Closed Inspiration, Contemplation and Something Unusual

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 67th of Summer, 513AV Uleru's obvious pleasure with the concept brought a smile to Kirsi's eyes, turning them a deep shade of violet. It meant nothing that Kirsi herself had been happy with the overall flow she had mapped out; it was the Otani's commission, and if she had been at all hesitant, Kirsi would have wiped the slate clean and started fresh. Though, truthfully, when faced with that option she found it difficult to unsee the first image in favor of a second one. Each medium might have hundreds of stories to tell, depending on who was looking at it. But it was rare for her to be able to truly see more than one of them. Rooting in her toolkit, she selected a small planing knife made of sturdy metal. It was shaped much like an eating knife, but with a squared-off tip. Kirsi had not used it since she'd purchased it, now bringing it to bear on the surface of the antler. Sliding the razor-sharp edge sideways and away from her own body, Kirsi shaved off the merest hint of sun-bleached outer chaff. Idly, she wondered what animal the antler had come from; different antlers were composed of different things. Kirsi looked to the other woman, prepared to ask, but stopped mid-breath. The Otani seemed to be playing with... A ball of ice? Kirsi abruptly shut her mouth, filing this new curiosity away with the rest, to be asked at a later date. Hopefully. She hoped there would be time to learn a bit more about Uleru. And The Otani. And Laviku. For now, she had work to do, and she hoped the Otani did not begrudge her the silence of concentration while she did it. Mindful of the relative stupidity of carving in her lap instead of on a table, Kirsi took a bit more time with the initial planing away of material. Her fingertip gave a phantom twinge as she recalled what had happened when she'd first met the actor, Jorin Ertihan. Carving in her lap that time had ended in a trip to the medical center - an outcome she'd rather not repeat. And so she patiently carved, switching tools when needed, redrawing her guidelines as the old ones smeared away or were shaved off. She was glad that the carver's kit had come with a select few tools made for things tougher than wood. Even so, the variety that she'd have liked was not there, and she resolved to visit the bazaar again to fill in the holes in her kit. Still, as the chimes bled together, she managed to get a blunt relief outline done. It had been slow, and the details would take more time. Kirsi wondered how long Uleru would be willing to sit here while she carved. The Otani seemed to have kept herself well occupied creating shapes from ice while Kirsi worked. Though where the ice had come from was anyone's guess. The Otani's magic? "Time for a break!" The pronouncement was following by a huffed exhalation and a smile. "This is a bit more difficult to carve than plain wood. Or even your tooth, here," she indicated the large molar in the sand. Cocking her head to the side, she stared with open interest at Uleru's budding creation, offering a small compliment. "That's lovely, Uleru. It looks like you've captured rainbows inside." And it was the truth; the sunlight glinted off the surface of the ice. It seemed to get caught inside, and bounced around. The result was much like a handful of rainbows. Kirsi set down her tools and the antler, flexing her fingers to loosen them up and watched the Otani playing with her ice.

[Uleru]

Uleru is taken out of her revery when Krisi sits back and proclaims that it's break time. A opinion that the Otani shares, since the silence was starting to get tedious. She blows out her cheeks and transmutes the res she was sculpting, setting it aside. She had been working (or playing, really) diligently as the Vantha whittled away at the antler. Usually she wouldn't be seen sitting still so long, but the carvers presence and her own self-appointed task held enough of her meager attention to keep her still.
 
In front of the Otani, out of the breakwaters reach, is a small clutch of sculptures no bigger than her fist. Delicate sharks and whales that shine like prisms, a sailboat with its tiny ice mast snapped, and some very exotic sea anemones. All of them produced as little warm-ups to the confection she set aside. It was meant to be a large coral, but she messed up with the composition. Soldiering on anyway it quickly became something else, something born completely out of the Otani's imagination. A delicate web of lace and patterns that reaches up like the prongs on the antlers.  
 
It's hardly grand design, so she is surprised when the carver compliments her work. And she finds herself sitting a little straighter in the surf as her pride reacts to the praise.
 
 "Why thank you", she smiles brightly. She notices that the Vantha is watching her and her magic with a new spark of interest. Always willing to satiate a curious mind, she holds out her hands to show her the small portion of her pearly white res pooled in her palms. 
 
"Here, I made it with Reimancy, winter girl. Maybe you've heard of it? Humans wield it too. It allows you to turn your life energy into the four different elements. I only wield two right now, but I'm practicing." she pours water out of one hand and pressurized air makes a small popping sound out of the other.
 
