Private Tales Of Stranger Things

[Petra Darthinian]

Petra found herself leaning against the doorway to Selene's office, dressed in a casual blue tunic and dark breeches. The information she had learned from her dragon the day before finally felt ready to share and discuss after digesting all Norvyk had told her.

Eyes quickly scanned the office for any indication that she was interrupting and making herself a nuisance. But to the best of her knowledge, the coast seemed to be clear. Her scaled knuckles made an audible rap against the wooden frame, alerting the Dusk Captain of her presence, although she doubted Selene hadn't sensed her long before that.

"Evening." She began with a quiet tone, her demeanor just this side of off. "Do you have a minute to talk?"

Selene

---

Link to preceding thread for those interested:
To Poke a Sleeping Dragon

 

[Selene]

Selene's office was dark. Thick, velvet curtains blocked out sound and light from the arched window that lay behind her desk. The only light came from a lochlamp tucked away on a high shelf. It cast cool blue over every surface, and made the mess of books, reports, artifacts, ingredients and knickknacks strewn about the small room look bathed in permanent moonlight, even in the middle of the day.

A swish of robes and a ruffling of papers could be heard from behind the big wooden desk, as Selene rose from her spot. She pulled the door - which had already been cracked - open further. Squinting at the harsher torchlight that poured in from the hall, Selene looked up at the woman who stood at the threshold.

"Yes," Selene said simply. She stepped out of the way, and waved Petra in with a sweep of her arm. "Now is as good a time as any to clear up some... misapprehensions... about the bird."

Despite the clutter, there was a comfortable enough place to sit. Two clawfoot chairs of fine make were huddled around an end table in one corner. Selene pulled a stack of books off one chair, setting them down on the ground nearby. She brushed some crumbs out of the other one, and claimed it as her own seat.

"Unless something else is on your mind?"

Petra Darthinian

 

[Petra Darthinian]

The dark atmosphere of the room settled onto Petra, and she found it more cozy than smothering. She imagined it was as close to a cave as Selene could make it without actively carving a space for her studies into the stone.

The thought brought a private smile to Petra's face as she settled in the chair the Dusk Captain offered, laying the sketch papers she had brought with her onto her lap, her eyes absently tracking the titles of the books Selene had placed with a mild interest.

"Unless something else is on your mind?"

A soft tightening of her shoulders, her eyes sliding with some disbelief from books to Selene's serene expression.

Mildly confused, Petra asked, "I take it... Leyik has not told you of...her rather intrepid adventures with my dragon recently then?" Seeing the look on the other woman's face, she amended, "No. Not like that. Here, this. Take a look at these sketches I made from Norvyk's memories."

The dragon rider leaned forward and passed over her charcoal sketches, there was a handful of small drawings that made no sense on their own. But when coupled with the larger drawings of a strange castle, a throne, the shadowed visage of a long forgotten Lord, they began to piece together a rather esoteric story of events.

"Do you recognize any of this?"

Selene

 

[Selene]

The titles of the books recently placed on the floor were as follows:

Recorded Prayers to the Ur-Beasts
The Dwarves of Thiria
After the Gods Left: How Humanity Took Back the Valen
The Forestfolk, the Fieldfolk, and the Riverfolk: A Cultural Guide to the Eastern Wylds
Memories of the Land, by Druid Conall
Fascinations of Flight
How Much Does a Soul Weigh? On the Physicality of Mana and the Spirietus Anima
The Curses We Cannot Break ​

Selene did not respond to Petra's introduction of the topic right away. She turned her focus to the sketches offered by the elven woman. They were detailed, and seemed well proportioned. Selene got the sense that the pictures could be trusted.

Shuffling through them multiple times, she eventually stopped at a sketch that depicted a fanciful library. Stars projected against the books, shown as points of absence against the shadowy charcoal background. Selene nodded, as Petra asked if if anything looked familiar to her. She pointed at the crystalline device in the center of the scene.

"This is an orrery piece, we have one in the Dusk Sanctum's lecture hall. Though the one in your drawing seems much larger and more elaborate..." The paper was set down beside her on the table, as Selene went to inspecting the next drawing of interest. "And these spires here, in the throne room and the castle grounds, resemble what we know of Thirian architecture. Though the scale is off for dwarves. Perhaps merely the same era of invention, then."

