[Stone Gardens] Beauty of the Gardens (Marline/Niahara)

[Lirael]

Timestamp: Winter 66, 510 AV

After a few hours of being inside Syliras, Lirael was already starting to miss the morning sky. She longed for the breeze to kiss her cheek as it whispered past. Lirael wanted to feel the grass beneath her feet, taste the sweet nectar of fresh flowers as she had done on Mura. She missed the melodies that floated through the trees when the songbird graced the world with his songs. The touch of sunlight as it warmed her skin. Lirael imagined what it would be like to swim once more in the oceans of her beloved White Island, connecting as one to the currents of the sea. "But I cannot," Lirael murmured to herself. The Call was too strong. There was no more feelings of peace and relaxation for her on Mura any longer. What once may have brought her great joy, would now only dull the restlessness that lay in her heart. Lirael knew, knew with both heart and mind, that she had to leave. She felt a tinge of guilt as she realised that she was reminiscing on the past once again. "No, no, I must not think of that which has already been, or even what is to come for that matter. I must keep my mind in what is now, or risk losing it altogether," Lirael scolded herself.

She realised that she was walking quite aimlessly through the stone corridors that seemed ever so dark in contrast to the morning sky. She had expected Syliras to be colder, but she had only seen a light snow outside. Beautiful snow. How she missed catching the snow in her hands as it drifted down from the sky, dusting everything in its magical, white powder. Lirael realised instantly that she was thinking of home, for the second time in one minute. She really needed to get better at keeping control of her thoughts. Stone after stone, this place really seemed quite boring. The concept of 'Syliran Knights' was fairly new to Lirael. She was not given much knowledge on the subject, but it seemed to be a very large part of the Syliran culture. These knights, it seemed, were to be noble and just men and women. Yet Lirael realised that they seemed to have some form of ranking, as the younger knights were treated with less prestige than those with more experience. These knights seemed to be everywhere throughout the castle. In fact, Lirael could spot one at that very moment, striding down the hallway that she had chosen to walk. She nodded briefly at the young Konti as she passed, but otherwise seemed to be in quite a hurry.

Lirael noticed that the dull hallway was gradually growing wider with each step. The overall dullness was also decreasing, as Lirael could feel light ahead. Her slow trod increased to a swifter pace as she could sense fresh air up ahead. Lirael broke into a run, and found that she had stumbled into what deemed to be large garden. Lirael's excitement was immediately replaced with a feeling of awe as she gazed upon the sight. It was beautiful, really. The patterns of the cobblestones beneath her feet stretched out to connect with arches that stood tall and proud. Nature had made its mark on the area in the form of vines that grew across these arches, and delicate bushes arranged artisticly. However, the thing that most intrigued Lirael was the small mounds of stone that were spread so perfectly across the garden. Lirael's auristics picked up that they were indeed not ordinary rocks. They may have once been, but no longer. These stones had a meaning. Lirael did not know what this could be, but she felt deep respect swell up inside her. Lirael was careful to follow the path as she gazed upon the wondrous sight.

Lirael collapsed underneath what seemed to be either a tree, or an intricately detailed arch. Her eyes still remained glued on the scene before her, but her hands reached unconsciously for her precious reed flute. She held it in her grip for a time, feeling the familiar shape beneath her delicate fingers. As she lifted the instrument to her lips, she recalled a familiar song from Mura that would flow with the aura of the atmosphere, and the respect she felt inside.

[Niahara Erskine]

