Private Tales Beyond These Walls

[Feä Mindalië]

Maester Ulman of Feä's Martial Pursuit and Magical Application class bid her aside one day. He offered some small praise for her progress, to which Feä returned humble gratitude, and then he proceeded to his main point.

"You strike me as a more adventurous student—that is, adventure being worthy of you."

"What do you mean?"

Ulman placed his hands on his hips and gathered his thoughts; he had surmised of Feä her peculiarities, namely how she was quick and intuitive in some regards, and simpler and lacking understanding in others. Her wits were of a particular nature.

"The College offers many paths for growth and learning. There are many, of course, who prefer study, and a certain degree of mastery, before they challenge the world. Some would rather wait fully until their course here at the College is complete. Some seek no adventure at all, and this even is to their strength, as they might excel at lore, scholarship, advising, and all such things. But some, Feä, some of our students not only learn best by practical experience, but seek it." He swept his hand out toward the perimeter of the College grounds, as the class took place outside in a courtyard. "These walls are not a boon to them."

And struck was Feä by this last part. She had been surrounded by walls nearly all her life—walls not necessarily of physical make—and rarely had she enjoyed freedom. Yet she knew deeply her dependence on structure, on walls, and she despised it. In the familiar, in the known, in safety, could no liberation be found. And though the unfamiliar brought with it trepidation, this she knew she needed to conquer, else ever would she live within her father Arunwë's design.

So Feä nodded to Maester Ulman, and she said, "And they are not a boon to me."

* * * * *​

Feä trembled with excitement, a small and eager smile gracing her visage, as she packed her things for travel. Maester Ulman had given to her a list of possibles she might want to bring, and she attended to these, sourcing what she did not yet have through purchase while out on pass in the city. And she called from memory her long journey with her Mentor, their travel over the rough lands her would-be slavers had taken her—and here was the font of happiness behind her smile. Truly she had never been more free, more engaged in wonder, more loving of life, than during her journey with her Mentor, and this field assignment called forth a delightful echo of that.

She was to be paired with an older student, a human, Bliss Gradimir. Maester Ulman said that this was quite standard, and that even those students (and graduates) who were more seasoned did still prefer the surety of company, both for acquaintance and safety. Feä did not mind it all. Though she was often shy and inward of nature, rather would she travel into the unfamiliar with a companion.

They were to meet with Professor Istra Lejeune, who would have for them the details of their assignment. But Feä endeavored to meet with Bliss early, at her room—if indeed she was there.

So with her pack set, she wove through the halls of the Dormitory Wing of the College, sea of a doors and labyrinth of corners it was. At last she arrived at the room of Bliss Gradimir.

And she knocked on the door.

Bliss

 

[Bliss]

"I swear to the great names, Calixt—"

The name fell short. Her eyes, blue and wide with mortification, fell upon an elven student. Bliss' cheeks turned pink, the young woman shrinking only slightly in her embarassment. "Oh... you are not... um, well, sorry..."

She gave a shaky laugh, trying to offset the nerves.

"Did you want to come in?" She tried again, stepping back into her solitary room and open the door wider to be more welcoming. "Sorry, I thought you were some first year idiot that is..."

Bliss wasn't off to a good start.

"You're Feä, aren't you? I was informed we would work together." She smiled, strained, still embarassed, but moved across the room to where a teapot was steaming from the spout. "I was about to have some tea, if you wanted a cup. Black tea."

 

[Feä Mindalië]

Feä when she heard the raised voice of Bliss through the door stood in apprehension, fearing some mistake on her part. But it was nothing of the sort, a mere false impression, and Bliss (Feä did have the correct room) immediately apologized.

"All is well," Feä said softly in response.

An invitation followed.

"I would welcome tea. Thank you," she answered, and she stepped into Bliss's room and shut the door. And she stood for a moment there, just a step beyond the precipice of the door, hands clasped reservedly before her, and she in her curiosity (and mild confusion) just had to ask, "Are you bothered often by first year idiots?"



Bliss

 

[Bliss]

Bliss was a blur about her room. She had the entire medium-sized room to herself, as older classes would get the privilege of. She had moved things from the table, a great number of books opened to specific pages and all the writing utensils she would need, all lifted into the air with a simple brush of a hand as the spell began to put away her studies.

"Oh, just the one." She laughed, opening a cupboard door and fetching a second cup. "Maester Blodwyn's brother, Calixtus... he just started his first year, but the Maester wants to ensure his brother leaves the College accomplished..." She set the cups at the table, a smile growing on her face. "Here, take a seat!"

