Visiting old acquaintances and new relations

[SanctifiedSavage]

She didn't know what he was, and mostly, Kassandra just didn't care. A frown worked its way across her face and when the plant-thing didn't take the hint she didn't want to be touched, and did not like how overly familiar it was being, Kassandra took a real step back.

The Knight couldn't begin to guess what it was he was talking about, not right away. Not until the creature mentioned Oath keeper. Her frown remained but nothing else changed. Not her posture, not her expression. Giving nothing away. She'd have been a poor Knight indeed if she had.

So. The thing had a name.

Kassandra could guess where this was going, so she was quite prepared when Val's last name tumbled from its mouth. She shook her head a little and shrugged. "I don't think I can help you," she lied smoothly. There would be no way in the nine layers of the hells that she'd be leading some weird plant creature off to Val.

@Marjorie

[Marjorie]

"You hide your feelings better than most mortals." The Fae lord smirked.

"Mm..." Neese tisked and shook his head. "I know he's here to find a cure, child." When she stepped back, Neese didn't follow, but neither did he back off. "It is not a curse though, and my contacts cannot be broken. They can, however, be altered, amended, or absolved."

He cocked his head. "I keep promises, contracts,oaths, and bonds," all different words for the same thing. They carried a little in meaning, and those variations could be vital, but the spirit of all of them was, essentially, the same. "You'd be a poor defender of you Prince, friend, or employer - whatever it is you call the keeper of your oath, if you didn't let him hear me out." 

Oh, Neese could have gotten to his goal without this mortal. However, this was, by far, the more interesting way to go about it.

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Kassandra continued to watch the plant-creature-thing, but her expression was a neutral mask. She hadn't heard of Val making any sort of contract, oath, or bond to any sort of anything – and she'd known him for quite a long time. That the thing knew his name wasn't entirely a surprise. He was nobility. To Kassandra, people knowing his name was just normal. That also meant that there might be others out there to do him harm, and she wouldn't be the one to throw the dagger at her friend.

So as the creature spoke, she remained impassive and unmoved. She'd not really believed in the whole unlucky thing anyways. They were here because Kassandra wanted to get him away from... well, all of that.

That the creature was trying to tug at the strings of loyalty only irritated her further. Leave it to an inhuman creature to not understand the bonds of loyalty and friendship, she supposed.

So, when the thing – Arlan – was done talking, she shook her head a little and shrugged her shoulder casually. "I don't know any of what you're talking about." Like any good liar, she met his gaze steadily when she said it. There wasn't a thing that would coerce her to bring any sort of trouble to Val's door, especially when she knew absolutely nothing about whatever sort of oath, contract, or bond the plant-thing was talking about.

It sounded like a half-informed lie, if anything.

@Marjorie

[Marjorie]

Neese, or Arlan, both were his name... names for different aspects of the same being - smirked. He tilted his head. "I don't suppose you would know," the Fae lord said, "I imagine your young prince doesn't even know. He's not the one, after all, who agreed to the terms... but he is the one subject to them this time around."

Neese chuckled softly.

"I do know, however," Arlan took in a deep breath threw his nose, "that you know him. I can smell him on you." He wasn't suggesting intimacy between them, just familiarity - in fact, he couldn't actually smell the prince on her at all, but he could see her duty to him woven into the magic branded into her flesh. 

"He's not unlucky, or unliked, neither is he cursed... What would be willing to give or do or suffer if you could assure the prosperity and safety of your people, if you could ensure they would thrive? It's a question I asked a King once..."

Neese glanced to the side, down the hall. "But if you refuse to show me to him," he looked suddenly and directly back at her, "then I will find him on my own. I am quite sure he is the subject of study here, not a normal student, whatever his covering lie may be."

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Kassandra continued to watch the odd creature, committing some detail to memory so she might be able to recall this encounter with some degree of clarity. Beyond that, though, she had nothing more to offer this particular encounter. She would not be helping the plant-creature-thing, no matter the honeyed words it said, nor the supposed reason it said them.

There could be any manner of things or reasons that someone might be at the school, and study was one of the most general. If anything, the fact that such an odd thing was looking for her friend had just put her on edge and, once she was done here, she was going to hunt him down and suggest they relocate to somewhere with some degree of safety until she could be certain this would blow over.

