Timestamp: Optia, Summer of Era XIV in the Age of Darkening
Some time had passed since last the lady had stepped within Nexus Prime’s walls. For close to a year she had kept to seclusion; a far cry from what she once had been, upstanding within the limelight of a Prefect, or a Thane. Such lofty beginnings had made the fall all the greater, though the quiet had given her the time to grow, and to mature. Keeva Kaldres remained youthful in visage, though her mind had perhaps grown. Changes had been forthcoming, it seemed, though whether these were for better, or for worse, remained yet to be seen.
The familiarity of scenery was haunting, in a way, and memories of days past filtered through the young woman’s mind as she rode the streets of the city atop her night-dark steed. There was a place here she needed to go, a visitation required by an unrest of morality within. She had left her dearest friend, seemingly without cause, for an age, and now was the time to find a remedy for her sin.
Guiding the huge warhorse onto the pathway leading upwards to the stables, Keeva could only hope that her friend would welcome her back. Or that she would, indeed, remember.
She dismounted at a point of the approach whilst she scanned the place for her friend, for a worker, for anyone who could guide her to where the draconess would be. Already she had thought up a thousand things she could say, though none seemed to strike true with the kind of conviction needed of a reunion this belated in coming. It would be a blessing if these words did not end up tangled and stuck in her throat.
Last edited by Keeva Kaldres; February 13, 2008 at 11:02 AM.
When Keeva came to the horse farm she could not see the draconess, nor her black stallion with which she had raced upon her own once. However the clerk at the shop, Opehelia, explained the directions to where Keeva could find the draconess pretty fast. "Just go to the Rainbow Towers, they are in the middle of the city, I'm sure you won't miss them. Go to the reception and ask for her. She works as the Archmagus there." The girl explained and even told her that she probably could house her horse in Skay's stable near the Towers.
Secrets :
The main building which stood in the middle of the towers' square was one which was used for the reception, which was on the first floor. Higher up it had conference, meeting and various other rooms. It was a rather busy building, for many students came here to check the announcements which were hung on the board near the reception. This was also the building where the new Archmagus - Skay Ravendi - had set up her office and her living quarters. Though one had to climb all the way up to the sixth floor.
The stairs and the walls which led from the fifth to the sixth floor were all of white stone or wood. They ended with a small hall, to which's right stood a sofa by a large window and a thick, engraved, redwood door. Upon the door a dragon holding two orbs and a dryad were engraved, both interwined together, almost becoming one. Just as well, upon the door hung an ebony wood plate, with engraved white words announcing:
Quote:
The office of the Archmagus of the Rainbow Towers
Skay Ravendi
Entering however wasn't as easy. The door simply didn't open and remained firmly locked if one didn't have an appointment with the Archmagus. Though the Masters and Skay were able to open it without greater effort, which meant that the door was guarded by a spell of sorts. Knocking without an appointment only rarely brought the desired outcome. However if one had it then access to the office was easily granted and the door wasn't locked. One thing was clear - this office took up the whole floor.
The Office
The door from the staircase led into a really large office of the Archmagus. There were large windows on both sides of the room. There also was a redwood desk, with a unique armchair behind it, clearly custom made for the dracon race, and two cushioned chairs in front of it. Next to the walls ornamented bookcases could be found, filled with various scrolls, books, vials, pots and other such goods. To the right there were three sofas surrounding a table upon which tea set and a plate with biscuits usually stood. Almost through the whole office there was a beautiful light blue carpet decorated with various patterns and ornaments. The windows also showed a beautiful view of the whole city and even the Northern Sea.
Usually the draconess was sitting in her armchair, with a book opened and a quill or a biscuit in her hand. There always stood a beautiful ceramic bowl upon her desk filled with sweets. With the position of the Archmagus came certain perks, free food was one of them, as such the draconess allowed herself to the often temptation of biscuits, cookies, pastries, pies, chocolates, candies and all other sweets, which came to her bowl from the best bakeries and most various cuisines.
There was something else interesting in that room. Usually an animal was walking around it. And they were of all kinds, ranging from a simple black cat to a pegasus. And quite often a tiger, who even had a set of pillows to the left of the room as his bed. There was also a light blue hand-wyvern on a certain perch, which stood between the desk and the right window. Other than that though, this was a normal office, there were no arcane vines, no glowing orbs or other such mage suited things. And there was also one more door which led to Skay's private quarters.
Private Quarters
The door from her office led to a few more rooms. They could be called offices of other kind. One was used for research and experiments of various kinds, the other was for classes. And then there was another staircase, this time no longer going around the tower, but a smaller spiral staircase which led to the seventh floor where Skay's home was located. It too took up a whole floor and had many rooms in it, as well as a rather large balcony, which Skay used as a landing pad when she came home in an aerial form.
