Category Archives: Miscellaneous

After the silence

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[at the Andaleh/Syldithas/N’Vea residence, two days after it was broken into]

Home.

It was supposed to be someplace safe. Somewhere you could go to relax, to be surrounded by your loved ones, to see comfort.

But as Ëlinyr swept up the ashes and shards of metal scattering the basement floor around the printing press, she didn’t feel as safe as she used to in her little house in the Green District. In fact, she felt much the opposite.

The Silence had been here. In her house. They’d destroyed the plates for this month’s issue of the Diamond City Times. (Thank god they didn’t destroy the press itself; Alair would have been devastated.) She didn’t want to think about what could have happened if she were home, or if Alair were. After all, they’d killed Robin, one of the people working with Alair on the paper, because she had a copy of it. Thankfully, she was able to be resurrected, but…

They had been here. In her home. And they could just as easily come back.

At least Alair was safe. Hopefully. He was safe enough to send that coded message, anyway. She hoped the Silence couldn’t find him in Isildar. It was bad enough that he’d decided to stay behind in Isildar after rescuing the Resistance leader. If something happened to him, if she lost him…

Ëlinyr didn’t want to think about that. Couldn’t think about that. She pushed the upsetting thought out of her mind and tried to focus on sweeping again.

And then there was that damned mask, showing up in the entryway with that note about Ithuryn not being done yet with being the Magister. That mask gave her the chills to look at. The one time she saw Ithuryn wear it, when he’d received the note blackmailing him about disclosing his identity as the Magister… he looked intimidating. Imposing. Terrifying. Not at all like the sweet, sensitive, quiet man she knew. It was unsettling, seeing him like that. It scared her.

She had watched it burn. She lit the damned thing on fire herself! Yet there it was, on one of Ithuryn’s work benches, covered with a rag to keep it hidden from sight. How in the seven hells did it come back? Its presence puzzled her, frustrated her, worried her.

She finished sweeping the pieces of the broken printing plate and the ashes of the issues of the Times that had been destroyed by the Silence into a small dustpan, then emptied them into the trash can by the stairs leading up to the first floor. The sound of her footsteps on the concrete floor as she walked, of the metal shards clattering into the trash can, echoed around the room. She found the noise somewhat comforting. The house was so quiet lately, too quiet. Neither she nor Ithuryn were comfortable staying at the house that first night – they slept in a back room at the Adventurer’s Guild instead of going home. With everything going on, she didn’t feel safe leaving the sand dragons alone at the house, so she sent them to stay with Moira for the time being. Snowball and Umbra seemed okay with staying with Moira, and were happy to see her, but Junior didn’t want Ëlinyr to leave. It broke her heart, leaving him behind, and she almost took him back home with her, but she couldn’t bear it if anything happened to them.

However, without the sand dragons, and without Alair’s printing press noisily cranking out issues of the Diamond City Times, the house was so quiet. And the silence terrified her. It would be a little better when Ithuryn came back from his errand – she wouldn’t be alone, and there would be someone else in the house, making noise. But right now, with the house being so quiet… it felt like at any moment the Silence would come out of the shadows and attack her. And she couldn’t hum, couldn’t sing to herself, to break the silence. They would hear. They would come.

She wasn’t surprised to find herself crying. She had spent a lot of time crying over the past few days. Taking a shaky breath, she made her way up the stairs to the first floor and set the broom and dustpan down by the back door before heading outside into the garden. Relief washed over her as she heard the sounds of birds chirping, leaves rustling in the breeze, people out on the streets nearby.

She sat down on the steps outside the back door, took a deep breath, and wiped the tears from her eyes. The comforting noises of the outside world reassured her, helped her feel a little better. Maybe she’d sit out here until Ithuryn came home. At least she would have some warning if the Silence showed up, if the world went quiet. She didn’t know what she would do if they did show up, but at least she would have some warning.

In the meantime, Ëlinyr sat and wondered when she’d feel safe in her own home again. When she would stop jumping at shadows, when she would feel comfortable alone in a quiet room. With everything going on – the Silence, the nonsense with the damned Magister mask, everything going on with Ulchabhán and her siblings and the other Feytouched, whatever worrying nonsense Flint had gotten himself into, and all the increasingly strange things happening in the city – she didn’t think she’d ever feel calm again, or feel safe again.

An unexpected reunion

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Prologue

Many years ago, before the Diamond City returned to hover over the desert, before the Great War of Flame ravaged the Jeweled Cities and the Kishari civil war threw the Ruby City into chaos, a young sun elf scholar named Ëlinyr found herself at the Royal Academy, hoping to finally be free of her mother’s influence and schemes. She was excited to learn all she could about magic, and anything else that struck her fancy. 

