Perhaps she was yet to put things into a larger perspective of this world and stop centering her own experience, but that's just how she saw it - as an entirely plausible and rather normal state of being, despite its inherent difficulties.

The bard was a bit overwhelmed with the speed the story was being sharred at an the amount of information willingly offered. The black-haired woman was clearly upset over the things she was sharing, and they must've been very personal. Mauriel was very confused over such an openness towards a stranger such as herself, yet she tried to listen. Not only did she suffer the aforementioned terrible fate, she was also a slave, and blind, and dumb, and cast into the mist people with their eyes still sharp and able to ask for directions were getting lost in, while in a body that was betraying her. Mauriel didn't perfectly understand how her companion's kind worked exactly, nor what was this djed stuff she was mentioning, but could empathize with the essence of the story.

The frustration had disappeared as fast as it came. If the woman was to revert back to her annoying mode Mauriel would probably be doubly upset, but for now she could brush it off as a one-time deal. She certainly could understand a little bit better what was there to envy about her state of being. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. Are still going through all of that," she said. "Is there anything that could be done? I doubt I could help in any way, I hardly understand much of what you've told me so far..."


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[Bharani Library] Hollow Points [Mauriel]

Postby Savis Maren on September 24th, 2018, 8:16 pm

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An odd mixture of exasperation and amusement spilled forth from Savis Maren's lips as she listened to Mauriel's reception of her little tale. The Nuit was vile, poison spilling forth from her lips at first meeting. She didn't care for the intricacies of normal conversation, seeing red and attacking verbally at the sight of an Ethaefal with no signs of power in the city. However, within Mauriel, Savis Maren began to see the cracks in her immortal visage. This was no goddess, this was a woman gifted with immortal flesh. Though immeasurably jealous in the differences between their circumstances, the Nuit wasn't bound forever to be a slave to first impressions. The concern that the Ethaefal showed brought wry amusement to the Nuit's lips, though she shook her head in answer to her questions. Savis Maren knew of no ways to manipulate her condition, her fate as a rotting immortal sealed with the performance of the Daek-Nuit a century earlier. It was hard to believe that Savis Maren was one of the younger Nuit, but the reality of it was such.

"There is nothing that I could do, Mauriel. Adding an Ethaefal with no magic at her disposal would do little to tip those scales. However, if you'll stay, perhaps you could assist in a different venture. You are one of few, my dear, who dares venture forth to speak to an undead. There is much that I have seen that I would like to tell," she admitted. Savis' indulgence in the craft of storytelling wasn't a new one, but it was one that others seldom stopped to listen to. The Nuit didn't wait for an answer, however. She moved to the strips of paper before her. The Nuit raised her brush and began her work yet again, allowing the Ethaefal to muse on her offer for as long as she chose to.

Paper was set in front of Savis Maren in the seven strips that remained. Six of them were assembled into a stack and set aside while the Nuit mused. The painting of her rune was a slow ordeal, her meticulous nature requiring thought to be poured into each and every movement lest she make terrible mistakes that could serve to unravel the entire Glyph.

Glig. The rune took the meaning opposite of Roza. The Nuit needed to expand upon her knowledge of projection, to steepen her ability to escape her undead flesh and manipulate the world around her in a different way. Glyphing, in a lot of ways, made the process safer. At the very least, it gave her a greater sense of control over the practice of her magic. Glig was painted over the strip of paper, the rune set in place. Slowly, she drew a circle around the world, accenting it with lashes of her brush before setting it aside to dry. The Nuit intended to alternate between the usage of Roza and Glig, to aid her in the processes of severing and re-attaching her limbs until she felt comfortable with her practice. It was strange to Savis that she'd been a practitioner of Projection for so long, and yet, she'd never sought to stretch her knowledge of it.