While she didn't know whether or not the plant-creature really was connected to Val, that didn't really matter when it seemed quite certain it its capabilities of finding him. Her job, both as a friend and as his guard, was to make sure that didn't happen. Unarmed as she presently was, Kassandra couldn't just... go after him. Neither did she particularly think it would've been a fair fight if she did. Something about him was off and odd, which meant she was likely to have a rough time with a sword against such a thing.

She shifted in place, though it could've been misconstrued as impatience, and shrugged her shoulder again. "Say whatever you like, I don't have the information you want."

That was that. Unless he was going to somehow force her to talk, Kassandra was done with him and this entire meeting. She put another step of distance between them, then turned to walk away. Kassandra planned on roaming the halls for a bit, just to make sure she wasn't being followed. Maybe she'd even stop to get something to eat, just to make sure, then she'd make her way to Val to talk to him about... this entire mess.

@Marjorie

[Marjorie]

Neese smiled, his words were not honeyed. They where, as always, exactingly sincere and honest. That didn't mean there was no trickery in them though. Tricking someone with at truth was by far more satisfying that tricking someone with a lie.

Neese, could, when he found his query, upset the entire balance of a Kingdom by bringing to light a generations old contract, and the possible means of absolving it. He'd only made the offer once before, and lucky for his people, the person had been willing to self sacrifice. Too bad for him, he died in a situation which could only be considered related to the incredibly bad luck of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and so the contract had moved on to fulfill its self on his future generations until it came to the subject it currently inflicted itself on.

Neese grinned, seeming rather pleased with himself, somehow. "I do enjoy," he said with resounding pleasure in his tone, "the way mortals lie with such conviction." He laughed, a sound full of mirth, and then turned, glancing at lantern lighting this hall - fueled by magic to prevent smoke from poisoning the air. The mirrored background reflected the light nicely. He reached out to touch the reflective surface with his fingers and the shape and size of him warped as he stepped into and then threw the mirror. He came out on the other side threw the reflection off of a shiny pain of glass that served as a window in another room of the school.

[quaggan]

 "Doctor Ayleward, there's someone emulating you!"

"I'm afraid there is very little information I gleaned off this tidbit" Carvaine sighed, waving his arm dramatically. Small rainbows came off it, a simple trick of the light. It was almost a pity that the student accosting him was human (or a very good approximation of one). He practiced endlessly to get the colours of the wider spectrum to show, half out of natural showmanship, half out of determination - just because his human eyes couldn't see shades of ultraviolet was not going to stop him from manipulating it.

"Oh, there's some other weird plant thing walking around."

Perhaps Carvaine should have felt offended. Not by the plant part - emulation was the finest method of expressing one's admiration; what bothered him was how she dismissed his hard work. He actually went to one of the floramancers to get feedback on his new ensemble of illusion, then painstakingly amended every separate flower to have taxonomically accurate number of petals. Unfortunately, it looked like his effort to never become boring or complacent was for naught, and most of the staff and students have gotten used to his more and more elaborate semblances. And now there was even someone plantlike wandering the halls, and while Carvaine tried to stay positive and just be happy that someone either had a similar fashion sense or a talent for replication, he was no miracle maker.

"Well then, there's only one thing to do!" he decided. "I have to go and have a stimulating conversation with this person about fashion and flora!" There was no point getting his knickers in a twist about it - he would take it with a head held high and an open mind.

He didn't have to look for the one labeled as weird plant thing long. Fate decided to assist him, or perhaps just speed his doom; as he barely crossed a hallway, he noticed the light moving strangely in the former pulvomancy classroom. It was no longer a proper room - most of the walls were blown away after an invigorating workshop two weeks ago. The event sparked quite a discussion - some of the staff insisted that the entire Wyrdwood be covered in as many protective spells as the windows (oh, Carvaine wished that he was employed back when this annoying reflection spirit was still haunting the academy!), others argued that it would be dangerous to further interfere with the delicate spellwork woven around the buildings. For now, it was a curious location that served some upperclassmen for exchanging favours.

