Those Far From Home (Satevis)

[Yvera]

83rd Day of Spring, 512 AV

Yvera grimaced as she missed another note in her piece. She felt, rather than saw, her onlookers grimace too. Was it really that noticeable? Judging by the amount of money that was in front of her, it was. Looks like she wouldn't get too much food tonight. It could be a blessing in disguise, though. I mean, she wouldn't want to get fat, now would she?

She ended her song after a quick four-beat rhythm and looked around her. Nothing. Not even one person had the decency to clap. Unfortunately, her stomach felt the need to fill in that awful silence with a deafening growl. Now, there was some reaction from the crowd. Laughter.

Her eyes, which were recently brown to signify her weariness, became flecked with an angry red. It disappeared as quickly as it came, however, when she looked at the people more closely. They held themselves up as any normal person would, but their cheeks were shallow and they looked as if they hadn't had a decent meal in weeks.

They're just as hungry as I am... she thought as smiled and picked up her flute again. Maybe if they keep laughing, they'll give me money.

This time, the song she played was a happy little jig. It was fast enough that she could make mistakes without anyone realizing it, but slow enough for her level of skill. It seemed to make the crowd happy because a few people tossed in some copper mizas. It did something to raise her own spirits as well.

Since she entered the city, she hadn't been able to find any news of her family. She decided, while playing her song, that they would probably find themselves here like she did. For once in a long time, she actually felt optimistic about her present situation.

[Satevis]

Satevis walked through the streets of Zeltiva with his head down, a frown on his face as he thought back to his glyphing project. One of his sleeves was still singed from his last disastrous attempt. He had been hoping to create a scroll that would absorb a fireball and reflect it back at an opponent when the trigger word was uttered, but so far, all he had succeeded in doing was making self-igniting paper. After the last incident, he had been asked politely to leave the library.

He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. Now he knew how Tock felt.

That left him in the slight predicament of not having a place to create his fire scroll. He couldn't very well do it in his dormitory. If the University wasn't happy with him setting fires in the library, they wouldn't be happy with him setting fires in the dorm either. And with the advent of finals, a lot of the student laboratories had been fully booked. Unless he fancied working on his scroll in the middle of the night after astronomy, he wouldn't be getting space, and as tempting as it was, if he couldn't draw glyphs properly while wide awake, he certainly wasn't going to try drawing them while half-asleep.

Goodness knows he wouldn't want to appear in front of Leth saying that while his first death might have occurred in a heroic and daring manner, his second occurred when his rudimentary fire scroll blew up in his face. He wasn't afraid to die, because he knew what came after, but some deaths were more graceful than others.

There was no helping it. If he wanted a secluded place to do his glyphing, it would have to be on the beach. With his luck, he would probably drown.

It was with that thought in mind that Satevis walked through the streets, his backpack slung loosely over one shoulder. The streets of Zeltiva had become familiar territory by now. He walked them as easily as he had walked the streets of his homeland. The former Benshira had gotten used to the sounds of people talking in the marketplace, the smell of fish being traded (although he still wasn't used to the taste) and the excitement of traders as supplies from Syliras and elsewhere entered the city.

There was one sound, however, that was new.

Music.

The Ethaefal paused, looking up at the sound. It came from across the street from him, where a couple of people had gathered around the street corner. He stared, slowly walking across the street and standing behind one of the men that stood there. The musician was a small waif of a girl, dark-haired and fine-featured. Her fingers danced over the holes of her wooden flute, her eyes closed as she played. She was thin and ragged, and was clearly playing for money and not getting a lot of it, considering the small handful of copper coins that were strewn at her feet. Her notes were good, and she had raw talent, but there was a desperate note to her playing that drowned out the rest of the song, and seemed to drive the others away. She played a small wooden flute, with intricate carvings up and down the sides of it. He recognized the style from his anthropology class.

Her eyes opened, revealing deep brown eyes flecked with shades of another color.

Vantha. The girl was Vantha.

And she was far from home indeed.

Satevis watched as her eyes fixed on him, the sole member of her audience left. He slowly clapped, reaching into the pocket of his pants. His fingers closed around a single coin, but he didn't give it to her yet, instead stepping forward to face her.