Negativity dwells in the mind, she supposed as she looked up from her paints and paper, curious to know what her companion's answer was.
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[Bharani Library] Hollow Points [Mauriel]

Postby Mauriel on September 24th, 2018, 8:46 pm

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Mauriel was slightly disheartened to realize that the undead had already seemingly forgotten about her question about Mauriel herself, but she was too excited about the prospect of hearing stories from such an old being. The woman turned back to her work, seemingly giving the Ethaefal time to mull over her answer. The change in her attitude certainly was stark, but Mauriel's curiosity had, yet again, gotten the better of her. She finally picked up the piece of paper placed in front of her and began folding it like Savis had previously. After all, it wasn't the impoliteness that scared her off earlier, but the fear of unwittingly being dragged into dangerous magic. She no longer felt pressured, so she could relax again.

"I'd actually be very glad to hear your stories! I'm a bard, so any good story hard to come by is precious, additionally so if it's actually true." She began tearing the paper into neat even pieces. She had no idea what Savis was doing with them, but it seemed like she might need some more over the course of the evening. "Would you mind if I ever published a retelling, tho? I want to make an anthology of stories from all around the world one day." She usually didn't ask for permission. Most people she got stories from will be long dead or would not care for a book collecting dust in one of Mizahar's libraries.


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[Bharani Library] Hollow Points [Mauriel]

Postby Savis Maren on September 25th, 2018, 8:34 am

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Savis Maren was acutely aware of the machinations of her mind. The Nuit was intelligent enough to ascertain that her time spent in the sightless hell of the previous season's finale affected her adversely. The Nuit's mind had not, and might never heal from the experience. However, she also realized that it didn't matter to her. Savis Maren emerged from the sightless hell with a vision for her future, one firmly entrenched in the culture and lifestyle of the reigning 'overlords' of the city - the Ethaefal.

Pushing her presence on such beings, demanding of them and twisting them towards her purposes was dominant in her thoughts. It seemed that the Ethaefal before her, however, was troubled. Had she, perhaps, wished to share her tales after all? Clearly, the answer she wove told her of her storytelling practice. A songbird, hm? Perhaps the Nuit was by and far taking the wrong approach with this one.

A smile wove upon the undead's countenance as she shook her head, frigid digits set on the table as she watched the Ethaefal mimic her tearing of the sheet from earlier in the evening. The question she asked next brought a much wider smile upon her lips. Her lips were spread wide, the black skin revealing her yellowed teeth and black tongue. Her gums shared a similar coloration, which was rather grotesque to most upon first sight.

Savis Maren quickly drew her expression to a more refined state. The idea that Little Miss Dazzling presented to her next had her laughter booming again. However, there was no snideness to it, no mockery. Rather, Savis nodded her head eagerly, taking the sheets of paper from Mauriel once she completed tearing them. The Nuit was now with far more pieces than she needed, though perhaps that was a sign that Little Miss Dazzling wanted to stay the night with her, yet. Savis Maren was unsure of the composition of the immortal Ethaefal. She did not know if they required rest or food, but while Mauriel made no such complaints, they'd not be tested to indulge in them.

"Would I mind? Certainly not, my dear Miss Dazzling. However, I've forgotten about you in my musings. I think, before I address my own past, or rather... expand upon it... Your own story should be told. If we are, and I hope we can, to become fast friends, then I'd much like to know the harrowing journey of my dear friend Dazzling's adventures through the stars."

Savis Maren's unnerving, silver gaze set upon Mauriel in earnest. Mirth suffused into her tone, the high dulcet tunes enmeshing with almost girlish laughter. Savis was enjoying herself at this point, quite disarmed by dear Miss Dazzling and the offer of her story being recounted through the ages.

Perhaps, I'll even hear her utter them on the streets. Lhavit deserves to know of the story of Savis Maren, and this woman... will be my voice.

The Nuit, as she allowed Mauriel her time to begin her tellings or accept her proposition, shifted her fingers to traverse the perforations along the strips of paper Mauriel created for her. The mage let a soft smile part her lips before she began her indulgence in Glyphing anew. Slowly, she began to trace the letters of Roza once again, but she stopped as her brushed dabbed into the black paints she kept beside her.