Still, the light coming from the interior was bent in a strange way. Were the students using illusions to hide? Well then, he should definitely drop in and instruct them! Technically, as a member of the staff, he was supposed to admonish them, but in this case he followed Professor Zinc's school of not giving a... thought.

As he entered, what he saw was not some students hiding under an ill-constructed illusion but a being unlike anything he's seen before. It must have been the one he was searching for. He manipulated the light streaming into the room, but it had no effect on the other - it was no illusion. It must have been real.

[Marjorie]

Oh it was magic, but indeed, it was no illusion. To fae, reflective surfaces were mirrors, and mirrors to fae were doors. Doors that were as easily accessed as the mind aim sort the everyday person walked threw regularlly, for fae were creatures that belonged to the in between places.

Neese had appeared as a reflection in the glass first, and then stepped out of it into the room.

Neither was Neese's apearance an illusion though there was magic inherent in a creature made both of flesh and blood and stick and leaf. All of him was living, though he sometimes hed shed dead leaves and curls of bark.

He looked down at Dr. Ayleward with a smile. He stepped forward, far too close for polite company. The leafy appendages on his face and twigs at his joints rustling gently in the silence of the mostly empyty room, as he moved closer yet, and fingered one of the flowers - though as an illusion he couldn't actually touch it. A funny thing happens thought, as Neese "touched" it the flower became real, rooting into the professor's shirt and sprouting leaves. "Such attention to detail," he said, "even with your cantrips. You mustn't be one of the students."

Neese grinned amused. "What do you call yourself, mortal?" This one might be interesting to you with, but latter... at the moment he had a goal in mind.

[quaggan]

 Carvaine's eyes widened as the flower he'd conjured became real. It felt strange and unlike anything he's experienced before. He cooperated with materiamancers before, creating an illusionary model for them to fill and work from, but this strangely beautiful being made his very magic flesh. The spell he used for this flower was gone, reshaped in a way he couldn't perceive or understand. Whoever this creature was, he must have been very powerful.

Carvaine shifted the light around himself. The petals of what flowers he had left wilted, withered and surrendered to the gust that was not there. From the core of each a new fruit sprung, bright with colour and shining with health. Were someone to enter the ruined classroom, they would surely be convinced enough to try and pick one, only to have their hand grasp at the empty air.

It was instinctual, something he only became aware of when the change was almost complete. It was unexpected - he sometimes did things without thinking, but never on such a scale. Well, now that it was over, it would probably be better not to change again - he already had a reputation of being fickle, and perhaps it was time to say farewell to this old guise anyway. He ran his fingers over the delicate petals round the materialised flower, the only plant that has not succumbed to the new season. Perhaps he could cover it up with an illusion, but something told him not to. It was no longer his.

"My name is Carvaine Ayleward" he introduced himself. "I suppose I should be offended by your estimate of Wyrdwood's people. But you guessed correctly, and I do not punish my students for reaching the objective by a path different than what I envisioned, and it would be irrational of me to hold a stranger to different standards."

[Marjorie]

Neese's smile widened when the human's spell shifted and changed, an alteration of the season, and with such ease - as a thought - and such detail. More impressive than the magic (for the spell itself was childish in its simplicity compared to Neese's ability) was the ease and lack of effort put into it.

Indeed not a student. He couldn't fault the man for bearing weaker magics than he, after-all... the fae blood in the people of Serendipity which the people so loved to flaunt and boast, was so much diluted that Neese would never even consider himself very, very distantly related to them.

"I dare say I would be impressed, if you managed to punish me," the man probably should have been insulted, Neese had, after all, called his magic simple. "I have a great love for artisans, Carvaine, and I cannot immagine what else one might call this," he gestured vaguely toward the illusion clinging to the professor, "than that."

Vanity showed threw in the way that Neese's body and expression shifted, then. "You may call me Devyn," he said, thinking that, likely this artist would appreciate the concourse of all things skillful and beautiful, that existed within him. The twig-like appendages coming off of his shoulders budded, leafed out, and then sprouted an array of different kinds of flowers - were they two showing off for one another now? Perhaps. It might be a fun game to play.

But then he waved a hand dismissively and the leaves and flowers, still vibrant and fresh dropped off and tumbled to the floor. They were quite real, Carcaine could have picked one of the flowers up and smelled it. Neese didn't like walking around looking like a bush, as much as he did enjoy showing off, and seeing the awe and wonderment of mortals and simple party tricks.

