Looking Through My Eyes

by **Alija** on October 20th, 2015, 9:15 pm

35th Fall 515

She awoke with a strange feeling. This wasn't her bed. It was too soft for that. And it wasn't her room either - the ceiling was flat, and you couldn't see the beams of the roof. It was a different shape than her cottage, and the window was in a different place. The sun poured through it, awakening her from her sleep, and she sat up in shock, almost trembling from fear.

Then she remembered the events of last night, and everything came back to her. Her father was alive, and in the room next door. Thegans was above her, sleeping in a room by Kial's. She was in Nyka. She owned a shop, a blacksmith. A smell drifted from the doorway, and her stomach growled. She had gone without dinner the previous night. It had been so much to think about, she had retired without another word.

Sliding over to the wardrobe, she opened it, revealing the clothes neatly put away. She picked out the fine wool shirt and leather breeches, feeling they were the right mix between presenting herself well and not dressing up. Then, almost racing down the stairs, she entered the kitchen, finding all three of her companions sitting at the table.

"Good morning Alija! Glad to see you up!" her father smiled, gesturing towards a chair beside him. Opposite her ate Kial, with a large piece of egg dribbling down his chin. She pointed it out, looking towards her own eggs, smelling divine. Eating them slowly and savouring the meal, she listened to Thegans, who seemed to have a lot to say.

"I've contacted the previous suppliers of the smithy, and they can bring in the stoxk tomorrow morning. You won't have to worry about that: three times a month with anything you might need. I've got it all worked out, if you want to see the mechanics, but you don't need to, if you don't want to," he blasted out, stringing one sentence after the other as he refused to stay quiet. There were a few seconds as he stopped to breath then he started again. "It's good to get on the monk's good side they wanted an aurist, for analytical work, so I arranged it for you to go today and work for them. Simple things, I assume, hopefully things you can do."

Alija interrupted him, "I wasn't expecting to work straight away-"
"-Can't cancel, sorry. It'll be too late," he said, wincing.
"It's fine. Thank you for organising everything. Are you going to be my personal assisstant from now on?"
Thegans smiled, shaking his head. "I felt bad for making you leave everything to arrive in a strange place. I want to make it up to you, get you on your feet before they've even landed."
Kial looked confused at this, speaking with his mouth full, "What does that mean?"
"It means, mind your manners and don't eat with your mouth open, young man," Alija replied, grinning, "What's happening with Kial today then, Mr. Organiser?"
"I'll show him around. Up for that?"
"Yeah!" the little boy smiled, before scoffing down the rest of his meal, "When can we leave?"
"Patience! I need to show Alija to her work first."

by **Alija** on November 2nd, 2015, 9:51 pm

Thegans led Alija down the streets, and she noted the way they were headed, winding through rows of houses, all tall and built with the same reddish stone. It was so unlike Zeltiva, which had the Ancient Quarter with Valterian style building, the Denvali quarter built quickly and messily, East Street with its intimidating nature. Nyka seemed the same everywhere.

The building they reached was in the Western Quarter, tall and beautifl with grand arches and pillars. Glints of precious metals shone in the sunlight. Silver here, gold there, it glowed, a building made to be a sight for the eye. Thegan sensed her awe, and smiled, almost feeling proud of the city he now called home. "They truly love to craft, don't they?" he smiled, leading her inside.

The inside of the building was just as spectacular, large open windows flooding otherwise shadowy hallways with light. The noise of metals on metal, of clinks of carving and the faint crackling of fire seemed to fill every nook and cranny, slipping under doors that hid grand workshops. Alija longed to peer inside and examine their work, curious as to what was being made, but Thegans kept her on path, leading her to a grand library, shelves lining the walls and tables dotted around.

This place was everything she could have wanted. There were the workshops, were the most maginificent items were being crafted, according to Thegans, and the library, were tomes of knowledge would be found. It didn't matter on what subject, knowledge was always knowledge, and it was as beautiful as art.

