Private Tales A Candle in the Hallway

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
Iskandar

Iskandar

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Volta
Office of Conductivity


Iskandar rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. Another blinding flash of lightning. One should expect him, as a luminancer, to be used to the brightness. But see, as a mage of light, he could normally control the light he made to manageable qualities. Why form a blinding light when you can make it a reasonable light? It made no sense at all to just deprive oneself of vision. The rolling sound of thunder echoed, breaking him out of his little reverie, and he saw that the person in front of him had finished whatever business he was conducting; as he stepped away, Iskandar promptly took his place.

The clerk behind the desk looked a bit bored. Probably because there weren’t that many people in the lobby in the first place; Iskandar supposed that must be a strange event, what with people constantly entering and leaving the city; there were certainly a lot of different faces here! Similar to Annuakat. Except, well, for the fact that there was lightning everywhere. That certainly made Volta quite different from Annuakat. A slight cough sounded in the air, and Iskandar resumed attention back to the slightly bemused attendant.

“Er, yes. I’m here to-” Iskandar was cut off.

“Here to exchange currency, and store metal objects?”

Iskandar raised an eyebrow at the man behind the counter as he reached inside his satchel to grab his coins. “Store my metal objects?”

“Yes, yes. Lightning tends to be attracted to metal. Why else would we want to exchange currency as well?”

At that, Iskandar shrugged. “I assumed it was because it was a good way of regulating currency to prevent some sort of commercial abuse?” At that, the attendant gave a start.

“Goodness, no! Well, that’s not the primary reason why. We don’t want any visitors to get electrocuted to death.” Iskandar conceded the point. Made sense. “So…”

“Here it is.” At that, Iskandar dumped the piles of coins, and started sifting through it, separating the coins into their respective values. The assistant blinked, and stared at Iskandar’s focus.

“That must’ve been quite the surgery.” Iskandar glanced at the man, before returning his attention back to the coins.

“Mmh. Not as bad as you’re probably thinking.” To which the assistant let out a small ‘oh.’ Shortly afterwards, Iskandar was pushing the coins through to the other side, gold first, then silver, then bronze, and the assistant was making sure to keep them in their respective valued piles. “It should be twenty gold pieces, fifty eight silver, and seventy three bronze.”

“Not much excess, is there?”

“I don’t like having to carry extra weight.”

The clerk nodded, before clearing his throat and pointing out, “You’re going to have to remove your buckle and jacket sir.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. Any metal is a liability, after all.”

Iskandar groaned, before asking, “Would it be possible to replace the buttons and buckle with other materials?”

“Why, yes! Volta has several artisans who are skilled in glassmaking and woodworking! I’m fairly certain you can get a glass buckle and wooden buttons somewhere.”

Iskandar smiled his thanks, until the next question by the clerk stopped him cold.

“So, where’s your weapon? Someone with your attire surely must have some sort of weapon on them.”

Iskandar stared at the clerk, his mesmerizing eyes causing the poor man to blink a bit confusedly. “I don’t have any on me.” The Clerk’s disbelieving face prompted Iskandar to explain before the man probably called the guards. “I’m a mage, you see.”

“Ah. And.. what discipline do you follow?”

“Luminancy.”

“Lumi...nancy? Light magic? I’ve never heard of that discipline before.”

“It’s not a well known magic. Very informal.”

“I..see. Well, you should know, the University of Volta is always looking for mages. You can’t miss it. Giant glass sphere, behemoth size.”

“...Thanks. I’ll see if I can visit it.” The rest of the conversation was spent discussing the best place to stay for the night, before Iskandar got his new currency, and trotted off. Meanwhile, the assistant turned around, and told the clerk next to him, “Would you believe it! What on Arethil does a luminancer do, exactly? Throw out light?”

Upon exiting the Office of Conductivity, Iskandar took a deep breath, before letting it out in a sigh. Already, he was missing his familiar gambeson and coat as the wind ruffled his loose top. He supposed he would have to visit one of the tradesmen in order to get the necessary items. As of right now, he had to find an inn for the night, as Kerrus probably wasn’t quite ready for him at the moment. With destination in mind, Iskandar set off.
 