No, I have plenty of these runes. Blindly practicing the same Glyphs won't get me anywhere. As dear Miss Dazzling astounds me with her story, I'll shift my focus from Glyphs to augment Projection to tags that might aid in Animation. I've not yet tried to combine Glyphing into my craft of choice, she mused.

Savis Maren began to muse, to reflect upon the language of Nader-Canoch. As she did so, she shifted her gaze, following the table until she found the book on the language she'd uncovered earlier. Ancient Words for Ancient Fools read the title, clearly some Ethaefal's idea of a joke. The Nuit opened the book before turning her gaze to meet Mauriel,

"Please, don't think me unattentive, my dear Miss Dazzling. I'm very interested to hear your tale and how you spin it," she assured the Ethaefal.
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[Bharani Library] Hollow Points [Mauriel]

Postby Mauriel on September 26th, 2018, 3:07 pm

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As the Ethaefal turned to meet Savis' gaze upon asking the question, she was met with a grotesque image, deep blackness staring back at her from the creature's mouth, both her tongue and gums discolored completely. Despite her best efforts, Mauriel recoiled at the sight, then proceeded to apologize for her visible reaction. "I'm sorry, just... It takes some getting used to." She felt stupid for probably hurting her yet again over her appearance after just getting her to smile at something, but she could not help herself. Her unease moved down to her stomach, nausea beginning to settle in.

Though she recoiled from the word 'friend' almost as much as from the rotting flesh of her companion, and not just for the unfortunate start of her interaction, Mauriel could not resist a good storytelling challenge. She briefly wondered if the phrasing was just a part of the competitive woman's personality, or had she seen a bit into the Ethaefal's wish to keep things concealed and try to play her. It did not matter either way, since if it were a play, Savis' move won.

Already accustomed to the woman glyphing, the Ethaefal paid it no more attention. She didn't notice or connect the symbols written, nor worry about her companion's attention. Unsure of whether the woman just had a large attention span or used her as a side-entertainment while studying what was truly important to her, Mauriel started just seeing herself again, as she wondered how to package her story this time. She was adamant to be honest, as much as it pained her, for she thought if anyone, Savis was her best bet for a friend she won't feel too attached to to leave.

"As I mentioned, I am only a season old, not even that yet," she began, finding what was already shared to be a good segue into the rest. "I fell on 21st of Summer. I'm unsure how much you know about my kind, so interrupt me if I get too wrapped up in explanations."

"What we are, essentially, is mortal seemings of the souls once taken out of the cycle of life by either Syna or Leth. We are thrust back into a cycle of life, many believe because of a fissure in the Gods' domains that we fall through. I don't doubt that's true, but I don't feel like my fall personally was an accident." As her story moved from generalities into the realm of personal, her voice became weaker and quieter. She did not stop speaking, but it was as if she was battling a force trying to take said voice away. "I don't remember much of my lives before Leth had taken me in, though I remember that I always dabbled in music and storytelling. I was a Vantha man when my soul was taken, and an Akvatari woman before that. If we stick around 'til morning, you may get to see her," she said, chuckling. She took pleasure in not explaining what Akvatari were specifically, as most people in Lhavit seemed to have no idea, and it amused her to see reactions to her transformations, as well as curiosity, but polite hesitation to ask.

"The reason I believe my fall is not an accident," she continued, letting go of her amusement, "was because I also don't think I ever deserved to be up there. I feel almost as if Leth took me in to give me a chance to do things I seem to be incapable to do with wisdom accumulated in a single lifetime. I always dreamed of the horizon, exploring different cultures, telling stories, and enabling people to learn from each other, and yet I never left my petching home city in any lifetime that I have any recollection of. I was just stuck with everyday concerns, important things, like family, friends, sheer survival, customs, expectations, comforts..." As much as she would try to hide it, her voice accumulated more and more disdain, reflecting what she thought of herself and her own behavior, culminating in her cussing and almost ranting about things that kept her docile before. "I don't think that was deserving of Leth. I just think he saw my struggle to change and saw something in me that I struggle to see myself that would make me deserving of this chance. Maybe other Ethaefal fell by accident of fate, but I'm pretty sure I received the boot in order to try and sort myself out already."

