Nithrar

[jeep]

Name: Nithrar
Player: JEEP
Race: Elven
Description:
At 5'8" Nithrar's healthy 170 pounds don't make him seem imposing to most. His long hair is dark enough to be almost black, making his appearance seem almost human. He generally wears earth tones.

Experience

[col]HEART[col]MIND[col]BODY[col]SPIRIT 0[col]0[col]0[col]0

FUDGE Points

None for player

Qualities

(Fudge points for the Mods)
0[col] Status 0[col]Reputation 3[col]Wealth 0[col]Karma

Attributes

: (four free)
[col]

HEART

: (pretty good)[col]

MIND

: (Great)[col]

BODY

: (Good)[col]

SPIRIT

: (Mediocre) [col]Empathy: Good Charisma: Fair [col]Acuity: Great Reason: Great [col]Strength: Fair Coordination: Great [col]Power: Poor Purpose: Fair

Skills

(30 free / 30 taken)

HEART Skills

* teaching good/great depending on it's difficulty (3)

MIND Skills

* (4 Trade Tongue)
* (10 Elven Language)
* Knowledge: Alchemy Mediocre (2)

BODY Skills

* Unarmed Combat (CRD) great (4)
* Exotic Weapons- Da'Tashi sticks (CRD) great (4)
* knives/daggers good (3)
* throwing/aim good (3)
* stealth mediocre (1)
* staff mediocre (1)
* Evasion (CRD) good (3)

SPIRIT Skills

* Sorcery (POW) Great

Equipment and possessions of note

Training Hall with a rather nice apartment above. Training hall has a lot of necessary equipment including a decent selection of "live" weapons and a few magical items that aid in magickal training.

DLHW: (Don't Leave Home Without)

[col]

item

[col]

attributes/description

[col]Kerambit utility knife [col]Sharpness Superb Durability: Superb Material: Enchanted Wood (see back story) [col]Utility Staff[col]6'long 1.5" in diameter Iron Wood Staff; first couple feet have 1" measures burned in and above that the marks continue at 1 foot intervals. Near the top quarter of the staff there is a significant amount of thin twine wrapped around it and tied off. Towards the top there are three holes, two perpendicular to each other in the top foot and one larger one used to secure bundles to the stave. There is a small hook at the top of the staff. There are numerous other marks on the staff, but their use is not obvious. Some are marks of known weight balances. [col]Bandana[col]none [col]Flint and Tinder[col]none

General Carry:

[col]

Item

[col]

Attributes

[col]Single-edged sword[col]Sharpness: Fair Durability: Fair Gift: Battleworn look [col]Da' Tshai Sticks [col]Material: Enchanted wood Durability: Legendary [col]Water skin[col]none

History

"There are two ways to win a fight. Do you know what they are?" I asked

"You can kill your opponent. Or… knock them out?" came the tentative response.

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling you."

"You are close, yet missed the mark. You win a fight by inflicting upon your opponent, overwhelming fear or overwhelming pain- preferably both. Killing may be necessary, but I would not consider it winning the fight. We did not bestow life upon our opponents, so what gives us the right to take it away? Think on this. I will see you tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. Thank you."

After my student left, I went in the back room to sit with Father.

"You teach well."

"Thank you."

"It is time for me to return home to Shina- city living is not for me. Do you want to come with me?"

"I would enjoy it, but I do not think I'm finished here."

"Very well. The school is now yours. You are completely capable of handling the school yourself. You have several students who can help pick up some of the classes for people who do not follow the Way. I have made arrangements with Frandal. Train under his guidance and you will gain new insight into combat."

Four days later, Father left and I decided it was time to start keeping a journal. This is my story.

[jeep]

I looked at the three students who would be joining the school this week. I like to cap the classes at 10 per instructor and there really only enough room for 30 at a time in the training yard. We had three students promote out of the beginning class yesterday and these three were the next on the waiting list. Two humans and an elf. Humans tend to have to work a little harder at Da'Tashi than elves, but that makes sense since the Art was developed by Elves. It was the top of the hour. Shanlai walked into the room.