Inside sat a man with a bald head a firm but welcoming expression, who gestured them inside to where he sat. "I am Jod Murandan, High Priest of the Order of the Tempered Anvil. You are the foreign aurist? I hear you come from Zeltiva - their University is one of a kind. Surely you have been blessed with the knowledge of the many people who reside there?"
Alija smiled at the subtle attempt of a compliment. "I am actually a blacksmith, not an aurist, but am as skilled with the magic as I am with my hammer."
"A smith - perhaps one day you will join us in our goal to craft beauty. Until then, you will see what there is lurking behind it. We have recently accquired several items, a lot enchanted in some way or other. They are beautiful, but their purpose unkown. We needed someone to help us uncover what there is behind them. I hope you serve us well."
The woman nodded, "I will do whatever I can to help you."
"Excellent," the priest smiled, "I will go fetch someone to help you and to bring the items. Sir, if you will." He led Thegans back out, who cast a happy smile at Alija before leaving, and she was left alone in the library, waiting for the person sent for her to arrive.

Curiousity overwhelmed her, and she drifted over to the bookshelves, picking up a small book on the Wester Quarter and the Order. She flicked to the first page, a small blurb outlining what there was to know.
"The monks of the Order of the Tempered Anvil are the ones who worship Xannos, daughter of Semele. She is one of the four founding Alvina, and well respected. They reside in the Western Quarter, nearest to the stone quarries, and it is often said that their headquarters lead there. These monks specialise in trades such as masonry, carving, metalsmithing or gemcutting, and carry hammers and anvils. Working of gold and gems is restricted to them, who oversee arts and crafts in the city. They are also the practioners of world magic."

She made a note of the information, memorising it for future reference, before flipping to another overview, this one entitled, "Living in the Western Quarter.":
"The West is full of artists and craftsman who take their work very seriously. They appreciate the beauty in the world and are most likely to think abstractly and discuss ideas. They are also typically more individualistic in their thoughts and motivations. Though their chosen professions do not tend to be basically useful, they are not a frivolous people; they understand that it takes a powerful mind to think creatively, and they are grateful to have the luxury to hone theirs. While they tend to be less aggressive than other Nykans, they are hardly peaceful. In fighting, just as in everything else, they value ingenuity and style."
More information to be devoured, and she did so, analysing what it meant. It appeared that each quarter specialised in something, with this one in arts and crafts. But more importantly, Nykans were aggresive, monks fighting and carrying weapons. It said so clearly, and Alija almost feared what that could mean. If these monks were in charge of the city, what was it like? She could only wait and see, and hope she got on their good side.

by **Alija** on November 2nd, 2015, 10:12 pm

Soon, another bald man entered the room, followed by several other monks who placed down various items on the table she sat at. Alija put the book away, before greeting the man, observing the tufts of hair at his chin and the squinting look in his eyes. "You're the aurist? You look young," he sighed, sitting down slowly, "Doesn't matter. These," he gestured at the items, "Are what we're focusing on today. Nothing seems to bad, but I don't know for certain. I'll be working alongside and with you." He passed her a thin book, pages blank, before settling a large pot of ink and two quills down on the table. "Draw, make notes, describe. We want anything you can get."

With that, he started to stare into the distance, before adding one more thing to the last of the monks leaving. "Prepare us some tea. We have a lot of concentration to do."

Alija smiled awkwardly, unsure how to start. He sighed, picking up small gold ring. "Just see what auristics can tell you about this, and write it down." She nodded, taking the ring and spinning it around in her fingers. It was gold coloured, engraved with neat swirls, but didn't feel the right weight for it. Definitely not. She took the quill, drawing a rough circle with another one inside, adding gentle swirls. Annotation, she added the colour, and the thought on the weight.

Then, she let the magic come naturally to her, until the ring was the only thing visible. It had a small aura with sight, but it extended further with touch, evidence of magic on it. Her hand moved without her looking down, the words forming themselves. Magic, magic... the aura swirled and changed, until it became clear that it wasn't gold, but iron. So was it painted? While as she focused harder, the smell of paint became clear, there was something more to it. She felt water running over her skin, but it was dry. She felt the magic bursting in it, Djed coursing through it strangely. There was the aura of gold paint, but it was only half there, torn at. As if the iron was given the aura, but something was taken away so it didn't become gold paint.

