Amala's day at the shipyards (flashback)

[Dhanya]

Timestamp: 12th Summer, 508
Tagged: Kamalia

The Zeltiva shipyards were a sight for young eyes, immense and bustling in the midday heat. Amala kept her hand clenched tightly in the ruff of her mother's fur, so she would not get lost looking up towards the ships' rigging. The ropes and masts seemed to stretch up into the sky and yet there were people up there, some scuttling about as if they weren't up high at all. Amala was amazed by it, as she had never been allowed to follow Jenon and her mother on an outing before. Her legs had always been too small and her arguments for it too weak.

She had been expecting fish, since Jenon had told her fish came from ships and her mother had said they lived in rivers or the sea. She had no way of knowing that the fish market was on the other side and the part of the dock she was standing on was mainly international trade. A gentle breeze came in, bringing with it a strong scent of salt and Amala sneezed. Her mother nipped gently at her arm in rebuke.

"Excuse me." Amala replied, knowing what her mother meant without her needing to speak.

Jenon, of course, did not notice. Katya growled slightly under her breath. The man would always be useless in her eyes but she could see no way of running away from him while she had Amala with her and a collar around her neck.

"Where is it? The dock master said it was here... Ah! There she is." Jenon said, more to himself than anyone else.

It was the most beautiful ship in the yard, immense and white, with a prow that resembled a swan. Unlike the other ships, it seemed to have wings and scales. Amala had not yet been taught of konti. She thought the ship was alive.

"What if it eats us!?" She asked to Jenon.

She stayed close to her mother as the first sailors disembarked. She hadn't noticed their scales yet but she could see that they where pale and sparkling. More beautiful than any woman she had yet seen, save her mother, who would always be the most beautiful person in her world.

Anyone looking at her would have seen a five year old with strange eyes, clutching at a handsome wolf.

[Kamalia Timandre]

Although the highsun scorched the harbor, Zeltiva was somewhat comfortably cool, a welcome respite to the punishing sun of the sea journey. The bells of the Temple of Laviku sounded, and the soft clanging drifted across the Zeltivan docks and rolled out to the ocean, where they mingled with the whisper of unseen waves.

Home to twenty thousand souls, Zeltiva was a hub of intellectual pursuits and academic wealth. There was adventure to be had in this city, and troves of knowledge and lore enough to entice thinkers and scholars and wizards with a myriad of secrets. Today, the docks bustled with activity. Here gathered travelers, merchants, craftsmen and explorers from many corners of the world, and they went about their business under the heat of the midday sun. Citizens, humans and non-humans alike, strolled about in the docks, browsed at stalls and shops, and indulged themselves in hearty tavern banter. A scattering of merchants from distant cultures and races made their way through the docks as well. A Drykas tanner put up Cyphrus leatherwear and powdered dyes for sale, while an Isurian woman bartered glassworks and rubies on a nearby booth.

And there were rare times when the ocean of activity would quiet down to quiescence when the “White Isle Women” walked down the swan ship’s gangplank towards the populated harbor. A hushed crowd of men craned their necks and a cluster of women sighed in whisper. There, whimsical as dreams walked a dozen slender maidens swathed in raiment and cloaks of white silk, so lithe of form and so graceful of movement that they did not seem to belong in this world. All of them were beautiful, almost impossibly so.

Once again, the Konti have come to trade. They brought with them several jars which contained their Island’s priceless silvery liquid, the Vision Water. The elegant swan ship traced the edges of the gulf and the Konti women were received at the port by an armed guard. But after the dockmaster saw the sample of their miraculous water, they were permitted into the harbor.

From their appearance, most of them seemed to be Healers of the Opal Order. To a young maiden with silver-white hair and amethyst-violet eyes fell the task of speaking with humans.

“Thank you, ser,” spoke the young konti to the dock master in an oddly soft accented Common, pulling away the hood of her cloak. “You are most kind. My sisters have come to trade Vision Water for medicinal herbs such as danewort, marjoram, ginseng, chicories, and meadow sage. They are also looking for herbs or concoctions that boost fertility and prevent miscarriage.”

For a moment, the konti’s eyes settled on the wolf and the little child that clutched on it, before she returned to converse with the dockmaster to ask for directions.

[Dhanya]

It was the thought of trade and knowledge that first brought a smile to Jenon's aristocratic face. The sharp planes of his cheeks and his pointed chin were always beset by an entirely absent-minded expression. Even those who knew him well found it hard to draw the man towards reality. His thoughts were always elsewhere. So much so that it was always surprising when the man spoke with insight that brought his coruscating intellect into sharp relief.

He did eventually notice that the Konti were beautiful and drawing much attention. It took him a few moments. He did not enjoy being stared at.

"Excuse me, young miss." Jenon said, stepping forward towards the Konti. "I have been waiting for your arrival, to trade with you. I believe I have sent you some correspondance on the matter?"

It was a question because he could not remember if he had sent the letter. He'd meant to. He wasn't sure he'd replied to the Dean of the unversity, either. He belatedly realised it had been a while since he had taken stock of where the girl was. Katya was at his feet...

Amala was tugging on the Konti's robe.

"My name is Amala, pleased to meet you." The little girl said, somewhat slowly, as if she had learned the words as a phrase. "Can you turn into a fish?"