Outside of the Office of Conductivity, Iskandar would be assailed by all sorts of sights and sounds. The restaurants and trading shops were the closest to the gate, including shops that sold common replacements for items that may have been forgotten in the rush to shed metal items; glass and wood buckles, toggles, services that advertised equipment renting, and one that displayed more delicate objects like wooden watches.

Inns were a bit further into the city; and all of them attempting to outdo the other. There was a massive stable that held all sorts of creatures from visitors, and several large sprawling buildings that advertised themselves as inns. Though the normal inn may only have one floor, the largest inn in Volta had four distinct stories. L’Hotel was a prideful work of engineering by the city, and loudly advertised itself as such with a plaque next to the door. A Sphinx butler was settled just inside the door, an intimidating figure over six feet fall. She had the body of a lion, but the face of a woman. Clearly, she was meant to be the guard for the establishment. A large wooden desk served as reception, with two sunny-looking elves behind it.

Down the street a ways, another hotel beckoned. Not quite as uptight, it catered to the weary traveler with two floors, an indoor bar and restaurant, and advertised free baths. The Indica Majika was the largest establishment, though technically not a hotel it certainly grabbed the eye.

Indica Majika was a towering construction that looked like a green glass bird cage, complete with tropical plants and water walls lining the tiled reception area. While it had rooms available on the second floor, Indica was best known for its relaxing baths, spa services, massages, and delicately overpriced things to nibble while in any of the former. It’s proprietor was a troll, a huge creature almost sixteen feet tall with tusks that burgeoned out another six like some great elephant. Contrary to his looks, Indica was a boisterous and humorous soul, given more to having a glass of champagne with his guests than skewer them.

Such was Volta. It had its own culture, a veritable melting pot, and races from all over Arethil had come to create and experiment in comfort.

Iskandar
 
Iskandar walked through the city, the loss of his jacket bothering him more than it should. He really needed to stop by a tailor... He shook his head. First, a place to stay. The first place he arrived at was L'Hotel. Really, there was no way he couldn't avoid stopping by it, what with it's immense size. After stopping at the doors and rolling his shoulders, Iskandar took a deep breath, and stepped in.

Well, this hotel was certainly upscale. Not only in size, but in style as well. While Iskandar was more used to wealthy establishments than when he was an urchin, they still always filled him with a sense of.. well, bittersweet longing. And an overwhelming sense of depression. Maybe this wasn't such a goo- What was that creature standing in front of him!? Iskandar did a double take, before a small grin overtook his face. Well, is this what a sphinx looked like? Master Forrel had shown him sketches of such creatures, and he'd heard sailors describe one, but to meet one in person was... well, it was definitely a different beast than hearing and learning about it.

He gave a quiet and brief greeting, before walking through, heading to the large wooden desk that dominated the scene. The lobby itself was quite spacious, and lavishly decorated. When Iskandar arrived at the desk, they quickly started talking business. ...Which shortly resulted in Iskandar walking out of the building, red faced and shoulders slumped. That was... embarrasing. He could only afford one night there? No, Iskandar couldn't afford that. He gave a resigned sigh, before picking his head back up, and trotting along once more.

The next building Iskandar found himself in front of was a giant glass dome. The Indica Majica. This place had a variety of plants, and the architecture itself was quite exotic. True, Iskandar came from one of the most diverse cities in Arethil, but most of that time spent there was in the slums. And while he spent much of his elder years in Elbion, Elbion was exotic in the... magical sense. While still exotic, its culture was still very much uniform. But enough reminiscing! This hotel practically shouted exoticism and distant lands, and Iskandar felt a grin tugging on his face again. He would love to stay here!

