[Flashback]Reduce the darkness (Eridanus)

[Nai'shee]

23rd of Spring, 505AV You must escape. Her legs hurt from running. Every step was like a hell for her. But she had to run away. There was no turning back now. Those wasn't Zeltivan guards who wouldn't hurt her. This was serious. She had to push herself a little more. She had to find place to hide. Everything seemed like she was defeated. They wasn't so far away, but she guessed they can't see her anymore in this darkness. She had to find the way out. She was running for a while and she already passed her limit. And here's what happened... That morning she met a strange sailor who just came to the city. He said he knew she's a thief. At first she lied, she told she's not, but she concluded he's not bluffing. He was dressed in long torn suit with a sword under it and he had a hood. He said he is masked and that his job is to catch pirates and all kinds of see criminals. So, he wanted her to replace map which some pirates who were in the city for few days had with fake one, so he could trace them. He offered her fine payment, so she accepted. But, she was caught. And that's how she ended up running for her life. She saw a giant wall, which showed her she was before University of Zeltiva. She assumed they would see her if she entered now, so she kept running with her last force. She intended to use flux if she lose stamina, but she was aware how dangerous it was at this rate, when she is so tired. But she still cared more for her life than for her limbs. She turned left at the corner and climbed a tree abroad wall, trying to reach it. Of course, they wouldn't let everybody get in that easily, she had to catch the edge of the wall while jumping and climb up. She fallen to the other side of a wall, without being able to stand anymore. She wasn't sure if she lost conscience or not, but she knew one thing: she escaped. This sure was dangerous. But they will never find her here. She wasn't sure how much time passed, she just knew she felt relived. Her legs didn't hurt anymore and she wasn't tired. It was late night, she must fell asleep for few hours after she felt. She jumped up, glad she's okay, glad they didn't find her, glad that she survived. She must stop with these dangerous jobs already. But yet, she don't want to. She considers it as a challenge. Which kind of human escapes the challenge? She heard something behind the corner. If she remember well, there's training ground around there. She wanted to yell, but she still had strange feeling that somebody's following her, so she slowly approached the place sound came from. When she saw a source of the noise she was shocked. She felt like she could watch that creature her entire life and never be less surprised, or less respective. It was beautiful. She was behind it, so she couldn't see which gender is it, but she assumed it's male. He had a long, white hair, with blue reflection on it, even in the middle of night, like this. And he had horns too. Nai'shee have seen many different races, but non of them had horns. This creature didn't belong to Mizahar, it was something above, maybe even god. He seemed like trying hard practicing something. She just stood there staring at him.

[Eridanus]

It was night, and Eridanus emerged from a building after having read an article about flux. It was a series of notes bounded together that he borrowed from the cousin of his friend who was his fellow course-mate in magecrafting who happened to be studying in the University as well.

The book, or bound parchment, was called "Disharmony of Flux" by a certain "Wise Watcher", which was quite certainly not a real name, and Eri believed that the author was hiding his identity to avoid prosecution from flux junkies.

The book disproved many supposed theories that flux was meant as a way to balance one's astral energies and help one's body reach full potential, and the general idea portrayed was that flux was disharmonious to the body and to the health, thus its title.

It did so with not only rhetoric and arguments that followed a train of logic, it also did so citing various quotes from other books, as well as personal anecdotes and by adding interviews from victims of overgiving and of the "euphoria" - a form of sweet whispers that was most prevalent among flux users.

Eridanus was quite aware of the dangers of flux, for he was no new wielder of the magic, and he quite agreed with the author. Though he had some points of contention regarding the use of certain cross-references the writer used, the general idea was there, and he was tempted to ask his friend's cousin if he personally knew this "Wise Watcher".

The night air was cooling to the lungs, and the ethaefal breathed in deeply, enjoying the feel of the moon on his skin. Whether it was real or merely imagined, the ethaefal enjoyed feeling the slight tingle of the manifestation of Leth's gaze on him, and it helped in part to remind him that Leth was still somewhere up there, possibly watching over him.