Upon the seventh floor the rooms were spacious and expensively decorated. There was a kitchen, with its own large fireplace and a stove, a smaller table with two chairs. There was a whole dining room, which Skay rarely visited unless she had company over. There was a bedroom, a restroom, two smaller empty rooms and a whole huge living room. The living room took the biggest part of the floor. It was spacious, airy and had large windows filling it with light. This room got to see the first rays of the dawning sun. The room was also filled with all kinds of things, sofas, armchairs, tea tables, bookcases, a soft carpet and all kinds of other things that could be found in the mansions of rich merchants or nobles.
By the reception Susan Mary listened to what Keeva had to say and within moments announced that the draconess was waiting for her. It was all the matter of climbing the stairs to her office. And there as soon as Keeva opened the door she was in the office of the Archmagus, where the draconess practically hug-punced her the moments she stepped in. There were no hard feelings for the moment, there was no anger for not writting and for disappearing for a whole era. For now the draconess simply wrapped herself, that is her arms and her wings around the softskin girl.
The absence of draconess at the stables was surprising, albeit unjustifiably so given the length of time that Keeva had been away. She thought she had been to the Rainbow Towers before herself, but given the lapse of an era and the transient nature of musing, it was perhaps a tad more difficult to tell. Not that it truly mattered, as such. The lady’s interests remained centred upon seeing her friend once again, exchanging stories and laughing together as they always had before…even if it might no longer have been exactly the same.
All in all she had been impressed by the grandiose visage the Rainbow Towers provided, although she could not have said as much for the stairs. For all that the black-haired belle was accustomed to worse things in terms of physical exertions than this, there was a fine line between patience and pointlessness.
At the end of it all, though, the embrace she received was well worth any length of suffering with stairs. Her friend was there- her dearest friend- and better still, Skay Ravendi appeared to remember who she was. Not that her appearance had changed all that much since then; she remained as lovely as ever she had, tresses of dark hair held back from her face loosely as strands deliberately fell out of place, with a soft blue-grey gown fitted wonderfully against pale skin. There was, however, a certain depth to her eyes now; a blacker pool within grey alluding to things better left unsaid.
"I…" The young human started, unsure of both herself and of what it was she should say. There were a thousand things, millions perhaps, and yet none seemed quite adequate enough. There was one thing that seemed to tug at her senses more than the rest, but it was slick with something shadowy, and bleak. Still, it was worth a try, and whilst her slender hands reached out to hug her friend, her voice worked to soothe, and to repent.
"I'm sorry, Skay..."
What more could she say? It was all she could expect for the draconess to give her a slap.
"Mmm." The draconess whispered into Keeva's air. She wasn't mad, she couldn't be mad, she didn't even consider saying anything. She did begin to consider casting a spell which would simply make vines grow from the floor and entangle Keeva in place for forever. "I don't want you to disappear like that again..." Skay whispered still hugging her friend, still only half able to believe that the girl was finally really back. This would not turn out to be an Illusion spell from some mystic of the nearby tower right? She would not forgive such for sure.
Soon enough though she had to relase her friend. "I offer you cookies and candies of a huge range as well as tea of all blends and a comfortable sofa, but you make sure to come up with a good explanation as to where in the world have you been without a letter of notice." Skay hmmpft a thrown upon her head, but she was still smiling, just like when the two chatted and laughed when they were together a whole era ago back in the horse races or anywhere else for that matter.
And there was indeed a sofa with a table, cookies, candies and biscuits on a plane there. Skay took a seat there too if Keeva did, all the time her eyes not leaving the human for even half a second. As if her turning her gaze away could make Keeva disappear into thin air for another era. "If you need a room, a horse or a pile of gold just tell me and I'll try to get them for you." She was joking on the last one of course, but other than that the draconess was ready to take care of Keeva and give her all the support that she coudl give.
If Keeva was an illusion, then she was an incredibly realistic one. After all, illusions could not suffocate and die in the arms of a draconess, even if that draconess did happen to be Skay.
"I won't disappear again, I promise..." The young woman voiced, her timbre both soft and full of joy. "You are stuck with me, I'm afraid. Though a pile of gold? That would certainly help my staying power. Will I get paid up front?"
The smile that dawned on her lovely face was small, and so fragile it seemed it could break at any second. The emotion behind it was genuine, however; Skay was her dearest, dearest friend, and she would not change that for the world. It soon shifted, however, clouded by remorse and what looked to be some manner of pain, as though she wanted to say something to her friend, but could not.
"I have not had a good era, Skay..." She ventured, taking a seat. She even reached out for a cookie, for who could possibly resist such tasty treats?
"You'll get paid upfront alright." The draconess said her voice sounding evil. Veeehry evil. It was clear what kind of payment and what kind of upfront and what kind of a pile of gold this could be. Still she was smiling. This really wasn't an illusion right? Right? She wanted someone to pinch her. Or pinch Keeva for that matter for leaving in the first place.
When they sat down and Keeva began with those words the smile faded completely. So this really wasn't about getting stuck with some pretty boy in a bed for a whole era munching candies and making love after all huh? "No... You haven't..." H'araloth? Why in the world did Keeva go to such a place? Skay only heard distant rumours about it. Distant rumours. She couldn't say anything about that place. She knew nothing about it. Except that it wasn't a good place. Wasn't a good place at all. So why... had Keeva been there for the whole era?
