Children of Two Worlds

Log Info

• Title: Children of Two Worlds
• Emitter: Ravenstongue
• Characters: Ravenstongue, Telamon, Verna
• Place: A14 - Society for Progressive Arcanists
• Time: October 15, 2021
• Summary: Ravenstongue goes to the Society for Progressive Arcanists (with Pothy in tow) in search of information about the strange events that have been going on recently. She meets the charming Telamon there, and they bond over the things they have in common: that they are both half-sil and they are sorcerers. After some discussion and some feeding time, Telamon and Ravenstongue declare they are friends. Pothy, however, is bored of this and chooses to fly to Verna to ask her about her little arbiter ally. Some discussion happens, and Telamon excuses himself to finish up his research (and asks Ravenstongue on a dinner date, which flies completely over her head). Verna and Ravenstongue discuss the book that Ravenstongue had been reading prior to meeting Telamon, and Verna reveals that she, too, is a half-sil. They discuss the fae that Ravenstongue is researching and the issues that they face as half-sil before Ravenstongue departs to put the book back where it came from and to feed her bottomless pit of a familiar.

-=--=--=--=--=--=<* A14: Society for Progressive Arcanists *>=--=--=--=--=--=-

The central courtyard of the Arcane Society is a large and sprawling affair within the heart of the city. Soaring marble pillars reach upward to the sky, four sets of three, evenly spaced apart as the massive columns form a rough circle, each trio of pillars warding a particular direction. Carved into the smooth stone floor within the center of the atrium is a massive circle within the ceiling itself, which opens always to the stars, in honor of Eluna, the Goddess of Light Magic. Taara, the Goddess of the Dark, is given no such honors.

The central courtyard radiates outwards into paths, leading through the exotic gardens of the Society. One extends to the Library, another to the College of Magic. Another path leads off to a small, rather plain looking building between the two colleges, most likely the dormitory for the students, and yet another for the famous Cafeteria. Numerous magi can be seen walking back and forth most hours of the day and night here, with familiars or other odder creatures roaming about, most of them in the latest styles, as dictated by Madame Gelfure, the a more social head than the Society has had in most of its history. Myriad scents and aromas can also be sensed, some delightful, others repugnant, others quite colorful as apprentices and magi alike go about their experiments. Arguments are not unheard of, and even the most "dignified" of magi might be seen from time to time, in a pique of anger, waving an agitated hand to teleport the disagreeable person to the top of the nearest tower.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Dramatic Personae =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
 Ravenstongue    Short half-elf girl with violet eyes and black hair.
 Telamon         A platinum-blond half-sil man with dancing dark eyes
 Verna           Petite humanoid in bulky gray robes and cloak. 
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Ahh, the Arcanist's Society. Such a nice place of quiet contemplation for the advancement of the study of magic, where scholarly discussion takes place between learned magi--

Except for the fact that a white raven is currently begging a half-elf girl for food even while she's sitting on a bench, attempting to read a book that looks like it's seen better days. "Snacks!" the pale corvid croaks, tugging at the half-elf's black hair as he sits on her shoulder.

"Pothy, behave, we're in... You know, a place of learning. I'll take you to the cafeteria in a while." The half-elf pushes her glasses back up her nose and flips a page as the creature named Pothy makes a grumbling noise. It appears he will not relent.

The problem is that there's two schools of thought. You have the overly dignified, scholarly, but ossified view of magic espoused by wizards. And there's... well, everyone else, who's just winging it and trying to look good doing it.

A fellow who looks like a bard, judging from the lute on his back, is having an animated discussion with a dapper half-elf who's just come in through the gates. Grinning, Telamon shakes the fellow's hand, letting him head off, before ambling deeper into the college proper. Thankfully it's after highsun, so he doesn't feel like his head's full of cotton. Absently, he opens a pouch, removing a wrapped sweetbun from it as he runs his free hand through his hair.

A wrapped sweetbun? Oh dear. Oh no. That sweetbun has a very limited lifespan... Or so Pothy clearly thinks. He flies from the half-elf girl's shoulder and lands right in front of Telamon, staring up at him with shiny blue eyes. "Give tribute!" he demands, mimicking the voice of a rather enthusiastic sounding adherent to one of the various faiths in Alexandros.