"I can only imagine what it would look like in your hands. If earth was your natural element, you could conjure any type of stone: rare, precious or even clay. And you could grow your sculptures or raw pottery fully formed right out of your palms! If its fire you could make and form your own glass or metals. If your like me you could make towering statues of ice. If air you could carve away the hardest rock by mearly willing it away and transmuting it to air!"
 
Her hands have been gesturing grandly throughout the exchange, drawing lines of wonder in the air with her fingers. What a tool that would be in the arsenal of an artist! But in the interest of fantasy and excitement Uleru decides not to mention its main use, which is combat. Nor its dangers; the sweet whispers that can tempt you into giving more than you have to the art, or the sometimes fatal results should an experiment go wrong.
 

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 67th of Summer, 513AV The pile of icy sculpture at the Otani's feet, and the lovely, larger one that she had set aside sparkled tantalizingly in the sun, catching Kirsi's gaze time and again. And Uleru was saying that she had made it - just out of thin air, or so it appeared. Of course, Kirsi had heard of magic, and of people who had mastered its use. At home, there were Ice Reavers who had some times used their skills to craft masterful ice sculptures for the many celebrations of the Vantha. It was an art form, Kirsi agreed, but one that she had never considered might supplement her own carvings. When she'd thought of it - and if she were honest, she hadn't really ever considered it in depth - she'd only had a vague notion that they must have started with a large chunk of ice, and followed the same basic principles that she used. But the Otani had not started with a chunk of ice; she had created the ice. What's more, she was creating what she saw in her mind, seemingly skipping the more tedious aspects of blocking out design and redrawing imagery. "I can only imagine what it would look like in your hands. If earth was your natural element, you could conjure any type of stone: rare, precious or even clay. And you could grow your sculptures or raw pottery fully formed right out of your palms! If its fire you could make and form your own glass or metals. If you're like me you could make towering statues of ice. If air you could carve away the hardest rock by merely willing it away and transmuting it to air!" The other woman's excitement was contagious; her wild gestures inspiring visions of artistic grandeur in Kirsi's mind. She hadn't missed the mention of fully formed pottery, either. Though she enjoyed the creation process of wood carving, she'd have been lying if she didn't admit that this Reimancy was a tempting thing. "How did you learn this, Uleru? Is it - Do all Otani possess this skill?" It was a rounabout way to ask what she really desired to know, but Kirsi found she had to work up the courage for bluntness, and find the words to express her questions. Some things in Common were still difficult to explain. "Was it a gift from Laviku? What I mean is... Can I learn to do this? How do you know what your natural element is? How would I know?" It wasn't greed, that sparkled in her deep blue eyes, but it was something akin to it. Thirst. For the skill of Reimancy. The knowledge of Laviku. The mystery of the Otani. And ambition, to somehow combine pieces of this new knowledge into a greater art, so that she might truly bring to life the images she saw in the world and wood around her.

[Uleru]

"How did you learn this, Uleru? Is it - Do all Otani possess this skill? Was it a gift from Laviku? What I mean is... Can I learn to do this? How do you know what your natural element is? How would I know?"

These questions are fired at her from the mouth of someone she can tell is hungering for her questions to be answered. There is a unique kind of pleasure in being afforded so much attention, and she tries to replay this flattering curiosity by answering as honestly as she can.

"Well, in principle not every Otani has to have this skill. But I've never seen one who didn't..." she begins, her finger tapping a thoughtful tattoo on her lip as she finds the best way to answer. "I'm not sure where Laviku comes into it; if he gifted us with the use of magic or we just learned it ourselves. But I do know that all of the Otani with Reimancy will start with the water element. Its... just a thing that happens", she states offhandedly rather than explaining herself. Because she really has no idea why it works that way. "But for humans it is different. I have a sneaking suspicion that person influences their first element to manifest. I could be wrong, of course. The only way to find out is to gain it yourself."

At this point, suspecting the monster she might create, now seems a good time to tell her the dangers.