"Are you lost?' he asked, a concerned frown on his face. She was young. Too young to be out on the streets by herself, so far away from her homeland.

[Yvera]

Yvera ended her song and opened her eyes. What she saw almost made her want to close them again. One person. That was all that was left. Gone were the people, their money, and her chances of survival. When did they leave? Her song was pretty long. Maybe they got bored.

Maybe she just wasn't good.

The thought brought tears to her eyes and she looked down at her flute. It turns out that that was a bad idea because now, the few coins she did manage to earn were the only things she noticed. It's strange how life works. One moment you feel like your on top of the world and the next moment you're buried in the ground under a pile of stone; a big, heavy pile of stone.

Then she heard it. Faintly at first, but gaining in both speed and volume. She looked up, her eyes a bright purple that showed her surprise. The man in front of her was clapping. Clapping. He was the first person to clap all day. She quickly wiped her tears away as the man stepped forward towards her.

"Are you lost?" the man asked her.

Yvera looked up at him for a moment in thought. Lost? Was she? She didn't really know anymore. She stopped being lost a couple of weeks ago.

"Hmm? I'm not lost." she said. "I'm in Zeltiva! Aren't I not?" She smiled up at the man before continuing. "You don't have to worry about me! I am completely fine."

As she tilted her head up proudly her stomach chose that exact moment to release another of it deathly growls. Yvera squeaked and almost dropped her flute. Her flute! The perfect cover-up! She held her flute in one hand and brought it up to her ear.

"Hmm... she said. "Yup. I definitely need to get this checked."

She looked up at the man hopefully. Maybe he would buy it. But then again, "Maybes" haven't been working too well for her.

[Satevis]

Satevis raised an eyebrow as the girl tried to play off the growling of her stomach as some sort of flute malfunction. Was she serious? He sighed inwardly. It seemed that Yahal or Leth or whichever deity was currently directing his life seemed hellbent on making him cross paths with the crazy ones. First the time spent with Tock in the infirmary, and now this. He had a feeling it was Leth. The moon god would do something like this to mess with him.

"Your flute..." he said quietly, nodding once. "Of course. You should examine that carefully. It could use a tuning. I suppose your flute would also like a meal." His voice was tinged with just the slightest amount of sarcasm, enough to make itself known without being too insulting.

He stared at the girl for a moment, studying her. She was proud. That much was obvious. She was trying to play it off by laughing, but her eyes hadn't changed color. She was hiding her own distress, something that he knew well, because he often did the same thing.

Who was she, and what was she doing here? The questions plagued him, and like all questions that had managed to pique his interest, he wouldn't let go until he had an answer.

"I was listening to you play," he said. "You have talent. I am called Satevis. What is your name?"

[Yvera]

"Your flute..." the man said. "Of course. You should examine that carefully. It could use a tuning. I suppose your flute would also like a meal."

Yvera noticed the slight sarcasm in his voice and sighed inwardly. He didn't buy her story. It was silly to even try in the first place. Who on Mizahar would buy it? It was like trying to pass off a snowman for your pet dog.

... Although. I have heard rumors... she thought. Wasn't there that one person-

The meaning of the man's words stopped her before she went on with her tangent. If he knew the flute story was a lie, then he had no reason to ask if the flute would like a meal. Unless he was making fun of her, but he didn't seem like the type of person to do so. Then... Was he offering her some food? She watched the man carefully as she contemplated his words. He seemed trustworthy enough. Perhaps... Maybe...

"I was listening to you play. You have talent. I am called Satevis. What is your name?"

His words, Satevis' words, interrupted her thoughts for the second time in less than a minute. Her eyes turned purple in pleasant surprise at the complement. She looked at her feet in an effort to hide the blush that was slowly creeping up to her face. It was not a little known fact that Yvera was bad with complements.

"Thank you..." she mumbled before looking up at Satevis again. "My name is Yvera." She would normally have stated her Hold name but at the moment, it was a sore topic. The thought brought her back to her current predicament and her eyes shifted back to brown. There were, however, still a few flecks of purple in them.

But she was still lonely, and still hungry, and still sad. The only thing that was stopping her from outright begging for some food was her pride. Then again, food was made for swallowing and so was pride. You can't have one without the other. Yvera shrugged mentally. Might as well give it a shot.