Bliss fussed around for sugar and honey, of which she had purchased from in the city. Spoons and biscuits were taken to the table. "I don't make it known, but I help Calixtus master his magic. A few pointers here and there... we're the same age, despite me being in my fourth year... I think he is trying to befriend me to look more elite." At which Bliss snorted. "I help many students, actually. I have older brothers, and I watched as each of them attended the College and learned a lot from them, really. Sorry... I'm talking too much." She winced. It meant she hadn't spoken in a good few hours, or been too focused on coursework that any social interaction was welcomed.

Finally, she came to sit at the table with the teapot, still steaming.

"I adapted a spell for boiling a pot to accommodate for a teapot. Use the normal spell, and your ruin your ceramics... but if you add the prefix minim before the spell, you deliver a slower boil which is perfect for teapots. No need to for a stove top or a stove top kettle..."

Feä Mindalië

 

[Feä Mindalië]

Calixtus. Like many of her fellow first-years, she knew at least the name, though she had not been properly acquainted. Bliss had a strong impression of him, but Feä resolved to let the man speak for himself, if and when they ever should meaningfully cross paths, and thereupon would Bliss be vindicated or nay.

Feä sat when the offer was extended, and her pack she set on the floor beside her. She listened attentively as Bliss continued. In her fourth year, she said. Stars Alight! To Feä it seemed quite the length of time—and she missed not the irony of thinking this, being of elven blood. But her own years were few, and the novelty of the College accorded with it days which seemed longer than those days of living under the House of Mindalië.

Sorry...I'm talking too much.

"I mind not at all to listen," she said politely. And indeed, to listen was to learn.

Bliss explained then a simple art, and the mere idea of it had Feä baffled at first, but then possessed of a small wonder by the time Bliss finished.

"Oh! I did not even conceive of such...ingenuity. Of my Maesters and their lessons, I follow their word as closely as I can, for even that can prove challenging. A skillful deviation therefrom is remarkable. I fear many ceramics of my own would have been ruined, should I have ventured as you have."

Bliss

 

[Bliss]

Bliss looked down, fixed on pouring their tea slowly. It gave her time to think, to truly put thought into her next words.

"I wish to be different from my brothers, to be my own person and mage. My family are excellent with defense spells and strong wards, but I have always wished to be... something more dangerous than that. I already have surpassed the amount of years my brothers have studied, and I do intend of learning my fill here." She set the pot down. Her hands reached for a cup and cradled it between both hands. "If you wish... perhaps I can teach you some things about magic. How to... bend it to your will better."

Her first year, she had been sure to make many friends out of her peers, and secured many mentors that helped shape Bliss in her journey to being a well-rounded mage.

"Of course, after we go on this assignment." She smiled, now bring her cup to her lips.

Bliss already had made some arrangements on what to pack, and luckily this was not her first time venture out from the College.

 

[Feä Mindalië]

Bliss expressed a desire which resonated with Feä, though she knew it not until that very moment—to be someone more dangerous than she otherwise would have been. What would her life be if she was only possessed of that which her body alone was capable? Mayhap she never would have learned at all that she had the spark of magic within her, had it not been for the harrowing ordeal with the raiders, her kidnapping, and her Mentor.

If you wish...perhaps I can teach you some things about magic...

"I would like that," said Feä, and she like Bliss's shadow brought then her own cup to her lips and sipped of the tea.

"Maester Ulman believes I am fit for adventure, if I choose such. And your wisdom, I think, is paramount. Though I have lived within Elbion all my life, I know that beyond our walls lurk many blemishes upon the beauty of the world. The danger must be met."


Bliss

 

[Bliss]

Despite any annoying students she gave lessons to, Bliss was always happy to lend her knowledge to others. It was gratifying to watch them improve, to see her work become something and help others.
Bliss did wonder if she should strive to be a Maester one day. To teach here at the College, but there was something at the back of her mind that told her she would want to not be bound to one place.
The adventure that Feä spoke of called to Bliss.

"I suppose I know what I would like to teach you first. Warding spells and defensive ones are what we are taught here, but I can show you how to be smart with them. How to choose which one to cast, and how to hold the strongest wards to keep ourselves safe." She would not make mention of the fact danger could come from anywhere, and she learned the hard way to keep up a shield around herself whenever she would go out on these travels sanctioned by the College. "Something to do once we are on the road." Bliss smiled.
She liked the way the elf spoke of the world, understood she may not know much but knew what to expect. It gave Bliss hope that Feä would be a fast learning student, that she would not end up a liability for the fourth year student.