"Welcome to your orientation," Shanlai started. Shan was my most senior student. At sidan he is the third highest ranked person at the school. Other than myself, there is only one other person at the school who had studied Da'Tashi longer than Shan. Nael is my fathers student, though.

"I'm sure you all think you know what Da'Tashi is, but half of what you know is probably wrong. Da'Tashi is a Warrior's Art. We hope you will endeavor to study other Civil arts to aid your quest to be the best person you can, but we will not be teaching you any civil arts here. You begin in the introductory class. In this class you will learn the basics use of sticks, knives, long knives, and weaponless combat- including the use of sorcery in combat. This is not Sa'Tashi. Where Sa'Tashi practitioners focus on battle magic and rely exclusively on magic to defeat their opponents, the Da'Tashi practitioner is more hands on. We practice some ranged attacks with sorcery and thrown knives, but we primarily train for close range combat.

"This introductory class will help you determine what you want to specialize in first. You will then move into a specialist training in one of the following areas:
Close combat weapons
Weaponless combat
Gadgets - that is using various potions and magical items
After completing training in one of them, you will move to a second specialty and finally the third specialty. You then move to your advanced training. That will be years from now.

"When you come to train, you will be expected to wear clothing that you do not care if it gets ripped or destroyed. You should always bring a pair of clothes to wear home. We will try to keep your boots intact, but if you can afford it, you should buy a pair for training. You will be given a white sash to wear and you must wear it at all times you are in the training hall.

"Within each specialty, you will be given a patch to wear on your sash. This is for the instructors to know generally where you are in the program. We are a large school and while your primary instructor will know exactly where you are, Master Nithrar may come into the class and the patches you have will help him understand the training you have completed. You must understand that these symbols are not what you are training for. I know I'm wasting my breath and you won't understand this until you are standing where I am, but I still need to say it. When you train with us, your objective should be internal. You should not be seeking to attain an acknowledgement of your skill, you should be seeking the skill itself.

"For each weapon that you show basic knowledge of, you will be given a patch to sew on your sash. You will also get a patch for basics in sorcery and weaponless-powerless combat. When you have a badge for sticks, knives, knife throwing, hand to hand, sorcery, and potions, you will then need to choose your first specialty. You will be given a new sash based on your specialty. Green for weapons, purple for weaponless combat, and blue for gadgets. When you start your second specialty training, you will sew a section of the appropriate color to the end of your sash. When you have all three completed, you will most likely be done at the school. If you are invited to continue, and if you choose to continue, then you will wear a brown sash and you can begin teaching some of the specialty classes. After training for a while, you will then begin wearing a black sash and you will then be allowed to teach any of the classes. Any questions?"

"Yes, sir," one of the humans spoke up. He was blond haired and almost fair enough to be an elf. "What do the badges on your sash indicate?" the human asked, pointing to the black sash that Shan wore.

"We'll go over all the badges later, but the badges I have are tactics and sorcery." The students look unimpressed. It is obvious that they have no idea what the black sash means. It is unlikely that any of these students would be invited to train as a brown. The interview to get onto the wait list made me pretty sure that the blond will wash out upon completing his first specialty and the other two are unlikely to be fit to teach the secrets of Da'Tashi to.

I look at the timepiece and realize it's time for my own lesson. I leave the training hall and walk to Frandal's training hall towards the center of the Evlish Quarter. His hall can see the Great Tree.

[Yaw]

I'm going to put modish noted in italics. Let's put the home dojo slightly in from where you wanted it on the map, just to get it away from the bustle of the main roadways so your students have fewer distractions to their concentration...at least for now. We'll fix it in place once I finish editing that Quarter. At any rate, assume lesson started around 9AM and took a half hour, so you're leaving for Frandal's at 9:30AM.