Not far behind is the half-elf girl, running to catch up to her wayward corvid with the worn book held tightly to her chest. "Pothy! Pothy, get back here!" She scoops up the white raven onto her shoulder and sighs. "I'm sorry. He's a bottomless pit even though he doesn't need to eat, and people are so friendly here that he's just used to people offering him food."

Telamon comes to a stop as he's confronted by... a demanding bird. And it's not even an egalrin! "You're supposed to request tribute at the temple," he advises Pothy with a wry grin. When the girl races up, he shifts his smile to her instead, all charm and no resentment. "Oh, I've seen it before. My best friend's dog was an inveterate beggar. He just didn't talk -- but then, he didn't need to." He offers Ravenstongue a bow. "Telamon at your service, ma'am."

Pothy makes a grumpy-sounding croak in response to Telamon. It almost sounds like he's objecting to Telamon implying that the entire world isn't Pothy's temple. Whatever the case, he simply looks back at Ravenstongue with a look like, "You seeing this shit?"

The half-elf smiles and returns the bow with a little curtsy of her own. "It's good to meet you, Telamon. You may call me Ravenstongue. And the birdbrain here," she says, giving Pothy a scritch on the head, "is Apotheosis, or Pothy for short."

He's completely unfazed by Pothy's disdain, that's for sure. "A pleasure to be sure, Ravenstongue. Are you new to the city, or an old hand at navigating it? I've only had to ask for directions three times." Telamon looks faintly rueful. "I mean, at least I haven't wandered into any of the rougher areas I was warned about." He gestures to the bench. "May I join you? I came to look up something, but I'm happy to pause for a moment."

"I've actually been living here for a few months now," Ravenstongue said with a little smile. "Really, you get the hang of it after a while. And the rougher areas... I haven't wandered in much, but most people are freaked out by Pothy until they learn he's just a silly bird who eats everything he can get his beak on, so they keep their distance."

Pothy looks longingly at the wrapped treat in Telamon's hands again like a starcrossed lover staring at their secret lover from across the ballroom. This intense gaze is interrupted by Ravenstongue reaching into her pocket and presenting him with a few dried berries, which the corvid hoovers down. For the next... oh, five seconds or so, he is content. This is enough time for Ravenstongue to say, "I don't mind at all! I actually was reading a book I borrowed from a scholar here for an answer, myself."

Telamon smiles broadly. "Well, you're far and away better off than me. I arrived here a week ago and I find myself longing for a map that tells you where you are. I was wondering if the college might have some notion of where I could find such an instrument." He rubs his chin, as he sits down on the bench. "Perhaps you know -- does the college have a good selection on astronomy and the movements of the heavens?"

Ravenstongue taps her chin in thought for a moment. "Well, maps aren't too hard to find. But astronomy and the heavens... I feel like if the college doesn't have anything on that, Archmage Mikilos at Mithralla Merchandise would have something or be able to point you somewhere. He has a magic mansion attached to his shop with all sorts of stuff!"

Ravenstongue sits back down on the bench with Telamon and Pothy hops down to be on the bench between them. The white raven looks up at Telamon again with begging eyes, much like a dog, but he doesn't make any noises to beg for food. "There's a lot of other pretty powerful spellcasters who are willing to teach, too. Mister Merek and Madame Sandy have both taught me a bit about magic, although Sandy's the only one with magic like mine--sort of, anyway."

Telamon raises his eyebrows. "Magic like yours? You aren't a magi, then?" His eyes flick to Pothy, before he takes a bite from his sweetbun -- then after he swallows, he informs the bird, "Ask her, not me." Picking up his train of thought again, he explains, "The priests at Ylvaliel said I was blessed by the stars, which... explains my night-owl tendencies at least." His lips quirk. "So I can completely blame my sleeping in on the heavens."

"Huh. I think you might be like me, then, by the sound of it," Ravenstongue says, her eyes widening a little with surprise. "My magic is passed down through my mom, or so I remember her saying. According to what I've learned from reading, sometimes people's ancestors were blessed with magic, and that magic shows up in their descendants--although not always. Sometimes it can skip several generations before it shows back up again. I sure wish mine came with a good explanation for sleeping in, though!" she adds with a giggle.