Mauriel paused. She got too worked up. Her voice was respectfully quiet still, but angry, maybe even threateningly aggressive, although her feelings were directed towards herself. One of the headaches that have been plaguing her in the past days began to settle in along with her nausea, and she cursed herself for yet again picking the library over moonlight. She received some exposure when she worked in Scholar's Demise at least, because Aleah set it up to be available for her own sake, but here the large shadows of the lines and lines of shelves prevented any from touching her skin. Like many times in the past few days, she again thought about asking her bosses for a shift change to accommodate her needs of moonlight, yet her vanity got the better of her, as she would not deny herself the pleasure of impressing the guests with her celestial appearance.

"So if you're really looking for a friend," she continued bitterly, "perhaps you ought to look elsewhere." She wondered whether she should explain why, but the litany of reasons coming to her when she thought about it were far from what she initially intended with the sentence, so she opted to leave it to interpretation.

Mauriel felt a great relief upon vocalizing what she just vocalized. The closest she ever got to uttering any of this was when she told Haneht briefly about how she felt, but that was nowhere near as complete as what she said now. She felt too confused and vulnerable back then to gather the strength to say something, while this woman began to make her feel the opposite. Insecurity over the mention of magic was long gone, and her headache made her irritable and impulsive. The words rolled off her tongue as if desperately trying to escape and finally freed by some odd combination of mental processes she was enduring.

After a brief pause, that could account for any responses in the meantime, she added. "I don't suppose anything since my fall was worth of note, as what I experienced was mostly incredible kindness and generosity of people here." She still guarded Haneht's secret, even over her own ones apparently, though both of them had secrets intertwined in their encounter. "I did examine the artifact before its destruction earlier this season, though," she noted. That was indeed interesting, and she thought that if Savis had not done the same she would maybe want a recount of what Mauriel had seen. She was a mage, after all, so maybe she could shed some light on what it was.


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[Bharani Library] Hollow Points [Mauriel]

Postby Savis Maren on September 27th, 2018, 12:54 am

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Savis Maren was heatedly jealoius of the Ethaefal's beauty, but she turned such issues aside. Mauriel, as she recoiled, did not draw the Nuit's ire, but rather, the smile resumed brighter than before. Beauty eluded Savis Maren, her shell once a relatively good-looking woman gturned grotesque by the effects of the Nuit body transfer. The Animator was used to it by now, and when her companion apologized for what were perceived slights (albeit with an educated guess) the Nuit stopped with with easy laughter. The second recoil, from the mention of the word friend didn't truly matter to the Nuit either.

Savis Maren never felt that she had friends. Years four-score in number and more were spent without such, and even in the present day, the only being the Nuit felt a touch of affection for was Haneht. The Eypharian pulled another side from the Nuit, nurturing and attentive, but she'd never seen him again after the one day they spent in the fog together. Now? Savis Maren recalled those memories fondly, but she was a different undead monster than the one that entered the Twuele half rotted in the beginning of the season.

The Glyphs that Savis Maren created were set aside and the idea of utilizing Glyphs for Animation crossed her mind in earnest. Of course, with no project currently on the Nuit's mind, there was no need to prepare glyphs ahead of time, and thus, a different ploy came to her mind. The Nuit left her tools in her room in the Solar Winds apartment, the mirror she needed for another sort of Glyph so far away.

Her hopes dashed in the moment, Savis Maren paid full and undivided attention to her companion's explanation. The Ethaefal were godly beings, the woman affirmed it herself. What Savis Maren didn't know was how such divine, immortal beings camer to Mizahar at all. They were expelled from the realm of the Gods? Mauriel mentioned a cycle of life and death?

Was the preservation of my life so long ago... for no reason? Time stops for no man... but did it need to? What if I was allowed to die... Who... what would I be now?

The concept of reincarnation chilled Savis Maren to the bone. Her eyes widened as while Mauriel told her story, a burgeoning fury arose within her The Ethaefal had her story of fears of the unknown, she held her insecurities revolving around her devotion and her nature as an Ethaefal.