All but one of the other drawings were set aside. She held on to the image of the Lord upon his throne, holding it up to the lochlight in both hands, face still placid. The figure on the throne was not familiar, but the carvings on the mural behind the dais stirred a memory.

"Leyik told me of this, yes, but I assumed it an adventure long past. The beast's sense of time is not always reliable." She leveled dark eyes at Petra. "You're saying all this happened recently?"

Petra Darthinian

 

[Petra Darthinian]

Petra waited in tense silence, collecting Selene's words like they were rare sea glass. She had also had thoughts on the Thirian influence within the castle. Her fingers had itched for texts she had read long ago in the depths of Fal'Addasian libraries. Granted, the Monastery boasted a well-stocked library— if the titles on the floor were any indication of the quality of knowledge they sought as an institution.

But still, in the last day, Petra had been unable to conjure any books that shed much light onto the more cryptic aspects of Norvyk's tale. All of which had led her to seek out Selene.

Clearing her throat, Petra glanced between the sketch and Selene before answering, "Yes. The day before last, to be exact. I took yesterday to draw these and find what I could in the library before coming to you."

She leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs and setting her elbow on the rest to support her chin in hand. The dawnling inspected the dark lush rugs underfoot, humming in contemplation as she continued, other hand gesturing casually to her sketches, "I have never in all my years, seen anything of the like. Either this is beyond the memory of my kind, or what we know has been lost." Curious draconian eyes snapped back to Selene, "But I have a feeling you know something."

Selene

 

[Selene]

"I have never in all my years, seen anything of the like. Either this is beyond the memory of my kind, or what we know has been lost." Curious draconian eyes snapped back to Selene, "But I have a feeling you know something."

"Hmm, how do I go about explaining this..." Selene's cool black eyes were indecipherable. She seemed to still be looking at the sketch in her hand, but could have just as easily been scanning the books on the floor, or glancing in Petra's direction. "Where to begin..."

Suddenly, she stirred. The stack of papers on the side table next to them were shuffled around in ways that only meant something to Selene. She produced a blank sheet of parchment from the mess, and a thin charcoal stick.

"You've been studying the fundamentals of the Pursuits, correct?" She asked Petra, but did not wait for an answer. She leaned over the table. Fingers splayed against the loose paper to brace it, and she drew a quick series of symbols on the page with the other.

"Flame, Loch, Life, Death, and Wyld," she said as she jotted down each of the corresponding runes. They were arranged in a pentagon, and linked with shaky lines of charcoal. "But this is only the surface, of course. Ontology that we mortals have created to describe the magics of the Vale. Beings that occupy these spaces - whose anima is drawn from the wells of gods themselves- do not always fit neatly within these constraints. They create blends and aberrations that stretch what we know. And sometimes, break it."

The charcoal moved once more. A funny squiggly line between the runes of Loch and Death, that branched out and formed its own rune. One that was not common to the knight's lexicon, but those well versed might recognize it. "This, for example, is where Leyik exists as an ur-raven. Not Loch, nor Death as we understand, but another Pursuit entirely - that of Memory. Unreachable to us. Natural to it."

She pushed the paper towards Petra, and offered her the charcoal. "Where then, do you think a floating castle lays? Where should we put this Lord of the Sky?"

Petra Darthinian

 

[Petra Darthinian]

She had learned much in her time with the Knights. Her own magics grew strongest within the Pursuit of the Flame. And what she didn't learn from her fellow Knights or on her own, was thanks to the resident Master of Flame, Syr Leclair. But despite her affinity lying outside of Loch and Death, Petra had done her due diligence to at least understand all of the Pursuits, as she saw them as being interwoven. You could not have one without the other. And together they made up all things. Yet... what Selene was describing was a subsection of the Pursuits that she had been naive to until this moment.

Sitting forward with a studious intrigue, the dawnling watched with furrowed brow as the Dusk captain sketched out her symbols before passing it to her. Hesitantly, she grabbed the charcoal, her left fingers tracing gently over this new to her symbol of Memory.

Tracking eyes over the charcoal script, the elf felt most drawn to that place of Flame. She recalled from Norvyk's mind the winds that sung through those halls, the power behind it that filled those crystal walls with life.

Life. Life...

"I think... here, would make the most sense from what I saw." She drew lines that mimicked Selene's marks, except Petra's drew a connection between Flame and Life. A place not familiar to her. But she stopped at attempting to draw the rune that combined the two, instead gesturing softly to the blank space. "Here is where I'm lost though. What would you call it?"