"But this is magic we are talking about, eh? Its beautiful and its helpful and it can do amazing things, but it's also very, very dangerous. I have massive amounts of dijed in my body, but I've still had a few near-overgiving experiences. Gaining it yourself would mean you apprentice yourself to someone who already has Reimancy. Then they induct you into it by... Well, by invading your body with their Res. Its not very pleasant. And it's not very safe. And even once you have it losing control of yourself can have it all blow up in your face." All three hands pop out dramatically to emphasize her point.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Despite the Otani's rather dire proclamations, Kirsi's brain latched on to only one aspect of her answer: she could learn this magic. Kirsi's mind ran rampant with the artistic limits she could breeze past if she could only manage to learn this... Reimancy. Sneaking a surreptitious glance at Uleru, she wondered, not idly, if the Otani could be imposed upon to show her the way. From what she'd said, it was an unpleasant experience, and could be dangerous - but surely, if Uleru were the one doing the teaching, she would be able to minimize the danger level and the discomfort level? Maybe they could work out an exchange? Instead of the mizas for the carvings... But, Kirsi realized, she really had no clue what an introduction to Reimancy might be worth, and she didn't want to Otani to be offended if the proposed value was out of proportion to actual worth. Absently, she twirled the antler, wondering what for of Reimancy might be employed to sheer away facets of it. Certainly not water... Nor fire. Air? Could air carve into and away from the antler? Or maybe earth, since the antler was from a living creature - and didn't all creatures return to earth, ultimately? She just didn't know; the information she'd garnered wasn't specific enough to answer the questions in her mind. Kirsi felt like they might be questions she could only discover the answers to through experimentation. Which went right back to learning Reimancy herself. Slowly, tentatively, she began to put her thoughts into words. "Uleru... How does one find a teacher? I don't know anyone who wields this magic. And no one that I meet is going to be trustworthy, or not until I know them well. How did you learn it? Stupid question - you probably know so many more magical beings. I guess you wouldn't have had any trouble at all finding someone to teach you, right?" Kirsi chuckled at her own question; for the first time, she found herself wishing she were back in Riverfall. The Ice Reavers back home certainly employed a bit of Reimancy - to do what they did with ice sculptures and ice in general... That took magic as well as skill, and probably they would have been her best bet to learn from. Still pondering, Kirsi once again picked up her tools - a gouger, this time, for the details - and began, slowly, to work on the antler. Half a bell, and she should be finished, barring any accidents. She wondered if, in that time, she would be able to gently lead the Otani around to agreeing to teach her Reimancy. Or if the creature would think it too dangerous.

[Uleru]

"I dont know how you'd find a teacher", Uleru blinks, looking rather confused. "I know an actor, Jorin from Zelvita, who told me stories about the University there and all the branches of magic they teach. But here all you have is that Akalak architect, Lars and Kavin, who know Reimancy. They are decent men, and I'm sure they would help if you had questions. The dark brother's a bit of a tit though", she mumbles, apparently lost in thought.

It doesn't slip by her that the Vantha woman is now pursuing the subject of Reimancy heartily. From passing fancy to something a bit more pointed. But her questions are all dancing around what Uleru suspects is at the meat of her gnawing interest. What's that old saying? Beating around the bush? And there is a kind of appetite in the woman's eyes, but Uleru is unconcerned. She isn't entertaining the thought of this magic with ambitions of power or that corrosive kind of longing. The moulding gets the impression that she really just wants to make beautiful things with it.

"I learned from a friend of mine, another Otani", she quips fondly, steering herself back onto the questions. "I must have been less than thirty years old at the time. I stayed with him for another few months to learn the basics."

At the mention of magical beings Uleru laughs loudly, but genially. "You have more magical creatures on land than we do in the sea winter girl! I've even heard stories about a human-looking thing called a Wailer that lives in your cities, unbeknownst to everyone else. And that it can kill you just by screaming at you!" she shakes her head in bewilderment, smiling like it is all just an amusing ghost story. "Only the Otani use magic in the waters as far as I know. Well, I bet the Kavaski do to. They are Laviku's children. His true children" she emphasizes, her eyes wide with a sort of amazed and fearful respect. "And God's know what they can do."

There is a amiable silence as Uleru watches the Vantha carve away the top layer of the antler. She looks to her own work lying beside her up on the sand, glittering wetly as it melts. If she could just work a little harder with her Reimancy, she could developed the ability to manipulate earth. Then her creations might be a bit more lasting. Not that (if she were to be honest with herself) she has the same pure-hearted need for Reimancy. It's also her favourite weapon.

This goes on for a few chimes, the Otani's fickle mind mulling over nothing and everything at once, before Uleru stirs herself to ask a question of her own. One thats been bubbling away in the back of her mind: "Kirsi, why are you in Riverfall?" Eyes back on the Vantha, she props her chin in the cup of her hand in a look of undeniable interest. "I mean, thats quite a way from the chilly north. Are you looking for something? Are you going to go even further south?"