She wrote this down, notes fairly neat. 'Iron ring, with aura of gold paint; smell the paint; something missing; to do with strange dry yet wet feeling of water?' Alija turned to the man, who had just finished jotting something down. "Is there a magic that can do something like this?" she asked, showing the notes and explaining what they meant. He thought for a few moments, before nodding.
"Alchemy would do the trick. Gold paint would give work as a fount, something with the desired properties. Part of the Djed would be forced into this iron ring, giving it the colour. The wet dry feeling must be from the filter, stopping all the qualities being retained. In this case, the liquid part of the paint. The Djed of the pain would be forced over the water, which would block out these qualities, before entering the ring. Seems like an alchemists attempt to make cheap iron more expensive, or possible just a practise. We don't know much more about the ring."
Alija thanked him, scribbling down everything he had said, both mentally and on the paper. Alchemy seemed interesting. Turning iron to gold - she could see the temptation in that.

Alija left her things for a moment, stopping to avoid too much work too quickly. She didn't want to overgive, so short moderated sessions were key. As the man had ordered, there was a steaming cup of tea beside her, and she drank it, the taste curious. Not kelp tea, like she was used to, but peppermint, an odd but tasty flavour. It kept her calm and relaxed, enough time to let the start of a headache pass. Now, the next item. Alija was enjoying this.

by **Alija** on November 27th, 2015, 8:47 pm

"Hey, mind checking this chest out?"
The man's words interrupted the moments as she sat drinking the last of the tea. She turned towards him with a smile, and he gestured towards a beautifully carved chest before it. It was inlaid with precious metals and jewels, and perched on four tiny and delicate stumps, barely bigger than her hand. Simply beautiful.

"So what's the backstory on this?" she asked as she picked it up gently, settling it before her. He grinned, ready to tell her the story.
"We picked it up near the Aperture. Completely alone, abandoned, not a sight of anyone who looked to claim it. In fact, the owner of the beautiful box didn't seem to exist - we spent long enough searching to know that. Some claim that it came from the Aperture itself, but that is ridiculous. I think someone left something inside for us to find."
Curious, Alija took the box in both hands, fingering the latch to try get it to open. The smallest of padlocks clung to it, locked tightly.
"Where's the key?"

At this, the man grinned further, "That's the best part - there isn't one. The lock is also impossible to pick - we've tried, trust me. Instead, they want us to find out what is inside, so we understand if it is important enough to compromise the beauty of this lock and box for."

Alija stared at it curiously. It did have an interesting story, and now she wanted to find out just as much as the people who had sent it here did. First, however, she would concentrate on the small things, the simple drawing and annotations.

She sketched a wonky box onto the next page, adding another rectangle, just as wide but not as tall. The box, a wonky shape, but not bad, nonetheless. She detailed in the padlock, and the carvings and the details. She jotted down the colours, before beginning to use auristics simply on the box itself, wanting to discover the materials used.

Eyes focused, she let them loosen, until the swirling patterns came back. The main box was main completely of iron, but that was masked by more intricate shapes and swirls, that resembled gold and silver - the ornaments, which she annotated accordingly.

Alija then turned her attention to deep within the box, staring through it and waiting to see if an aura emerged from inside. The djed pooled to her eyes, synchronising with something inside. Something dangerous, something strong, something magical. It felt bad, very bad, a dark sickly feeling rising in her stomach. Death clung to it, dark smoke billowing out through the sides of the chest.

"There is something in there," she pulled herself out of the world of auras, blinking away the headache. "It's dangerous, death clings to it. Something magical too. Almost threatening."

The man looked at her slowly, debating what it could be. "It appears that someone has left us a little Maledicted gift. Thank you for your help, I think it is time for you to return home."

Alija rose, handed a small handful of coins as her payment. "Happy to help," she smiled, leaving with that. Boy, did her head hurt!

by **Elias Caldera** on February 8th, 2016, 10:12 pm

Behold, Your Just Reward!

Alija

Experience and Lore :

Miscellaneous :

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