Private Tales Light At the End of the Tunnel

[Ciana]

Her lips kicked up at his belief, and she nodded, believing more in his abilities than her own. He would ensure that she learned, he wouldn't give up on her, and somehow she was entirely certain of that. That alone gave her the confidence that she would perhaps one day have the freedom to do those things again.

Her head tilted as he seemed to consider her question, and it was clear that it wasn't something he was often asked or thought about. She smiled warmly at his answer and nodded with a deep sigh. "I think I would enjoy seeing more of the world. I haven't seen much, but I have read much about it and its mysteries too.."

"You must have seen so much. I can't say I've ever met anyone quite so clever as you."

 

[Maric]

Maric smiled. "Once you've mastered your abilities you could go where you please."

It would take time, perhaps a few years, but Ciana was young. Even if she spent half a decade learning to control her powers she would have a lifetime to explore the world. Her father had all but ensured that she had the means to do it, and Maric intended on keeping that safe.

"Something to look forward to." He told her. "A goal you can work towards."

Ciana would need more than a want for control if she was going to master her abilities. Having something to reach towards, something she could actively pursue would be helpful. Everyone needed goals, his own were the only thing that had kept him going after the accident.

His smile flickered for a moment, but didn't disappear. "Once, yes."

Maric told her.

"In my youth I traveled, picking through markets and ancient tombs to find curios and artifacts." For a moment he seemed lost in a thought, a spark of nostalgia. "But...finding you has been my first trip from Althhaven in nearly a decade."

The Professor admitted.

 

[Ciana]

Ciana held onto that hope and those memories she had of such times in her childhood. She let the warmth of it swell in her chest and her skin heated. She'd only just begun to notice it when his smile faltered and her emotion switched to curiosity, and then.. confusion.

"A decade?.." Ciana frowned and let out a breathy laugh, imagining that he must surely be mistaken. She couldn't help but steal a glance at his rounded ears, and she shook her head.

"Forgive me, but you don't look very much older than I am.." she commented, the lilt of a question in her tone.

 

[Maric]

Maric smiled. "Yes."

There was a small sorrow to his voice, regret that perhaps should not have been there in the first place.

How long had it been since he'd lost his magic? How long ago had he pulled himself away from the world to commit to his research? It seemed like an age or more. "The benefits of magic, I'm afraid."

He told Ciana.

"I am a little over two hundred years old, Ciana." The Professor explained. "My life has been extended far beyond what it should normally be."

A wisp of a smile touched his face. "A gift from the magics that I once held."

 

[Ciana]

Ciana's gaze softened slightly as she noted the solemnity in his tone, but whatever expression she wore paused as he told her of her age. Her brows rose, and her mouth gaped as she studied him as though searching deeper, looking for line or wrinkle where none existed. He shouldn't have still existed at all. Gods, he was older than her great, great...great grandparents, and yet all she could do was marvel at how young he still looked.

"..Oh...I..." she flustered, her cheeks heating in embarrassment at her rudeness, but curiosity pushed her yet further. "Are you.. Still human?.." she asked, and winced at the question. "I mean.. You look human. I just, I didn't think humans could live so long, or that there was any sort of magic that could prolong life.. I don't quite understand.." she sighed in shame of her ignorance.

 

[Maric]

Maric frowned for a moment. "That...is an interesting question."

Not one that he could actually answer.

"There are entire books devoted to the subject." The Professor said with a laugh, though looked at the color in her cheeks as she sighed. "It is not something you should feel ashamed not knowing."

A hand came up to scratch at his chin. "I think I am still human. I am...just a very old one."

He mused for a moment, then continued.

"There are theories, and just theories mind you." This was a touchy subject for some, but Ciana had a curious mind. One that he wanted to encourage. "That the Gods were simply very powerful mages. Some of them at least."

Books upon books upon books had been written, debated, and decried on the subject. Maric himself had never much looked into the suggestion, apart from some minor talks with his more...enthused colleagues. "Sorcerers and Witches who could bend mountains, call upon storms, and change man at a whim."

 

[Ciana]

She dropped her gaze with an awkward laugh as he seemed to notice her shame, his own laugh at the matter making her feel a little better. The last thing she wanted to do was offend him.

