In the Interest of Knowledge (Open)

[serilkane]

Seril cleared his throat lightly, knuckles poised to knock on the thin wood door of the tree-home. It had been a week, or so, since The Burning of Du Weldenvarden, as Seril had been calling it, and the young man was eager to see his sparring partner and comrade in studies, Isrydia. He had attempted to give her time to grieve the loss of their teacher, Brenton, but Ophelia was beginning to grow as such an accelerated rate that soon she wouldn't fit in his arms anymore. Already it was such a strain to hold the young dragon. Ophelia snorted, nudging the back of his knees with her snout. What? It's true, he replied, his tone light and perhaps a little nervous.

He wasn't certain if he was overstepping his boundaries by coming to see Isrydia at her home. Before now they had met every morning at the sparring grounds in order to teach Seril basic swordsmanship, with minimal success. However, because of Brenton's death, Seril had made it a point to give both Isrydia and Arlyn space to grieve. Seril wasn't certain how long such a period should take, he'd never lost someone close to him. 

Inhaling deeply, the young man rapped his knuckles on her door, silently awaiting her answer. Seril took mental note of the insides of his pack; assuring himself that he'd brought enough study materials in the event that she wasn't home. He had been filling his days with an almost non-stop stream of books and writing down the Ancient Language's compendium. Ophelia, while Seril waited politely at the door, took to the air for a moment; simply circling the house to release a bit of built-up energy. And so they waited, perhaps a little awkwardly. 

[Quetzal]

Isrydia had been staring at a thick volume on the development of the Ancient Language, vacant mind unable to concentrate on the words. A knock on the door made her look up suddenly, puzzled as to who could be visiting her. For a fleeting moment she hoped it would be Brenton, but her heart quickly dulled back to its empty throbbing as she remembered that was not possible. It could be some elf asking after her or offering a book or something like that, or it might be Konner here to teach her. Seril was a possibility, but he hadn't come to her door before so she thought it was unlikely. Reluctantly, she walked to the door.

Arlyn was not wallowing as she was. He had tried to act upset so she would not suspect he knew the reality of the situation, that Brenton and Grazael were not actually dead. This had proved surprisingly easy, as he felt her pain through their bond, upset because she was. The feeling was strengthened by his guilt. But unlike her, he was trying to get on with life, accepting that the 'dead' couple may not return from wherever they had gone. They could be locked in a struggle with Nelfarion and Ashendale, for all he knew. Upon seeing Ophelia circling past, he leaped out the large open window to join her while he waited for his Rider to greet the person at the door he now assumed was Seril.

Isrydia saw Seril and offered him a weak smile. Why had he come to her? Nothing looked wrong. It dawned on her slowly that it had been a few days since she had last seen him, despite the fact that she was supposed to be teaching him how to fight. She had been sitting around feeling so sorry for herself she had neglected her duties as both Seril's teacher and his fellow pupil. There was nothing she could do to force herself to cheer up, but she could at least make an effort to carry on. For the sake of the people she was responsible in any way, she should try and learn to cope with her loss. She had never lost anyone close to her before, so this was a learning process for her. "Seril! I'm sorry I haven't been able to train lately. Were you wanting to train in combat, or was there something you thought we could research together?" she might have had more training than him in combat, but he had spent far more time with his head in books and so she had found there was a lot he could show her about the workings of the world and its history.

[Brenton]

Brenton. His best friend had been killed only a few days ago and now all Konner could do was wallow in pity for he couldn't even bring himself to train anymore and yet he was supposed to teach Isrydia and Seril both. Several times he had walked by Isrydia's house with the idea of teaching her but each time he had given up hope and then left as his throat closed up. Now Talon was circling overhead and Konner couldn't seem to get over the shock that he had been there when Brenton had so selflessly given his life to protect those he cared about and had even given the king's crown to Laetri. You should go talk with Seril and Isrydia for they are suffering as much as you, Konner. Talon gave his two cents worth like always and Konner sighed as he figured he would do as the dragon said. Konner walked off toward Isrydia's house purposefully.

