A Fresh Start

[Paroxysm]

The woman frowned slightly, but replaced it with a warm smile. She was sure that she would be welcomed and she really could do quite a bit of good for the people, her craft, while limited, could do so many things, at the same time. It was truly magical.

“No,” she replied to the man as earnestly as possible. “I have still got things to do in life; I still have dreams to chase and treasure to hunt.”

The woman finally popped the lid of her flask off, using her thumb just under the thing, a knotted piece of leather the only thing keeping it from falling to the ground.

“I will have to return, though. I can feel power in this land, ancient, new, ephemeral, and eternal. There are powers at work here,” she waved her free hand in the air. “But there is another place I will be traveling to, as soon as I can: Jesnoria.”

The town at the end of the world, Jesnoria. Many, many scholars were attracted to the place, curiosity driving them to studying what had caused the previously mentioned event. Of course, Renata Aldaine was just as curious about the thing, but her reason for traveling to such a location was far from that of an average person’s. But it was better left unsaid as to why; she did not want to give the man the wrong impression. She was not a wicked hearted person, merely a goal oriented one.

“We have spoke a lot about me, which I must thank you for, I have been able to recall the common tongue in much detail, thanks to you.”

The woman remarked, pointing out that it had been several minutes since the last time she slipped into her most-used tongue.

“But what about you, sir? What brings you to such a broad gathering of people, such as this settlement?”

[Shin]

Chrysander took the womens polite decline of saying in the village in stride, he didn't actually expect her to except. But it didn't hurt to ask, he was sure the small village would only benefit from it. Hell, even a minor wizard would be a boon to the settlement. Chrysander could only imagine what kind of armor and weapons he could make if there was a mage to help him strengthen the metal and enchant the weaponry!

He got ahead of himself for a moment, only realizing that she asked him a question after a few moments passed. "Myself? Well, the village needs a blacksmith, and while their ore is less then desirable I am the only one capable of crafting anything from it. There are a few others in town that can make the more essential stuff... horseshoes and tools, but none can craft a blade."

It really wasn't 'why' he was here, it was why he stayed there could be no doubt of that. People depended on him, but it did not answer 'how' he had come here, which was precisely what he was about to ask. "The wilds are dangerous, did you come here through a spell of some sort?"

[Paroxysm]

“Jes! Es why I cannot go now, es subject to a, how you say … Cool down, jes? I did not know this settlement was here, of course. Actually, I appeared just inside what I suppose you call the wilds. I am not sure! But it was not too far form here, either. But I did use Enirejo, you are right.”

Enirejo, although Chrysander would have no way of knowing, was not actually a spell, but, instead, a word of power. It held a meaning in the woman's spoken language, entrance, or portal. When invoked--just such a thing appeared--an entrance or portal to her destination. Unluckily for her, however; she had never been in Greoul before. The portal was like playing roulette and she could have very well appeared several stories in the air.

Taking a small sip from her flask, the woman looked back towards Chrysander. She couldn’t help but notice that he hadn’t answered her question, rather; he had asked her a question instead. Perhaps it was leading towards something? Only pressing forward would give the curious woman an answer.

“Why do you ask?”

[Shin]

Chrysander noted that while the womens accent was obviously getting better at an incredible rate she couldn't quit hide it all the way and some of the time he still had to strain an ear to understand what she was saying, not that he mattered though. This conversation was much more interesting then any he had of late. Then again, just about anything was more interesting the conversations about crops or the weather. Those nearly bored Chrysander to death.

"Eniiru...Enira.." Chrsyander stumbled over the foreign word, but quickly gave up and continued. "I am curious about magic and the like. I dont understand them. And my father always said only a fool is afraid of what they dont understand, a real man seeks answers to his questions."

He spoke as if they were words he had committed to memory, and they were. "So this Enir...thing it is a spell of some sort? I've heard some mages have to speak words to unlock spells. Is this true?"

[Paroxysm]

“En-ir-ejo,” the woman corrected the man, not out of spite, but because she thought he’d appreciate another chance to hear the pronunciation of the word. Indeed, she welcomed his curiosity; it was refreshing to her, as common men and women sometimes treated her with fear and superstition. But that was another story, for another time.
“Ah, well … Yes, so to speak. Words unlock a spell. You can still get the effect without incantations, mind you, but they add power--strength--impressiveness to the spell. It depends on the user and his capacity for magic, jes? A master sword smith can do a lot with little but the same may not necessarily be said about his apprentice, does that make sense?”

There were many examples she could show him, how words were sometimes not needed, if she was lighting a camp fire, she could merely invoke the energies required and twist them into the effect she needed--it sounded harder than it was, it was like breathing to one trained in the arts, even the informally taught could often become basic in the specialized schools. Of course, those very same schools were extremely hard for Renata Aldaine to understand, she lacked talent when it came to the easiest forms of magic, and it was the harder, more advanced studies that she excelled at.

The woman puzzled for a moment, quirking her head to the side in thought. She hadn’t expected Chrysander to be all that interested in hearing about magic, in fact, she expected the opposite, maybe to be distrusted, or hated.

“My magic depends on word, it does not need to be spoken, like I already showed, but … It requires a lot of concentration, thought. It requires a large capacity for magic, too. Too large for a human, you see. Mine is different from others,” she wasn’t sure why she was telling the man specifically about her magic, it wasn’t even a formal school, it was more primordial, more base than anything. Yet, it was dying and when used correctly, it was powerful. Normally, she did not even discuss it, not out of embarrassment, but because no one would really be interested in it--it was difficult and often had very little pay off, due to the limitations the specialization forced on the mage and the large amount of arcane energies needed to perform even the most simple tasks.
“Bone, I do not think you wish to hear of such a boring thing, though, jes?. Is there anything else you would like to know? Talk about?”