Again she hung onto his words as he spoke of books and theories, her brow rising at what he told her. "Oh.. I.." she blinked, a little lost for words for a moment.. She supposed that could make sense, but she almost feared saying as much.

"I imagine that is a very dangerous theory.." she narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. Had such a thing been spoken of where she'd come from, the one who said it would have been cut down for blasphemy. They were God fearing people, but they hated mages just as much.

"What do you believe?" she asked.. "Were you, that powerful?"

 

[Maric]

His head slowly dipped in a nod.

"Yes. In some corners of the world such talk would be considered utterly blasphemous." Not the least of which was her own home. A place where they would gladly put someone like Ciana to the question at least. "But I believe that talking about the idea is not wrong, talking about any idea is not wrong. It is important. The only way we can learn is by asking questions."

Maric chuckled and quickly shook his head. "No no. Not at all."

In his youth he might have aspired to such power, but as he'd grown older the Professor had quickly learned better.

"I believe that magic is...extraordinary." He said cryptically. "There certainly once were mages powerful enough to shake the world. There might even be some alive now...but...I believe in the Divine as well."

Maric said with a soft smile. "The two are not mutually exclusive. Like most things in life, Ciana. There are shades of gray to every discussion."

"Perhaps some of what we consider Gods are in fact just mages with enough power to sunder the skies..." He paused a moment, then continued. "But then why are they not Gods? Simply because they take the form of man does not make them any less. Are they not beyond our understanding? Is that not what a God is?"

The Professor smiled. "A question leads to another question, and that is true learning."

 

[Ciana]

Ciana couldn't help but chuckle with the slightest hint of bitterness in her tone. "I have always been curious about the world, Professor, as was my mother, and I've often been told that I ask too many questions. I was forbidden from asking about magic of any sort, or of any species considered unnatural. We all were.. I can only imagine what my family might have been subjected to if I spoke of such an idea aloud.." her lips twisted, and though her eyes smiled too, the mirth slowly dwindled.

She sighed, considering his musings with a slow nod and a distant gaze as her mind conjured all sorts of godly beings wielding such magic as could construct and destroy worlds. "I.. Always imagined them to be giants." she laughed under her breath. "I'm not sure which is a more frightening thought.. That they could crush us like ants on a whim, or that they might immerse themselves into our lives whilst we're none the wiser of their power.." her brow arched at the thought.

She was quiet for a moment as her imagination ran laps around her mind before a thought stuck and she frowned.

"I'll never be able to return home, will I?.." she asked, though the question was rhetorical. They'd never accept her back knowing now what she was, knowing that she'd be returning with power that she could control. She'd been sent away so that she didn't die, so that Maric could help cure this 'illness', and yet to people like Elspeth, the magic in her veins was a disease that would only spread and make her more dangerous than she already considered her to be. She should've been put out of her misery.

 

[Maric]

The expression on his face was almost unreadable as Ciana spoke of her upbringing, the things that she had been denied.

Such a thing had always been abhorrent to him, but perhaps that was simply a mark of the privilege he held. He had been born in a place of learning, his parents had wanted him to know. The thought of being denied such opportunities was...disgusting to say the least.

Frown flickered to smile as she spoke of her own theory upon the gods. "Who is to say they were not?"

Maric remarked quietly before the conversations took a small pivot, and Ciana took on the reality of what she was.

The frown returned to his lips almost instantly. A long breath flowed into his lungs, and for a moment he simply remained quiet. How could one tell a child that she was denied from her home? That she could not returned to where her father was?

It seemed an almost impossible task.

"I don't know, Ciana." He said quietly. "Your home is..."

Maric trailed off. "No one can tell the future, not even oracles. There are a thousand possibilities, a thousand more avenues. There is no assurance in anything. Perhaps one day you will return home, perhaps one day they'll even ask you to."

It was a small hope, but a hope nonetheless. "There is no predicting what might happen. Not in this world."

 

[Ciana]

There was something about the way that he spoke to her that simply made her feel safe. She didn't need to search his face for truths or lies, he just simply told her as it was and it was up to her whether or not she accepted it. People were rarely honest with her, and so she appreciated it more that he wasn't trying to assure her that she would go back home and everything would be alright. Still, the hope was a nice touch..

