61st of Summer, 514 AV
Amaryllis’ teachings had stuck with her well enough through her time upon Sahova, one of the more prominent lessons being the importance of a good set of clothing. In some situations they could be the deciding factor in how one was judged, or at least a contributing one. She was a Wizard, so she was expected to look the part no matter how she truly felt on the matter. There were parts everyone was expected to play, parts in which everyone was expected to know their role. The tall dark haired woman knew that to master this grand drama, this eternal play upon Sahova that first she needed to be a full player in it.
The newly minted Wizard stood before the mirror in her room, examining herself as best that she could. Black silk robes trimmed in purple hugged her form nicely, bound by a purple sash that crossed her shoulder and around her waist. The hem came down low, nearly brushing the floor and the sleeves here long and voluminous. She lifted the hem ever so examining the dress slippers on her feet, making certain they were in place comfortably. After this she brushed an errant strand of hair behind her ear and tightened her high ponytail ever so. The tiny golden sun and moon earrings were prominently displayed, the things once belonging to her mother.
Her face though, looking at is filled her with mixed emotions as she gazed upon the faint dark circles around her eyes. It was a normality among the Nuit, but she was a member of the living denizens on Sahova so it seemed so wrong to her. Even with a bed proper to sleep on, the nightmares still continued. In fact they had worsened given her experiences, they were not as frequent as they had once been but they did occur. When they did it was with cold sweat that she awoke with, eyes wild and afraid.
With a sigh Anna realized there was nothing she could do about it and so took up the most important piece of her outfit. A silver ring encrusted with rubies and with the sigil of a burning scroll stamped upon its surface, the sign of her rank as a Wizard. She set the thing upon her right ring finger, flexing and curling her fingers for a few moments before sighing. Anna then looked at herself in the mirror, narrowing her eyes ever so at her reflection.
“You can do this. You can do this. You've been to the Heartlands, for the gods sakes.” She told herself, feeling as though bile would rise in her throat.
The sorceress turned away from the mirror and departed the room, swinging open the iron door and sweeping through her lab proper. Parchment scattered as she walked past the sheets upon the floor, her organizational skills clearly lacking. From here she opened the main door to her lab and entered the Gug Andjak proper, immediately making a beeline towards the nearest ascending stair case. Ancient Alahean architecture was passed with every step, though for Anna this had become a norm after living here for well over half a year.
No, her thoughts were upon the meeting she had promised the Overseer of the Common Labs the previous season. Albeit it had been through the terrified Apprentice who had delivered the letter to her, but still she had promised to visit him with a personal apology at the earliest possible time. Anna despised the thought of apologizing to any of the deadies, however in order to advance in the Citadel one occasionally had to do things they did not like. In this instance the Overseer of the Common Labs was better to have as an ally or neutral than an enemy.
As the floors steadily decreased in number Anna cursed whoever had given the Citadel so many petching floors, and especially the Overseer for being thirty floors up. The tall woman sighed, continuing her ascent and going over her words in her head. No threats, no magic use, simply doing what she could to avert the man’s ire and then straight out of the Citadel for a bath to wash away her shame. If nothing else came of this she would at least know of a possible future opposition.
After a number of chimes Anna finally arrived at the top floor of the Citadel, the floor marked as 1. If she recalled correctly the Overseer’s office was marked as lab 1F, so she walked down the row of the doors until she found the door. The tall woman took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth, cycling the meditative breaths to calm her nerves. She had bargained and dealt with others no doubt far more skilled than this man, Amaryllis, Daren, Lector Qiao himself even. She was still standing and was well positioned now; she would still be standing after this. She lightly and politely rapped upon the door to the lab.
“Overseer Telemaran? This is Wizard Annalisa Marin, I sent word a while ago that I would be coming by after my business... outside of the Citadel was finished. Do you mind if I come in?” The tall dark haired woman called, her voice smooth like honey.