Ara was walking aimlessly through the corridors of the citadel. So much grey, so much stone... she hated seeing her entire world in shades of grey, but that had been the way since she had been born. Her artistic soul yearned for colors, for trees, for birds, not for stones, weapons and so much grey. She couldn't wait to leave the citadel and see the world. She wanted to find a master violinist to teach her the mysteries of fully using her musical instrument, but she didn't want to learn this in Syliras. Her father had suggested Avanthal, her mother's hometown and she couldn't wait to see the enchanted ice city where her mother had grown up, the Vantha and their ever changing eyes and the famous Kelvic Polar Bear her mother had told her so much about. Still spring seemed so far away and till then she was forced to remain inside the citadel and play her instrument as she saw fit. Thinking back to the time she had played in the Stone Gardens Ara decided to head in that direction. Usually it was deserted and the silence made her more capable to perform. Though she had no audience she hoped that the spirits of the dead listened to her music and thus she created a bridge between their world and hers. Walking further on the corridor she smiled smelling the fresh icy air and understood she was getting closer and closer to the Stone Gardens. Her violin case was being held tightly in her left hand... she would step in the Gardens and sit on her usual spot. There if nothing disturbed her, Ara wanted to play her favorite tunes and practice a new song. Only afterward she would head back to her room at the Traveler's Row and maybe have a bite at the Rearing Stallion. As soon as she made the first step in the gardens Ara saw she was not alone. A young lady who appeared no older than 16 years old with flowing golden hair and purple eyes sat under a tree holding a flute in her hands. Ara presumed she must be a Konti due to her intriguing skin and golden hair. Wondering if she would disturb pe woman, Ara drew back a few steps and hit in the shadows of another tree curious to hear whether the stranger would play the flute or not.

[Marline Forrgar]

Timestamp: Winter 66, 510 AV

Marline woke up feeling energised and hopeful, in her little apartment right in the heart of Syliras. Having recently become bored by her candle making job, she was free to wander about all day. Of course this meant that mischief must be made. Recently Marline had begun to feel that she didn’t have enough friends and she wondered if she might find just the right person today. She hoped so, because new people always had some interesting stories to tell, and she did like stories. Collecting her satchel from the small table, she set off to explore with a bounce in her step. After passing through the kitchens to re-stock her satchel with some bread and cheese, Marline picked a hallway and followed it. This was usually how exploring went, picking hallway after hallway and eventually getting so lost that she would have to find a Syliran Knight to help her find her way back home. But then of course, someone had to show her the way out and that meant plenty of time to share stories. So really, there was no way that the day could end badly.

Passing door after door, room after room, Marline began to grow weary. Her feet began to ache in protest as she had become soft from sitting and dipping candles all day. Also her stomach began to make noises so Marline resolved to stop and eat somewhere soon. Pushing on the next door she came across, she came to a storage room. Deciding that this was a good of a place as any, she plopped onto the floor between what smelled like some goats’ cheese and a box full of herbs and spices. Marline pulled her satchel onto her lap and began to eat. Part way through her meal, she heard passing footsteps outside the door of the store room accompanied by a really quiet voice, so quiet that even though the person was only a pace away, Marline could not hear what the words were. Instantly curious, she packed away her food hurriedly and jumped to her feet.

Quietly moving into the corridor outside the store room, she looked around for the person who was also wandering the deep halls of the stronghold. No one was in sight but Marline was saved when, just a tad louder, the mysterious person spoke again from just around a slight bend in the wall, mere paces ahead. As Marline turned the corner, treading softly, she saw the back of the most beautiful, elegant girl she had ever seen. She had long hair, almost so blonde it was white, just like Marlines hair. But unlike her own cropped locks, this angel’s hair swayed around her small waist. She wore only a simple white dress that flowed over her pale skin. Now Marline noticed that she had scale patterns etched into her skin but were obviously far more special than simple tattoos. Struck by the grace with which the girl walked, Marline followed quietly.

The girl still hadn’t seemed to have noticed Marline’s presence so she followed her for a few more paces until the hallway seemed to widen and grow slowly lighter. Soon they were in a beautiful garden. Tall arches and meandering paths adorned the grassy room. Vines and small shrubs struggled in the less than abundant light as the only light was being filtered through small openings in the roof of the large room. Marline was torn, she wanted to shout and see if it would echo but she also sensed that this was not a place where one should really be shouting. She also did not want to startle the beautiful girl so she, with much difficulty, restrained herself. While Marline was having her little internal struggle, the girl had been admiring the place with awe and a strange sadness. Whilst Marline was still gaping at the flowers, the girl sat next to a vine-covered arch, pulled out a flute, closed her eyes, and played.