Petra went to push the stray curls out of her face when another mote of information that she had been withholding came back to nag at her. Sighing deeply, she placed the charcoal back on the sketch paper and sat with her elbows resting on her knees, her hands collected together so she didn't fidget.

"There is one more thing, Selene." She nodded pointedly to her pile of sketches that Selene had shuffled, having fatefully left the sketch of the crystal pillar with the Nexus on the top.

"Norvyk ate that."

Selene

 

[Selene]

"The intersection of Life and Flame," Selene intoned, as dark eyes watched Petra's hand draw upon the paper.

With an exaggerated inhale, she straightened in her chair. "Take in a breath, long and slow -- I mean it now, do this with me -- Good. Hold it there." A few seconds passed. "Let it out with a hum." Lips parting, Selene let the breath go, voicing the current of air into a gravely shape. "Feel that warm spark in the back of your throat, spiraling there? An emotion not yet formed, waiting to become a word. That is what the breath of Life and the crackle of Flame feels like, the act of Creation."

What Petra had to say next seemed to make the woman nervous. Cold eyes watched her try not to fidget, patient as they were unknowable. Then, a surprising sound left Selene. A laugh, warm and low. Squinting her eyes up in mirth, she nodded at Petra's frank confession.

"Yes, Leyik mentioned that part of the story. I believe her exact words were: 'Stupid dragon, why would anyone eat the jar without any jam in it?'" Selene shook her head, wistful. "What that means, well your guess is as good as mine."

Petra Darthinian

 

[Petra Darthinian]

A deep inhale centered Petra and tightened her diaphragm, her open mouth mirroring Selene while she concentrated on doing what was asked.

Exhale.

Focusing, Petra could feel a familiar magic sparking at the bottom of her throat. Inhale.

This place of Creation felt similar to the way songweavers made music that could change the world around them. Ships pulled from the trunks of giant trees, flowers coaxed to bloom with an aria, and even minds ensnared by a lyrical chant.

Exhaaale.

Unthinking, a clear rich note floated from Petra's throat before she cut it off with an embarrassed laugh. "Oh! Well, damn." She passed a hand through her bangs. "Close, that felt close. I didn't realize how similar that Pursuit would be to my people's own magic."

"Yes, Leyik mentioned that part of the story. I believe her exact words were: 'Stupid dragon, why would anyone eat the jar without any jam in it?'" Selene shook her head, wistful. "What that means, well your guess is as good as mine."

Petra was happy to join Selene in a laugh. She was finding the Dusk Captain's company to be an easy one to keep, and felt sorry for herself that she hadn't taken more opportunities like now to connect with her.

Grinning, Petra sat back away from her sketches. "Well from what Norvyk told me, we can cut them some slack when it comes to cryptic messages. After all, it was apparently her first time being a person. Poor thing."

Selene

 

[Selene]

Selene sobered at the mention of Leyik's recently acquired personhood.

"Yes, about that. I am glad that Leyik was of some assistance in this venture, but..." Frowning, Selene glanced towards the window at the far side of her office. Heavily curtained as it was, she seemed to be checking something outside. The moment taken, and nothing found past the thick velvet, she nodded back to Petra. "Knowing that it has grown attached to Norvyk, I must warn you: Leyik is dangerous. No matter how closely it may come to resemble a person, an ur-beast's true nature is volatile. It would be best if you kept them apart from now on, as much as you can."

Petra Darthinian

 

[Petra Darthinian]

Petra's brow furrowed at Selene's request, "With all due respect, Captain. He is a dragon. And a dragon in full capacity of his will, mind you. So even if I was in the business of trying to control him, I doubt he would kowtow to any orders I set upon him. The bond we share is not one born of authority within some power dynamic. We are equals, in all things. In many essences, so deeply entwined that we are one and the same spirit."

Sighing, she crossed her legs at the knee. "Although, if we knew more details as to the why and the what, I'm sure he would be amicable to caution. He is a pragmatic creature after all."

A pause while she followed the Dusker's earlier concerned gaze to the window, "Hm, would this have anything to do with the Starfall Nexus perhaps?"

Selene

 

[Selene]

Selene gave a wan smile as Petra said her peace, hot ash falling into a lake.