"Is that your pack?" Her eyes dropped it, slumped against the other's chair. "I only need to organise a few more things if you were ready to go see the Professor?"

 

[Feä Mindalië]

"Yes. I have ensured that I am prepared," said Feä of her pack. She sipped her tea again, thinking a bit on what Bliss said of wards; Feä's own gift of magic, though it felt more intimate and familiar to what she was learning at the College, would not and could not protect her against all the myriad perils of Arethil—this something Maester Ulman made clear to all his students. He preached versatility, Maester Ulman, for one could not directly prepare for everything, but the greater one's set of skills, the more one possessed a hedge against the dangers of the unknown.

Feä flushed for a moment as a new thought came to her, and she smiled shyly, a touch guiltily, as one finding humor in irreverence. A small giggle nearly escaped her, shoulders hitching, but with a touch of her fingertips to her mouth she caged it.

"Would...Calixtus have shown here unready?"

He did seem a cause for much vexation, and it was the place of the learner to make ready for the lessons of the teacher.

Bliss

 

[Bliss]

Bliss raised a brow as her gaze dropped in thought. "He can be obnoxiously privileged, but... we seem to have a language where we can understand one another. Calixtus wants to be seen the best, to come out on top... and he knows that I like to appear... versatile. That way... I always find a place somewhere." Bliss flicked her gaze up at Feä, a half smile struggling on her expression. She knew he spoke a truth that day, that Bliss never wanted to feel left out... even if her goal was to go beyond that of many mages in Elbion.

She had safety nets to catch her if she reached for the sun and burned herself.

"If I challenged him, as I do to all those I tutor... I feel proud when I see them rise to it. It tells me I am not speaking to deaf ears... that there are others out there willing to burn the fuel that keeps us going."

The smile grew stronger, now reaching her eyes.

"I guess I wish to see all succeed, just as I hope to do myself."

Feä Mindalië

 

[Feä Mindalië]

It had seemed to Feä that annoyance crowned her relation with Calixtus, and ever did it reign, but as her answer unfolded it was not so. The mirth of Feä which had meant to poke fun at the young man drained away, and even did it seem uncouth to her then, a wrongful indulgence. Mayhap annoyance did intrude from time to time for Bliss, but it wore no crown, and seemed but a part in a relation which held a greater breadth than any could first intuit. And so Feä listened to Bliss with warm reception, unseriousness departed.

She placed her elbow on the table and settled her chin into her palm.

"How many students have you tutored? You accord yourself in a manner much like our Professors and Maesters—it must be many, and this ere you have completed your fourth year! I find it astonishing."




Bliss

 

[Bliss]

She lowered her gaze in thought.

"This year, only one so far. The Maesters and Professors do not want to make me do too much... Especially now that I am focusing on working towards new defensive spells. Adaptations of them... like I have done with the tea pot." Bliss shrugged. In fact, she had been the one to refuse taking anyone on this year, until Maester Blodwyn spoke of his brother. How could she refuse someone of that renown to help their blood?

Bliss met the other's gaze. "My offer is still valid to you. I used to have at least six students to a semester to tutor..."

She saw something in Feä that told her to trust in her. That this offer would yield exemplary results.

"Let's say we give it a try while we are traveling?"

 

[Feä Mindalië]

"Such would make a long sunset or slow sunrise all the more enjoyable," said Feä.

And now she let settle her hands together upon the table, on atop the other, and her tea sat before them. A smile, wistful but not overly so, drifted like a breeze across her visage.

"Solitary has my time here yet been, in large part. It is no fault of my fellow students, for they near one and all have been kind to me. Truly I do desire bonds of friendship, though often I am content in my solitude"—or anxious owing to her shy nature—"and seek it not. But wheresoever we shall go in our time of journeying, there and back for all its length, I will hold dear your companionship."

And surely, four years at the College taught Bliss more than spellcraft. As it had been with her Mentor, Feä thought greatly that she might from Bliss glean deeper insight of the world than ever she had residing in the house of the Mindalië. Certainly so as it pertained to the College, to the body of students, in particular—Bliss likely had scores of friends, and knew much of the social trappings which might elude Feä herself.

Bliss