"The Darkening of Sight" Log Date: 11/14/99 Log Cast: Samein, Jenean, Faanshi, FallingStar Log Intro: Caught between surges and storms in the aether on the one side, and a massive earthquake on the other, Haven has taken a severe beating as of late. Buildings as well as people and things all over the city are worse for the wear, and lives have been lost. What mages have survived the wild fluctuations in their power are now left to recover from the assaults on their strength. Those who are strong enough have joined together with the un-gifted to try to clear away the rubble that the earthquake has caused. Faanshi has found her own power flaring in strange ways during this crisis, but to her relief her magic has settled back down where it seems to her it should be -- and to her surprise it's seemed calmer as of late. But she has made such observations only when her own mind has been calm, and that has not been often. Denied permission to attend to her mistress Kiera, Faanshi has had to turn to the comfort of the old mage Samein, but she has other friends outside of Atesh-Gah for whose welfare she fears. One of them is the Mongrel bard Lyre Talespinner. The other is her other teacher, FallingStar. Having witnessed the surges in the aether that affected even the powerful Samein, having felt what her own magic's flaring did to her, the halfbreed girl fears for the Sylvan woman. She's secured Samein's help in seeking her out, and the two have failed to locate FallingStar in her shop or anywhere nearby. Faanshi's near-frantic tension has insured that she's only barely kept herself to the arch-magus's side as she hastens with him to the Siren's Song, on a hunch. FallingStar had wanted to take her to this place to practice what "normal" feels like in a healthy body, Faanshi has remembered. And thus maybe, just maybe, FallingStar will be there... *===========================< In Character Time >==========================* Time of day: Noon Date on Aether: Thursday, July 25, 3905. Year on Earth: 1505 A.D. Phase of the Moon: Waning Crescent Season: Summer Weather: Clear Skies Temperature: Hot *==========================================================================* As you step into the tavern, the heavy smell of alcohol pours out of the door and over you. The Siren's Song - Haven The dim recesses of the Siren's Song tavern have, on occasion, been justifiably referred to as "a barbarous assault upon the senses." In the stale air the earthy smells of alcohol and the subterranean fungi from which Varati rot-gut is brewed compete with the scents of blood and vomit. The walls, painted vividly with sea-scapes from an Atlantean fever-dream, slope slightly inward as they arch to the sooty, star strewn ceiling, which itself sags slightly, supported only by a massive central column. This column, the feature the tavern is named for, is carved into the likeness of a siren, and she beckons lustfully to patrons, leading them through the ring of garishly painted tables to the cracked oaken bar. There is a stone fireplace against one wall, to drive away the damp and chill on wintery evenings. Opposite that is a set of stairs, rising to an upper level where guests can spend the night--or just a couple of hours with a willing partner. Contents: Loreena Obvious Exits: Stairs Out Samein steps into the tavern from the docks outside. Samein has arrived. Jenean comes down from the upstairs rooms. Jenean has arrived. Jenean picks her way downstairs, smiling. They aren't exactly normal clientele for the Siren's Song -- or at any rate, Faanshi certainly isn't; she can't attest for the history of the old mage who has accompanied her here. Only due to the early hour and her anxiety for finding her other wayward teacher is the shudra girl at all comfortable with looking here for any word of FallingStar in the first place, and as she and Samein and the ever-loyal Kosha make their way into the tavern, Faanshi blows out a soft breath behind her veil. "I hope that she'll be here," she can be heard to murmur to Samein, her soft voice strained with barely concealed deep concern. "She said she was thinking of bringing me here, before..." Jenean shakes hair off her face, pads over to the newcomers. Samein enters the room a pace or two behind Faanshi, his thin nostrils flaring in a faint distaste at the smells that the room imparts to him. No, Samein is hardly a regular customer, either. But he seems unusually subdued today -- perhaps it is the lack of sleep, written clearly across his sunken features. Seeing Jenean approach, Faanshi straightens up, green gaze rising with uncharacteristic swiftness over the top of her veil. "Stay, Kosha," she murmurs to the dog to keep him back, and then she bows to the Mongrel woman over the hands she clasps at her breast. "Namaste', imphada," she pipes. "I-if you please... could you tell us if the Sylvan FallingStar has been here?" Jenean runs a hand through her hair, sweeping badly-behaved greying locks back off her face. "Relax, hon." A smile. "She's sleepin' upstairs." Samein follows quietly along behind, not speaking. He peers up towards the stairs as they are indicated, as if to confirm a suspicion. The ArchMagus seems drained somehow, as if suffering from a loss greater than sleep. No doubt the storms of Aether greatly affected him. The relief