[Flashback] A Chance Meeting

[Andresciel]

11th of Summer, 509

The Mage Knight's cloaked form moved towards the hill that stood out ahead, his eyes darting about to check for ambush, should there be one. He kept his paper and ink at his side, ready to draw a glyph, one glyphed paper in hand. It was imbued with his Fire Reimancy, a special concentration ready to burst into flames at his use.

But he had not come for combat, instead, he took time from his training in order to find a quiet place for his prayers to Yahal, contemplating his God, and the ways. He was an avid follower of the Lord of Purity, listening to the Priestess when she spoke. However, this was the first time in a while that he had left the city to seek solace.

He was stumbling up the hill when he smelled something, like smoke. It set him off running up the hill, and crossing over it, only to find a camp. What was a camp doing out this far, He wondered, his eyes looking about.

"Hello, Anyone here?" The Mage Knight called, drawing in his Djed just in case, the wind picking up as it swirled around his body, revealing the leather armor beneath, "Hello? I am Andresciel, Knight of Syliras."

[Tessa Poe]

"Pox on it!" Tessa muttered as a voice called out from back towards her camp, apparently belonging to a knight, at least that's what he said, and it was definitely a man's voice. Regardless of who it was their shout had put flight to the pair of birds she'd been taking aim at, and as they winged their way away Tessa watched her dinner go with them. She came out of her crouch and trudged back towards her camp, slipping her unfired sling shot back into her coat and trying to remember what she had left in her pack. She was reasonably sure there was some salt beef left and though she'd been hoping to save that... food was food at the end of the day.

She broke the crown of the hill and warily scanned her little camp, hand hovering close to the hilt of her sword as she caught sight of the man who'd called himself a knight. He was tall, blond hair ruffled by the wind whipping his long cloak around him that also revealed his professional seeming leather armour. While It was entirely possible he was a Knight as he'd said it wasn't something she was happy leaving to faith in a stranger's word, hence the cautious attitude. Still you'd have to be pretty damn suicidal to claim the title of knight if you wasn't true. That meant best to be safe rather than sorry, if he was a knight she really didn't want to offend him. She hesitated for a moment, the breeze ruffling through the grass around her as she tried to decide which was the best way to greet him. It was like she'd ever had that much to do with the Knights before, other than brief greetings when she passed them on the road.

"Hello, Sir Andresciel was it?" she said with a deep, if awkward bow, doing her best to be formal and respectful, "so… ummm… what... brings you out this way? Are you patrolling the road? Is there a problem?" She really had no idea why a Knight would be out here alone, it wasn't common practice for them to go on patrol without support was it? Or maybe this one just had that much faith in his abilities that he could afford to do so? If he was that good then it was definitely a good idea to be polite, and thinking of it she really should introduce herself. “My name’s Tessa, Tessa Poe, oh and… pleased to make your acquaintance?” She could feel her nerves starting to jangle again as hand crept up, running through her hair and doing her best to tidy it blindly. She really had no idea why company always seemed to appear when she was looking at her worst.

[Andresciel]

"Ah. You fear me, why?" He asked, his voice soft and respectful as he relaxed his guard, the wind vanishing from around him as he crossed his arms, revealing the gauntlets that covered his arms, keeping them safe from his fighting style. "I be a Mage Knight of Syliras, upon my honor, friend."

He stood at a full Six foot two, with his light blonde hair falling before his eyes as he watched the female before him. He took in her tense stance with a single look and brought his hands up, lowering them to the ground in a show of peace, his eyes remaining locked upon her own. He wasn't one for conversations normally.

"Nay, Tessa, I am simply out for a walk. There be nothing wrong that I know of when I left Syliras earlier. And you probably wonder why I'm alone?" He chuckles, shaking his head "My Reimancy keeps me somewhat safe from bandits and other creatures." He shrugged his shoulders, the cloak moving with the movement as he watched her.