Arlan had something of a goal at the moment though, and the oath-maker was always rather forceful with his presence, even when Devyn wanted to play.

"I'm looking for someone," Neese, or Devyn -- rather it was Arlan, who said, "I am quite sure they are here... somewhere, however I haven't yet been able to locate him. 

"I seek the young Prince, Valerain Torverath. I would consider myself in your debt if you could assist me in finding him." The way his smile shifted into a smirk suggested that having Neese in his debt could bring the professor something unexpected.

[quaggan]

 That was quite flattering to hear, especially from a being of such power. Carvaine has met with artists before, some of whom exhibited interest in his illusion magic. Sometimes they asked him to give form to what their skill could not, and he assisted them to the best of his ability. It was truly fascinating to see what they could come up with.

Devyn's body responded to Carvaine's magic, a few twigs blooming proudly as if showing off, not wanting to lose in a beauty contest to a mortal. Perhaps this was the reason behind the light mage's actions, less of a conscious decision and more of a natural response by his magic alone. It made some eerie kind of sense - all Serenians were descended from fae, his talent was merely recognising its origin and formulating a greeting in the one language they shared.

Now that he recognized the mysterious visitor for who he was, Carvaine felt like some pieces fell into place and his understanding of the situation deepened. And while he was quite curious, he had a feeling that just because the fae liked his illusions, he shouldn't bother him with questions. The Fair Folk were not famed for their patience with mortals, or their stability.

And here came another proof of Devyn's fickleness as the flowers that bloomed verdantly just a second ago, were now subject to the harsh law of gravity rather than the will of their creator. Carvaine remembered an old story he heard once discussed, how the seasons came from the warring fae courts that wanted to make the world more beautiful. Their power was connected to the passage of time, just like the phases of the moon commanded the tides, and each time the season changed, it bore the colours of the dominant court.

There was a question of what exactly did a fae want within Wyrdwood, but before Carvaine began to even ponder it in greater depth, Devyn voiced his request. The mage instinctively began combing his memory for such a student. No prince attended his classes, so it would have come up almost empty, were it not for a particular infamy surrounding this particular boy. There were plenty of rumours as well as evidence of his curse's effects, and while it sounded certainly like a fascinating case to approach, the light weaver was quite relieved that it was not his problem to solve.

"Yes, there is such a student here in Wyrdwood" Carvaine confirmed. He wasn't sure if 'student' was a good term for this situation - the young prince was here clearly for having his curse researched and hopefully lifted, and while he attended classes, most professors had enough common sense not to let him do any practical magic. And while it was certainly possible that the the misfortune surrounding the boy was too weak to affect a fae, the light weaver did not want to make an enemy out of someone so powerful because of stupid assumptions. "But there's something wrong with him. Some kind of a curse."

[Marjorie]

The warring of the courts... how long ago had he removed himself from the greater going's on and in fighting of the Fae courts? He could no longer count the number of years, though, if he'd wanted to reinsert himself into them, they would have to acknowledge his lordship amount them, as his birth right... and those of his children. He did have them, somewhere, bastards and half-breeds, all of them, but that mattered little to his people. Provable linage was more important.

Neese chuchkled at the professor's mention of the curse. "Oh, but it's not a curse," he smirked, something knowing, "though I do understand the schools efforts to break it have been nothing shy of valiant."

Arlan looked the professor up and down then, as if gauging him. Gauging the cost of information, and if he wanted to share it. "It's my magic that afflicts him, and I hold the contract that binds him." He did indeed wonder on the amount of gossip that bit of knowledge might bring about. Surly, even a daft mortal would understand the significance of what he'd just told him.

[quaggan]

 Carvaine's eyes widened with surprise, he didn't even bother to hide his reaction to this news. If it was true, that would explain why the academy had such trouble breaking the curse, or even researching it - it was simply a question of power. It was natural that the Serenian magic, gained from the Fae would not match up to their ancestor's powers. If it was true.