The second sentence was spoken with all the guileless interest a somewhat coddled child could possess. She wasn't even tall enough to reach the Konti's hip. Katya's growl sounded suspiciously like laughter.

"Amala! Your manners, please." Jenon was now as red as a beet.

[Kamalia Timandre]

The young konti stared curiously in response to the man who approached the White Isle healers. Upon closer inspection, Jenon would see that she had the fresh youth of a maiden close to her fifteenth spring in human years, yet her eyes glinted with a passion for knowledge, life and adventure and a calculating intelligence he had never before seen in konti. Another White Isle woman, hooded and cloaked in white, softly whispered to the youth In their mother tongue. The girl nodded and grinned at Jenon, her violet eyes wide and twinkling.

“You must be Ser Jenon,” the girl excitedly gushed in a strangely soft-accented yet eloquent Common. “And you are a wizard,” she declared loudly as if it were something to be truly proud of. “I found that out from divining your past, of course. I used your correspondence as a personal link,” the konti quickly added to enlighten the man how she discovered the man’s true identity. She was not yet familiar of the notion of a human’s desire for privacy, but the girl seemed more interested at the fact that the man dabbled in magic than anything else in his past. Before Jenon could reply, the girl interrupted swiftly, “What sphere of magic do you employ? Mayhap you know a little of reimancy and glyphing? Or auristics? Have you already read the Treatise of Djed Manipulation by Phorideus Valsteen? No? How about “Magic and I” by the pre-Valterrian author Vuld Shaik? That was a superb read, don’t you think? Anyhow, I only perused the Kontinese translation of the book, and I am sure that not all of it was accurately interpreted. That is why I am here. I am looking for a decent reproduction of the book in Nader-Canoch. I am certain my family will be proud of me when I return with a more precise version of the book, all written in the Ancient Tongue,” she said breathlessly without pause.

“Kamalia,” an elder konti reprimanded softly. She spoke to the younger konti in their language, and it was clear to Jenon that she was being gently admonished. Kamalia bent her head low in apology, before turning to the human wizard again.

She could not hide her fascination with the human civilization and their magic. She was more than eager to once again consume the vast libraries of Zeltiva as she had when she was only a student at the Wright University. “Oh yes,” she said more calmly this time, “We’ve also come to trade, of course. I am Kamalia, and these are the healers of Rak’keli from the Opal Temple. We trust you have with you the medicinal supplies that the Order requires?”

Suddenly, Kamalia felt the tug on her robes. The konti shifted her gaze downward. There stood a tiny, smiling female child, easily the most adorable girl she had ever seen. She was oblivious that the wolf that accompanied Jenon and the child was actually a kelvic, despite its preternaturally intelligent behavior. In the White Isle, there were larger canines, famed for their extreme intellect and their ability to bond telepathically with their konti masters. Unaccustomed to dealing with children, Kamalia leaned forward and smiled, returning the babe’s unabashed scruitny. “My name is Kamalia, and no, I cannot turn into a fish. My mother can turn into a bird, though. Has your father taught you Morphing?”

[Dhanya]

While being scrutinised via divination was intimidating even for one used to the magical sciences, the Konti's interest was entirely flattering. It was enough to calm the blush from his cheeks. He did have replies to each of her questions, though there was little space to voice them. Jenon opened his mouth twice to attempt, though he found himself torn between nodding sedately and simply waiting for Kamalia to finish.

"Auristics and some hypnotism, I own a copy of both those books, I feel that Shaik is somewhat over-rated compared to contemporary authors and if you are willing to pay for a copyist, I could acquire a facsimile for you." Jenon paused to take a soft breath. "I have acquired the medicinal herbs you seek. I did not bring them with me, keeping them in the heat for too long may render them less useful to you and I imagine if you wish to dry them, you would like some say in the method."

Jenon looked out over the ocean, wild and blue and beautiful, and thought about all that he could do with the Vision Water the Konti had brought with them. He barely even noticed the people around him, which was for the best. He was more comfortable when he was living his internal life.

Katya stayed at his feet, contemplating whether she could piss on the swan ship and get away with it. Amala, being quite closely tuned to her mother and owner's moods, saw her moment to speak and took it. The disconnect between Katya and Jenon was almost palpable, if one was paying any attention to the wolf and man at all.

"I've never met my daddy." Amala said, far more chirpily than one would have expected. "Mama says he lives in the woods, with all her friends but we live here because..."

Katya hadn't quite gotten around to explaining that yet. Amala knew what they were but she didn't quite understand the concept of actually being owned. Jenon hadn't exactly wanted to enforce the idea, either. Amala blinked up at the Konti, her eyes golden and brown, with vertical pupils that seemed to rise above the iris.

"Is your mama a kelvic too?" She asked, having heard of morphing and considering it a poor substitute to what she could accomplish. "My mama is, she's really pretty. I can be a goat sometimes. Do you want to see?"

Jenon's head snapped abruptly in her direction, "NO!"

Amala wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and burst into tears. Katya alternated between growling at the man and licking her daughter's face. It did not take much to make a child cry. A harsh word was perfectly sufficient and it would take a good many more kind ones to reverse the effect.