She sighed deeply and gave a single nod. "I suppose there's little point in dwelling on that for now. First we should get to where we're going and focus on everything else. I can deal with that later." she shrugged, and put it to the back of her mind, hoping that it would be an easier subject to deal with when the time came.

"If they'd rather have let me die than accept me as I am, then so be it."

 

[Maric]

”A very pragmatic approach.” Maric said with a nod of his head. ”One that will take you far.”

The Professor himself could not always cling to such tricks. There were often times when he had been lost in the distant and esoteric. Forgoing the now so that he could glimpse into futures and possibilities.

A silly thing, really. ”Let’s get some rest, shall we?”

Maric said with a smile, and then alongside the driver began to set up a camp that they could actually use for the night. The two of them talked for some time more, and eventually the dawn came.

The next few days passed very similar to the first few. Some practice, some conversation. Each passing of the sun bringing a little bit more progress, a little bit more hope. Eventually on the fourth day they reached a small town. Dusk looming. ”What do you think?”

He asked. ”A meal inside, perhaps?”

The Professor asked.

 

[Ciana]

Ciana glanced sideward at him, a flash of uncertainty in her eyes before she dragged them back to the little town in scrutiny.

"Is it safe?" she asked. 'Do they accept people like us?' she meant. "If so.. I would very much like that.." she laughed almost painfully under her breath. Ciana was not accustomed to travelling, nor was she accustomed to sleeping on anything but the softest of feather beds, and although mentally she'd adapted well enough, physically, it was taking its toll.

Assured, they found themselves at a quaint looking tavern inn, and she seated herself at a table close to the small hearth, ignoring the eyes set upon her. It wasn't likely the sort of town that welcomed many visitors, she supposed. It was a quiet place, and a little too quiet for her liking..

 

[Maric]

Maric did not tell Ciana that she would still need to be careful. Did not tell her that they were still close enough to both Rhagos and Vinra that there was concern.

No.

There was no good to come of such truths. He wanted to build her confidence. Allow her a sliver of normality after all the work that she had done. The Professor would not deny her this night, not in this moment when they had an opportunity.

They were far enough that no one would look too closely. Far enough that no questions would be asked. That would be enough for tonight. "What do you want to eat?"

He asked.

"This is not the sort of place with a menu, but roasts, mead, all the standard sort." Maric said with a smile, completely slipping on the fact that Ciana might have no idea what the 'standard sort' was.

 

[Ciana]

She really didn't know what the 'standard sort' was at all but she knew she'd be grateful for a bowl of cold porridge right about now. "Whatever's good." she smiled, hoping her trust in the tavern's cook wasn't misplaced.

She could feel eyes on her and turned casually to the two men sitting at a table by the window, staring at her expressionlessly. Ciana cleared her throat, trying not to appear frightened as she offered a soft smile and a shy 'Hello'..

 

[Maric]

Almost as soon as Ciana offered her quiet hello the two men turned away from her and began a conversation in a hush whisper.

Maric frowned for a brief moment, but only smiled. "Maybe try making some conversation with the Waitress."

He suggested.

"People here have likely never seen someone like you before." By that, of course, he did not mean a mage of sorceress. He meant a woman of noble beauty. Someone who had her bearing, dress, and posture.

It was a rare thing indeed in towns like this. Foreign and strange.

 

[Ciana]

Ciana's brow dipped as the two men so blatantly ignored her, her gaze falling to the floor until Maric tried to explain..

"Someone like me?.." she asked and leaned closer to him. "They know what I am?" she frowned, feeling a sudden rush of panic.

"I.. was just trying to be polite." she added in confusion.

 

[Maric]

"A Noble, a lady." Maric clarified quickly, seeing the panic flicker across Ciana's face. "These are simple folk."

The Professor explained. "Most of them have probably never even seen a carriage. Much less those who ride in them."

Much of rural life was still exceptionally isolated, especially out here. There was a good reason for that of course. Most peasants had to spend their days working the land, they couldn't afford to travel to the cities or far lands beyond.

"I suspect." Maric added. "That they are simply a bit...perplexed."

He said with a smile. "But don't worry, It's not always li-"

Before he could finish a woman swept up to their table. She wore a low cut dress, her hair a bright red, and she practically beamed at the two outsiders.

"Hey there! What can I get ya'll?"​

 

[Ciana]

"Oh.." she answered, her cheeks flushing furiously with embarrassment. How must she have looked to assume they'd want to talk to her?!