So if you're looking for a friend, perhaops you ought to look elsewhere.

The phrase turned in Savis Maren's skull, her head shaking as she pulled at the wellspring of her djed. The woman's wide, silver eyes flickered to life, pulling at the depths of her soul and pulling it into her gaze. The Sight flickered to life at her command, chills of rare pleasure flowing through her before she looked over the Ethaefal's aura.

The Ethaefal's divinity did not enlarge her aura, it seemed. Her presence was small, the size of any mortal's and with that the Nuit was satisfied. She watched the Eth, she listened to the desire for escape laden in her lovely voice. The aura about her was tense and rigid, the normal, flowing presence of a person's presence frigid with the anxiety in her words. Savis Maren didn't attempt to be sympathetic. There was little love lost between the two immortals, and the Nuit clearly didn't consider a friend just yet.

"Perhaps I've adopted the wrong word. I believe that our association is useful. A songbird such as yourself is an acceptable match with an undead being with many songs that need singing. Your experience with death has been... different with mine. You mentioned the cycle of life, being pulled in and thrust out of it. You mentioned a fall, plummetting to the earth and perpetuating the life of a songbird throughout various reincarnations. It's a far different life than I've lived and it makes me wonder... Did you take the life of a songbird out of habit? Did you remember your previous life and take to a habit known throughout your various existences?"

Savis Maren's questions were varied and curious, for the woman so craved living flesh. But, if she were to die and come back as something else with no memory of her previous lives... then she'd keep her existence and never doubt it again.
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[Bharani Library] Hollow Points [Mauriel]

Postby Mauriel on September 27th, 2018, 2:29 am

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The Ethaefal was slightly surprised for the complete disregard of the last thing she mentioned, thinking it'd be of note to a mage. Perhaps Savis examined it herself? Or maybe now that the dust has settled and it was clear that it was the cause of the awful fog, she was not eager to discuss it? Either way, her questions were clearly a more pressing matter to the undead, so Mauriel indulged.

"No, I wouldn't say it's a habit. At least not at any sort of conscious level, habit of a soul perhaps, though I know nothing about souls beyond what I remember of my experience with mine. I repeated those inclinations despite not having any memory of my previous lives numerous times, and now I have only vague awareness of what happened in those lives and that is solely because Leth has gifted me that awareness. Most of what I remember are emotions, honestly, and some random unconnected pieces of information. As I understand it, normal people don't retain any memory of their past lives whatsoever." Noticing she went on a bit of a tangent, she tied it back to her main point. "For something to be a habit, it would have to be done because one already knows it and is comfortable with it. For most of my lives I had to relearn things related to my occupation, and even now I have not retained even remotely the skills I used to have."

She never lamented that fact too much, but thinking about it, full cumulative knowledge of all of her lifetimes would make her quite skilled in various things. And yet, her material body could probably not retain that amount of knowledge, for it spanned indefinitely for all she knew. And to have a recollection of only one or a couple of lives would probably cause a lot of identity struggles, making her feel as though she's living a continuation of said past life. This seemed to be the best way to cast one back into the world, indeed.


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[Bharani Library] Hollow Points [Mauriel]

Postby Savis Maren on September 28th, 2018, 2:40 pm

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Savis Maren did not wish to re-visit the darkness she'd left behind. She didn't want to think about, or imagine, what the cause of her blindness was. There was little curiosity behind the crippling fear that she sought so desperately to avoid. Perhaps other souls who'd suffered the ill effects of the artefact were differently inclined. Savis Maren was not ashamed of her cowardice, but she certainly wouldn't bring it up of her own accord. Instead, the Nuit listened to her companion's assessment. Listening to the perspective of an Ethaefal, however much it unsettled the undead, was invaluable. Learning about the nature of the afterlife, no matter how perverse the concept of it was to her, was something she was grateful to Mauriel for.