"Umm... Well you see... flutes are very... er... interesting instruments..." she began as a bad attempt at gaining dinner. She sighed before beginning again, trying to get into the feel of it. "They need to be properly cared for or they won't work. For example, if you don't regularly feed some types of flute, they may become out of tune. This is just an example. It's not fully explained, though. If the flute is hungry, it can't focus on its ability to stay in tune. If it can't stay in tune, it can't get any food. My flute, of course, is perfectly in tune... Although it is a little hungry..." She had to mumble the last part because she still couldn't bring herself to ask for food directly.

[Satevis]

Are we still talking about a flute...? he thought to himself, sighing inwardly as he watched Yvera. His Common was very good, good enough for him to read and understand complicated principles when they came about as a part of his studies. But it was also very academic. It was not his first language, and as such, a lot of the finer points were lost on him. He had difficulty with idioms, heavy accents, and...in this girl's case, convoluted metaphors.

It wasn't too difficult, though, for him to conclude that in this case the flute was a metaphor for herself. She was asking him for a meal without truly asking him for a meal. It was a roundabout way of doing things, but it helped preserve her pride. And as silly as it was, some people only had their pride. "Yvera..." He repeated the name, trying it out. "Well met." He wondered what Hold she was from, but decided against asking. She had her reasons for not telling him.

"I think a meal can be arranged," he said. "Come with me."

His glyphing project would just have to wait until later. He would feed the girl and then send her on her way. It wasn't as if he was hurting for food. Satevis hardly ate anything as it was, so he could spare a meal here and there. He turned away, waiting to make sure she was following him, before he began walking back down the streets of the city towards the University. "There aren't any public restaurants in Zeltiva," he said as he walked, giving her a small smile in case she was nervous of being in his company. "With the current food shortages, you probably wouldn't be able to find a meal at an inn either. But the University does have a cafeteria for its students. I don't eat there often, so you can have my dinner tonight. It's mostly fish, but it's cooked well and they give out decent portions."

"Does that sound good to you?"

[Yvera]

Yvera nodded, her mouth watering. She was, at first, apprehensive at following Satevis for a meal but his smile did something to reassure her. They were going to the University so she felt reasonably sure it was safe to follow him. In any case, she was secretly rejoicing on the inside at the chance for a free meal.

Ah, how the sun shines. she thought to herself. Now if only there was a little bit of snow...

It was amazing how there were some people that were just... good. The thought made her smile. She hadn't fully realized it until he offered her the food, but she was starving. Her stomach growled freely now as she anticipated eating the nice, warm food.

Fish. She didn't mind fish. In fact, she ate quite a bit of fish when she was home. What if there was rice? Rice was a nice treat. They sometimes grew it as a Hold crop in Avanthal. Rice, fish, and some ice cold water. Oh, how the thought made her want to sing!

And Satevis. He was interesting. Well, most people were interesting to Yvera. They usually had so many stories to tell and things to talk about. Something about him just made her feel like he had many, many stories to tell.

"You're a student at the University, right?" she asked. "What's the University? I know that it's like a big school but what do you learn there? Is it fun? How did you get the burn marks on your sleeve? I noticed it earlier. Why don't you like to eat meals? Is it because you don't like fish? Am I asking too many questions? You know, people say I ask too many questions but I don't think I do."

[Satevis]

She certainly had a lot of questions. Satevis listened as she chattered away beside him, the two of them walking through the streets of Zeltiva towards the University. The girl was remarkably cheerful, given the situation he had just found her in. She had a question about everything, always wanting to know more. It was a trait he admired, because it was one he recognized. He had been the same way as a child.

Little seeker, his mother had called him in Shiber back then, as he asked her questions about everything he saw. Why were the Chaktawe's eyes black? Why was the desert cold at night? Why should he stay away from snakes? He questioned things that everyone accepted at face value, much to the aggravation of his elders. But his mother and father had been patient with him, their youngest son. They hadn't been surprised at all, when he said he wanted to leave the tents to find out more about the world...

He hadn't been that boy in so long, but he saw a little bit of himself in the Vantha girl's bright eyes.

