Eternity RPC Board
09-14-2016, 12:01 AM
“Excuse me?” Elke interjected, her voice containing trace elements of confusion, amusement and annoyance. “I’m in the room. Could we not talk about me like I’m not?” How rude, honestly.
Presented with a tray of her favorite vices, gloriously tasty sweeties, the mageling caved without a moment’s hesitation and took what she recognized to be a treat she’d eaten only once before on a journey to a distant countryside: battered, fried and sugared lace flower blossom. A delicacy.
“First off,” Elke informed the room’s other occupants, the juxtaposition of her serious-sounding tone against the dusting of powdered sugar on her lips probably neutralizing some of the lasting impact she’d hoped to create, “I’m not a child. I’m a young adult.” Older people always made that sort of mistake, and given that she was talking to two non-humans, or at least not-entirely-humans, her teenage status probably did render her an infant in their species-based biases. Nonetheless, she wasn’t a child, she was a young woman. Would a child have survived a journey on her own through a wilderness full of dangerous beasts and jagged cliffs, fully exposed to the elements? Certainly not. Would a child be able to perform the magicks that she could perform? Preposterous! And who could seriously believe that a child would have had the constitution to withstand the encounter with disgusting shopkeep trolls Glork and Spunkus, or whatever their names were, without fainting from odor alone? “Child”? Please!
“Second,” she informed, really laying into those lace blossoms in earnest, “of course my family knows where I am. It’s not like I just ran off without saying anything.” What kind of disrespectful sprog did they take her for? “They encouraged me to take this journey.”
That might have been a bit of a stretch. Elke’s mother and father might not have strictly forbidden her departure for parts unknown with the sole purpose of tracking down this elusive and mysterious idol, but they had been none too thrilled about the prospect. It wasn’t that they doubted their daughter’s ingenuity and dedication to her craft, it was just that Elke was so small and the forests were so big. Even with her blossoming skills in magic, she wasn’t exactly an all-powerful mage just yet, and there were always the more basic concerns like snakebites and hypothermia to worry about. Beyond that, Elke, even being the wilderness-loving country egg that she was, really enjoyed her creature comforts: warm baths, clean sheets, unhealthy snacks.
That much was readily apparent as she polished off the last of the blossom fritters.
Brushing the pixie dust sweetness from her fingers, she stood and balled her fists at her sides. “Now.” She hadn’t exactly prepared to justify herself as a worthy student. What was she going to say? Dear heavens, hopefully she wouldn’t embarrass herself in front of her heroine and never be able to face her again. The hour, maybe two hours they’d been together were nowhere near enough to satiate.
“Nevina, you’re right. I am curious. I’m extremely curious about what you do, about the powers you use, but that much was already obvious. I mean…” Elke paused to scoff. “I mean, I came this far, didn’t I? So…!” She realized there hadn’t actually been more to say on that point and let her sentence trail off into a dead end. “But you say that I don’t understand the implications of using powerful magic like yours, and I have to disagree. That’s just not right.” The mage-in-training had to commend herself, this was going surprisingly decent. “All magic has repercussions, and that’s why I wanted to study it; I want to study it in all forms so that I can find alternatives to the kinds of sacrifices that have to be made. And if you won’t teach me, and no one else will teach me, how can I learn about the powers or their dangers? The professors of magic back home mean well enough, but they can only teach me the basics, and I already know the basics! I want more than that. I want... I want to learn more than those stuffy old mages and wizards will tell me. I'm not scared like they are.”
Elke hadn’t noticed when the tears had begun to collect on her eyelashes, or when her cheeks had become so hot that she could practically see the carnation-pink glow off of them. Was she seriously throwing a tantrum upon learning that her one true icon, the embodiment of powerful magic, the figure she hoped she could one day become, didn’t actually want to meet her?
“And it’s not like I’ll be a burden!” she continued, her words flowing fast as a mountain stream. “I can survive on my own! I’ve already proven that much. It’s not like I’m some soft child from the city. I didn’t grow up in the market square; my family came from the forest! I can hunt, and track, a-and navigate just fine!”
She sniffled, and her fists clenched by her sides relaxed as she put them on her hips, tensing her shoulders. A pose of defiance.
“Nevina,” she said again, never having thought before that she’d be able to so freely address her like this. “You should reconsider.”
Oh, divine power of all things in nature, what was she thinking?
“Forlag agrees.”
‘Time to shut up now,’ she urged herself, but she felt strangely compelled to get the last word in, even though she was the only one talking.
“Right, Forlag?” She gave a sassy little shrug as she turned to look over her shoulder at the daffy old man, her wide-eyed stare practically begging, help me out, here.