Struck by the beauty of the song that the angel played, Marline softly walked over the grass and sat in front of the musician, careful not to disturb her. The song rose and fell around her and her companion. As the song played Marline examined the beautiful swirly markings on the girls face. The song rose to the climax and, deciding to give in to the song, she closed her eyes and lay back next to a small stone that was one of many dotted around the room. Marline was taken back to her childhood, watching her parents work really hard but have no time to spare for her, looking at all of her new friends that had helped her find out so much more about the world. She felt happy and sad at the same time. The song fell and her thoughts returned to the girl, a million questions raced through her mind, ‘Who was she?’ ‘How come she can play so well?’ ‘I wonder if she will be friends with me?’ As with all questions, Marline desperately wanted answers. Music fell in soft notes around the pair for a few scant moments more and then fell into silence. Marline was sad that the song had ended because she had wanted to sit and listen to the sweet sounds forever. “Whoa,” she commented softly, unable to help herself.

[Lirael]

Lirael felt the familiar feeling of the song flowing through her, as it has always done. There was no restlessness here, in the peace and clarity of the garden. Without opening her eyes, Lirael sensed the beautiful auras that swirled up around her, leaving traces on all things they touched. Different shades of blue, white, and purple auras twisted through the air like puppets of the music that drove them. As Lirael delighted in the dancing colours that were filling the garden, she noticed two much brighter auras were also in the presence of the music. There was both a golden aura and what seemed to be a peach coloured aura that occasionally produced a dark blue wisp of colour. Were these creations of her music? No, they couldn't be. These were much too bright to be a simple melody. After a couple of seconds, Lirael recognized the shape to be that of a human aura. This startled her a little, but she would not be disturbed. Now that she thought about it, Lirael could remember feeling wisps of auras as she passed through the castle, but passed it by to be the occasional Syliran Knight. The auras were not close enough for her to examine in detail, which suited her just fine. Lirael often felt it to be an invasion of privacy to study the intricate details of other's auras without a reason in which to do so.

As the last dying colours of the melody faded into the sky, Lirael opened her eyes slowly, clinging on to the memory of the mesmerising aura dance whilst breathing in deeply. So many memories... Memories were everywhere, and in everything. Everything that you could hear. Everything that you could touch. "The whole world is filled with a never ending ocean of memories," Lirael's mother had once told her. "You could dive deeper and deeper, desperate to discover if there was in fact an ocean bed, but you would never find it. Many have become lost trying. Do not be like one of them Lirael, for then who would tie me to this precious world. Don't leave me darling. Don't go." A silver tear made its way down Lirael's cheek as she recalled her mother's words. Oh how dearly she missed her mother.

Lirael's train of thought was suddenly interrupted, probably for the best, when she picked up a voice close by. To be more precise, it came from the area in which Lirael had sensed the golden aura.

"Whoa"

The voice was definitely not a leftover piece of melody. In fact, it sounded quite human. She was taller than Lirael, but this was not surprising. Lirael stood in at only 5"3', which she quickly realised when growing up, was not very high in contrast to humans. That was, if the girl was indeed human. The girl appeared to be similar in age to most Konti, but that information wasn't very useful. Konti all appeared to be young, despite their true age. Lirael noticed that the girl looked to have similar characteristics to herself, pale skin, light coloured hair. The combination of her intriguing hairstyle and curious green eyes gave an overall image of an oversized pixie. Not that the girl was oversized. Quite thin really. But Lirael knew pixies to be small creatures. Not that there was any proof to this as she had never known of anybody who had seen a pixie in Mizahar. Although, it would make for a great story if she did.

"Hello," Lirael smiled sweetly at the girl. "My name is Lirael. What's yours? Oh, this is my reed flute," Lirael held out the instrument to the girl, "Do you want to try it?"

