Rites of Initiation [Sarang]

[Whim]

It was midnight. Another term had begun at Wyrdwood. The days were still warm with the dry heat of summer, but a chill was beginning to creep through the mountaintop castle by nightfall. Just about everyone was in fitful slumber, but for a lone bat flapping his way through the towers and parapets. He gripped a tiny letter, bound by string, between delicate little paws.

Where was the first-year tower again? Everything looked the same from up here! It was northernmost one, right? North! He fluttered in a circle, catching site of Wyrm Mountain in the distance. That was south. With another hearty beat of his wings the bat found his mark and perched on the window sill. Being a bat and flying were just terrible. There were so many better ways to do this, but in his head it sounded brilliant. But if he were smart he'd not be doing this at all. Bunkbeds. Snoring. Mothballs, probably from those itchy quilts the first years got. Good chance this was it. The girl's name was Ryvana and she had white hair. Making barely a sound he fluttered to the nearest bed frame. A redheaded girl in a fetal position. Not her. Shit. Wrong room? But then his beady black eyes caught a glint of silver across the room. Pale skin. Long, long silvery white hair. Delicate face. This was her. The bat nipped the string to free the note from his paw and, note between his teeth, flapped to the hook where her robe would hang. It took a few tries to force the scroll into the pocket.

When Ryvana donned her clothes for the day she would feel the crinkle of paper in her front pocket. It was a tiny scroll bound with string and a glob of blue wax.

Not like the others. See it in your eyes. Not worried if you're too tall or too short, if your nose is too big, or whether or not that boy will ever notice you. You want something more and we can help.

Find The Maw of Mysyryx in the Library. Bring it to Fyarion's Font at midnight.

Wyrdwood had innumerable libraries and book collections. The largest of its libraries was simply called 'The Stacks' and was a sprawling expanse that occupied three floors of the central keep. The lower floors were filled with historical texts and primers on magical theory. The upper floors were off limits but to true wizards and their named apprentices. The imps and gargoyles of Wyrdwood, not to mention a vigilant librarian, kept young students well away from such dangers.

[Sarang]

When the students were woken up, Ryana grumbled and tried to hide under the covers. She was quite sure it was careful planning which had lead to them being extremely itchy and uncomfortable because nobody would actually want to stay under them. With a sigh, she pushed her quilt away and peeled herself out of bed. She missed home, well no... she missed her bed.

She grabbed her things and headed to the washroom. A little while later she felt a bit more awake but still, it was too early for her. Her parents at least let her sleep in. Maybe she missed them after all, in a way. Just a little. After she had put on her knee-long skirt and blouse she grabbed her robe and heard something hit the floor. Putting the ugliest robe she had ever worn on, she looked down and raised her brows. A scroll?

As Ryana picked it up she wondered who could have left it and decided that the answer would be inside. Upon unrolling it her pale blue eyes wandered over the text. What in the... She raised a hand pushing the braided pigtail over her shoulder. What kind of message was that? And who would leave it here?

The Serenian shook her head and let go of the bottom of the parchment, allowing the scroll to go back into its tubular form. That must be some kind of joke. But even if it was, for the next hours it didn't leave her alone. Someone had made sure that she would get this scroll without her noticing, so it could be a trap. But also... this was a school. What could happen?

So as soon as the classes allowed, Ryana made her way to the library. Well one of them, by asking around and being sent a thousand different ways. It was mere luck that she finally landed in a big hall filled with shelves, books, and scrolls. But she had made it and with big eyes she walked further in, trying to take it all in. She would need several lifetimes to be able to read even half of this. It was heaven!

Biting her lip she then worried. Would she ever find this The Maw of Mysyryx? Would it be under M or T? Or was this whole library sorted by subject and she first had to find out what kind of book it was? Did they have a librarian she could ask? Turning around herself she kept walking, her gaze wandering over the masses and masses of books that suddenly felt a lot less heavenly and more overwhelming. What to d-

"UFF!" like hitting a tree she suddenly bumped into something, knowing it was because she hadn't paid attention, but of course, she couldn't just apologize, what would people think she was? A softie? So she jerked around to stare at the 'obstacle' and snapped "Can't you watch where you-" she stopped mid-sentence, as confusion knocked every possible word out of her brain. What the...