He shook his head "Plus, I was giving time to my God, Yahal. Prehaps you know of him?" He asked, as he finally sat down, to show that he truly meant no harm at all. His blue eyes, however, remained sharp and upon her in case of a move. He wasn't one to trust strangers either, no matter how pretty they may be, He hadn't become a Mage by being stupid.

[Tessa Poe]

Though perhaps he'd hoped to reassure her with his gesture of peace and seating himself within her camp it hadn't quite worked, not with his admission that he was a mage. She knew little of magic, it wasn't something that you usually came across, at least not so openly. There were the stories though, about how it'd broken and ruined the world... how those that used it would eventually lose their minds while their bodies would end up being twisted by their unnatural powers... and here was one of them sitting in her camp as if it was perfectly normal! What the hells was she supposed to do now? Well she couldn't be impolite, he was still a Knight as far as she knew and if he were to take action on some offence no-one would question it, and he was a mage too, who knew what he was capable of? There might not even be enough of her left to mark where she'd fallen! No, she really didn't want to provoke him into doing something... magical, so... stay calm, or at least try to, be nice and polite and just hope he went away soon. That was about all she could do now.

"It's not that I fear you Sir Andresciel, but you've always got to be careful when you meet strangers on the road. Never know who's walking the land out here. Though if you have... magical... talents then I suppose there's not much for you to fear." Tessa kept her tone neutral and respectful, though she couldn't stop her tongue stumbling over the word 'magical'. She walked slowly into her camp, seating herself on the opposite side of her little fire from him. Close enough to be polite, not too close in case... well in case he did something magical. She made sure to keep her hands well away from her weapons as she fussed with her coat, moving it into a more comfortable position with its usual slight jingle of chainmail.

She watched him as he sat, apparently making no threatening moves, but again she had no idea what he was capable of. Best to keep him talking, and then, then once he was satisfied she was about innocent business and not worthy of his notice he might move on. "I'm afraid I know little of the Gods Ser Andresciel, it was never something that we had much time for when I was a child. I would like to hear of your God though, that is if you wouldn’t mind? " She knew was speaking too formally, but it was that or she'd just start babbling, and that might irritate him. So she held herself tensely, carefully watching her words and making sure she kept her tone polite. Hopefully he’d get started on the subject of Yahal, and then all she’d have to do was nod and smile while desperately trying not to panic.

[Andresciel]

"Relax." He stated as he shook his head "You have my oath, I am completely sane, and will not use my magical arts without cause. Now, if something attacks me or you, I will defend us, but, I rarely use my magics." He brought his hands up, placing them together on his lap as he sought to calm her, his head shaking as he smiled.

"Yahal, God of Faithfulness and Purity, who I have followed since the day I became a Knight." He smiles, closing his eyes, "He is a noble God to follow, true? And he will grant his truly faithful a Gnosis of Strength, but I have yet to be deemed worthy. He requires sacrifice, literal or metaphorical. I am sacrificing my training for time in contemplation, and I do that in the wilds." He smiles, shaking his head again.

One could tell from his voice that he was calm, level-headed and gentle. The way his fingers came down to find a flower amid the weeds and pluck it so easily showed his true gentleness, and his blue eyes shimmered with joy. "Plus, I like to get away from the hustle bustle of the city, ya know? Its just not for a quiet guy like me." He laughed nervously, obviously unsure of himself as he looked down, going completely silent.

"What am I doing?" He whispered, hoping she wouldn't hear, "I doubt she will befriend me, and yet here I am babbling like a fool."

[Tessa Poe]

Tessa settled back a little, her muscles untensing as she started to feel slightly more relaxed, just listening to him to talk. It's true he was a... a mage, but he seemed calm and rational enough, and he was a knight too. They didn't let just anyone into the knights now did they? Maybe he was fairly new to the whole, magic, thing? That might be why he seemed so normal and together? But then what did she know? Did you get crazier the more you used it, or did it? What word were you supposed to use? Or maybe you just started off crazy and that's why you started doing anything with magic in the first place? She just couldn't quite figure it out, why would someone who seemed so nice and normal was willing to put himself so at risk. It wasn’t like people didn’t know the stories, whether or not they started out like Andresceil was, and only used it when they had to, surely there was always the temptation to use more and more of it? She remembered her Da’s words when he first started training her with a sword, that it was a last resort, because otherwise every problem’s solution came from the sword. Was the same true with magic? She just didn’t know, and besides, it wasn't the sort of thing you could just ask someone, especially someone you'd just met. Probably better to just try and not think too much about it. He’d chosen his path for his own reasons, and it was none of her business what those reasons were.