that sweeps across the maiden is easily readable despite the blue veil that swathes her face. "Praise the Holy Mother and her son," she breathes, sketching a sigil of prayer across herself. Then, she implores of Jenean, "She is well? She, she is not ill, or harmed?" Jenean shakes her head. "She's fine.." A little smile. "Mostly. Scared of comin' back t'town." Samein pauses for a moment where he is, his hands shifting a bit where they hide under his robes. His squinting gaze continues, until he wordlessly begins walking again, moving towards the stairs without permission or indication of his intent. He seems almost ghostly today. It occurs to Faanshi that it might be proper to introduce herself and her companion -- especially as she is not at all certain if it is appropriate to go up the stairs of this establishment without the permission of the lady before her. Bowing again (she does seem to make a habit of that), she blurts, gesturing at Samein, "He is Samein, imphada, arch-magus of Delphi, and my second teacher... FallingStar is my first teacher, you see..." And she finishes with the humble identification, "I am Faanshi, imphada. May we see her?" Jenean smiles warmly. "Pleased t'meet y'both." A pause, and a faint frown. "I'd kinda rather y'didn't. She's asleep. I hope." Unless you hadn't previously noticed, the previously mentioned lofty-titled Samein is already on his way up. He's taking the first stair now, still moving slowly, peering ahead of himself in the gloom. He seems to be moving on some sort of intuition, an intuition which is sorely compromised at the moment. FallingStar comes down from the upstairs rooms. FallingStar has arrived. Jenean tsks, and pads over to Samein. "Uh - beggin' pardon, Imphadi..." Samein has his foot on the first step, peering upward as Fallingstar comes down in front of him. He smiles wanly at her, stepping to the side. Finally the old man speaks, his tone weary, "My greetings, FallingStar." FallingStar appears at the top of the stairs, carefully sliding each foot forward to find the edge of the step before moving down to the next one. She halts at the sounds of voices, turning in Samein's direction as he addresses her. "I, ah...greetings. Didn't expect to find you here..." She slides down to the next step, with an uncertain half-smile. Whew. Faanshi, for all that Samein has attempted to encourage her to behave freely around him, is still not exactly inclined to tell a Varati elder -- especially a high-ranking Varati elder -- that he can't do something as simple as climb a flight of stairs if he so desires. However, she is still unable to contain her relief, and she calls out, "FallingStar! Praise Ushas...!" She halts for but a moment, casting an unsure glance at Jenean, and then compromising between the older woman's reluctance to allow them up the stairs and the Sylvan's presence up there, only drawing near the stairs rather than try to join Samein in ascending them. Samein isn't trying to ascend anything, now, but he does reach a thin hand up towards FallingStar, letting her take it for support in her descent if she desires. He gives her a faint smile right back, almost a grin, really. "Glad you could make it. I thought Faanshi's nerves were going to strangle both of us." As though she hadn't noticed Samein's proffered hand, FallingStar continues her slow progress down the stairs. "You're all right, then, Faanshi?" the Sylvan inquires, concerned. Her gaze seems to not be focused on anything in particular, and instead hovers blankly in midair no matter where her face is turned. While Jenean, perhaps content to let these three greet one another, slips off to go about her business, Faanshi can be seen to shrink a bit where she stands. "I have felt... a-a little strange since the aether storms," she admits, her hands wringing fretfully. "But I think I am all right. I-I am sorry that I am nervous, but I do not have very many friends and I've been so worried and I had to make sure you all were all right--" 'You all', not 'you', and the shudra girl casts a glance towards the door as if in restless search for someone else. Samein is all right. FallingStar is at least as 'all right' as he is. Who else is there? Samein peers curiously at Faanshi, but the question goes unasked. He is silent for a long moment, before he finally murmurs, as if to himself, "The change happened. No more visions." He seems rather sad, despite his earlier talk. A sense of loss. "I appear to be in one piece, and mostly unscathed." FallingStar's steps pause and she tilts her head a little toward Samein. "No more? Is it finished, do you know? Is the earthquake the end of it all, life can return to be as normal as possible?" She absently toys with a loose fold of her dress as she speaks, betraying her own nervousness. Wait a minute. 