Pothy takes the deferral of responsibility and looks at Ravenstongue with pleading eyes. The half-elf girl looks at him with a little bit more of a flat expression. "Okay, but you can't harass him for food after that. Got it?" Pothy croaks happily and looks back at Telamon now that he has express permission.

"Hence my interest. I know the common concept of wizardry involves a lot of peering at dusty tomes and scrolls over lamplight. But it's more than that -- in my opinion, anyways." Telamon shakes his head. "But there's no telling what kind of influence causes it in some cases. I mean, it's easy with those blessed -- or cursed -- with the powers of dragons or demons. Harder when it's not so clear."

He gives Pothy a grin, and tears a chunk off of his sweetbun before setting it down. "While it may be better to ask forgiveness than permission," he quips, "it is unwise to do so in a place where the response to such is fiery detonations."

Ravenstongue nods, a sympathetic look settling on her face, perhaps even a look of relief hidden there too. "I definitely understand that," she says. "I have no clue what originated the magic in my mom's bloodline. I asked my friend Stjepan to look at me with his arcane sight and he said it looked like the blood inside of me was... Well, it was magic. Arcane magic. How does that happen?"

Pothy doesn't care about this whole bloodline origin business. There's a sweetbun chunk set down before him, which means the real important business is about to begin. He swoops the bun chunk down into his beak and it disappears, just like that. He gives Telamon a happy croak and his tail even begins to wag up and down, a pretty clear and universal sign of happiness.

Telamon shrugs lightly. "If you've read Anarikien's 'Treatises on the Dragon-Blooded', he theorized that not only..." he coughs politely, "...breeding, for lack of a better phrase, could introduce such power into a bloodline, but also exposure to unusually high levels of certain energies could do so as well. Unsurprisingly, no one is really eager to experiment along those lines." He smiles at Pothy, and politely offers his hand to the bird. "Friends, eh?"

"Well, of course, actually being descended from a dragon is a perfectly reasonable explanation for a magic bloodline, too, but that's pretty obvious." Raven looks a little embarrassed at the brief mention of it, but it quickly passes. "I wonder if being exposed to magic energies is what could have caused mine. Maybe one of my ancestors got hit with a really powerful spell, and one of your ancestors got hit by a falling star?" she offers with a giggle, only halfway serious.

The most magical thing happens, however. Pothy... takes a finger from Telamon's outstretched hand and holds it in his beak. Just gently holding it, not biting it. It's the corvid equivalent of handholding. Ravenstongue giggles more just witnessing it. "Yeah, he really likes people who feed him. That's his sweet side for you."

Telamon's eyes twinkle. "Don't laugh. Stranger things can and have happened before. And probably will happen again; that's the fun part of living in interesting times. You're going to see things nobody has ever seen." He looks at Pothy, his dark eyes regarding the bird as his finger is held. "Anything for a snack, eh? Well, you're a charmer, no mistake. I should know one, after all." He reaches over with his other hand, having finished the sweetbun, and strokes Pothy a little, before looking at Ravenstongue again. "Still, not being saddled with a spellbook and a library has some advantages."

Pothy makes soft noises, almost whimpering, that are clearly the noises of a content bird, as Telamon strokes him a little. This is one happy bird, make no mistake about it.

"I have to agree," Ravenstongue says with a nod. "I think having a spellbook is sort of neat, but, well... It's a long story, but I don't have my mother anymore. I feel like the only way I have to get closer to her is to try and learn more about my magic. I'm making progress, little by little, though."

Telamon gently extricates his finger, before petting Pothy some more. "I am sorry to hear that. I still have mine, thank the gods. Every moment counts, though -- and we have to remember that more than most." He brushes back his platinum hair, slightly pointed ear visible. "Children of two worlds, never quite standing entirely in one or the other."

Pothy lets Telamon has his finger back, as a treat. Ravenstongue nods even more emphatically, a rather genuine smile on her face. "Yeah. I wish I knew others like me growing up... Where were you born? How did your parents meet? Umm, if you don't mind me asking," Ravenstongue says, seeming to remember her manners just a moment after the initial excitement of meeting someone... well, a lot like her. In more ways than one.