She chuckled slightly at his comment about the city, finding welcome relief in the sound as she nodded easily in agreement with him. "I pretty much live out here, can't spend too long in the city. It's too cramped and crowded... never could figure out how the people there cope with all that stone overhead, and there's no light, no breeze... oh, sorry, I don't want it to sound like I'm bad mouthing the city or anything like that, it's just not for me, you know?" She didn't know if that had been a stupid thing to say, the Knights had built the place as far as she knew and they had a lot to be proud of. The only reason she could live out here as she did was that they kept the roads reasonably secure. She could only hope that he wasn't the type to get easily offended, he didn't seem it so far at least... in fact he seemed, wait, was he nervous? Him? A Knight of Syliras and a Mage, nervous?

[Andresciel]

He shook his head, yawning as he rubbed his jaw "I am not so easily offended as my brothers and sisters, but I agree with you as well. Syliras isn't my kinda place. I prefer the open, more diverse plains around it." He chuckles, shaking his head, as he looks at her, tilting his head. "You need not worry. I am not insane, I have not ever even overgiven with my Djed." He smiled to reassure her.

The Tall Mage looked down at the camp fire, nervous as could be. He wasn't the type to confront strangers, but this one seemed so like him, perhaps he could befriend her. "Personally, I like to sleep under the stars every so often. It helps to clear my mind, and sense of smell from the city. Plus, it gets me closer to the place that holds my heart." He smiles softly, speaking of Nature, of the forests and the roaming winds. "Can you hear it? The wind blowing? The leaves rustling? It calls to me where the city doesn't. Its a type of longing in me, for the peace of the forest."

He shook his head, knowing his was rambling "Sorry, I babble when I'm nervous. As you can probably tell, I don't have many friends. Few trust a mage in this day. All about us breaking the world and some such." He shrugs, sighing "But I hope to overcome that curse, to find a way to lead the insane mages out of the darkness and into the light of sanity once more." He drew a symbol, a glyph in the dirt, quite idlely, but he wasn't the type to keep still easily.

[Tessa Poe]

She breathed a sigh of relief as he spoke, thankful that he wasn't the type to take offence at her words. Things would have ended badly for her she was sure if he had been. She leant back a little further with a jingle of chainmail, basking in the early afternoon sun, worries over dinner quite forgotten, though that might have something to do with it being replaced by worries over her guest. She really wasn't sure what to make of him, on the one hand he seemed to want to reach out, to talk to her and all, but on the other he kept talking about his... his magic and that just made her so very uncomfortable. It was like being constantly reminded that he could probably end her with a wave of his hand, and while he might say that he'd never do that, who knew with a mage?

She stayed quiet as he kept talking, again apparently in the hope that'd it reassure her, but she'd never heard some of them before. It was sort of surprising that he was this open about it all, and if she was entirely honest if it wasn't for the fact that he was a knight she'd have probably asked him to leave, or at least hinted at it. Despite her worries though she had to admit to some curiosity about it all, and since he was being so open about it maybe it would be best to ask him... forewarned is forearmed as her Da always said, and the more she knew about... magic... the better prepared she'd be if she ever had to face it. She had to suppress a shiver at the thought, it wasn't exactly a comforting one, at all. There were good reasons why people didn’t exactly welcome mages with open arms, and yet here was hoping to change their perceptions? What could he hope to achieve as one man? Every single horror story of a… mage… doing something would tar him, taint his reputation, never mind the events of the Valterian and what it had done to the world… and yet here he was seemingly entirely earnest in his intentions to reverse all that. It was admirable in some ways, but so unlikely in others.