And so thus Iskandar entered the building. This lobby was also spacious, but while L'Hotel had a sense of.. elegance, this one had a sense of grace, if that distinction could apply. L'Hotel's wooden frame and large interior gave it a sense of majesty, while the Indica Majica's tiled reception area, along with it's rather tropical plants and interesting interior choice, gave a sense of openess that L'Hotel couldn't match. He strode up to the rather massive innkeeper- a troll, Creator know it! Yet, despite his fearsome looks, Iskandar found the troll rather acceptable company. After chatting for some time, the big question was dropped. Price.

...Iskandar slunk out of the hotel. His face was beet red. He also couldn't afford that place. Well, he could, but for one night!? No, Iskandar was not that confident in his abilities to get a stable income. He was definitely feeling down. The Indica Majica was a beautiful place. Iskandar wanted to stay there. But he simply just.. couldn't afford it. This was.. depressing. Iskandar trudged along through the streets, the need to get a profession stronger than ever. One last hotel. This one was much smaller than the others, only two stories. It was nondescript compared to the other two, though it still offered quite the services. But... still. Iskandar entered, and quickly went to business. If news was to be bad, Iskandar wanted it over with quickly.

Two nights. While, granted, it was better than one night, it was still quite ridiculous. Two nights. Was Iskandar seriously not financally prepared enough for Volta? Iskandar blinked, before sighing internally. Well, this is the best option that I have...

Iskandar quickly settled the deal. ...There goes looking around for a tailor... Iskandar shook his head, and resolved to dedicate the next day to finding potential clients, or at the very least, a job.
 
The smaller hotel was certainly less grand than L’Hotel or the Indica Majika, but that didn’t mean it was a dump. The room had a clean bed on a recently flipped mattress, fluffy pillows, and a closet available for him to hang his things up. The water in the basin on the nightstand was clean, the carpets washed. It was humble, but it wasn’t as though he risked lice. A small glass dish held a complimentary token for a bath, and in the nightstand there was a guide to Volta itself.

One thing all the hotels had, big or small, was a small Crystal on the windowsill. When Iskandar entered the room, it brought forth the illusion of a scroll unfurling in midair.

The University of Volta welcomes visitors to our fair city! If you have need of magical services, education, or wish to serve the city yourself, please present yourself on the University grounds to one Professor Haley Lytra. Thank you, and enjoy your stay.

After concluding reading its message aloud, the scroll would simply vanish in a puff of illusory smoke, and would not appear again.

In the morning, there was a breakfast available. It was simple; hard boiled eggs, buttered toast, and sausage, but at least it was free of charge.

Iskandar
 
On the corner of a building, a figure could be seen leaning on it, dejected appearance written clearly on his demeanor. No one- no one! - had any real good jobs for Iskandar to do. They were either satisfied with the trading, or they had it fulfilled by others that were more approved by the state. It was disheartening, to say in the least. Iskandar sighed, before glancing up at the sky. Even though there was a constant threat of a looming storm, the man could make out the sun. Just before midday. Iskandar sighed, rubbing his eyes, before rummaging through his pockets for change. He knew he was light on money, but he wasn't expecting Volta to be this.. expensive.

His fingers, rummaging through the pockets, suddenly came upon an unfamiliar object. Puzzled, Iskandar pulled it out. When he did, the crystal began displaying a message: The University of Volta welcomes visitors to our fair city!...If you have need of magical services, education... Oh, right. Iskandar couldn't help but give a guilty chuckle as he stuffed the crystal back into his pocket. He may or may not have swiped the crystal off the shelf as soon as he saw the image appear out of the crystal. He knew gems were excellent at retaining information, but to have it present it's information in such a clear fashion was actually astounding. Normally, the light would be dispelled by various factors such as dust and other interfering light...

Iskandar's train of thought stopped mid-sentence. ...Or wish to serve the city yourself. Iskandar was an idiot. The University was probably his best bet to get a job to begin sustaining himself. Well... time to get moving. Iskandar pushed himself off of the wall, and began trotting off to the great giant dome that loomed over the rest of the city.