[Kirsi Winterflame]

A small giggle escapes at Uleru's characterization of the Akalak, Lars/Kavin. A second later, she makes the connection: Uleru knows Jorin, as well. Perhaps Jorin, being from Zeltiva, knows something of Reimancy? Points to consider, in any case, she told herself, as Uleru recounted her own introduction into Reimancy. With a sigh, Kirsi acknowledged that the Otani had a definite advantage in that arena, whether she knew it or not. If all Otani could use Reimancy, then Uleru had only to find another of her kind to find a teacher. Kirsi could ask humans all day long and possibly never find someone who could use Reimancy, let alone someone she'd be able to secure instruction from. Uleru mentioned Kalvaski and Laviku and Kirsi's initial interest threatened to surface again. She was largely unfamiliar with Laviku; Vantha were not, as a rule, seafaring people, and the God was not one of the many generally worshipped by her people. But she did no more than raise an eyebrow quizzically at the mention of 'Laviku's true children.' If she let herself get sidetracked yet again, who knew when the conversation would turn back to Reimancy? And Kirsi still hadn't figured a polite way to request the Otani's assistance. But Uleru's question does distract her. "Kirsi, why are you in Riverfall? I mean, that's quite a way from the chilly north. Are you looking for something? Are you going to go even further south?" And, realizing that her questions have left her in a sort of informational debt to the Otani, Kirsi feels compelled to answer honestly. "Its... Sort of a long story. I'll try to make it short?" Taking a breath, and a moment to organize her thoughts, Kirsi stared down at the antler, continuing to carve the finer details as she spoke. Hands moving almost of their own volition, she continued, "in Avanthal, there is a sort of custom. If a girl, a woman, reaches the age of 20 and is unmarried, she's considered a lost cause. An Icemaiden." Her nose crinkled at the distasteful word, and her head shook slightly, unconsciously. "I'm 25. "It wasn't that I didn't want to be married," Kirsi looked at the Otani now, earnestly; it was a statement she had had to push home to her parents on more than on occasion. "It just never seemed like the time. Or the right man. Or the thing to do. There was so much else I was busy with that I think I just sort of let my chances slip away." It wasn't sadness that colored her voice, Kirsi told herself. It was... Wistfulness? Something more than matter-of-fact, but less than lonely. Her silence stretched on for a moment more, before she pulled herself out of her thoughts and continued with her tale. "Anyway, once I'd turned 20, it was deemed 'too late' for me and the opportunities that I had let pass me by in my youth ceased altogether. I still had friends, but they were busy setting up their arvintas, their families, their new lives. And I was not." Kirsi shrugged lightly, truthfully not bothered by the fact. She wished her old friends all the happiness they could find; it just wasn't her path. At least not yet. "But I did get tired of being considered an 'Icemaiden'. I mean - really! Its more than a bit insulting, yes? I certainly don't consider myself beyond hope," and she couldn't quite keep the defensiveness out of her voice; she heard it, she hated it, but she couldn't mask it. The thought still made her a bit angry; as if, once you'd passed 20 years of age, you went rotten like a piece of spoiled fruit. "Eventually I decided that I might be better suited to a place where such stigma didn't exist. And so, I made an absolute menace of myself to every traveler that came through Avanthal for years." A grin split her face at the memory, and a small chuckle made its way to the surface. "I pestered them for information about every place they'd ever been to or heard of. And, after all my research, I ended up in Riverfall. Just this season, actually. On the 2nd. I guess that didn't really make a long story short at all, did it?" She offered Uleru an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry. I'm not really a storyteller. I don't seem to have the flair for it,"

[Uleru]

"No, I like your stories", Uleru smiles amiably. Well, it's not quite a story, more of a memoir. But none the less the Otani is being saturated in knowledge she never knew existed. That is all she cares about with this tale. She wants to know more about the Vantha, Avanthal and Krisi. And so she is quite disappointed when the story stops.

The fact that a woman is deemed useless as a marriage partner at merely twenty is quite interesting. Why would that be? Humans keep their vitality well past their second decade, as far as Uleru can tell. And their beauty doesn't really deteriorate, it just changes with time. Though she is aware that this might be an opinion unique to herself since she has always admired the human body. Well, maybe it's a bit more logical than that. Maybe they are infertile after twenty years. That is the reason they get married at all, isn't it?

"That's quite wasteful, just giving up on a woman like that. You're beautiful and you're clever and you do lovely work. Yes, whats that word, you are independent."

It's clearly a very tender topic for the Vantha, and Uleru is not sure how deep the pain goes, so she leaves it for now. Though she wonders what the travellers could've said to have her decide on Riverfall. It is a beautiful place full of art, and it must be very safe with all the warriors running around. The Akalaks are also very kind, especially to women. But there is a hole in her plan that you could drive a glacier through and the Otani cant help but bring it up.

"You can still mate and have offspring, right?" she begins suddenly. "You wont have much luck in Riverfall if you eventually want a husband. There are not many humans to go around, and even less human males. And lesbianism is really frowned upon, or so I hear. I mean, you can have your pick of one of the big blue guys of course. You might even fall for an Akalak. But I'd really avoid owing them anything," she says seriously, "I hear they don't let you keep the children."