"Overgive? Djed? I'm sorry, I don't know all that much about... you know... but if it helps you certainly don't seem like you're, well crazy, or anything like that." There, that had been a polite enough inquiry hadn't it? Or at least an implied inquiry, whether or not he chose to go into detail was up to him really. At least he seemed to be moving on to a more pleasant subject, one that didn't scare her half witless. She couldn't keep the look of surprise from her face though at his last words, so close to ones she'd used herself, well aside from the mage bit. She smiled, genuinely now as she looked over her small fire at him, and her voice lit up with a little more warmth as she spoke. "There is something so very refreshing about being out here, and every day when you wake up you know there's nothing to stop you going off to see whatever you want. If I didn't have to go back to the city every so often for supplies and all I'd probably never go there at all… and please, don’t worry about being nervous, I’m… much the same with new people, if it wasn’t for the fact that you’re a knight and all I know I’d be much the same… and I have no idea why I just said that." Tessa chewed on her lip in thought as she realised exactly what words had come from her mouth, that’s what she got for not concentrating… and now she was back to worrying as to his reaction. Gods this wasn’t exactly her ideal afternoon.

[Andresciel]

He laughed at her words, cheered by it. "Outside those walls, I wish I wasn't a Knight." He shook his head and touched the glyph he had drawn with his fingers. He spread a bit of Djed into it, just to see the glow before letting it die out. He shook his head "Djed is life force, our life, put into the form of magic. Overgiving is when we use too much. Its what drives us to the point of madness and beyond."


He shook his head "But enough about such a subject. I wish to hear of your travels if I may? I don't travel often, but I want to. I want to see the world, all of it. Denval, Sunberth, even the cold Avanthal, and I hate the bloody cold." He laughs softly, so easy going now that he had relaxed. "Though if you wish to learn more about Djed and its uses, I will tell you what I know. You should know what makes you so scared, am I right?" He chuckles, rubbing his jaw as his eyes came back up to look at her. "And thank you, most people assume that being a Mage, I am insane ya know."

[Tessa Poe]

She opened her mouth to reply to his question, happy to be back on familiar ground and away from talk of magic and what it was. By the sounds of it, it was as horrible as she thought, to use your own life force to fuel it, to channel yourself into what you did? It sounded... evil. That was the only word she had for it, no wonder those who used it went mad, they were bleeding themselves dry in the pursuit of power. But it seemed this knight had it under control, that he knew what he was doing with it. It was strange, she'd always thought mages were all the same, maybe she was wrong though? Maybe there more like Andresciel out there?

She smiled happily, about to speak until she caught sight of the glow over the flickering flames of the fire and all of a sudden she was tense again, what was he doing over there? That light, it hadn't come from the fire, she couldn't see, where it'd come from was he doing some kind of magic? What in the hells...? And after all he'd said about never using it unnecessarily!? Apparently that was all just bullshyke! He could be doing anything over there! Before she realised what she was doing Tessa was on her feet and backing away, the fear back in her eyes again as they narrowed at Andresciel. Knight or not he'd just done precisely what he said he'd not, and suddenly she remembered just how vulnerable she was out here with him. To think she'd let his kind words and shy attitude sway her, she was lucky he'd shown his true colours before it'd gone any further, before she'd started to trust him more than she'd started to.

She realised she was breathing hard, standing in a fighting crouch with her eyes wide as they flicked around the area. She was trying to work out if she could outrun him, to make it to cover before he could stop her... but there didn't seem to be any of any note nearby. She was trapped here with him. Maybe, maybe she could appeal to his honour as a Knight? "What, what did you just do? You said you never used your magic unless you needed it, but you just did, didn't you!?" Tessa practically spat the word 'magic' as her voice rang out. There wasn't a trace of hesitation in it, nor a tremor of fear, there wasn't time to be afraid, or to worry, there was just her, and the mage. She was making an effort to keep her hand away from the hilt of sword, feeling it tremble before she clenched her fist to stop it. She stood, staring at him defiantly and waiting for his answer... but then what exactly could he say?