'Am I becoming too lax?' she asked herself, head tilting down in thought. The shape of her brow cast a shadow over her eyes in the faded candlelight. It was not a habit of Selene's to flex her Captain's authority; she didn't usually have to. Most of Dusk understood that a warning from her was as good as marching orders.

She reminded herself that Petra had come here to confide in her. She would not blame the other woman for living so brashly in the light of Dawn.

"Of course, I am not so strict as to expect blind obedience," Selene said, letting nothing of her dark thoughts surface. Shifting in her seat, she reached for one of the sketches from earlier. "Not the Nexus, per se. I'm sure that's just a bit of leftover Elyd magic. An artifact to keep our eye on, for now."

It was the depiction of the Lord upon his throne that drew her attention. A mural stretched high behind the dais, partitioned into six scenes by pillars of crystal. Each scene was a stylized animal: a wolf, a raven, a great fish, a boar, a heron, and... the last image fell to sharp charcoal lines, the cracking of mosaic or the shedding of plaster, exact details lost to the haze of whatever memory Petra had pulled from.

"Take a closer look at this." She held out the parchment to Petra. "There, arranged behind the throne: common motifs of ur-beasts, the ancient spirits of the Valen. And this one here is the King of Ravens, lord of the forest. The very same one that our dear little Prince is descendant from. For us, this strange encounter is an omen, an anomaly to approach cautiously. For Leyik, it may very well be a family matter.

And that makes it dangerous."

 

[Petra Darthinian]

Ah, perhaps I had spoken out of turn. Petra thought to herself when the air between them filled with a quiet tension. She knew that sometimes she spoke her thoughts before thinking. She was loud and brazen. And with it came the tendency to speak from the heart she wore on her sleeve.

But before Petra could assuage her bluntness, Selene brought their attentions back to her sketches. Her particular concerns revolving around the one of the Lord of the Skies. A man, if one could call him that, that Norvyk could supply little detail on. Only that everything he had done in the castle of winds had been done from a place of deeply set instinct. Ineffable.

It was not exactly an incident she was happy to have so little information on. But there was relief in Selene's words. The Dawnling knew the Dusk Captain had been the proper person to confide in. Her cryptic knowledge seemed to be as deep as the waters of the Loch themselves. And perhaps together they could conjure answers. Or at least figure out if the Knights truly needed to be involved and intervene in any way.

Pensively, the elf tracked the motifs across the page as the Dusk Captain explained what she was looking at. Understanding finally lighting a spark in her eyes. "Ancient spirits you said?" She looked up curiously at Selene. "Helena's wolves then?" The rest of her question hanging unsaid in the air. "And this part of the mural then?" A taloned finger pointed to the wrecked portion behind the throne. "What ur-beast would be this one?"

Selene

 

[Selene]

Selene couldn't be sure if her warning had gone heeded or not.

"Ah, apologies. I forget you grew up in another forest. It is a common tale we tell children, here in the Valen." There was a book on Selene's shelf, a slight thing with large lettering and simple woodblock illustrations, which contained such legends. But she did not need to pull it down to recite the story. "Once, in ages past, great gods roamed this land. The Wilds were a garden to them, and they created the ur-beasts to honor its bounty. Wolf, Raven, and so on - each one presiding over its own part of the forest. But, one beast grew jealous of all the others, and turned away from its siblings. It sought to rule over the other beasts as King. That beast was humankind, and so great was our betrayal, that we were cast out from the land of spirits. Made mortal, as punishment from the gods."

Leaning back in her chair, Selene waved the fanciful tale away. "Of course, that's just a bedtime story. Those who have studied the matter cannot say for certain who the sixth ur-beast was - only that someone desperately wanted its visage scrubbed from history. And they did a very thorough job."

Petra Darthinian

 

[Petra Darthinian]

The Dusk Captain had a talent for telling stories, Petra noted to herself. She wondered if Selene even knew of the way the light danced in her depthless eyes when she spoke of arcane knowledge, of these lost things.

The elf hadn't even realized she had scooted to the edge of her seat, hypnotized as she was by Selene's cadence, until something she said inspired questions unbidden from Petra's lips, "But who or even what kind of someone would benefit from such an erasure?" The very culprit, she wondered. "Were we not already punished enough by being cast out? And if there's any truth to this myth, if there's a path to redemption?" She tucked a spry curl back behind a pointed ear with a quiet tinkling of jewelry, biting on one end of her bottom lip. "What I mean to say is. Is there any benefit to restoring what was lost?"

Selene