The Nuit didn't mind the Ethaefal's indulgence into what she considered to bit of philosophy. No recollection of the past answered Savis Maren's question to the letter, and she was glad for the ability to respect her existence without being further plagued with the intoxicating thought of suicide. The knowledge Savis Maren held, especially given that she was already eternal, was not likely to return through reincarnation. And so... the Ethaefal cast out the Nuit's doubts without realizing it. When Mauriel ceased speaking she left the Nuit with a few things to consider. The undead, however, did not merely listen to her. She felt the woman's aura as she spoke. Slowly, it turned calmer, the flaring emotions of before wilting away as seemed to consume with the tangent she fell into. The Nuit was curious to watch how her aura turned fluid and stretched about the woman as she spoke. Amusement set about the undead's mind as she nodded in understanding.

"I see. I disagree with you, however. Habits are formed out of instinct, not necessarily knowledge. One does not pick up a habit for biting their nails because it is useful to them. Some are born from anxiety, others are born from repetition. I asked in an effort to distinguish whether or not past and future lives were of any interest to me. Thankfully, they are not," she mused, the Sight flickering from her eyes as she leaned forward to properly consider the Ethaefal.

"Ah, Miss Dazzling, I never thought you'd have such a penchant for philosophizing. I'd very much enjoy discussing such things with you and delving into the mindset of eternal beings. You see, much of Lhavit is mortal and cannot fathom the concept of eternity. You... you are young and your future might come to know Tanroa's passage as I have," she mused. An idea struck the Nuit, a thought that cast upon her lips in the form of a wide smile.

"Perhaps, Mauriel, you'd care to assist me in something. Our conversation has instilled an idea within me. Something that might serve as a reminder of this evening. For you, it will be a chance to see the pursuit of the arcane and learn the nature of the soul. For me? A useful tool born from your song craft."
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Savis Maren
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[Bharani Library] Hollow Points [Mauriel]

Postby Mauriel on September 30th, 2018, 9:33 am

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It was very hard for Mauriel to read Savis Maren, for she was hardly expressive, and when she was it seems to require quite a bit of effort on her part. The Ethaefal occasionally attributed this or that to the glisten in the undead's eyes, but had soon found it a fruitless effort. The tone of her voice was the sole that revealed the mental state of her companion, and Mauriel yearned for more. This was making her somewhat uncomfortable, and more than a little bit curious. At least Savis' impulsiveness gave her a bit of a window into who she was before she collected her composure, though she still seemed to be playing games, just different ones.

Upon her remark about habits, the blonde thought for a second before her retort. "I'm not sure that's quite right..." Another pause. "They certainly are born out of repetition, but they don't have to be instinctive to form, I don't think. But they can be. Are you proposing that my soul has an instinct for song and story?" Her smile might have looked demeaning as she said that, but she was actually engaged in admiration of the scope of such a statement.

Savis seemed to enjoy assuming the role of a narrator of her own life almost. She seemed to talk to Mauriel to set the record straight for the nonexistent observesr as much as to actually get something across to her interlocutor. The Ethaefal liked this flair for the dramatic, it accentuated the already eccentric personality. "Tanora?" Mauriel had only tangential knowledge of the deity. "She appointed Syna and Leth, right? Does she preside over time? I suppose that'd make sense, they do serve as a celestial clock of sorts." Beyond the obvious switch between day and night, the Gods could be used to tell time quite a bit more precisely, both at a smaller level such as bells and chimes, and at a bigger one such as seasons.

When the undead offered her the tutoring in the arcane again, Mauriel's earlier anxieties were reinvigorated, though quenched a bit by the newfound friendliness of the undead. "I'm afraid you've driven me away from such ideas earlier when you warned me about how they may affect the mind. If there'll be any such dangers, I'd like to know them first." For a moment, she wondered whether she will indeed be warned, but given the undead's unfortunate past with magic, she thought it must not have been an accident that she made it a point not to pressure Mauriel into it uninformed.

If she was convincingly reassured of the safety of the procedure, she'd agree and wait for Savis' instructions.


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Mauriel
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