'No more visions'? Faanshi starts, her gaze flashing back to Samein, eyes going wide above her veil. "Sir, you did not say--" And then she cuts herself off, chagrined, though the still-strong habit of expecting that her betters will not bother to share information with her wars with the much younger hope that this old man will be different. The latter wins out, and she breathes out in alarm, "You will not be seeing... what may happen, anymore?" Samein turns his head towards Faanshi, giving her a rather wistful smile. He nods slowly, withdrawing his hands from the shelter of his robes to spread his fingertips out before him. "That is correct. But I suspect there are others who see the visions all the more clearly. And me, myself..." His eyes widen, unfocusing slightly. "For instance, to see the aether around you now is almost blinding. Acute. Every tendril in this room... shines. Glows." In silence punctuated only by the shuffling of her feet, FallingStar descends the rest of the way down the stairs, and there pauses, blinking uncertainly at a view she doesn't seem to see. "So...that is what happened. That's what is different?" She turns back toward Samein, brows drawing together quizzically. "But my healing, it is unchanged. I believe." FallingStar Rich brown hair, liberally sprinkled with white, frames the woman's face in soft waves, falling loosely down to about her shoulderblades - though the pointed tips of her ears peek out almost mischievously. Her freckle-dusted face has but the beginnings of age evident, though her bright green eyes seem older than she is. And, indeed, there is something odd about her eyes - they seem empty, unfocused, unseeing. Her build is lean, wiry, her height unremarkably average. A simple Sylvan-style dress of undyed cotton clothes her, its only decoration the braided belt of colored rope. A pair of rather battered-looking knee-high buskins protect her feet. She wears no jewelry other than a pair of small earrings, jewels the same color as her eyes. Samein affirms softly, "Yes. Healing is unchanged for me as well. It is as I predicted, unfortunately: A splitting, compartmentalization. It has happened thus through history, as more practitioners of a particular art are born. It is as if there are... particular limits." An interesting field of study, perhaps. Samein tilts his head, peering down at his hands. Faanshi stares in bemusement at the older of her two teachers, troubled by the implications of what she's just learned. She has had enough of a trial learning her power as it is; to know, now, that it could _change_ without warning sends a shiver of dread through her for all that she supposes she should have known this, after the way the aether has churned and roiled these past days. Her gaze flits back to the Sylvan, then... and something about her suddenly claims the girl's attention. "FallingStar...?" Nandin steps into the tavern from the docks outside. Nandin has arrived. Walking in Nandin steps toward the bar. The place is fairly lightly populated -- in immediate sight aside from the bartender are an old Varati man, a younger Sylvan, and a girl wrapped in blue and red and gold silks who is probably younger than both of them, though it's difficult to tell with her wardrobe. A large dog lingers at the girl's heels, his ears pricked up at every noise he hears. "Mmm?" Startled, FallingStar turns back toward Faanshi's voice, although not quite facing the girl. "Yes?" She returns to toying with that by now rather wrinkled fold of her dress, crumpling it between her fingers and releasing it in turns. With a leisurly stride, Nandin walks to the bar then sits on a stool. With curious eyes he takes a look around. With a brush of his hand, he moves his hair out of his eyes. Nandin is heard ordering ale and is seen looking around at those who suround him. Nandin steps out of the Siren's Song and onto the docks outside. Nandin has left. Samein, too, follows Faanshi's concern with a look of his own, peering briefly at the Sylvan. The old man still seems quite disoriented. Yes, disoriented would be the word, especially now that the cause is clearer -- it is as if one of his senses failed to work, or changed in its function, at least. He seems at times barely able to keep his balance. "You... are different," Faanshi observes, unsure of exactly what prompts her -- until she focuses her attention in upon the Sylvan's eyes. A naive lamb she might be, but still she has seen enough of the world during her sojourn in Haven that she is reluctant to expound upon what is niggling at her; after all, few people indeed welcome unsought observations from a halfbreed. But because FallingStar has proven herself different, the veiled girl swallows and clarifies, "Are your... eyes all right?" "Well, ah." Turning slightly pale beneath her freckles, FallingStar shifts her weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "Mmm, I suppose that depends on what you..." She halts there, grimaces, and just shakes her head. "Um. Not really." And indeed, while she tries to face in the general direction of the person with whom she speaks, she's still a bit off to one side. Samein finally catches on, peering at FallingStar again. The eyes, yes. One can sense the renewed pulse of magic around him, a subtle hum. The force of his healing, relatively minor compared to the other two in the room, glows and extends itself tentatively. He wants to figure out what's wrong, but not to meddle just yet. He mutters to himself, "Not.... injury. No." Oh dear. Not at all certain what to say to this, Faanshi glances to Samein and then back to FallingStar, her hand unthinkingly seeking out Kosha's head even though the dog isn't exactly likely to contribute anything to this conversation. Then she asks anxiously, "Perhaps... we could help...?" "No." The answer comes out a