"Yes," he replied, patiently. "I am a student at the University. It's a large center of learning that offers classes in just about everything you can think of, including magic. I do enjoy my studies, although they can get a little taxing. What burn marks?" He raised his arm up, examining the burn marks on his sleeve as she mentioned them. He hadn't even noticed those. "Oh. I acquired those while studying magic. I don't particularly care for fish--my homeland did not have them. Some would say that you ask too many questions..."

He smiled at her. "...but I used to be the same way, so I don't mind. As for why I don't eat..."

Satevis frowned in thought, wondering how he should explain this. He could think of no possible way, short of giving her the entire lecture now, that would prevent further questions. "It's a long story," he finally said. "Let's just say I don't need a lot of food to survive."That would have to be enough for now, although he had a feeling she would have more.

[Yvera]

Yvera smiled up at Satevis. "I understand." she said. Usually, when someone said that it was a "long story", it either meant that is was a long story or that they just didn't feel like talking about it at the moment. She figured that one day, if they ever met again, he'd tell her.

In truth, she was extremely intrigued by the concept of not needing food to survive. She had heard, during her travels, that there was a race of people like that. Maybe this man was one of them. If he was, it would indeed be a very long story. She didn't know much about the race so it would probably be like trying to explain to someone why the Vantha's eyes change color.

In spite of herself, she felt the need to ask more questions. Yvera debated with herself on whether or not she should. The man had answered her questions well and he didn't seem to mind them as much as others would. In fact, one would assume that he actually liked answering her questions.

Well... I suppose other questions are fine.

"What magic do you study?" she began. Can anyone learn magic? Can I learn magic? I really only know my Gnosis. Is it possible to learn different kinds of magic at once? I'm guessing it is because there's a lot of people back home in Avanthal that know magic. What magic do you like the best? My brother said that there were two types of magic but I'm still unclear on the subject. What magic do you think I'll be good at?"

The idea of using magic fascinated her. She had often followed the Avanthal mages around, asking them questions about their magic. She never got the chance to learn too much, though, because they would usually send her away with a speech that summed up to: "Look it up yourself!" Yvera smiled. This could be her chance at learning more about magic.

[Satevis]

Well. It seemed as if he'd opened the proverbial floodgates. He didn't regret it quite yet, though. It would get annoying after a while, but for now, he was happy to answer her questions, content to feed a child's curiosity.

"I study glyphing," he said. "I also know some Reimancy, although I'm not currently taking a class in it now." He wished he was, though. He wanted to improve. Next season, he decided, he was going to take magic classes exclusively. Anselm and all of the other people he had spoken to this season were right. There was no point in him denying himself what he wanted to do most.

"You have a gnosis mark?" he asked, intrigued. He remembered his anthropology class telling him that the Vantha were marked at birth, but besides Eridanus, he had never spoken to one. He had seen few gnosis marks in the past five years, not really having any cause to go to Avanthal or Mura. "Morwen's, correct? Anyway, I prefer Reimancy. And yes, you can learn multiple types of magic at once."

"There are two types of magic," he explained as he entered the University, passing through the large gates that marked the entrance. He led Yvera into the campus, pausing for a moment in the center of the compound as he thought of what to do. "Personal and world magic. Personal magic makes use of your own Djed, your own energy. World magic makes use of that of the environment you're in. I can explain more later."

He turned his head towards her. He was a little wary of taking her to the cafeteria, not sure how the cooks would feel about him giving his food to another in a time of shortage. "Wait here," he said. "I'll get the food and come right back." He was a little nervous about leaving someone with her personality in the courtyard, but he doubted that she would walk off when he promised her food. Satevis walked into the cafeteria, picking up a tray of food. He balanced it in his hands, walking back out to where he left her. The Ethaefal studied it as he walked, not really paying attention to the food as he picked it up. It looked like a fish soup of some sort, with a small roll of bread on the tray beside it.

He made a face. More fish.

Well, better her than him.

"Yvera," he called as he walked up to her. "This is for you." He handed the tray towards her, gesturing towards a bench in the courtyard. Satevis sat down beside her as she ate, watching people enter and exit the University.

"About magic," he continued, not liking to leave a question unanswered for too long. "...How familiar are you with the concept of the Djed?"