[Whim]

Kana-Liam were perusing the Magicka Miscellanii. These were books of disciplines not officially recognized: haruspicy, Yoreiqi bone-dancing, draconic mentalism, and so on. "What about this one?" Kana haphazardly pulled a book off the shelf, shoving it in Liam's face. 

"Can you just let me- Seriously? It has a dragon picture right there! Like the other two!" Liam huffed and Kana cackled. In retort, a hand whipped around and cuffed the the Duhjari in his shoulder. Amidst their roughhousing the pair backed into someone. It was a bewildered looking girl and at once they straightened.

"Oh. Sorry! We didn't see you there. Are you okay?" Kana offered an apologetic smile. "You're one of Susie's roommates, right?" Stuffy and fancy by her complaints.

"We? And, um, I'm sorry too. Normally these stacks are deserted. Witchcraft nonsense, mostly."

[Sarang]

Light blue eyes continued to stare at the other person as if it was a two-headed... no wait it was a two-headed person. How did that happen? It was certainly something Ryana had never seen before. For what felt like an eternity she didn't say anything and then finally realized that... it had asked a question.

"Wha- wha- what in the blazing sun are you?" she blurted out without really being able to control it. She had even forgotten why she'd come here, so this needed to get out of the way first, then to her task.

[Whim]

"Are you okay? Oh, right, you're new here!

"I'm Kana and this is Liam. Basically, there wasn't enough space in our class so they stuck us together!" Kana flashed a smile And by now he was used to the stares; it was actually pretty fun to make a show of it. "Its a pretty good deal, yeah? I don't have to study and Liam gets some muscle for once. He was such a shrimp before."

"I'm wasn't that short." Liam hid a tiny smirk. Kana talked as if this were the most ordinary thing in the world. Perhaps it was. It was hard to conceive of not sharing a body. Snapping out of reverie the boy turned his attention to Susie's roommate. Fair, silver-haired, definitely highborn or feyblooded or something. Had to be. "Are we really the weirdest thing you've seen first quarter? My favorite thing was the hedge-maze; changes each day."

[Sarang]

Ryana's light eyes wandered from one head to another. Weird? Yes... weirdest? Also yes.

"This is... a lot weirder than all the weird things I've seen here so far." she blurted out without much control. Then realized what she had said and especially how. The Serenian quickly squared her shoulders. "Seriously weird." Her tone now had changed. It was tinted with more arrogance and apparent disdain. But maybe these guys - they were guys right? - could help her.

"You do seem to know your way around the library though. I am looking for a certain book and..." 'Remember who you are supposed to be.' "... my time is too valuable to look through everything." She let her eyes wander over the endless sea of books. "The Maw of Mysyryx... ever heard of it?" she tried to ask as casually as possible. Nothing important, just a book. Yes, totally.

[Whim]

Kana's face fell, looking disproportionately hurt, at her cold rebuff to his introduction. Ordinarily he could make anyone smile. Did she even introduce herself back? Probably a good thing he didn't show off how he could make Liam belch. Of course most girls didn't find it near as funny as he thought it was.

The illusionist bristled at Kana's obvious upset. His other head could be such a child sometimes, much as Liam hated to see him hurt. "Maw of Mysyryx? It sounds daemonic." He lowered his voice and cast a furtive glance toward the circulation desk. It was manned by an angular young woman, hair in a bun and nose in a book. Maya was just an upperclassman, really, but a terrible busybody. "We could ask the librarian but I don't think she'd help. Believe me, we've tried. Would probably shoe us off. Anything useful is in the upper stacks and out of bounds to our sort.

"What do you want it for, anyway?" Of course the girl could ask the same of him.

[Sarang]

So whoever had sent that message wanted her to get a daemonic book? Why that? Who was it? She followed the gaze of one of the heads to the desk, the young woman behind it had a strict look, though Ryana wore her hair like that herself. Did she give off the same vibe then? If so, she would wear it like that more often than those pigtails. So she wouldn't be of any help? Great.

The question pulled her attention back from the Librarian to the boys again. Crossing her arms in front of her chest she gave them a distant look "I don't see how that's any of your business. I just need it okay?"