The campus was quiet, for this area was busy during the day but often empty during the night, when students often retire to their dorms or gathered elsewhere. There was a small clearing behind the building he had been studying in, and so he proceeded there to do a little self-training, for in his celestial form he was free from mortal wants and thus did not feel hunger, thirst, and to a reasonable extent, fatigue. He would feel fatigue from physical exertions of course, but never from lack of sleep.

And so he proceeded to practice his swordsmanship. The University frowned upon openly carrying real weapons about for it was supposed to be a place of peace of learning, and so he only kept his assassin's dagger hidden in the folds of his tunic in case of emergencies. His swords had been kept securely locked in his dorm room, and instead he carried a single wooden practice sword that his fellow dorm-mate (his neighbor, for the ethaefal lived in a single room) lent him for his parents were carpenters.

He openly wore his wooden sword by his sash, which actually meant something in the sub-culture of students into swordsmanship. It meant that he was always open to a practice duel, and it was something his neighbor had told him when Eridanus first moved into the dorm while he had his twin blades strapped to his back.

He now practised with his wooden sword, executing a progression of drills that gradually got faster and faster, his motions and his blade a whir in the air as he challenged himself to go beyond his limits, to constantly push the boundaries of his proficiency with the art to improve.

So engrossed he was that he did not notice a girl at a distance watching him, and he continued, enthralled in his own dance as he continuously executed cuts and thrusts, parries and re-directions from imaginary attacks that came from multiple directions simultaneously. In his mind he had been hit several times as his movements were not fast enough, and so he urged his body on even more, his agile footwork pounding the ground below him as he quickly pivoted his body in the relevant directions, the wooden weapon adjusting to meet his high standards and expectations.

He had a reputation for being in the top league of swordsmen in the sub-culture for freshmen, and he had no intention of dropping in the unofficial rankings. His pride - along with the pride of the Denvali instructors he learned his art from - would not allow it.

[Nai'shee]

The creature - no, the man, it's not fair to call him by such an awful name - kept practicing. After few moments she was aware he was practicing swordsmanship. He was pretty fast. That made her even more respectful. She always wanted to learn how to fight. If she was a good fighter her life would be much easier. She completely forgot about the pirates from before, but now she imagined being able to fight them. She haven't thought about that for a second. She was too weak, unskilled... or she just didn't practiced? She had enormous wish to show her presence, to talk to the beautiful man, to be as she always was, but she was completely stunned. Everything she could think of was too stupid or awkward, in any case wasn't good enough. After few minutes of watching, she noticed how silly and childish she looks, even more then usually, so she decided to talk to him. She took a deep breath. "Hey there", she whispered loudly. She didn't know why she did it. Maybe because this place was so peaceful, and she didn't want to disturb it's peace or because she was still afraid. Her emotions got back as soon as she realized that this surreal beauty isn't something to be stunned about, even if it's something which deserves some respect. She was about to die few hours ago. She haven't understood that fully up until now. She felt she's a little pale, but her fear gone back to a little cage of her mind to torture her later as she drawn mans attention. She smiled. "Out for a training? Pretty impressive skills you got there."

[Eridanus]

Eridanus fought to keep his form perfect, for the faster he moved and the faster he whirled the messier his form became, the more sloppy his techniques became. It was not acceptable, and so he only allowed himself to slow down by a tiny bit to catch his breath, forcing his mind and body to adapt to this new speed.

Blocking an imaginary sword here, an imaginary axe there, he was nevertheless caught by the tip of a spear that came from his left, and though he spun around fast enough to respond to it his form was too messy that it allowed too many openings.

Too slow, too sloppy.

Beads of sweat were building up, and he constantly controlled his breathing to not allow him to pant heavily, or it would all be over. Under the moonlight, the ethaefal danced from dexterous form to another, yet his expression showed he was still unsatisfied, still pushing the boundaries of his abilities.