Telamon grins impishly. "Didn't I say? Ylvaliel, the trading town of the Mythwood. Father is a diplomat attached there, and mother is a trader. I got something of a social upbringing between the two of them. You pick up a lot of languages that way." He sits back a bit, looking contemplative. "The best thing to do is to try to bridge the gap. At least, that was my experience. Accept you won't be entirely of either side, and build your own little space."

"Mythwood? Wow! I've been meaning to go there," Ravenstongue says, her eyes lit up in awe. "I've been doing research lately on... Well, I've been doing research, and I think I might end up there soon to do some more. My mom told me I was born in Llyranost, where my father was from, but she took me from there when I was only a few days old and fled to Rune. While Rune has lots of sildanyar and humans, there's not so many half-elves. I've done a lot of research on Llyranost, specifically about what my mom told me about my father--just to feel closer to that side. So I want to go to Mythwood, since Llyranost is kind of tricky to go to."

The way she goes on about things that really interest her goes right over Pothy's head, who decides that Telamon is a little bit old hat now. He goes back to Ravenstongue and just sticks his avian head into her pocket, pulling out some more dried fruit which he consumes. Ravenstongue doesn't seem to mind much.

Telamon rocks a hand back and forth. "I've not been to Llyranost myself, but the Mythwood... well, there are places in Mythwood you straight up can't go to unless the elves want you to. They keep their cards close to their chest there." He shakes his head. "I'm surprised Rune has so few half-sil, you'd think with humans and elves in close proximity, well..." Telamon smiles crookedly. "Ah well. Maybe it's different there."

"Well, it depends... I was a child, and so I met other children. And, well... Children can be cruel if they see someone different. They could all be mean for different reasons, but at the end of the day, I was different, so I ended up just staying home with my mother."

"Rude children don't get their snacks," Pothy interjects, imitating a rather overbearing schoolteacher or nanny he's presumably heard from somewhere in his travels with Ravenstongue.

Ravenstongue pats Pothy on the head, cracking a little smile. "I can always count on you to lift the mood, huh, Pothy?" she asks, before looking back up at Telamon. "At any rate, all I know about father is that he's from Lyranost, he's one of the sylvanori, and I apparently have his eyes. Got my black hair from mom."

Telamon frowns, brow furrowing. "I... don't wish to offend, but... this is exactly why my parents stayed together. So that I wouldn't be left adrift." He straightens up. "Still. If you need a touchstone, I would be happy to act as one. There's no 'guide to being a half-elf' out there, and most of the time I just make it up as I go along." He chuckles at Pothy, and shrugs. "But then, that's life sometimes. Guesswork."

Ravenstongue shakes her head. "No offense taken. Mom never talked about it, but I got the impression she left him and Llyranost for a good reason. And... well, I can't ask her what that reason was anymore. So I have to do like you said--just make it up as I go along. But I'm really glad we met. I hope we can be friends; I've never met someone so much like me."

Pothy has now decided both Ravenstongue and Telamon are lame. He hops down from the bench and walks around. Tap, tap, tap, tap go the talons on the path... And Pothy finds someone else's discarded sweetbun. The thing is about as big as his head but it goes entirely down the hatch anyway. Kind of disgusting yet mesmerizing at the same time.

Telamon chuckles. "Well, Ravenstongue, if you're open to having a friend who leaps in where angels might fear to tread and who regards the world sometimes as just one big party that hasn't gotten started yet... I'll be happy to be your friend." He reaches out to take the other half-elf's hand, giving it a squeeze and smiling at her broadly. "Although I may have to introduce Pothy to Raspberry. That will be interesting."

Verna emerges from the Society Library, an open tome hovering before her. It is efficient to make use of travel time to study, and the paths here are more than familiar enough that divided attention is not an issue. Above and behind her left shoulder, a coppery spheroid hovers, its eye-like gem pointed over the shoulder at the pages as well.

Ravenstongue snickers a little at Telamon's description of himself. "I'm not that kind of person myself, so I think that sounds like fun," she says. "Sure, friends it is!"

Speaking of Pothy, what is that dashing rogue of a raven doing? Up to no good, apparently, because he notices Verna's spheroid. More specifically, that eye-like gem it's got there.

Would be a shame if it went missing, now, wouldn't it?