[serilkane]

Ophelia soared into the heavens, attempting to race the recently healed up Arlyn. The pewter dragon shot into the air, lazily drifting about as she waited for the larger of the pair to reach her altitude. She had only a few seconds head start on him, but in an attempt to show off she was attempting to make it appear as though she was considerably faster than she was. Of course this was offset by her slightly labored breathing.

Seril immediately shook his head and gestured inside. "Isrydia-Elda, may I intrude on you for a moment? I have some questions and I'd like to hear your take on them," it was almost entirely true. Seril had absolutely noticed Isrydia's absence from his training recently, but had paid little heed to it. There were certain formalities one must observe when tragedy strikes close to home. Seril had made amends with the fact that his fellow student and part-time teacher would be taking some time off in order to grieve her loss, for Brenton was far closer to Isrydia than he was to Seril or Ophelia. They'd only been in Ellesmera a short while when The Burning of Du Weldenvarden had occurred.

(Assuming that she hadn't a problem with his intrusion...)

Seril stepped into the tree-house that had been given to Isrydia. It was fairly similar to his own, truth be told. Though perhaps a touch larger, and the layout was slightly different. Seril noted that the wash room was on the other side of the small kitchen area. Without need for ceremony, Seril unloaded quite a few books and scrolls onto her dining table, the load quickly filling up the space. "Now, I haven't cast a spell yet. So I was a little worried about this sort of study, but it piqued my interest for the time being and I hadn't anyone to ask it to. I'm not proficient enough in the Ancient Language enough to ask an elf and understand every nuance of what they tell me. I figured you would be the best person to come to," Seril spoke quite rapidly, his words sometimes jumping over one another as if they were racing to leave his mind and his lips weren't fast enough to speak them aloud. "What are the limitations of the Ancient Language, aside from one's own ingenuity? Such as; I read... Here," Seril hefted a large scroll from the bottom, shifting it so Isrydia could see where he the passage in question. "That one's only limit with the Ancient Language is their creativity. If the caster could find a plausible enough connection between the word for stone and the physical object of a, say, diamond could they create a diamond with only the word for stone? And subsequently could they then store energy into said manufactured diamond? Or, in another instance, can written phrases carry power in them as well? Imagine someone imbuing words, or the ink, with the ability to enchant whomever read it, either aloud or silently. It could change the face of magic as we know it! And also, why are only some humans born with the ability to cast magic, or is it deep within anyone? Or somehow bound to fate? Also, if we knew the word for fate, and with enough stored energy, could one change their own? And what of the true name for the Ancient Language, in the Ancient Language? It would be a word shrouded in antiquity, but also of such immense power that it could alter magic itself." Seril took a moment to breathe, cheeks red. This had been the most he had spoken since arriving in Ellesmera. It was common for the young man to use as few words as possible when speaking to someone. But this was his passion, studying. And finally he'd found someone equally interested, if perhaps in different subjects. Just what did Isrydia want to learn? Seril made a quick mental note to ask once he had an opportunity.

[Quetzal]

Arlyn took the chase, impressed by Ophelia's speed. She had a head start, but she was still faster than she used to be. Her breath was short once he reached, her however, a sign she had been pushing herself to go that fast. It made sense that she might need more effort to fly speedily; her heavier built was more suited to tanking through things rather than nimbly dodging and outrunning. Each living thing had their own strengths and weaknesses. He was fast and agile, but not very big or strong. He drifted along beside her. "How's your flying going?" he asked her about any progress she had made.

Isrydia nodded to Seril, opening the door wide to admit him. Him calling her 'elda' was strange. In fact, interacting with another human being was strange. Having been secluded these past few days, blocking everyone else out to be sad, practice her magic and try getting used to Undbitr, the sudden drag back to social contact was a little shaking. She hadn't even made much progress by herself. Her grip on the Ancient Language was improving, but her magic was still poor and Undbitr was the wrong size and weight for her, feeling unnatural in her hand.