Then there is the reasoning that maybe she doesn't want children, or a family, at all. Though Uleru finds this hard to believe. Thats just kind of what they do. They pair off and have children, building long lineages tied by love and belonging. Unless she imagines that her art if her child. Like those people who sit on the beach for hours at a time sketching the coast or painting sunsets, or who sing to nothing but the seabirds and dance for only the waves. Is that who Krisi is?

It makes her sad to think that she herself doesn't have that same kind of love for anything, like the people who make families or art seem to. There is Laviku, of course, but it's not the same. That is more of an ingrained purpose rather than one you make yourself. There is no art she makes and nothing she has worth sticking around for. She has lived through generations of her friends growing old and dying, but she has never stuck around long enough to help them through it. And now she wonders why.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Uleru's innocent questioning brought a smile to Kirsi's face, and chased away some of the tightness that had made its way into her chest. Talking about Avanthal, Icemaidens and leaving home was still not a terribly pleasant experience for her. If the Otani had reacted in any other way, pity or anger were options, the conversation would have quickly turned awkward. But this logical approach, that was refreshing, a relief. And the compliments were a welcome balm to her bruised self-worth, as well. "Thank you, Uleru. You have a unique way of looking at things," she gave the other woman a wide smile. "And yes, as far as I know, I can still "mate and have offspring", should the opportunity present itself. Although I can't see myself settling down with an Akalak. I was offered the... Opportunity, I guess, to have a child when I moved here. Apparently that's an employment opportunity," she shook her head. Still, the idea of becoming a Nakivak was one she'd considered for a chime or two. It wasn't something she'd been drawn to for the act of mothering. But as a last resort to prove, if only to herself, that she was still valuable as a woman, and not simply as an artist. "But I know that I'm probably not going to find my own family here in Riverfall," she mused; it was partly an answer for the Otani and partly Kirsi's own thoughts spilling out, sorting themselves out loud. "Still, Riverfall is pretty. Safe. A good first step on the journey to... Wherever." A shrug finished the statement, and a sheepish look crossed her face as she realized she'd been rambling a bit. She looked down at the antler, hands turning it this way and that, before settling on a few more finishing strokes. While she tended to the details, slivers of raw material almost too small to be noticed fell to her lap. Holding it up, she offered it to Uleru. "What do you think?" For herself, Kirsi was pleased with the finished result. Held by the base, prongs arching upwards, the antler did tell the story of Avanthal. The carver wondered if the pictures, the depictions of bears and pine trees and snowflakes would translate, entirely. Being so familiar, Kirsi saw it right away, imagined she could even feel the chill of Morwen's realm through the palm of her hand. It was bittersweet.

[Uleru]

"What do you think?"

The Vantha holds up the same grubby antler, but now beyond recognition. Uleru takes the thing from her and turns it in her hands. She notes the lines and curves that seem to pull the eye up, looks at minute details if snowflakes and trees in the grain. She holds it up to the light and away from her reflected colour to better see it naturally. And finally she brings it back to her chest to stroke the tiny image of a bear in the fork of a prong.

"It's not what I expected" she answers honestly. Then waits for a moment for the uncertainty to cross Kirsi's face before she continues. "And thank Laviku. 'Cause what I was thinking was awful. It's beautiful, winter girl, thank you."

She places it carefully beside the puddle that used to be her ice carvings and tosses the tooth in the Vantha's lap instead. Obviously not expecting her to want a break, or even a few minutes breather.

"For this one I'd like you to carve the sea." she says. Though her limited knowledge of the Vantha doesn't bolster her confidence that Kirsi knows the sea at all. "Ah, why don't I tell you a bit about it? The sea, I mean. Just a little anecdote. For inspiration."

When Kirsi answers the Otani launches into a description of the oceans from her perspective. Talking about the colours, the creatures and Laviku's hand in it all. About clouds of iridescent silver fish that move in perfect synchronization, about manta rays with wings like sails, forests of seaweed swaying lazily with the tides. She speaks at length about what Laviku looks like with a misty-eyed reverence. She explains about the lonely creatures that live so deep they have never seen the sun. Colours you'd never find on land. She animates with her hands the wonderful shapes the coral can make. And explains how jellyfish are quite mindlessly cruel creatures while killer whales can be kind.

Her supposedly short anecdote goes on for a quarter of an hour, and when she finally sputters to a stop she merely nods, crossing her arms across her lap, and looks at the Vantha expectedly.