During her time at the Royal Academy, Ëlinyr found herself in many classes with a thinblooded elf named Ithuryn. They ended up studying for their classes together, and during that time learned a lot about each other. They both grew up in Isildar, and both shared a love of learning and studying magic. Despite their differences in social standing, they found themselves growing very close to each other, and Ëlinyr developed strong feelings for Ithuryn – which was strange for a sun elf, as they experience emotions far less intensely than the shorter-lived races. Ëlinyr was unsure how to express these feelings, as she had never felt quite like this before. She gave him a small token of her affection, a red sash, in hopes that it would remind him of her whenever he wore it.

Not too long after Ëlinyr gave Ithuryn that token of her affection, he disappeared under strange circumstances. He had been talking about trying to find the Night Market, to see if he could somehow purchase the ability to be a fierce warrior like his mother. Ëlinyr tried to talk him out of it, as she had heard stories about the Night Market – “You may think you are purchasing something,” Ëlinyr said to him, “but will end up receiving it in the most unexpected of ways. I do not trust it.” Ithuryn set out to find the Night Market anyway, and Ëlinyr never saw him again after that. She searched all of Kishar for him, and even arranged for someone to look for him in Isildar in case he had returned there for some reason, but it was as if Ithuryn had disappeared into thin air. Ëlinyr was heartbroken. She didn’t know where he had gone, and to mask the pain of losing him, she fell more deeply into her studies, excluding others from her life to the point of near-total isolation for years.

However, the world works in mysterious ways, and sometimes those we think are lost return to us at the most unexpected times…

Continue reading →

A new adventurer

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[This is a little story that helps introduce a new character I’ll be playing in addition to Ëlinyr in season 9 of Kishar.]

Lin’s Study was a quiet place today — the occasional customer wandered in to check out the selection of books for sale, and a pair of students from the Royal Academy were camped out at a table with cups of coffee and a pile of books. Behind the counter was the cafe’s one employee – also a student of the Royal Academy. She idly read a novel while waiting for people to come up and purchase a book or drink. The shop wasn’t nearly as busy as it had been before the civil war, but business was picking up again slowly as Kishar began to settle into its new normal.

The tiny office behind the cafe’s kitchen was only slightly less populated, at least by people. The office was dominated by a large desk heaped with books, scrolls, and loose papers, almost forming a wall around the desk’s occupant.  The person at the desk was barely visible from the doorway – only the top of their head and their pointed ears could be seen.

Behind the impressive wall of papers and books was Ëlinyr, the owner of Lin’s Study, with a mug of coffee in one hand and a sheet of paper in the other. She squinted through her glasses at the hastily scribbled notes on the paper for a moment, trying to decipher what she’d written so she could figure out where to file it.

“Hey, Ëlinyr?” Moira, Ëlinyr’s assistant, called from the kitchen. “There’s a rabbit hiwani here looking for some really specific folklore books, and I have no idea where to find what she’s looking for or if we even have it…” Moira poked her head into the office doorway. “Do you think you could help her? I hate to bother you about it, but you know what books we’ve got better than I do.”

Ëlinyr let out a small sigh and set down her notes — she’d figured out what project they belonged to and made a mental note to bring them back with her to the Diamond City — and went to meet this rabbit hiwani. This will hopefully be quick, and then I can get back to organizing my notes, she thought to herself as she made her way to the front counter. A short, black-and-white furred rabbit hiwani wearing clothes in various shades of blue was waiting there for Ëlinyr.

“Moira said you were looking for some specific folklore books?” Ëlinyr smiled at the rabbit hiwani, noticing her nervousness. There weren’t often hiwani at Lin’s Study aside from the members of House Lacewing, and the rabbit looked as if she felt out of place.

“Um, yes – do you happen to have any folklore that focuses on hiwani from the Sun Peaks?” the rabbit asked, her voice quiet. “I’m trying to find a book that my grandmother used to read to me when I was a child. It was full of stories about a rabbit who lived in the mountains and went on adventures.”

Ëlinyr thought for a moment, trying to remember if she’d gotten that book recently – it certainly sounded familiar… “Let me look in the collection of books yet to be processed – I think I just might have it. The Tales of the Brave Mountain Rabbit, right?”

The rabbit hiwani’s face lit up with a smile. “Yes, that’s it! I couldn’t remember the name, just what the stories were about.”