The flurry of questions dunk her into the cold waters of reality. Her mind had been fuzzy, but now it sharpened as she tried to focus. Her brain remembered its interest in the workings of the world and began to work again, buzzing as it thought through these questions. She had never seen Seril so animated as he was when he wondered all these things aloud. He was usually so quiet; this must really grab his attention, then. She mulled it all over reading the section Seril pointed out to her, then began to do her best to answer. "There's creativity, but also you probably know that using magic takes up energy. They sort of go hand-in-hand. Magic isn't a way of cheating; the balance is kept as it takes the same amount of energy to do something by magic as it would without magic, even if it's impossible to do by hand, like your diamond example. If you're creative, you can word a spell carefully to make it more efficient. Like with your diamond; you could destroy stone and replace it with diamond, but that would use more energy than just creating the diamond out of thin air. If you could see clearly in your head the changes in properties the the stone must undergo, you might be able to change a small detail about it to change the whole thing while using much less energy. You'd be able to store energy in it so long as you'd managed to make a true diamond," she explained, happy to talk about this sort of thing. It was interesting to her how magic refused to be a shortcut where energy was concerned.

"I've never heard of written magic having effects, but that would be brilliant! Some people can use magic without words, not that I know how, so speaking the Ancient Language is definitely not the only way to go. I don't know why some people can use magic and others can't. I don't think it is deep in everyone; I for one was never able to use magic before I became a Rider, not even simple stuff like reaching out with my mind. It could be something to do with fate. If there even is such a thing as fate, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to change yours if its true name was found. And the true name of the Ancient Language... that knowledge would be the most powerful weapon in all of creation. You could bend the very fabric of the universe to your will, change magic and the Ancient Language itself! Perhaps it was the first word? Maybe all this," she waved her hands at the universe at large, "Was created using it!" without her noticing, a spark of life had returned to her eyes, and she was actually smiling. "The name of the Ancient Language would be able to make anything a method of using magic. Even written stuff. I wonder if it could bypass the energy thing?" she wondered aloud. It might be able to command magic itself, but could it command its rules, or did they apply to it as well? If they did apply, could the name of the Ancient Language be used to banish the rules anyway?

[Brenton]

Konner walked slowly past all of the once vibrant houses that were now either empty or filled with mourning people who missed Brenton for he had been their king and friend. Now that Konner was finally walking around and looking at the world again, he drew his own sword and started twirling it. Every so often he would slash and large targets that he tossed in the air with magic would explode from the pure ferocity of his attack. Finally Konner made it to the tree-house and looked up to see Ophelia and Arlyn both flying around the house. That must mean that both his students were within the building so Konner sheathed his sword and walked to the door with his head down and his mind closed off from all except for Talon who was also flying around but not with the other two dragons. Konner made it to the door and he looked at the wood, swirls and knots in the material like it would be if the tree had been unchanged, which strangely enough took his mind off of his troubles. Carefully he took a breath and felt it pass by the lump in his throat and the hole in his chest to enter his lungs where it seemed to fester until finally going back out.

Konner raised his hand and used his knuckles to rap against the solid wood door softly but persistently, stopping after three knocks. He slouched a bit against the door frame and waited with his hands in his pockets while he examined the insides of his eyelids which were darker than usual. His eyes were blood shot and surrounded by bruise like coloring on his eyelids while he had slightly messed up hair and sweat across his brow from his slight fever that had come into existence as he tried unsuccessfully to sleep every night. His chin and jaw were covered in dark stubble that was close to a full beard as he tried to keep from crying for yet another time.

[serilkane]

Ophelia rolled midair, dropping several feet. Her wings snapped open and the young dragon drifted on a light current, gradually meeting Arlyn's altitude again. Flying isn't as easy as it should be, she admitted, her tone betraying her frustrations with her own shortcomings. Sure, every dragon had their own separate strengths and weaknesses. But the dragons were meant to be great beings of the air, able to blot out the sun with their great wings. Why was it that she couldn't fly as well as her companions? Determined to prove herself, Ophelia beat her wings, the sunlight pouring through her nearly translucent flight membrane. Once satisfied with the height she tucked her wings tightly to her body, her bulky frame angling down towards Arlyn. At the last second Ophelia snapped open her wings in the hopes that she'd slow her descent, however she didn't angle herself properly. With a growl of panic, Ophelia crashed into Arlyn high above the forest.