Upon first getting a glimpse of the sheer.. scale of the University, Iskandar stopped and stared, slackjawed. It was... immense! After ogling for a good couple of moments, Iskandar shook his head, and grinned. Yes, this could be his opportunity.

The inside was no less extravagant and massive. And it was littered with various alchemical and magical and magical lights, some which Iskandar could only shake his head at. All were somewhat... inefficient, when compared to what magic Iskandar used, but he wouldn't fault them. The stormclouds surely made gathering energy from the sun difficult. Walking down and seeing all the various contraptions was definitely interesting, however!

Iskandar managed to catch someone who looked like staff, and asked, "D'you know where Professor Haley Lytra is?"

"Ah, a student, are you?"

"Ah.. not really.."

"Oh, so one of the people attracted by our message?"

Oh, did Iskandar so want to ask how they operated those crystals! But, focus. After confirming that, directions were swiftly given, and before long, Iskandar was in front of Professor Haley Lytra's office. He straightened his outfit, before knocking on the door. "Professor Lytra? May I enter, or would it be too invoncenient?" He was worried. It was starting to become evening- maybe he came too late?


Jonathan Burr
 
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Professor Lytra’s offices were spacious, as to accommodate a professor. Most of them had their own private laboratories in addition to lecture halls and quarters. Lytra was a professor of the House of Electroalchemy, so her offices were in the leftmost wing of the University. The ceiling was vaulted, a showy spiral of bookshelves and cases full of strange plants, skulls, and crystals that faded into a painted dome featuring the night sky. The floor was piled in books, covering up an expensive Alirian carpet, and with no discernible organization.

Lytra was seated behind a mahogany desk, a stack of papers to be graded at her elbow and a mug of coffee to her right. She heard the knock and frowned.

“Papers were due by midday, young man. If you haven’t submitted your paper you’ll just have to burn it and pray for your exam scores.” She called sharply. She rolled her eyes. There was one in every class. She eyed a particularly large beetle on her desk, having escaped its jar, and she swept it off without thinking. She was overworked, and focusing far too much about light theory and crystals to pay attention to what sort of bug it was.

The beetle indignantly hurried across the floor and under the door, where it looked up at the mage. It was bright gold, a shimmering mirror of a creature. The two regarded one another for a few seconds before Lytra ripped open the door and slammed a glass down on the beetle. A deft sweep of her hand, and she had her captive back. “Took me months to capture you from the Silent Court!” She huffed, and eyed Iskandar. “Don't you have an essay to burn? Get back to your quarters.”

Iskandar
 
Iskandar blinked. After knocking on the door, a woman had irately called out to him to burn an.. exam paper? The man took a moment to put a couple of fingers on his temple, and before he composed himself, a golden, shining beetle scuttled from underneath the door. The two looked at each other, Iskandar himself being very bemused.

That moment of solidarity was broken by the sudden interruption of one Professor Lytra. After she hastily captured the beetle, she looked at Iskandar grumpily. Iskandar managed to compose himself during the process of the poor beetle's capture, and he smiled slightly, if a bit tentatively, at Lytra. "Actually.. I'm not a student. I've been informed that you may offer any off-jobs?"

After saying that, he tried to peer into the office. It was a mess! Books were everywhere, and the rather spacious office had a cluttered feel about it. Which, granted, Iskandar's places were also often messes, but at least they were organized messes! Iskandar's lips curled into a wry smile, and he looked away from the office to focus back on Lytra.

"The Silent Court? I don't think I've heard of that place before."

Jonathan Burr
 
Professor Lytra looked up at the young man. She frowned at him, huffing a strand of gray-lavender hair out of her face. She held up the beetle and examined it for damage. Crushing a messenger of the Silent Court would bring the undead straight to her. Not happily, either. She sealed up the jar, shaking her head at the young man, and gestured for him to follow her.

She opened the jar for a moment to add a sprig of Rosemary, which the beetle settled down to munch on, and replaced the jar on a shelf. She sat her slender figure back down behind her desk and looked at him.