It was the nature of academia to question everything that has not been proven, and Carvaine had spent enough time in Wyrdwood to develop this habit. The Fae weren't exactly known for their honesty, or describing the situation in terms comprehensible for mortals; and there was little the mage could do to test the hypothesis just provided to him. Scholars of the Fair Folk struggled to reconcile their capricious and whimsical subjects of research with the cut and dry experimental method, and the light weaver doubted that he could that easily solve a problem the entire field struggled with.

"So you're here to check up on the results of your actions?" he commented cheerfully. "How responsible of you!"

[Marjorie]

Neese nodded. "Yes," he agreed, "and to offer him a choice... He didn't enter into the contract, after-all, someone else did it on his behalf, and I always offer the target of this contract the choice to be free of it." There would be consequences thought, of course, if he chose to be free of it. There were always consequences.

"Would you bring me to Valerain? I would consider myself in your debt if you would be so kind." Cashing in on that debt might be risky, but that was the way that Neese liked it.

[quaggan]

 The mage's eyes widened slightly at the revelation presented to him, but his smile quickly returned to its full brightness. "That's very fair of you! I'm sure the poor boy will be glad to be given a way out!" The idea that a truly fair person probably wouldn't have allowed a contract that innocents can be entered into without their knowledge of consent, either didn't occur to him or he had enough self-preservation not to point it out.

"This way" he offered, turning around and already beginning to leave the classroom. "The academy staff put him in one of the single dorms - he used to live in the common ones, but after complaints piled up with his curse affecting other students, he was moved."

[Marjorie]

NEese chuckled slightly. Fairness was not really something he ever considered when it came to his contracts and oath. He liked to bind things and people. That was more important. He also liked things, in the end, to balance out or find equilibrium... he was ok if he did that by way of committing a murder one day and saving an innocent life the next, though.

He was not bound by mortal ideals or morality nor was he concerned with them.

"Thank you," Neese said, following the professor out of the room and toward his goal.

[quaggan]

 A person more experienced in dealing with Fae, or just equipped with proper knowledge of as much as any Serenian child; would be very alarmed by such smile. Someone properly paranoid, or just very aware of what might happen, would even seek out a nice demon to sell their soul to, to have it protected by an outside force and hopefully kept safe from the Fair Folks. But the illusionist's cheerful smile and carefree gait made it clear that he was lacking in either common sense or information.

"If you peek out of the window here, you will have a lovely look at the main campus. Only one tower offers a better overview of Wyrdwood" he chattered amiably, clearly taking his role as a tour guide seriously. "Just watch out for the ivy - some pranksters enchanted it recently to... although, perhaps you have nothing to fear from plants."

[Marjorie]

"Mmm..." Neese glanced to the side when he was offered one of the best views of the school, lingering dangerously close to the ivy, which reached out as if to greet him, but didn't actually dare touch him. "It is a nice view," he said, "was the school designed to look like a castle... You should see the spindling towers of my home, wrought with pure magic and imagination." His smile was sly, but it was only maybe an offer anyway. The Fae lands were as treacherous as they were beautiful, those in-between places.

He leaned away from the ivy then and continued walking, long strides easily catching him up to his guide once again.

[quaggan]

 "Oh, it was originally built as just a castle" Carvaine began to explain. He wasn't an expert on Wyrdwood's history, and it wasn't something he had to discuss frequently - most of the students knew where they were going, and the historians saw no point to including him in their discussions. "It was just repurposed as a school. I think my students like it. The noble children keep complaining about how their mansions are far grander and more beautiful, but I think they prefer the familiar environment. And to those of lower classes, it is a good mark of what their life will be from that moment on."

His smile took on a wistful shade as the Fae recalled his home. Carvaine wasn't one of the scholars who would happily give a limb to be allowed into their realm (and have been probably pestering Devyn and his kind to make such a trade), but he could appreciate the beauty of the vision his words painted.

"That sounds truly lovely! The way I heard your realm described, I sometimes wonder why would the Fae ever leave it!" he chuckled.

[Marjorie]

Devyn - Neese smiled something dangerous like the glint of light off sharp steel. "We like to tinker and toy," with mortals he meant, "and when one could go anywhere... why wouldn't they go everywhere?"

He shrugged. "Home is always a place that is never far away for a fae anyway... no further than one's own reflection."