Seril knew full well the usage of energy in magic, through reading of course. He wondered if he could ask Isrydia for a demonstration of a spell and whether he could study its effects through different variations of the wording used. While he pondered, the young man simply looked at his friend, brows furrowed in concentration. Just as he opened his mouth, about to further their discussion, his train of thought was interrupted by a sudden knocking on the door. Seril stood up quickly, covering his notes. It wasn't that he distrusted others inherently, necessarily. More likely was it that he was trying to clean up. Or so he told himself. In truth, Seril wasn't eager to share his findings with most people.

After a moment of shuffling his papers and sliding away a few slips of parchment, Seril nodded and turned back to face the door, his usual quiet and reserved personality returning. The bright twinkle in his eye that had ignited during their brief discussion faded away. Someone else had been looking for Isrydia as well, it seemed.

[Quetzal]

There wasn't a lot Arlyn could do after the collision, wings beating down madly to try and gain some height before they hit the ground. It took some effort for him to escape becoming an object to break Ophelia's fall, giving her a good push upwards to try and help her change direction away from the ground. A dragon's pride was a strong thing as he well knew, so he was careful to try not to hurt hers. "Air currents and slight wing and tail movements affect flying. Takes a while to get used to it. I find my tail is good for stability and fine-tuning my aim," he thought for a moment. "Have you thought which Rider Branch you belong to? Your colour means you should be in Air, like me, but since flying is harder for you maybe you're actually more designed for something else," he asked. The Air dragons were supposed to be the most skilful at flying, and while her sturdiness would help her fly through just about anything, her speed and agility weren't as good as the other Air dragons, a sign that her talents lay elsewhere.

Isrydia had been excited to discuss possible advancements in magic, even stuff she would never attempt to do like find the power of the name of the Ancient Language. This time she was quicker in reaching the door. It was funny how she was all of a sudden finding herself with numerous visitors after isolating herself. People must just be ready to move on, and were all reaching that stage at more or less the same time as one another. She opened the door, recognising Konner beneath the stubble and bloodshot eyes. He looked awful. Then again, she hardly looked the picture of health. Her hair was messy, skin unnaturally pale. Black bags had firmly established themselves under her tired eyes. "Hello, Konner," she wasn't sure what to say to him. "Come in. Seril's here too," she told him, voice returned to its previous flat tone.

Moving back to the dining table, she noticed Seril's own notes were covered up. She didn't blame him. He was quiet, and she didn't usually like people seeing her work until it was done, and felt a little embarrassed if they commented on it, be they positive or negative comments. Her own theories about stars were largely contained in her head alone, although a few of her general ideas she shared and discusses with some other people. "How can we help?" she asked Konner.

[Brenton]

Konner walked in, barely noticing that Isrydia didn't look to healthy herself, as he tried to focus on not feeling like crap anymore. Finally he took a small breath and shook his head in confusion as he thought about what he was actually doing here. "I came here because I couldn't take anymore mourning. Hell I have a headache to put all other headaches to shame and am one step below a full beard. I haven't had a wink of sleep since that day and all I have talked to Talon about is how I was right there and should've been able to keep Brenton from dying. He...he..." Konner trailed off as he dropped to his knees and put his head in his hands. It wasn't fair that Brenton had died right in front of him when all he had to do was ask for help in taking that spell. Now Konner was close to tears and he couldn't do anything to keep from letting them fall in front of him at all.

Talon flew overhead with his wings spread and his head down as he looked at Arlyn and Ophelia flying in joyous circles. Well it was as close to joyous as anything could get in this land at the time but still Talon flew closer and then gave a small growl to let them know he was there.

[Timmir]

Several solid smacks could be heard from the training as dulled steel slamed against wood. Farore took heavy breaths as she stared down at her target, which was a heavily damaged makeshift mannikin. She focused on where the mannikin was damage the most.