Now that she thought about it, Lirael could sense the soul shape of yet another person in her presence. Oh! The streaked peach coloured aura! Lirael nearly let it slip her mind. A confused look passed over Lirael's face as she focussed on the peach aura. Wait a moment. Lirael had never before seen such a strange sight. It couldn't be! Her Truth Seeing was telling her that the girl was two people in one. Surely her Truth Seeing must be faulty. There was no such thing as being two people at once. It was impossible, wasn't it? Curiosity took a hold of Lirael as she contemplated the idea. Focussing all her Auristics ability on the peach coloured aura, Lirael decided to take a peek at what she could pick up. Just a peek couldn't hurt, could it? However, Lirael was already shaking from the exert of watching the auras throughout the entirety of the song. All too late, she realised that she had overestimated her stamina. Lirael felt a wave of dizziness pass over her. Without even realising it, she began to mutter things that barley made any sense.

"Raven... Songbird," she muttered, growing fainter by the second.

It was overwhelming. So over...whelming...Raven...Songbird... Where did those thoughts even come from? There was a sinking feeling in her stomach as she realised what was about to happen. Ever so slowly, Lirael felt her precious reed flute fall from her grasp, yet was rendered incapable of doing anything to prevent its plight, and could only watch painfully as it fell towards the stones.

[Niahara Erskine]

Ara sat down at the feet of the tree, just steps away from the beautiful stranger. As she watched her, Ara found herself thinking she resembled a fairy, or how the girl believed fairies looked like. Her golden hair was flowing freely moving in the chilly winter wind, almost confounding itself with her pale skin. As the Konti moved the flute to her lips, Ara wondered whether she had stepped in a fairytale. The song was so pure, so utterly mesmerizing that the girl leaned against the tree and closed her eyes, listening to it in complete silence. She did not know what the song sang about, but to her it imagined a glittering white city, with everlasting snow everywhere. Many fires were cracking merrily at each of the Holds of the City and people were telling stories; her mother was young and carefree again, playing the viola like her mother before her, her blue eyes turning molten gold in joy. Meanwhile in the shadows of Ara's sound a different change took place; Niah was softly making her way to the surface, standing just behind Ara's consciousness listening to the beautiful song. She too was imagining something due to the woman's flute: she saw herself in a deep, green forest, a waterfall roaring like a thunder beside her. She was holding a shinning sword in her hands and wielding it with the grace and agility of a true master. As she looked in the river she saw herself, but not as she was: she was holding a violin delicately in her hands and playing it softly; at last there was no Niah and no Ara, just Niahara as it should have been. Suddenly the music stopped, the magic disappeared and Ara was herself again. A soft word was blown to her by the wind and she saw the second stranger stand next to the Konti woman. She too left her hideout and moved closer and closer to the newcomer just in time to hear her name... Lirael. Just as Ara wanted to excuse herself for disturbing the two women's silence she saw the Konti stagger on her feet. It look like a wave of dizziness washed past her as she was trying to see or feel something that kept slipping from her grasp. Just then the flute slipped... In the next moment Ara felt herself slip into blackness... faster and less gentle than before Niah took over and she dived to the rocks to prevent the precious musical instrument from breaking. She remembered how much Ara had cried when her first violin had broken and she wanted to make sure the Konti did not experience the same thing. Also the music had been so beautiful that even the stoic Niah had been moved by it... The flute fell and Niah missed it by a couple of inches. She fell to the ground with a loud thud, her teeth rattling as she met the ground, but luckily the flute landed on her back and slid off her, falling on the stone hopefully undamaged... "Ouch..." the girl mumbled as a sharp pain when through her entire body.

[Marline Forrgar]

The beautiful girl had finished her song. She slowly opened her large, soft, strangely purple eyes. Marline was puzzled by their unique colour, after all it was not so often that one saw someone with such deep eyes, let alone the colour. Inside those eyes Marline could see pain and sadness but also joy and wonder. They say that the eyes are windows to the soul, and Marline wondered what kind of a soul this girl had in order to require such eyes. Her eyes were so large that on any other face they would have looked bulky and out of place but on this girls face, they sat perfectly at home. Large, soft lashes framed her eyes making them look kinder and even more beautiful. At this point Marline realised that she was staring and also that the girl was giving her the once-over. Marline blushed a little, she felt embarrassed to be looked at by someone so perfect, sure that all of her imperfections were being noticed.

