Spring the 25th, 519 AV
Many small things. Every larger whole was created by a conglomeration of many lesser pieces. Just as the world was made by the many interactions of many small people moving about their many small lives doing many small things, so was each body a greater thing made up of the interaction of smaller things. Bone and sinew working together to create motion, heart and veins beating blood where it was needed, lungs and intestines bringing in the needed fuel. And each of these things was made up of yet smaller pieces that were made of smaller pieces until the mind could no longer fathom the infinitesimal insignificance of it all. But without the smallest parts, the final whole did not exist.
This wasn’t just the way of objects but of actions and emotions as well. A journey was comprised of many tedious steps, one foot in front of the other with such boring repetition that each was forgotten. It was the small, simple steps that led to the completion of a thing.
It was small steps that Oresnya was no good at. She had always been good at grand entrances and the grandiose gestures. It was easy to start a thing. Oresnya had started many things in her life. Hai, she had left Kalinor just to go search for her sister’s relatives, leaving the comfort of her home behind and risking a brief trip through the wilds.
But just because she started something didn’t mean Oresnya was good at finishing it or even knowing how to finish it. When she found herself on the coast after her departure from Kalinor, all she had done was wait for something to happen. Fortune had smiled on her and brought her a ship willing to grant her travel, but it had been headed in the wrong direction. Still, she had no one to blame but herself when she didn’t depart at the first port to search for a boat headed back north.
Eventually, she had made it to Wind Reach where her search could continue, but in the season Oresnya had been in the mountain city, she had made no progress in finding someone who knew Yora. If she was being honest with herself, she hadn’t even tried. To be fair, she had been trying to keep her head down, trying to keep from irking anyone, as her arrival and presence had seemed to do enough of that to last her a lifetime. She had been doing her best to ingratiate herself with the Inarta. At least, that was the lie she told herself to feel better. Lately, the lie hadn’t been working.
So Oresnya had decided to do something to make herself useful to Wind Reach, more so than just filling some daily duty. The news of the beast had shaken the Inarta. They were not a people of fear. In fact, they were courageous in a brash sort of way, overconfident to a fault, but Oresnya had admired that about them. As soon as the news had arrived of something that could hunt a Wind Eagle though, that bravery had dissipated, lost like the morning fog to the heat of day. Oresnya wasn’t good at much that could aid in hunting a monster, but she knew someone who could make a difference and was certain he’d let her help.
Knocking on the door of Leo’s Laboratory, Oresnya waited to hear the owner’s ‘Come in’ before she pushed the door open to enter into the small shop portion of the laboratory.
The poisoner’s face lit up when he saw her. “Widow, I was going to send for you, but imagine my good fortune. You show up unbidden.”
Oresnya missed most of that and smiled awkwardly.
Leo shook his head and sighed, seeing that his point hadn’t got through. He looked at the woman before him and tried to come up with a way to rephrase what he had said in words she could understand. “I am lucky. I was going to have you brought here, but you came without a message.”
Oresnya recognized more words this time around. I am lucky was understood completely. Taking her time, she found that with the words she recognized from each sentence she could piece together the entire meaning.
“You want me here?” It took her three times longer to say that than it should have, but Leo seemed to be patient, for an Inarta.
“Yes.” The rate of his words slowed considerably now that he remembered who he was speaking to. “Why did you come?”
Oresnya’s words came in bits and pieces. “To help. The beast. Poison will help. For the hunt.”
Leo nodded. “That’s why I wanted you to come.”
“To help with poison? I am not very good at poison.” Oresnya was trying to be modest, attempting to fish for a compliment. She didn’t get one.
“No. You aren’t. You have no concept of the art. Frankly, you’re terrible.”
Oresnya’s face fell. “Why do you want me here?”
“Because you are a source of a poison. And, made strong enough, that could be more potent than anything I could make.” He turned and opened the door to his laboratory, stepping inside with a wave of his hand for her to follow. “Come. I’ll show you what I mean.”
This wasn’t just the way of objects but of actions and emotions as well. A journey was comprised of many tedious steps, one foot in front of the other with such boring repetition that each was forgotten. It was the small, simple steps that led to the completion of a thing.
It was small steps that Oresnya was no good at. She had always been good at grand entrances and the grandiose gestures. It was easy to start a thing. Oresnya had started many things in her life. Hai, she had left Kalinor just to go search for her sister’s relatives, leaving the comfort of her home behind and risking a brief trip through the wilds.
But just because she started something didn’t mean Oresnya was good at finishing it or even knowing how to finish it. When she found herself on the coast after her departure from Kalinor, all she had done was wait for something to happen. Fortune had smiled on her and brought her a ship willing to grant her travel, but it had been headed in the wrong direction. Still, she had no one to blame but herself when she didn’t depart at the first port to search for a boat headed back north.
Eventually, she had made it to Wind Reach where her search could continue, but in the season Oresnya had been in the mountain city, she had made no progress in finding someone who knew Yora. If she was being honest with herself, she hadn’t even tried. To be fair, she had been trying to keep her head down, trying to keep from irking anyone, as her arrival and presence had seemed to do enough of that to last her a lifetime. She had been doing her best to ingratiate herself with the Inarta. At least, that was the lie she told herself to feel better. Lately, the lie hadn’t been working.
So Oresnya had decided to do something to make herself useful to Wind Reach, more so than just filling some daily duty. The news of the beast had shaken the Inarta. They were not a people of fear. In fact, they were courageous in a brash sort of way, overconfident to a fault, but Oresnya had admired that about them. As soon as the news had arrived of something that could hunt a Wind Eagle though, that bravery had dissipated, lost like the morning fog to the heat of day. Oresnya wasn’t good at much that could aid in hunting a monster, but she knew someone who could make a difference and was certain he’d let her help.
Knocking on the door of Leo’s Laboratory, Oresnya waited to hear the owner’s ‘Come in’ before she pushed the door open to enter into the small shop portion of the laboratory.
The poisoner’s face lit up when he saw her. “Widow, I was going to send for you, but imagine my good fortune. You show up unbidden.”
Oresnya missed most of that and smiled awkwardly.
Leo shook his head and sighed, seeing that his point hadn’t got through. He looked at the woman before him and tried to come up with a way to rephrase what he had said in words she could understand. “I am lucky. I was going to have you brought here, but you came without a message.”
Oresnya recognized more words this time around. I am lucky was understood completely. Taking her time, she found that with the words she recognized from each sentence she could piece together the entire meaning.
“You want me here?” It took her three times longer to say that than it should have, but Leo seemed to be patient, for an Inarta.
“Yes.” The rate of his words slowed considerably now that he remembered who he was speaking to. “Why did you come?”
Oresnya’s words came in bits and pieces. “To help. The beast. Poison will help. For the hunt.”
Leo nodded. “That’s why I wanted you to come.”
“To help with poison? I am not very good at poison.” Oresnya was trying to be modest, attempting to fish for a compliment. She didn’t get one.
“No. You aren’t. You have no concept of the art. Frankly, you’re terrible.”
Oresnya’s face fell. “Why do you want me here?”
“Because you are a source of a poison. And, made strong enough, that could be more potent than anything I could make.” He turned and opened the door to his laboratory, stepping inside with a wave of his hand for her to follow. “Come. I’ll show you what I mean.”