Pothy flies over to Verna and lands by her feet, cocking his pale head at the sphereoid. "What in BLAZES is that?" he says, mimicking a very distraught and surprised fellow with probably more money than sense overheard from someplace else.

Ravenstongue looks up and sighs. A tender moment of newfound friendship interrupted by her crazy corvid. "Speak of devils... Pothy! Come back here, I'm sure that nice person doesn't have any snacks to feed you," she says as she springs up from the bench to catch Pothy.

Telamon glances over as well, as Pothy goes flying to Verna. "What is he doing?" he says, covering his mouth to try and conceal his smile. The raven really does make life more interesting. When Ravenstongue leaps to her feet and starts after her familiar, he smoothly stands as well, following along at a more sedate, unhurried pace. It's not like the bird's going to deliberately run away from his mistress, after all. "Bottomless stomach, huh?" he quips.

The spheroid rotates its focus from the book to the bird. Yes, this does point the amber more directly at Pothy. Verna's hood doesn't turn, though one gloved hand gestures generally over her shoulder. "This is Arbiter Gee aicH zero five seven," emits from the hood as explanation to the voiced inquiry.

"Arbiter Gee aicH zero five seven," Pothy mimicks back to the hooded figure and the enticing, shiny spheroid. However, Pothy gets scooped up and onto Ravenstongue's shoulder with a protesting croak before he can even think of trying anything.

Ravenstongue dusts off her hands and sighs. "I'm so sorry he disturbed you. He's a familiar, but he's really curious about things he hasn't seen before... in addition to having a bottomless stomach, yes," she says, replying to Telamon's quip. "I guess you could say he's hungry for more than just food."

Telamon nods to Ravenstongue with a grin. "I knew a wizard with an owl familiar. Supposedly, the owl would expound at length on the joys of night hunting as well as eating the wizard's dinner when he wasn't paying attention." He shrugs. "He might have been pulling my leg. I can't swear to it either way. But that owl would definitely snatch food if it wasn't attended." He inclines his head to Verna. "Good day, ma'am."

"Curiosity is a worthy hunger," Verna notes, only now closing the book with a gesture and turning her hood, and attention to the speakers, "so long as one does not stick one's face, in whatvever shape, where it would not be appreciated. That can be an uncomfortable and ... humbling experience. Good evening to the three of you."

Ravenstongue looks at Pothy with a side-eye. "Pothy, that means you can't go sticking your beak up where it doesn't belong. Got it?"

Pothy throws his head up like a fed-up teenager and gives a grumpy croak back in response to Ravenstongue's admonishment. But he maintains his admiration of the spheroid... just from a respectable distance. And presumably no plotting of gem-thefts. So one could hope, anyway.

Telamon eyes the raven amusedly. "So... who is the familiar in this relationship again?" he inquires with a grin. "Sometimes it seems hard to tell." He eyes the spheroid for a moment, before shifting his attention again. "Besides, aren't familiars supposed to not harass each other? Isn't that a rule or something?"

"To clarify," Verna expounds, "that was not a directed threat, but a general advisory of caution. One that I am rather too familiar with, unfortunately. Also, the Arbiter, here, is not a familiar. He is an ally who is also curious of a great many things." She seems to conclude there, though belatedly thinks to add, "I am Sage Mourner Verna. A pleasure to make your acquaintances."

Ravenstongue giggles a little at the clarification. "Oh no, I didn't interpret it as a threat, but Pothy is generally way too curious for his own good," she says, looking at Pothy again. Verna may not have intended her words to be a threat, but Ravenstongue appears to have intended her own warning to Pothy as a threat, judging by the way Pothy just sighs and looks elsewhere. For the moment, that is.

"It's really nice to meet you too," Ravenstongue says. "You may call me Ravenstongue. Pothy is... Well, I call him Pothy, but his full name is Apotheosis."

"And I am Telamon, Lady Verna. And a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well." Telamon offers Verna a bow, before straightening and standing next to Ravenstongue. "In any case, Pothy, you really should mind your manners. Ravenstongue, I need to get moving and look into those astronomy texts... but could I trouble you with meeting later? Say, perhaps dinner tomorrow evening?"

Verna returns the bow with a slight curtsey, though her cloak and robes mask enough that it could be a simple dip. Noting Telemon's mention, she notes, "The sky is rather readily viewed from upon the Redridge, when the night is clear."