“The Silent Court of the Fae. They are dedicated to the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Detritivores, or animals who feed on the decaying plant and animal matter of Arethil, are sacred to them. Golden tortoise beetles like that one-“ she gestured at the beetle. “- are sacred messengers of their priests. I’ve been trying to figure out how to summon one to study the Silent Court. The only other way to speak to one...is to die.”

Lytra sighed. “Right, well if you’re not a student what do you want? A job? What can you do? I don’t think you’ll like it if you let me assign you a place, young man, so answer wisely. I am a Professor of the House of Electroalchemy. There are plenty of toilets to scrub if you’re just some traveler off the street.”

Iskandar
 
Iskandar cocked his head as he examined the beetle inside the jar. A court for undead, then? Decay and induction via dying.. Iskandar’s lips curled up in a sneer. Undead were just those who were afraid to face their judgement. His mounting internal rant was interrupted as Professor Lytra put the beetle back onto the shelf, sat down behind the desk, and got straight to business.

At her mention of cleaning toilets, Iskandar’s face went from flushed red in anger to a pale white of fear. No. There was no way he was returning to.. that lifestyle. He swallowed visibly for a moment, before looking at Professor Lytra in the eye. “I…” How to proceed? While Master Tonor always told Iskandar that, as a luminancer, his abilities were paramount, he always maintained a secretive aspect about revealing their discipline. Especially to those who would document it. It seemed as if luminancers didn’t want their craft well known…

Iskandar shook his head slightly, and returned to the question. “I… I am a mage who manipulates light.” ...Misleading, but not wrong. And he felt somewhat guilty for doing so, but this was probably the safest option. Perhaps the professor would believe him to be one of the more… traditional, disciplinary and schooled mages who manipulated light. Those who healed and provided barriers and whatnot. ...Though if she asked him for proof…

Iskandar supposed he was really just buying for time. But time for what, exactly? Lytra to prove she’s trustworthy? Iskandar to sort out if he should break the unspoken tradition of secrecy? Iskandar to grow a spine? ...Maybe he should stop before he started self-berating himself. He straightened himself slightly, looking at the professor, waiting for her response. Which would probably be his doom.

Jonathan Burr
 
Lytra’s sharp little eyes caught the sneer. “The Undead represent a significant interest to this University, young man. The Silent Court has been reputed to be able to extend their citizens’ existences by trading the lifespans of existing creatures. Essentially, turning the clock back on rot. I want to examine that spell, and see how it works. Unfortunately that means trying to contact them, which is difficult when one is healthy and hale.” She sighed. “Anyway.”

Lytra finally heard him sputter out that he could manipulate light. She frowned. “What do you mean manipulate light? Are you skilled in magelight spells? Is that what you mean to say?” She raised one slender eyebrow. The poor boy was nervous. Perhaps a demonstration would be easier than attempting to wring answers out of him.

“Go ahead then. Show me.” She set her papers down and folded her hands, watching him.

Iskandar
 
Iskandar sighed. Well, he should have expected this. The woman was sharp, he gave that to her. If she managed to capture a messenger for the undead without attracting their attention, then she was obviously quick witted and a- not intended to be negative…- schemer. Best get it over with.

Iskandar fiddled his fingers for a second, before flicking his right hand a bit. Meanwhile, his left hand was pulling the glove off the stretching hand, revealing the gemstone embedded into the skin. He put the glove in a pocket, with the gem on his right hand glowing slightly, and the aura about him growing brighter and visibly appearing as if to coalesce to a form. Another moment later, and the glowing yellow sword was in his right hand. Iskandar adopted a fencer’s stance for a moment, but then appeared to change his mind, smiling a bit sheepishly at Lytra as he returned to a normal stance, admittedly a bit awkwardly. The sword dissolved into glowing motes of light that swirled around him, before even those motes dissolved into nothing, leaving behind only a small illuminance around Iskandar.