"Hello," the girl smiled sweetly. "My name is Lirael. What's yours?” Marline was really happy that the girl, Lirael, seemed not to mind her intrusion on her space. “Oh, this is my reed flute," Lirael held out the instrument for Marline to touch, "Do you want to try it?" Without touching the work of art, Marline looked at it closely. It was reed, long and strong, with holes along it as one would expect from a flute. However all the way along were tiny, intricate swirly patterns and scale patterns just like the tattoos on Lirael’s body. For fear of breaking it, Marline would not touch it but instead spoke in her usual loud, excited voice. “It’s so pretty. It must be really special to you! It’s awesome to meet you, Lirael! My name is Marl...”

Her introduction was interrupted as Lirael’s face began to change; it contorted into a look of confusion and fear. Her body began to shake a bit. Worried, Marline asked “Hey! Are you OK!?” but Lirael didn’t seem to hear and instead faintly whispered “Raven... Songbird,” and collapsed. The flute had still been suspended between them on her hands so it also fell with her. From behind a nearby rock flew a human-esque shape that fell to the ground underneath the flute and caught it on her back. By this time Marline had gained some understanding of the situation and bent down just in time for the flute to slide gracefully into her hand.

Laying the flute on a nearby rock with some runes on it, Marline knelt to examine Lirael. She still had a furrowed brow but otherwise seemed physically un-harmed. Quickly turning to the figure on the ground, she asked harshly, “Who are you? Why are you here?” whilst taking a defensive stance in front of the body of her new friend. Marline had no hope in the world to fight anyone, she had no skills or weapons and, quite frankly, was a wimp. But the girl on the ground didn’t know that. She looked accusingly at the newcomer.

[Lirael]

They were two people. Falling… It was falling. She was falling. Falling through the water. The water that was enveloping her, taking her away in its grasp. It was almost peaceful. Maybe this was what overgiving was like. In the books about Auristics it seemed to be so much more painful. Nothing seemed to make sense to her any more. Lirael's curiosity to discover more about this strange girl had lead to disaster. Wait a moment. That girl wasn't even there a second ago. With these thoughts in mind, Lirael hit the ground, landing on her behind feeling quite stunned. She thought it to be quite a soft landing, yet a jar of pain shot up her side, causing her to cry out in unison with the girl that lay only a few feet from her. Lirael’s vision was still shaking slightly, but somehow she was still seeing the colours of the peach aura. Peach aura? Even in her confused state, Lirael could see little remains of a peach aura. Instead, a darker coloured, seemingly more mature aura had taken its place. The girl who lay before her now was not the girl that she had first sensed with the peach aura. Lirael realised vaguely that another girl had been standing over her briefly whilst she had been pre-occupied gazing at the dark blue aura sprawled on the ground. Oh! The pixie girl! It was all coming back to her now. ‘My reed flute…’ she recalled silently. Lirael did not have high hopes for her poor instrument. Lirael’s thoughts were once again interrupted when the pixie girl began to speak.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

Lirael was not extremely skilled in the art of empathy, but like most Konti, she sensed emotions and feelings of others. This ranged from pain to delight; the stronger the feeling, the greater impact it had on the Konti. At that moment, she could sense a feeling of hostility was lightly radiating from the pixie girl. What was her name again? Mary? Lirael never quite caught it amongst the whirlwind that had passed through her mind. Lirael was feeling quite uncomfortable sprawled out on the stones as if she had lost all sense of her Konti grace. Lirael slowly made her way to her feet, brushing away the small leaves that had clung to her dress in the hope that she would hold onto them with more love than their previous tree. Making a few, tentative steps, Lirael proceeded to walk past pixie girl, giving her a small smile and touching her lightly on the shoulder on the way. She was very surprised to see the girl standing in front of her, almost as if she was trying to protect Lirael. She did not wish for her to feel as if she was not highly grateful for this gesture. Lirael approached the other girl timidly and lent her her hand.

"You have two souls..." Lirael blurted out quite vaguely, and almost immediately regretted it.