little sharper than FallingStar had intended, and she forces a smile to reassure Faanshi. "No, it's all right. I did it. I'll fix it." Somehow. She folds her hands before her and shakes her head once. "It's not really important. Don't worry about it." Samein gives a faint scowl at this, but he looks down at his tented hands once again, as if something in the situation makes him uncomfortable. Nothing wrong indeed. He murmurs quietly, an undertone to the main conversation, "My aid is offered as well, Imphada." You have not heard Samein previously use that term. He generally seems to dislike it. No means no -- another thing any good shudra learns. But Faanshi is deeply disturbed by this particular no, and her eyes go dark with worry. She takes an uncertain step backwards, glancing at Samein, then waiting to see whether a no will be given to him as well. FallingStar bows her head briefly in Samein's direction. "I'll remember that. And your offer, Faanshi. I thank you, but I wish to leave things as they are, for the time being." She absently lifts a hand, taking hold of a stray lock of hair and twisting it about her fingers. "As I said, I don't think it important." Samein scowls down at his hands, muttering to himself incomprehensibly for a moment. Finally he raises his head, peering directly at FallingStar. "You will most likely need a Magus-level healer for this, although it is... possible that you could do it yourself. I have seen something similiar in the work of rogue healers. Very, very hard to undo." He grimaces a bit at this, as if recalling a particularly distasteful memory. "'Magus'," puts in Faanshi, timidly. "What... is that, sir?" Appearing relieved that the conversation has turned away from her vision, FallingStar tilts her head a little toward Faanshi. "By Delphi's measurements, each level of ability is given a name. The level above where I am is called Magus. Most...do not reach such a level." Samein inclines his head slightly, and then turns his head towards Faanshi, at last giving her his distracted attention. "Yes. I, for instance, am a Magus in Shaping. But none of the rest. There has never been one to reach Magus in two Arts." He seems to think this Right, in the way of things. "I cannot... think of any healers who are particularly active, however. Save Jason." "Oh," the maiden murmurs. Her gaze dips down, troubledly, then comes up again. She does not want to divert Samein if he wishes to pursue this topic, but she must know... "Will you be returning to your shop...? Or will you be here?" Unconsciously, FallingStar reaches up to brush her fingertips over her forehead. "There is a branded healer," she observes, but shakes her head before answering Faanshi. "That depends on how much of my shop is still standing. And it's likely a horrible mess. Jenean was kind enough to allow me to stay here for as long as I wish." Samein scowls at the idea of a branded healer; that much could have been assumed. The old man states firmly, "If you wish outside assistance, I will speak to my colleague Jason. Please let me know." He pauses a moment, and then adds absent-mindedly. "Ah, yes. Your shop is actually not too bad. I would imagine even the three of us could get it cleaned up in not more than a few hours." "Can we... do it swiftly?" Faanshi abruptly begs. Once more she shoots her green gaze towards the door. FallingStar looks momentarily puzzled at Faanshi's question, then blinks. "Oh. Did you want to leave, Faanshi? As I recall, you didn't seem very fond of the Siren's Song." How much help she'd be in cleaning up is yet to be seen. Samein himself seems to bear only a mild distaste for the place, now that he's been sanding inside for so long. He does grin rather warmly at Faanshi, though, recognizing her discomfort as well. "I suppose... off we go, then." He does add to Fallingstar, a side note of more serious importance, "Do remember, Imphada, that I could merely help you in terms of aiding your own ability. Perhaps we could try to heal your eyes together." Sounding as though her heart is in her throat, the shudra maiden confesses, "I-I-I have to find someone... someone else, I mean...!" "I...perhaps. I'll think on it." FallingStar arches one brow slightly at Faanshi's confession, however. "Oh. Well, then. I suppose we could hurry, yes. As much as we can. Does this someone have a name, by chance?" Samein merely pauses there for a moment, apparently awaiting Faanshi's answer as well. Does this person have a name? He seems as ready as ever to take up the chase, if so. "Lyre," murmurs the halfbreed girl, her gaze plummeting to her sandaled feet. Lyre? The name filters through the Sylvan's mind and makes no connections. "I don't think I've met him," FallingStar admits. "Did you wish to go look for him now, perhaps? I believe the shop can wait, for now." It takes Samein a moment, but he finally guesses at the connection. /He/ knows. And he grins faintly, watching the girl for a moment. He murmurs idly to himself, almost wistfully, in a very low tone, "Youthful romance..." As for the actual business of looking for the rogueish bard, he leaves that to the other two. He shall perhaps merely follow along. Hope flares across Faanshi's eyes at FallingStar's suggestion, distracting her from Samein and his soft murmur... but then, the girl visibly