"It's time to finish this." She said as she charged straight at the mannikin, and with a powerful strike, broke right through it. She took staggered breathes as she just stayed there. It was several seconds before she took a small step back, sheathing her sword as she did so.

"Well, I'm definitely improving." She said as she looked at the splintered pile of wood below her, "I just hope nobody minds me destroying so many practice dummies." With a sigh she began walking away from the remains of the dummy, preparing to go get a replacement. As she did so, she noticed two dragons flying in the sky.

Is that a Arlyn and... another dragon? She wondered as she looked up to the sky. She hadn't seen Arlyn and Isrydia for quite awhile now. In fact, she hasn't seen much of anyone since Brenton's death.

Well... I think that's enough training for today. She thought as she glanced back at the splintered remains of the target dummy, Maybe I should go see how Arlyn and Isrydia is doing? With that thought, she began walking away from the training circle and began heading towards Isrydia's house.

With every step she took, she became more and more hesitant about her decision. Farore knew that Isrydia was as close to Brenton as anyone, and was probably one of the few that took his death the hardest. Maybe it wasn't right for her to go check on Isrydia yet. Afterall, it's only been a week since the elf king's death. Anyways, she seems to already have company over and it probably wouldn't be right for her to just barge in like that.

There's no need to overthink this. I'm just going to check up on a friend to make sure she's okay. There is nothing wrong with that. She thought as a small sigh escaped her lips. Yet it did very little to quell the ongoing war inside her head.

[serilkane]

Rider branches? She reached out with her mind, breaching into Seril's loudly. To which he responded by kneading his forehead. The young Rider mentally shrugged, replying that he hadn't any idea what Arlyn was talking about. It must either be fairly new, or a well-kept secret.

Since becoming a Rider, Seril had read quite a number of books involving them. It wasn't to study, but more for pleasure. There wasn't much written down, it seemed. However, he had discovered a great number of facts from before The Fall. With a quick clearing of his throat, Seril brought his attention back to those gathered in the small tree-house. Konner truly looked terrible. His eyes were sunk deep into their sockets, rimmed by dark shadows. Seril hadn't ever seen Konner in such a state, it was a little sad.

Feeling rather awkward, Seril sank into a chair, arms crossing over his chest. He had intended to pose several more questions and theories to Isrydia, but in the present company he figured it would do better to leave it alone until Brenton's passing had, well, passed. I'm not sure what to do, he said quietly, a series of images flashing over to Ophelia as he caught her up to speed on the situation. Should I come back later?

A friendly face may be just what they need. Don't be a coward, she chastised him, his cheeks growing red once more. She was right, of course. But it didn't make her any less self-righteous pointing it out. And so Seril sat back, doing his best to appear at ease despite the obvious tension in the air.

[Quetzal]

It was somewhat surprising that Ophelia had not heard of the Rider Branches, but Arlyn supposed that since they had arrived after the whole buzz of it, they may not have heard about it all. He sent her an image of the ceremony, all the people from different races and opinions, even sides in the civil war, come together to form this thing to try creating some sense of the old Rider Order. "Riders used to be members of these Branches a long time ago, but it was forgotten about. Recently Glaedr restored them. There are five; Air, Water, Earth, Fire, Psychic. Scale colour says which Branch you most likely are in. Air has mostly whites, greys and silvers, so you'd be in there with me. But Air are also best at flying fast and nimbly through anything, so maybe better suited to another Branch. Don't know enough about others to say," he explained to her. His blue colouration had made him debate whether he belonged to the Air or Water branch, but his agility and ease of flight made him decide on Air. Talon was nearby. The dragon was more or less a stranger to him, and his size was intimidating, so while he nodded to him in acknowledgement, he did not get any nearer. Below he noticed Farore, the mysterious woman he had discovered one day stumbling out of a house with no memory of anything that had happened to her before waking up. Apparently she was born before the Fall; she might be of some interest to Seril, then, especially since it was a complete mystery how she had lost her memory. Most likely it was magic, but what magic? He pointed her out to Ophelia, alerted Isryida, then dropped lower to fly nearer her. He gave a cry of greeting to let her know he had seen her.