"Dinner? Sure, that sounds nice!" Ravenstongue says in a rather chipper tone and with a smile. She appears to be a little confused by Verna's mention of the sky from Redridge, but the confusion is gone quickly enough. "I hope you find everything you're looking for in the astronomy texts!"

She looks back to the book she's been holding onto the whole time. "I should put this one back," she remarks offhandedly. It appears to be a book regarding the fae, judging by the title: Survey of the Fae.

"Absolutely. And thank you, ma'am," Telamon replies with a smile. "I'll see you soon, Ravenstongue. I'll even bring treats for Pothy. Just to show I've not forgotten him." With that, he smoothly wheels, heading up into the building proper, on the hunt for ... well, whatever he can find. How hard can it be?

Verna turns to Ravenstongue as Telamon departs. "The librarians here would appreciate a timely return. So would all others who enjoy borrowing, lest the policies change to those of the city's library. Is the topic one for a specific focus, or merely an interest," she then inquires, having noticed the title.

"Sort of both," Ravenstongue admits, looking a little bashful that the subject was clearly noticed. "According to my mother, my father was one of the sylvanori. I was born in Llyranost, but my mother took me as a child and we lived in Rune... So I would read books about the elves, as well as the fae, to understand who my father was, sort of. My real reason for this one is because I keep waking up with black feathers in my room, and I keep seeing actual ravens--not ones like Pothy--who either disappear or fly away if I notice them. I think it might be associated with the fae."

"Intriguing..." Verna opines before gloved hands lift to doff her all-encompassing hood. This could be coincidently, though it does accentuate the statement that follows. "I can fully understand the position of stradling two cultures, if not the specifics of your upbringing. As to the appearance of ravens and feathers, they could be omens, though of what..." She pauses and gestures to her. "Well, you are far more experienced in the matter than I, obviously."

Ravenstongue smiles at recognizing a fellow half-sil. "Two in one day! I have to come here more often," she says, although she seems to realize that's an awfully weird thing to say and quickly adds, "Sorry, I grew up as the only half-elf around in the area around our house--I still get excited when I meet other people like me."

"Omen," Pothy says, mimicking Verna's voice before preening his feathers. Ravenstongue pats him on the head for a moment, clearly used to his little interjections as ploys for her attention.

"I don't know if I'd characterize myself as experienced, really. I just know what I know from reading, and there are some pretty different opinions regarding the fae that it's hard to know what's right and what's wrong. Only reason I think it's related to the fae is... Well, I also haven't been sleeping a lot recently, either, but when I do dream, I hear a voice speak to me in Sylvan. It's all really, really cryptic, though, so I've been trying to figure out if maybe there's some clues in books like this one."

Verna nods at her explanation; less so at Pothy's mimicing remark. "I understand how our comparative rarity in some settings can make matters ...interesting, as well. I meant only that you have more knowledge of your own experiences than I, due the fact that they are your experiences. You appear to be investigating along an appropriate path." Now a nod towards the book. "This city holds a great variety of individuals, from a variety of origins. You are likely to encounter far more of mixed heritage. It is one reason that I ventured to Alexandria, myself."

Ravenstongue continues to pat Pothy to the point where he begins to make little, happy-sounding croaks, and presumably to keep him from having any more outbursts. She nods at Verna's remarks. "I came here because I got fed up with living in Rune, and I heard more people like us lived here, too. I'm pretty happy to see I was right." She smiles again.

"I am grateful that Rune still stands," Verna notes. "You may have left at a most opportune time, as the Dranei laid waste to much of it not long past. There are many things to be found, here, so you may find all that you seek."

Ravenstongue nods. She looks around at the bookshelves and looks at the book in her arms. "Oh! Right! I was going to go put this back," she says. She curtsies politely, as much as she can with one book in hand. "It was good to meet you, Sage Mourner. I'd love to talk to you again sometime soon."

"Snacks?" Pothy asks, looking up at Ravenstongue with bright blue eyes.

"Yes, after I go put the book back, Pothy," Ravenstongue says, before looking back to Verna. "Have a good evening," she says, and she makes her way back to the bookshelf the book came from before departing altogether to feed her demanding familiar.