"I.. Didn't realise. I didn't mean to offend anyone.." she added sheepishly, looking down at herself. She'd been travelling for a while now, she wasn't as pristine as she was used to being and her illness had taken its toll too, but even then, her porcelain skin and fine clothes, her leather boots and moleskin gloves, the eloquent way in which she spoke.. She didn't blend in here at all.

Her glassy eyes rose to Maric again as he sought to reassure her, though she physically jumped as the barmaid interrupted so flamboyantly. Ciana's gaze widened and she caught herself staring at the female's...assets. Now it was she who wasn't used to seeing such things, and she coughed and cleared her throat.

"Oh, I.." she smiled back. "I would love some orange juice, please.."

 

[Maric]

Maric very nearly broke out into an echo of laughter. Not to be cruel or mean, but the because it was very hard not to notice where Ciana's eyes had wandered.

The waitress herself did not seem any short of attention, though she practically seemed to preen under the attention. A wide smile, more aptly described as a smirk, spread across her lips as she mused over Ciana's order.

"Orange juice!?"​

She demanded happily.

"Well that sort of fare is usually served at breakfast time, but I suppose I can rustle you up some. We do have some find orchards here in town. Have our fair share of melons too."​

The woman offered a quick wink.

"And for you sir?"​

Maric only shook his head. "Some ale, will do, thank you."

 

[Ciana]

"Oh, how lovely!" Ciana smiled warmly up at the woman, the quip entirely lost on her. She watched her go with curiosity, glad of her apparently friendly nature, even if she had a little too much flesh on show.

"She seems nice." Ciana commented as she turned back to Maric. She could see the men by the window in her peripheries, could hear them whispering and muttering about her but she refrained from glancing over. Her cheeks warmed and she cleared her throat.

"Maybe we shouldn't stay.. How far now to Altha... to Alliria?" she asked with a wince.

 

[Maric]

Maric smiled, keeping his expression as neutral as he could manage. "A few weeks more."

He admitted.

"We'll be alright here." The Professor said, his voice a measure of calm in a chaotic world. "These people might not be used to a presence like yours, but..."

Briefly Maric glanced over towards the other table. "I grew up in a town very much like this."

Almost exactly like this in fact. Positioned between nothing and nowhere. The chance of upward mobility next to absolutely nothing. He remembered the days in those place. Never thinking beyond the farm, never even wondering what may lay beyond. "There's nothing to worry about."

 

[Ciana]

Ciana gave a tight smile and sighed with a nod of pacification. She trusted him, and so tried to relax a little more, and ignore those looking at her.

"I suppose, I'll try to blend in a little better from now on.." she murmured quietly, though short of rolling herself in dirt, not washing for a few days and leaving a little more skin on show, she really didn't know how to - because she wasn't about to do any of those things!

The barmaid returned quickly with their drinks and demanded that a few of the regulars stop gawking at the 'pretty guest', insisting that she wasn't here for their entertainment and that her 'tits were getting jealous'. Ciana's face was akin to the ripest of tomatoes, and she silently sipped her orange juice wishing the ground would suddenly split and swallow her.

 

[Maric]

Maric chuckled again, seeing Ciana's face turn crimson.

It was a remarkable thing, to see someone so sheltered suddenly thrust into an environment where everything was so remarkably different. She'd read books she said, but what was written on the page most often did not reflect reality.

Least not in all it's subtlety.

"The charm of the small town." The Professor said with a smile. "I'd almost forgotten what it was like."

He'd not let AlthHaven in so long that it almost seemed another life all together.

 

[Ciana]

Cici eyed Maric over the rim of her cup, smiling shyly as he appeared to be quite amused by her inexperience of such charms. The night continued on as such, they ate a hearty meal of roast meat and vegetables followed by a sweet apple pie (the barmaid insisting that the 'Twiggy girl needs some meat on her bones'), and a steaming cup of tea for Ciana.

She continued to draw attention, but after a while it stopped bothering her as much. They chatted and chuckled and blended in with the general atmosphere of the quaint little tavern, and soon she was comfortable enough to feel sleepy.

"I think I'll retired to bed.." she yawned, surprised to find the prospect of a tavern bed to be quite exciting given that she hadn't slept in her own bed for a few weeks now.