“By manipulating light, I meant, er…” At that, Iskandar broke off, and rubbed the back of his neck. “While magelight IS technically something, uh, luminancers can do, it is a rather simple… if limited.. application of what we can do..” The man cleared his throat, before continuing: “Though, observing how regular mages gather the energy for magelight, they do it rather wastefully.” At that, his eyes became distant for a moment, before he snapped back to reality and continued: “Furthermore, this light can also be manipulated to create rather interesting illusions.” At that, he took the glove off of his left hand, raised both of them, and visibly concentrated. Behind him, the door and a small section of the wall disappeared, leaving behind an image of what looked like a hole in the room, leading to an empty hallway.

The illusion lasted only for a moment, before Iskandar quit his concentration, and returned looking back at Lytra, and shrugged. “Luminancers don’t manipulate light like how other mages do. They associate light with healing and shields and barriers and the like…” At that, his mouth twisted into a slightly rueful smile. “Luminancers basically make light solid, into what we call shards.” At that, he stopped. No need to spill out all of his profession’s secrets.

Jonathan Burr
 
Lytra watched the boy closely. He was young, and inexperienced. He wore that painfully obviously, but he wouldn’t be the first mage wet behind the ears to enter the University. He may have been one of the few ballsy enough to ask her for work. She watched his hand, making note of the gem, and the blade that spawned from it. Light, not like magelight but actual solid light, as though wielding the sun like a blade. From what the boy mentioned it didn’t seem to be magelight but rather the manipulation of existing light; as from the crystal.

The illusion caught her attention as well. Perhaps another bend of the light? He absolutely had her attention. Mages sporting new abilities was rare. Pyromancers, aquamancers, and geomancers made up the lions share of the mages at the university. A luminancer was something even she hadn’t heard of.

Was this boy truly skilled, or leaning on the artifact in his hand? Either way, she was fascinated. He had never answered her question as to whether he needed employment or was here to learn, but from what she gathered a mage this wet behind the ears needed some guidance. Not to disparage the boy, but to give him some confidence so he didn’t sit there stuttering like an oil lamp.

She rose, and leaned against her desk. “Odd jobs aren’t something we give to outsiders, young man, but if you’re willing to enter this University as a student I would be willing to have you in the House of Electroalchemy. If you can streamline how we use light here in Volta, it could help the city and yourself. The mayor isnt above rewarding dedicated individuals, and you’re clearly talented. However, I’m sensing you lack a bit of confidence and a formal education. Would you like to gain them?”

Iskandar
 
“Odd jobs aren’t something we give to outsiders, young man…” At that, Iskandar’s shoulder’s slumped. Great. Another failed attempt… But Lytra wasn’t finished. “...but if you’re willing to enter this University as a student I would be willing to have you in the House of Electroalchemy."

...Huh?

Iskandar’s eyes furrowed. Despite his confusion, he managed to hear Lytra’s continued proposal.
All the way ‘till the “...Would you like to gain them?” At that, Iskandar’s response rose up several octaves in pitch as he gave an incredulous, “I DO have confidence and education!” ...Iskandar blinked when he realized what his voice just did. “...Alright. Maybe not confidence…” At that, the man rolled his shoulders. “But I did go through an apprenticeship, where I was taught my luminancy, fundamentals of magic, arithmetic…” Relearned how to write….

At the end of that, Iskandar sighed. It’s true my apprenticeship didn’t cover much variety… All he really learned there was the very concept of light, how crystals worked, some maths, how magic worked… Sure, he didn’t learn the fancier stuff like alchemy- aside from the ritual used to create his bonded weapon- but he didn’t need to learn alchemy to do Luminancy well… Did he?

...Well, crap. Iskandar cleared his throat.

“...With that in mind, I HAVE had an education. What would the University offer to surpass that?” At that, Iskandar tapped his chin. “And if I DID join, just how much would I have to pay? Unless this cooperation you’re proposing somehow pays for all of this.”

At that, Iskandar shuffled his feet, looking a bit sheepish. “Because, y’know, I wouldn’t be asking for a job if I was laden with money.”

Jonathan Burr
 
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