wilts. In a tiny, forlorn voice she mumbles, "I don't know where to look for him." And only now, finally getting her worry vocalized, does she finally buckle under the fright that's been churning in the back of her mind. Her arms wrap around her. "I-I don't know where to look for him..." FallingStar reaches out a hand toward Faanshi, in unconscious attempt to pat the girl's shoulder, before drawing her hand back again. "Be calm, child. Calm. Think." She tilts her head to one side. "Where do you normally see him? Where does he live?" Samein remains mostly quiet for this exchange as well, for while he knows of the bard and his attraction, he knows nothing of where he might be. The old man's expression is rather blase, as if he naturally assumes that the mongrel will be all right. He didn't have to cope with the aether storm, at least. Maybe the Mongrel bard didn't have to worry about the aether storm -- but that doesn't mean that he was invulnerable to earthquake. Faanshi has gotten a thorough look at what the quake has done to the city, now that she's been given leave to come out of Atesh-Gah. Any number of fates that might have befallen him are troubling her, just as similar ones involving FallingStar had done until she remembered the Siren's Song. "I don't _know_," she moans, sounding on the verge of tears. "H-he always finds me. He brings me things, visits..." "Then perhaps he'll come find you once things are more settled?" FallingStar, looking distressed, offers a hand again to Faanshi. "It'll be all right. Samein? Do you happen to know where the man might be found?" Samein takes a few smooth steps towards Faanshi, offering her a delicate touch of his gaunt hand on her shoulder by way of comfort. Casting his glance back towards FallingStar, he shakes his head slowly. "I have never personally met this mongrel. I have only heard of him, through speaking with Faanshi." Still, he seems relatively unconcerned, as if he had some way of knowing of his safety. His hand on Faanshi's shoulder spreads itself to squeeze lightly, gentle comfort. Faanshi has cried, it seems to her, practically every tear she has in her body already between aether storm and earthquake. Despite the lump that has arisen in her throat at the potential danger that might have befallen Lyre Talespinner, she does not cry now. But at Samein's touch, she swings her attention back around to him with far more speed than she customarily does anything. "Perhaps... did you see? Did you see him, before the visions went away?" she pleads. FallingStar sighs, reaching up behind her to pull her hair back from her face and into a rough sort of knot at the nape of her neck. Patience, she notes to herself, was never a virtue that was possessed by the young. Or those in love, or a combination of the two. Samein considers this for a moment, and then shakes his head. "As I have said, I have never met this particular man." He purses his lips rather sadly for a moment. "And therefore would probably not have had such visions. I trust that he is all right, however. Your nerves collapsing again shall not help." The old mage's words are infinitely practical, but still, Faanshi flinches back, taking the observation as if she'd been reprimanded for failing to do some crucial task in the kitchens at Atesh-Gah. She straightens up, her shoulders going level. Very lowly, very hoarsely, she murmurs, "I will not break down again, sir, my apologies." And with that the maiden turns away, saying towards FallingStar, "If you will be resting here, I will go and clean your shop if you wish it. Perhaps I will be permitted the time since you are one of my teachers now." FallingStar rubs the back of one hand against her forehead and sighs, softly. "I would like to go with you, if you're going to clean - I don't know how much I can do, but I want to try. And...Samein, if you would like to help, I'm sure a shaper's help would be useful with any earthquake damage." Samein gives a faint, affirmative grunt in response, seeming more weary and distracted than ever. In fact, now he seems to be supressing a yawn. Nonetheless, he says relatively pleasantly, "Most certainly I will aid in repairing the damage. But I would also like to help you heal yourself, whenever you are sufficiently rested." Behind her veil, Faanshi nibbles her lip. Huskily she inquires of FallingStar, "Do you need aid to walk?" Perhaps she can't offer her healing, but at least she can offer her arm. But she doesn't look at Samein, nor does she quite look at FallingStar; instead, she looks at the Sylvan woman's shoulder. Not that FallingStar knows where Faanshi is looking, anyway. "If I could prevail upon you to act as a guide, perhaps?" she asks, holding out one hand, palm-up. "It was only my eyes that were hurt." [With that, Faanshi sets out with both her teachers for what's left of FallingStar's shop, deeply troubled that both of her teachers have experienced a loss of vision -- when she herself appears to have come through the storms in the aether unscathed. Confused by FallingStar's refusal to allow her and Samein to help her, hurt by Samein's gruff assessment of her nerves, the shudra girl withdraws into herself... and decides without telling either that she cannot burden them further with her need to find her other friend, the missing bard. [End log.]