“I’m almost certain I found a copy of it recently – let me go check.” Ëlinyr hurried back to her office and made for a pile of books in a corner – the “collection” of books yet to be processed – and dug through the volumes haphazardly stacked there. She found what she was looking for almost at the bottom of the pile – a well-worn copy of The Tales of the Brave Mountain Rabbit.

“I was right!” Ëlinyr called out as she headed back out to the front of the shop, book in hand. The rabbit let out a little gasp and bounced up and down with excitement.

“Oh, thank you so much!” she said, reaching out for the book. Ëlinyr handed it to her with a smile, and the rabbit flipped through the pages, occasionally stopping to look at an illustration. “It’s just as I remember Grandmama’s copy – even the pictures are the same!”

Ëlinyr couldn’t help but smile. “I’m glad I had it in stock.”

“How much do I owe you for it?” the rabbit hiwani asked, then rummaged around in her bag for a moment.

“It’s yours – consider it a gift,” Ëlinyr said. “As an adventurer myself, seeing someone’s excitement over tales of adventure always makes me smile, and I can clearly see how much this book means to you.”

“Wait, you’re an adventurer?” the rabbit said, pausing her search through her bag to look up at Ëlinyr.

“Oh yes,” Ëlinyr said with a laugh.  “Not necessarily a very good one, mind you, but I’m a member of the Adventurers Guild. My name’s Ëlinyr.”

The hiwani’s eyes went wide as Ëlinyr introduced herself. “I’ve heard of you! Scholar Ëlinyr, who helped defeat the Flame Lord! A friend of mine took some of your classes at the Royal Academy and told me all about you!”

Ëlinyr turned a little red in embarrassment. “Depending on how long ago that friend took that class of mine, they may have experienced a very different version of me,” she said with a grimace. She didn’t like to think of how she was before that trip to the Night Market shortly after she began adventuring.

“Oh, they told me about how you became thinblooded, too.” Ëlinyr turned even redder as the rabbit hiwani talked. Did she somehow have fans out there? “Anyhow, I’m Santoki, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” The rabbit hiwani grinned.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well,” Ëlinyr said. “You know, if you’re ever wanting to experience real adventures, you should go visit the Adventurers Guild, and see what we’re all about.”

“Me? An adventurer?” Santoki asked, sounding incredulous at the idea. “I’m just a little rabbit from the mountains. I could never be an adventurer.”

“And yet, the book you hold in your hands is about just that – a mountain rabbit who became an adventurer.” Ëlinyr smiled. “Just think, someday there could be stories about you.”

“You really think so?” Santoki said, thoughtful. “You think I could be an adventurer?”

“Hey, if a clumsy, awkward, thinblooded elf scholar can be an adventurer, I’m sure a little mountain rabbit can be one too.” Ëlinyr grinned. “It doesn’t hurt to try, anyway – er, actually, I take that back, it might hurt a little bit, depending on what sort of adventures you find yourself on,” she said, remembering her own first adventure and her harrowing slide down a rope as she attempted to climb a wall. “Well, it won’t hurt to try so long as you don’t let Flint talk you into a stealth mission,” Ëlinyr clarified with a laugh.

“I think… I think I might go to the Adventurers Guild and check it out,” Santoki said. “Maybe I can be an adventurer.”

Adventures in pet ownership

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(note: this was submitted as an entry in the 2019 Kishar Story Competition, and won first place in the medium-length category! -Beth)

Day 1
As of today, I am entering into a new and exciting chapter of life: pet ownership.  Farspeaker Mando gave me the baby sand dragon that hatched from the egg I found on a recent adventure, and told me his name is Licky-Lick Junior.  (I’m given to understand that there’s a sand dragon in Farspeaker Mando’s care named Licky-Lick – I’m wondering if my new scaly ward is a direct descendant of said sand dragon, or if he simply earned the name due to a possible resemblance to the older sand dragon.)  As of right now, he is asleep, and looks rather adorable.  He’s also rather small – not much larger than a kitten.  I wonder just how large he’ll end up.  I’ve been told they can grow to the size of a large dog, but it’s possible he’ll turn out larger or smaller due to genetic variations.
I doubt he’ll always be this quiet and sleepy – I suppose I should enjoy it while it lasts.
Day 2
Junior (as I’ve taken to calling him) seems to be a little more energetic today.  He eagerly explored my room, and was very curious about Koios and Kateryn when they visited my rooms earlier today to meet him.
Thankfully, he seems to have quickly picked up on how to use the litter box, as I haven’t seen any accidental bathroom messes.  Which is good, as I really don’t want to clean those up from random places around my rooms.  I’m quite proud of him – hopefully he turns out as smart as his adoptive mother.
Day 7
Junior somehow got out of his crate and made an absolute mess of my rooms while I was teaching this afternoon.  (Thankfully, he didn’t get to my research notes, but I think I’m going to have to buy yet another red dress, as he mauled mine and it’s full of holes now.)  I think I’m going to need to get better locks for his crate, as he somehow managed to get himself loose. 
I retract what I said earlier – I’m not entirely sure I want him to turn out as smart as me.  That might be terrifying.
I will say, however, when he calms down (typically after I take him out to the gardens so he can run around until he’s exhausted), he’s downright sweet – he’s started curling up at my feet while I’m reading in the evenings, which is rather endearing.  I think this was a good idea, hatching a little pet sand dragon.
 