Most people would have asked of her well-being, given a greeting, or even introduced themselves. Maybe an 'are you alright?' would have done well. Even a 'nice morning isn't it?' would have been better, despite the circumstance that the girl was in. All Lirael could do was tell the girl about the state of her soul. Perfect conversation for a person who had seemingly fallen quite painfully on the stones. First impressions were important to Lirael, and she hoped that this one was not travelling downhill quite as fast as it seemed.

[Niahara Erskine]

Niah moaned and let out a harsh breath. Hissing to herself she staggered trying to get back to her feet. Usually she would have been able to save the fall or at least fall in a more dignified manner, but her attention had been solely on the falling flute so her own fall had moved to an inferior plane. Now she was aching all over, her wrist was throbbing powerfully and she most likely had scratches all over her face. Moreover the other girl had just snapped in an awfully territorial way at her. Finally regaining some composure Niah rose to her feet and glanced curiously at the short haired blonde. She seemed awfully mad at her on behalf of someone she had just met. Or perhaps they were friends? Anyway Niah felt no desire to argue so she simply answered calmly. "My name is Niah, actually Niahara Erskine, but call me Niah. Last I checked the gardens were a public place and anyone could roam around them. However to be honest with you I had heard her playing and I stopped to listen." Niah froze in shock as she heard the Konti's statement. 'You have two souls'. She had always assumed that she was invisible to the outer eyes unless she decided to make an appearance, but to hear the Konti's, Lirael's statement unsettled her. Perhaps she had a right to exist after all. "How do you....? Nevermind." Niah shook her head "You are right. There are two of us. Niahara has a split personality: me and Ara. I usually live in the shadows." Where had the confession come from? Niah did not know, but at that moment it felt right to tell the Konti the truth.

[Marline Forrgar]

Marline watched as the stranger slowly got to her feet in a very jerky, pained manner. She seemed to reset herself calmly and then spoke, "My name is Niah, actually Niahara Erskine, but call me Niah. Last I checked the gardens were a public place and anyone could roam around them. However to be honest with you I had heard her playing and I stopped to listen." Marline was taken aback; she hadn’t stopped to think that the gardens were open for anyone to roam. Deciding that she was overreacting just a little bit, Marline stopped scowling and relaxed her stance a bit.

Unnoticed by Marline until till now, Lirael had got up and dusted off her white dress. Lirael lightly rested her hand on Marlines’ shoulder for the barest of seconds as she walked passed. “You have two souls,” she whispered but surrounded by the silent stones and the abruptness of the statement, it sounded loud. Baffled by the comment, Marline felt a little like a third wheel. Marline was expecting some kind of a “What the gods are you talking about” reply so she was surprised when Niah said, "How do you....? Nevermind." Niah shook her head slightly, "You are right. There are two of us. Niahara has a split personality: me and Ara. I usually live in the shadows." It randomly occurred to Marline that she liked to talk in large chunks and was not afraid of what might happen to her, after all, Lirael and herself could be quite the opposite of friendly. They had given the girl no reason to believe that they would be kind.

Being in a confused state, a state that she rather disliked, Marline decided to take matters into her own hands. “Hey!” She shouted, jumping past Lirael with a grin on her face. “How about we sit down and talk, huh?” Marline mat down abruptly onto the grassy floor, too happy at meeting some potential new friends, who obviously had very interesting stories, to care that she had sat on a sharp rock. Looking up expectantly, she motioned for the girls to sit; tugging on the black dress that Niah was wearing that looked quite creepy.

Happily, Marline took some bread and cheese out of her bag and handed the food out. All business, she started, “Now, Lirael, what’s your story!?” thinking for a moment, she decided that it would be better if she went first. “Hang on! Can I go first, OH PLEASE!?” she begged, not knowing that begging was completely unnecessary.
“OK,” She began, “I’m Marline and I love stories,” She smiled brightly, as if everyone should be proud of her. “I was exploring this morning when I came across Lirael but I didn’t want to startle her so I followed her. I like her, she’s pretty. And then after she played her flute, I was really scared when Niah crashed onto the floor,” Marline pulled her cutest scared face and then broke out a massive smile, grinning stupidly at Lirael.