Until he heard a small voice from the side.

Instantly from reflexes honed from combat, his body twirled around in that direction, and he unconsciously took a step back and raised his sword as if to defend himself from an attack.

He paused for a moment for that attack to come, only realizing after an awkward moment of silence that he was not in real combat. He had been simply too engrossed in his own training.

What he saw was a young human adolescent looking at him. She continued to comment, and he frowned slightly. There was no way that she was a student here. The University generally required a minimum age, or at least a high enough proficiency in a certain skill to circumvent that rule.

"Unauthorized members of the University are not allowed on school grounds, especially not at this hour," He told her, inadvertently focusing the full attention of his celestial glamor on her.

He remembered what she said, and he dismissed it casually by waving the hand not holding the practice sword, muttering, "Not very impressive... enough to do by, but not enough for anything else."

[Nai'shee]

He turned to face her, still in combat. It seemed like he's defending, with a silly wooden sword, which would make her laugh if she wasn't that confused. In one moment she was afraid she could get hit by his "sword", so she tried to concentrate djed in her legs to dodge, but then she realized he was as confused as she was. She convinced herself not to laugh, but she couldn't stand when he said she is unauthorized to be here. It was probably rude and she was aware he doesn't know anything about her, but it was still silly to tell her she shouldn't be somewhere. "Sorry", she said after quickly surpassing laugh, so it was almost unnoticeable. "Let's don't worry about me. I would be very thankful if you don't report me, I'm really done with running for tonight." Despite her confident words she was a bit afraid of him, she saw he's skilled - or at least more skilled than she was - in fighting, so even if she has time to escape until he calls guards, she wasn't sure if it would be the same if he chased her himself. He was slower then her, indeed, but she didn't know how much he can hide. Maybe he even trains for a guardian, so he's allowed to be here at this time. She thought a bit about how much she can tell, but she decided not to lie this time. This was not just random stranger. Actually, it was, but she felt different. She couldn't lie to him without a good reason. "Well, it is impressive to me. I'm too clumsy to do anything with weapons. I wanted to train, but who would teach a little girl like me?" She was about to tell even more, to tell him that she saves money for boat, so she can't even pay classes, but saving money at that age usually meant one doesn't have parents or that his family is poor, so they're in the most cases some kind of low-level criminals. For Nai'shee both was true at some point, and she shouldn't reveal that until she discover his attitude, so, until then, she tried to act as calm as she was able to.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus shrugged when she asked him not to report her. At least he warned her so if anything happened she would not blame him. That rule was broken all the time anyway, for it was quite impossible to police and enforce such rules on the huge campus grounds. As long as these people do not break any rules or do anything bad to the University, its properties and its members people were generally willing to close an eye.

The ethaefal directed his gaze at her intensely for a moment, wondering if she was just thinking aloud or using the sort of passive-aggressive language that was the innate ability of almost all human females that he had met throughout his two centuries on Mizahar.

"Then don't pick it up. Zeltiva is a peaceful enough city to allow a citizen to survive without bearing arms," He replied, for if she were as clumsy as she claimed with weapons, picking them up would only give her a false sort of confidence that was likely to get her killed by more talented opponents.

It was far better to make smarter decisions to avoid combat altogether, and if worse come to worse simply run away to live another day. If she were already a combatant he might offer a pointer or two, maybe exchange tips. But she was a non-combatant, and he was not willing to lead an innocent down the path of violence and carnage.

Best to leave the bloodshed to the already guilty so that the innocents can live in bliss. It was stupidly idealistic and probably belonged more to fiction novels than in real life, but he continued to hold on to at least a tiny bit of that anachronistic belief.