Day 14
oh gods, what have I gotten myself into
if this is what child-rearing is like, I am never, ever having children
Day 30
I’m getting used to having a boisterous pet sand dragon, although my gods, he needs a lot of attention and exercise.  Kateryn did say she thought I needed to get out of my rooms more, and I guess this counts, right?  I take him for two walks a day, and play with him in the evenings, and sometimes it seems like he still has energy.  I don’t know how he does it.  Keeping up with him is exhausting sometimes.
Junior got to go on his first Adventurers’ Guild trip recently, which he loved.  Seeing him run around and burrow in the sand near the Outpost was incredibly amusing, and he seems to have acquired a few new friends from the Guild.  I think I prefer having a rambunctious sand dragon over the pile of crabs Flint recently acquired. 
I’ve started to train him a little, beyond using the litter box anyhow – he understands the commands for sit and roll over, but “stay” proves to be a challenge at times.  Eventually he’ll pick up on it, I’m sure, but for now I’ll try to have extra patience with my wiggly little pet.
Day 46
He chewed up my lecture notes for tomorrow’s class.  I am trying very hard not to be terribly angry with him, as he’s young and doesn’t know better, but dammit, I needed those and now have to spend the night rewriting them and hoping I didn’t miss anything.
Junior, you are lucky you’re cute.
Day 70
I managed to find some of that plant that is casually referred to as “sand dragon-nip” – and oh, Junior’s behavior is hilarious while he’s under the effects of the plant.  Rolling around, pouncing on his toys, wiggling about happily until he falls asleep in a blissful haze – it’s all amusing.  I should see if it is possible to get some planted in the Academy’s gardens, as I don’t dare try to grow a plant in my rooms.  I doubt it’d last long after it started sprouting leaves, as Junior would probably devour it.
I suppose I should also take care to make sure he doesn’t end up partaking of any while we’re out adventuring where it grows natively – I’m not sure I want to wrangle his increasingly large self through the desert while we’re out on a mission.  (I suppose I could entrust Mukhif with his care, but then again, Mukhif is typically tasked with making sure I don’t get knocked out during an adventure, and I doubt saddling him with Junior would make that any easier…)
Day 87 (after Ëlinyr has turned human)
Oh my gods how did I not realize how emotionally rewarding it was to have a pet?!  Oh wait, I know, it’s because sun elves don’t have emotions, and I am now HUMAN, and therefore feel things.  Intensely.  I absolutely adore this little wiggly dragon, and will take such good care of him, no matter how many of my books he chews on, and no matter how many times he hides my shoes in ridiculous places because he thinks it’s a game.  (I’ll admit, it’s a rather amusing game when I’m not trying to get ready for meetings or classes.)
I just want to hug him and snuggle him all the time.  He’s so warm and smells like warm desert sun and it makes me happy.  I don’t even think he noticed that I came home from this last adventure with non-pointy ears, he was just happy to see me.  (And so was Koios, who took care of him for me, I don’t think he was prepared for just how ridiculous Junior can be.)  And I was so happy to see him. 
He’s still a ridiculous amount of work, and often reminds me that I never want to procreate – he’s more than enough for me – but oh he’s such a sweet little sand dragon, and I love him so much.
Day 99 (after Ëlinyr’s mother disowns her)
I wish I had brought Junior with me to the Guild house yesterday.  I bet he would have bit my mother.  She would have deserved it, too.
He seems to have picked up on my mood (how can one not be a little sad about being disowned, even if it was by a mother you’d hated and could never seem to please?), and has been by my side the entire day. He’s even managed to remain somewhat calm, and isn’t as energetic as he usually is.  He doesn’t even mind when I cry on him, he just snuggles closer, as if to tell me in his own little sand dragon way, that everything will be alright. 
He may frustrate the hell out of me at times, but gods, I’m happy I have this wiggly little sand dragon.