OOCSorry, it hasn't been proofread.... and I couldn't think of anything to say..

[Lirael]

Lirael’s head was still spinning slightly, and barley noticed that the darked haired girl had introduced herself. Did she say her name was Niahara? What a pretty name that was. Niah-Ara. ”I had heard her playing and stopped to listen.” Oh? Was Lirael the reason why this girl was here? Did Lirael’s music bring pleasure to people here as it did in Mura? But why was the girl, Niahara, hurt? Was it… Gods forbid… Lirael’s fault? It could not be! Lirael would never hurt anybody under any circumstance! There would be no reason to. Yet, she could feel the pain that the girl felt, if only to a certain degree, and was still confused to as how it came to be. Lirael had almost forgotten the first words she had spoken to the darked haired girl, Niahara, when she replied.

"How do you....? Nevermind." Niah shook her head "You are right. There are two of us. Niahara has a split personality: me and Ara. I usually live in the shadows."

A split… personality? Lirael had not heard of such a thing. How could one’s personality be… split? That would almost be like having two people living inside the one body. Like having… two souls. How was that even possible? But Lirael did not doubt it for she had seen it with her own eyes. Or rather, felt it. There was a pause for a moment as Lirael and Marline soaked in the information that they had received. Unsurprisingly, Lirael was not the first one to break the silence. Marline jumped in between Lirael and Niahara with a grin on her face saying ”Hey! How about we sit and talk, huh?” Bewildered by the girl’s sudden outburst, Lirael allowed the girl to drag her to the ground. Well not really drag, but Lirael seemed obliged to sit down next to the young girl in all her bubbliness. Lirael had completely forgotten about her flute until this point, when she noticed it lying seemingly unharmed on a nearby stone. Relief flooded through her at the sight. Her beautiful flute! It was safe! It was as if the cloak that had covered her heart for those few moments in which she had believed that it was there was no hope, had suddenly been lifted. Now the whole world seemed right once more. Lirael wished to hold it in her hands, but she realised that it would be quite rude, so instead resigned to glance at it longingly every few moments. Lirael vaguely noticed that the pixie girl was talking to her, but didn’t quite catch what she was saying. Lirael was quite annoyed at herself for this, and was determined to be more focused on the conversation.

“I’m Marline and I love stories. I was exploring this morning when I came across Lirael but I didn’t want to startle her so I followed her. I like her, she’s pretty. And then after she played her flute, I was really scared when Niah crashed onto the floor.”

"Wow," Lirael thought, "I must have really been caught up in my thoughts to have not noticed Marline's aura." Now that she focused on it shakily, Marline's aura really was quite radiant. It would have been hard to miss if Lirael was actually paying any attention to her surroundings. Golden light was practically seeping out of her like a sun. The aura faded away and was replaced by a sleepiness that seemed to come out of nowhere. Lirael stiffled a yawn, knowing that it would seem even more rude.

Lirael wasn't sure what was supposed to happen after Marline's introduction. Was Lirael supposed to speak next? Or Niah? Lirael did feel the desire to introduce herself, though she did not think that her story would be of great interest. Was she supposed to share how she had come to this particular garden? Or maybe how she got to be in Syliras in the first place. Maybe Lirael was meant to tell of her history on the White Isle, but that would take far too long. Lirael decided to just begin in which ever direction her words led.

"Well hello there Marline, Niahara. My name is Lirael, but you may have already discovered this through Marline's story," Lirael glanced at Niah. "I am very new to Syliras, and even the land of Sylira itself. However, I am on a journey, and refuse to turn back until it is fulfilled." Lirael puffed with pride at this statement, but her pride was almost immediately replaced by a sad smile as she remembered her home once again. "I am Konti. If you know of us, you will probably have learnt that we come from an island off Sylira called Mura. It is the most beautiful place in the world, and I believe that it will remain so even after my travels, wherever they take me." Lirael was very happy with her introduction, especially since she had spoken in complete common tongue. She was competent in the language, yet Lirael was learning new things as each day went past. She was beginning to miss how it felt to speak in Kontinese, even though barely fifty days had passed since she had last heard the beautiful words.