[Nai'shee]

She already started to enjoy this conversation. She was now sure he wasn't about to do anything dangerous, so she calmed down and smiled. She was already in conversational mood, for which most Zeltivans beg alert for. She was really interesting companion for those who only first met her, but after a while with her you become finical, especially because you never know are her informations truth or lie. "Zeltiva is peaceful city on the outside. Of course, I heard of much worse cities, but you shouldn't judge only by what you're able to see. And, anyways, even if it wasn't like that, I want to become a sailor one day! But if I can't fight I would be treated bad by my crew and captured by some pirates for sure one day." She said all of these like all were facts. But they were for her. She lived dangerous in peaceful city, yet, thank Gods, nobody noticed it. She will become sailor and she need to be the best, after all, not just good enough to be treated respectfully. And, after all, she had to sound confident, because she felt intention to help in that man. She was still wandering what is he. She wanted to ask, but it might sound rude now, so she'll just let him reply and if they seem to get along start to question his origins. If they don't curiosity will make her do the same, but at least it wouldn't matter in that case.

[Eridanus]

The ethaefal scrutinized the girl critically, still wondering what she was doing there. He was generally an introvert most of the time unless his passion could override his quiet personality to seek people, but he was by no means anti-social.

"There are many jobs safer than being a sailor, young lady," Eridanus replied in a steady, unhurried tone. "Especially in a city with the largest concentration of intelligence and creativity all gathered in one compound."

"What is your purpose here, anyway? I don't suppose you want to be a student here?" Eridanus asked, changing the topic. She was an interesting sort of person, and her bubbly and chatty personality appealed to the ethaefal for he was mostly a listener and preferred action over words.

[Nai'shee]

She was really sad when he told her there are many safer jobs than being sailor. At first she was a bit shocked, people usually don't care what will she do of her life, especially when they see her enthusiasm. She really wanted to explain him her wish, but he already changed topic and it would probably be better not to go back on that. What her purpose here? Well, really, what it was? She had no idea. It was logical to leave when she woke up. It's obviously her curiosity that kept her here. But now she found what to do, talking to this man, so she won't go back to the town, especially not now, when she's not sleepy, so she would spend hours alone in some dark corner or hidden in someone's yard. It was really complicated to be a night animal here and yet unnoticeable at day light. "I don't really have any, not anymore", she replied. She wasn't sure what else should she say. She can't tell him how she really got here, but she thought she was too smart to be tricked by something she would think of in a second. And she really wanted to say out loud how does she feel. "There's... there's a reason I came here in the first place, but I'm not sure if I can tell you..." She was aware it sounded really weird, it came up like she was going to do something bad to this place or something like that, but she still had her "she's just a little girl" cover. She looked at the ground. A little flower slept there, with it's petals closed. She looked back at the man's eyes. "Can you trust me? I mean, of course you can't, but can you trust me enough not to spare this around?", she asked. He could lie to her if he wanted to, but she had to convince only herself. She had to be sure information won't spare around, somebody would figure the whole thing. She wasn't about to tell him the whole truth, neither to lie completely. She felt she lost her confidence. She had no idea why is she about to tell him this.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus could see her expression change when he half-heartedly dissuaded her from her career choice. He admitted to himself that he had no right to say that, and immediately felt apologetic, for he largely believed in freedom and one should be free to pursue one's own goals. She looked like she wanted to answer his question though, but there was just this conflicted look about her that drew the ethaefal's curiosity.

"I know many secrets, miss, but I do not throw them about carelessly. I seek knowledge and thrive on information, but secrets belong to their respective owners, and if I do not have permission to speak of it I never will," He replied steadily, neither asking her to reply him nor rejecting her conflicted wish to do so. It was a mere fact, and whether she wanted to divulge any information it was up to her.

He was just letting her know the importance he placed on such things. Trust was a fragile thing. Once broken it took lifetimes to repair.

The most obvious reason would be the Valterrian. For some reason, magic was blamed for the cause of the apocalypse, and people have never really quite forgiven the art, even though it was not the art to be blamed but the madness of the user.