At a loss now until additional backup could be provided, she slumped a bit, folding her hands bashfully in front of her. Yep, there was no doubt: Nevina thought she was crazy.
Presented with a tray of her favorite vices, gloriously tasty sweeties, the mageling caved without a moment’s hesitation and took what she recognized to be a treat she’d eaten only once before on a journey to a distant countryside: battered, fried and sugared lace flower blossom. A delicacy.
“First off,” Elke informed the room’s other occupants, the juxtaposition of her serious-sounding tone against the dusting of powdered sugar on her lips probably neutralizing some of the lasting impact she’d hoped to create, “I’m not a child. I’m a young adult.” Older people always made that sort of mistake, and given that she was talking to two non-humans, or at least not-entirely-humans, her teenage status probably did render her an infant in their species-based biases. Nonetheless, she wasn’t a child, she was a young woman. Would a child have survived a journey on her own through a wilderness full of dangerous beasts and jagged cliffs, fully exposed to the elements? Certainly not. Would a child be able to perform the magicks that she could perform? Preposterous! And who could seriously believe that a child would have had the constitution to withstand the encounter with disgusting shopkeep trolls Glork and Spunkus, or whatever their names were, without fainting from odor alone? “Child”? Please!
“Second,” she informed, really laying into those lace blossoms in earnest, “of course my family knows where I am. It’s not like I just ran off without saying anything.” What kind of disrespectful sprog did they take her for? “They encouraged me to take this journey.”
That might have been a bit of a stretch. Elke’s mother and father might not have strictly forbidden her departure for parts unknown with the sole purpose of tracking down this elusive and mysterious idol, but they had been none too thrilled about the prospect. It wasn’t that they doubted their daughter’s ingenuity and dedication to her craft, it was just that Elke was so small and the forests were so big. Even with her blossoming skills in magic, she wasn’t exactly an all-powerful mage just yet, and there were always the more basic concerns like snakebites and hypothermia to worry about. Beyond that, Elke, even being the wilderness-loving country egg that she was, really enjoyed her creature comforts: warm baths, clean sheets, unhealthy snacks.
That much was readily apparent as she polished off the last of the blossom fritters.
Brushing the pixie dust sweetness from her fingers, she stood and balled her fists at her sides. “Now.” She hadn’t exactly prepared to justify herself as a worthy student. What was she going to say? Dear heavens, hopefully she wouldn’t embarrass herself in front of her heroine and never be able to face her again. The hour, maybe two hours they’d been together were nowhere near enough to satiate.
“Nevina, you’re right. I am curious. I’m extremely curious about what you do, about the powers you use, but that much was already obvious. I mean…” Elke paused to scoff. “I mean, I came this far, didn’t I? So…!” She realized there hadn’t actually been more to say on that point and let her sentence trail off into a dead end. “But you say that I don’t understand the implications of using powerful magic like yours, and I have to disagree. That’s just not right.” The mage-in-training had to commend herself, this was going surprisingly decent. “All magic has repercussions, and that’s why I wanted to study it; I want to study it in all forms so that I can find alternatives to the kinds of sacrifices that have to be made. And if you won’t teach me, and no one else will teach me, how can I learn about the powers or their dangers? The professors of magic back home mean well enough, but they can only teach me the basics, and I already know the basics! I want more than that. I want... I want to learn more than those stuffy old mages and wizards will tell me. I'm not scared like they are.”
Elke hadn’t noticed when the tears had begun to collect on her eyelashes, or when her cheeks had become so hot that she could practically see the carnation-pink glow off of them. Was she seriously throwing a tantrum upon learning that her one true icon, the embodiment of powerful magic, the figure she hoped she could one day become, didn’t actually want to meet her?
“And it’s not like I’ll be a burden!” she continued, her words flowing fast as a mountain stream. “I can survive on my own! I’ve already proven that much. It’s not like I’m some soft child from the city. I didn’t grow up in the market square; my family came from the forest! I can hunt, and track, a-and navigate just fine!”
She sniffled, and her fists clenched by her sides relaxed as she put them on her hips, tensing her shoulders. A pose of defiance.
“Nevina,” she said again, never having thought before that she’d be able to so freely address her like this. “You should reconsider.”
Oh, divine power of all things in nature, what was she thinking?
“Forlag agrees.”
‘Time to shut up now,’ she urged herself, but she felt strangely compelled to get the last word in, even though she was the only one talking.
“Right, Forlag?” She gave a sassy little shrug as she turned to look over her shoulder at the daffy old man, her wide-eyed stare practically begging, help me out, here.
At a loss now until additional backup could be provided, she slumped a bit, folding her hands bashfully in front of her. Yep, there was no doubt: Nevina thought she was crazy.