[Whim]

Liam let his gaze settle on the girl, looking her up and down while his mind worked. There was no chance any practical times of animancy or spirit magic were down here. Whatever knowledge the school had was in the same place as this Maw of Mysyryx. It was a risk if course. Risks were not something he took, usually...

"The reason I'm asking is because we need something two. It's a book on animancy. Soul magic." He enunciated like she was a child. It was kind of fun to show off in front of year-ones who didn't know a thing. "It's probably up there with Maw of Mysyryx.

"If you're not planning on doing something bad with it maybe we can work together?" His voice quivered with a hint of excitement, trying to sound tough but terrified of getting into trouble.

A look of visible surprise crossed Kana's face at this. And then both sets of eyes were on Ryvana, awaiting her reply.

[Sarang]

Her light eyes wandered over the two-headed boy - or was it boys? - in front of her, an amused smirk began to curl one side of her mouth. "Soul magic." She scoffed. "Oh yeah, you look like a regular Nevinyrral." Her voice was full of sarcasm, before she looked into the eyes of the one who had said that. It was funny. Because she was young and bright like a star people assumed she knew nothing about these things. Even in a place like this. She wondered for a moment if they'd knew her parents and what they did. They'd find out soon enough. - The thought that anyone outside of her usual world around home might not even know Marcen and Sylia N'Vaar didn't even enter her mind. "Puh-lease."

She walked past them and looked up to that section, forbidden she assumed was another word for out of bounds. "So, you have to get up there... and I have to get up there." Working together sounded awesome, for the real Ryana, not so much for the fake one. But if working together meant that she got what she needed, it would be justified right? With a gleam in her bright eyes she turned around to face them.

"So how are we going to do this?"

[Whim]

"A what?" Liam frowned, looking a bit annoyed. What was a Nevinyrral exactly? Some kind of necromancer. "Sounds like an old fashioned- ow!"

Kana gave him a playful nudge. If he didn't Liam would argue every little thing. "The lady at the circulation desk probably has a way up. Mages come from all over and get to look for a fee; just not our sort. If we can get up there Liam knows all sorts of illusions and disguises!"

The other boy flushed. He didn't get a lot of complements, even if Kana liked everything he did it felt good. His gaze turned back to Ryvana, weighing her carefully. "Kana and I need it for, well, stuff to do with our body. I want my right hand back...

"What do you want this book for, exactly? This is a pretty big risk you know..."

[Sarang]

The Serenian girl looked from one head to the other. So they wanted to be divided. She couldn't blame them. It sounded rather annoying to never be alone, even if you liked the other person some privacy was nice. So they had an incentive to get up there for their book and she needed to go there too. Which meant if she liked it or not, she needed them.

The note. It didn't say anything about not telling anyone. So why now. "I need to bring it to a meeting later. So we need to get up there and from then on we can use your skills, right?"

She looked up and then around. "Is there another side where she can't see us? I might be able to get up there but with her watching..."

[Whim]

"A meeting? What sort of-"

"Sure we'll help!" Kana was maybe a little too loud, but offered an earnest smile.

What did she want? It didn't matter, really, he supposed they were doing this. "Well she has the keys. I guess we need to get her away from the desk or bypass the lock entirely. But I suppose it has protections. Any thoughts? Once we get up there I'm pretty good with illusions. I could disguise us easily. Any thoughts on how to get up there?

"He is pretty good! Voices and all! I can, uh, do storms and earth and stuff!" Kana thumped their chest proudly. "Probably not, uh, helpful here though..."

The first floor of the Library was packed, of course, with bookshelves. The outer walls were rimmed with a perpendicular arrangement of heavy wooden shelves, and an inner circle of lower lower surrounded the Librarian's desk to give her a wide view of the occupants. Tapestries belonging to old Kings of Fell, the skull of a yale, and a rather grim arrangement of pinned insect-people adorned what empty space remained. It was musty and smelled of dried ink and parchment. The assistant Library, frown and all, seemed utterly poisoned to quash any mischief performed by younger visitors to the Stacks. A pair of heavy wooden doors, flanking the entrance and directly within her view, lead upstairs.