Isrydia did not know what to do. She barely knew Konner, only having seen him when he first arrived and during the Burning of Du Weldenvarden. She looked to Seril for any help, but he looked as awkward about this as she was. She put a hand on his shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting way. No words were spoken by her, as she could not think of anything to say. Words did not come so easy to her now. The exception had been talking about Seril's research; she had found her voice again, felt excited once more, and she wanted to carry on with that discussion to try and get out of this well of misery she had dug for herself. It would be pretty rude for her to interrupt's Konner speaking his feelings, so she quietly did her best to comfort him. Maybe he would feel better doing some research as well? She felt Arlyn tell her Farore was outside. Glad for the excuse to break the tension, she went over to the door without explaining herself and opened it wide without Farore even having knocked.

"Hi. Seril and Konner are here too. I don't know if you've met them. Seril and I were researching magic. Can you remember anything about magic?" she asked while stepping aside as invitation for Farore to enter the house, not knowing if she had been able to use magic since they had last spoken. She had apparently been a Rider, so she should technically be able to use magic. If she could remember something from before the Fall, that could be interesting. Isrydia did not say anything about Farore's unknown past, as she felt that was something for her to tell people herself.

[Brenton]

Konner took a shuddering breath and stood up, wiping away a few tears that had fallen and then he smiled weakly at the people who were there. He hadn't cried in front of other people in a long time and knowing Seril from before he ever became a rider just made it more awkward. Finally he straightened his back and looked at Seril with stern eyes that said all that was needed to be said. So, Seril, what scholarly pursuits are you after now? If I may suggest something, go after finding out more about the workings of magic and why it is that the Ancient Language binds it but people can cast magic without it. Or better yet how it is that people with no magical ability can suddenly find the magic by becoming a rider. There are many possibilities out there and I know for a fact that you have the mind of one of the greatest scholars ever to live. Just put that mind to use and maybe we can have a great weapon outside of actually fighting. He looked over at Isrydia just as she walked over to the door and opened it to reveal another woman who as of yet hadn't knocked. Arlyn must have alerted her or something which was strange since Talon hadn't said anything but then again the red dragon knew how Konner was feeling at the moment.

With a quickly muttered spell, Konner fixed his hair so that it wasn't as greasy and then he cleared away the tear stains and made his skin not show the bruise like markings from many nights without sleep and crying. He left his hair long and his facial hair still there and there wasn't much he could do for the pale skin or the slight fever but he knew that eventually that would pass as well. Still it puzzled Konner as to why he did all of that and was now fixing his clothes just because another woman was here. Slowly he closed his eyes and focused. Konner was a knight of the dwarven army and an assassin rider who knew how to kill without a second thought yet he was busy trying to better his appearance just because some woman had walked in the house. Things confused him right now but that was perfectly fine to Konner as he didn't exactly care much if things made sense anymore. Hell he had just lost his best friend and was grieving for gods sake. There was no such thing as normal or making sense anymore at this point in time.

[Timmir]

As Farore continued her way to Isrydia's house, she heard a small cry above her. Looking up above her, she saw Aryln flying nearby. She gave him a small wave, knowing full well that he probably had already alerted Isrydia of her presence. If that was so, then it probably was a good idea to back away now...

As Farore approached Isrydia's house, she found the door suddenly opening without her even knocking on it. Farore was honestly a little surprise about this, but guessed that Arlyn was keeping closer tabs on her then she originally thought. As she entered the house, she listened to Isrydia as she introduced her other two guest to Farore. While she couldn't say that she ever met Seril, she definitely remember meeting Konner back on the day she first woke up. She gave them a shy wave as Isrydia went on to talk about how she and Seril were researching magic before asking if Farore remember anything about magic.

"Well, I don't know if remember is quite the right word for it, but I do possess at least some knowledge on magic. What do you need to know?" Farore answered, curious about what the two could be researching about.

[Brenton]

((Farore met Kialandi, dragon spirit, not Konner, dragon rider/assassin/Knight))