"Oh..." Came the young woman's reply, though really she had been expecting this. Keeva had never told the draconess of her journey before, perhaps for shame, or perhaps for fear of what the response could have been. Some part of her wished that she could tell Skay all the truth, dearest friend that she had been for all these years. Another part knew without a doubt that such would never be possible, though...There was no way that she could tell the draconess who she really was, and what. For all that she was a vysstichi under pale skin and eyes, she did not want to lose having this friend, this bond.
"I don't know what came over me, Skay, but I went down there, into the dark..." The dark of the pits, where vysstichi eyes burned and bored through you like coals; merciless, pitiless, and cruel. "They...they did things to me there. Terrible things. I..."
They had stripped her of her clothes, stripped her of what she was, made her whip another slave, made her kill. All had been for her own good, she knew, to show her who it was she really was. That did not mean it had not affected her within, however. Her mind was scarred, and cracked, and irrepresibly so.
"They made me hurt other people, made me kill...but then they let me go..."
It was all the truth, but missing one important, and fundamental part. She was skirting the recollection of her family, her vysstichi name, but it felt good to be able to talk to Skay again. There was guilt for not telling all, but at least it felt comforting, almost right.
For all that Keeva was now a vysstichi, and Haya's hand, she had still been brought up human, and that was a difficult thing for one to lose.
Skay listened without saying a word. And she was concerned and she wanted to simply hug Keeva and not let go, but at the end, would it help or would it only make things too emotional to bare it? When Keeva finished, Skay asked only one thing. "But it's over now, right?" That was the most important thing. She did not want to see her friend hurt anymore. She wanted to see her happy, to see her in places like Thane, not vysstichi slave. She really wished for that.
As for the whole being vysstichi thing... Hayha's hand... it was more than impossible to tell how Skay would react to that. She was quite tired of dealing with vysstichi though. First Adamon, who spun her world upside down, who she fell for and still could not forget him. Then the attack on Nexus Prime. And lastly a vysstichi who she killed simply for being a vysstichi as soon as she saw him. If she was to find out that Keeva too was one such...
Thus she prayed that the nightmare was over, that Keeva could come back to being Thanes and all. She could not follow her friend into vyssitchi lands after all. Not into that world. She could not follow Adamon into his world of murder, even though she loved him so much. And Keeva. Was Skay destined to lose her most precious friend? And if she was, then what next? Simply get over it, move on and find new people? She was finally getting her feet firm on the ground too. It couldn't be too hard to keep moving in that direction, right? Right?
The draconess’ embrace was welcome, though the one which was given in reply became weak, fractured, and disengaged all too quickly. It was as though the human woman simply did not have the strength, without and within, to commit to such a thing so fervently. She had experienced much, down there in the dark, and there was nothing which could wipe away the scars so quick, nor cleanse her mind of the evils that had been done, the shocking truths which had been the vysstichi’s parting gift.
Keeva was weak, and needed her friend right now, more than anyone else, more than she had ever needed her before. “It’s over…” She whispered, but it was as though she needed to convince herself, more than anybody else.
“It’s over, but I…I don’t think I can go back to the life I had before, Skay…” It was a painful truth, but given who she really was- what- she really was- she could not so easily step back into that life, back into that skin as easily as she changed her dress. She needed time, and rest, to fix the breaks in mentality, and to right the wrongs which had been done deep within. Keeva had accepted the truths of who she was, but she was still Keeva, still had morals, which would take an immense amount of will for her to break.
“I don’t know what I’m meant to do…” She finished, drawing back and looking to Skay through wide and helpless eyes. It seemed she wished for answers, wished to find them in her friend. This was a delicate time for the young human, though that, in its entirety, was plain.
"Do you... wish you could return to the life you had before?" Skay had a feeling that the answer was going to be a negative one unfortunately. As unfortunate as that was, she knew all too well what Keeva was going through. She had once believed to be human herself and now... she was a dracon. She was never going to forget the brightening when she shapeshifted in her true form all but 3 or four eras ago. She had cried, flailed and almost jumped off a cliff.
She knew all too well what it felt like to be torn, confused, lonely and just generally... scared. She had been scared, frightened of her life of her true race, true identity. It was impossible to deny the truth once it was known. She could have of course stayed in human form and pretended to be one, but... that was impossible. Just as Keeva could not just ignore what she found out, could not just go back to the life she once had. The question however was - did she want to go back to the life she had once had.
"If you wish to go back... there are ways." Those answers Skay could give. "But if you choose not to, then don't jump into the new life. Take it slowly, step by step, don't rush into it. That way you won't have things to regret and will be able to turn back anytime. I'll be there for you, I'll always have a spot under my wing for you to offer." Skay smiled, or at least tried to smile. She wasn't sure if she wanted to find out what really happened to Keeva. Some things were better kept untouched. But she knew that now, from the little she knew, she was ready to help if allowed.
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