You step out through the training yard onto a twisting residential street, pausing to take in the sweet smell of the linfal trees ubiquitous to the Elvish Quarter. It is a bright but windy day, and the trees play a rousing tune as you walk out of the neighbourhood.

It is faster to travel by the main road, but you don't feel like making your way through the bustle of Allel Boulevard today. Instead you travel by the narrower tree-lined paths, whistling semi-tunefully and absently brushing your hand by the linfal trunks as they intrude into the roadway. The streets are not busy, but you pass by children playing and older elves working on the balconies of their homes. Slowly, the Great Tree becomes visible, then larger, towering above all else in the Quarter.

Frandal's is a large, two story building with a thatched roof to the south of the Shrine. You had never understood why he insisted on thatch that had to be replaced every year in an outporing of communal labour by his students. He certainly could have afforded something more permanent, but that was Frandal -- always stuck in his ways. Still, you had to admit his dojo had a certain feeling of warmth, and a great location. You quickly climb the spiral staircase around the tree in front of the hall, and step inside through the doors on the second floor balcony.

Time taken...let's say approximately 20 minutes. We'll nail down a stricter scale later -- it won't really impact this much. Current time is therefore 9:50AM. Location is Franda's hall, near the Shrine of the Great Tree.

[jeep]

As I entered the Sa'Tashi training hall, I put on my white sash. It was odd to be wearing white again, but this was my first lesson in Sa'Tashi. My father had arranged my training with Frandal. I entered the training area. It was approximately 20 yards square and surrounded by 12 spherical rocks on stands. The only others like it that I know about are in my own Training Hall and in a Wizard's Training center across town. The four in the corners contain the essence of Fire, Water, Air, and Ground. These were easily twice as powerful as the ones in my training hall and my father spent more than most people in the city will make in their or their children's lifetimes on his. They are Dwarven in design and the Dwarven Alchemists who make them don't work cheaply. The eight other stones are Elven in design. I don't think anyone other than the Master's who crafted them understand how they work. When placed correctly, they create an area where the full force of magic can be wielded without hurting living beings. Instead of dying or causing serious injury, the magic causes the person to faint. It's really incredible technology.

Frandal met me just inside the door. "Watch the end of this lesson," he instructed.

I looked at the people in the safety zone. There was one student wearing white, as I was, with one patch sewn in. The patch was the elvish symbol for fire. His opponent, wearing brown stood waiting. The student gathered fire to himself and threw it at his opponent. Da'Tashin (which is what we call practitioners of Da'Tashi) usually wouldn't gather and then throw the fire, instead they would gather the fire at the location of the opponent. It's less effective that way, but then we don't aim to kill. The student made a mistake in letting loose his control of the fire. It would be trivial for the instructor to put up a wedge of air to divert the fire around him. The instructor did not do that though. Instead he took the fire from the thrown ball, wrapped it up tight and guided it to the student with wind. The student fainted. "Impressive," I thought.

Frandal guided me into his office. It wasn't large but it was kept neat and looked larger than it was. "Your father and I have been friends for years. I've held you on my knee many times. I know you well, and I know that you understand that while you are my student, that familiarity must not interfere with your training."

I nodded. "Tell me, had you been training that student. What would you have done when you saw the fireball coming at you."

"Had I let him get far enough to throw the fire, I would have diverted the fire with a wedge of air."

Frandal nodded. "Then your first lesson in Sa'Tashi is to forget your Da'Tashi training. In Sa'Tashi, if your opponent gives you fire, you should use it. It takes less energy to gather fire from an uncontrolled ball of fire than from the air around you."

I made a note to not send around uncontrolled elements. I normally wouldn't, but it was good to note it anyway. "Your lesson is about to begin, you should go find Masha. He was training the last student."

I left the office and walked to the training hall. Frandal and my father had been leaders in the Defensive Forces together. Frandal led the Magickal forces and my father led the combat forces. They were famous for their arguments, but there was a tremendous amount of respect between them.

My first lesson in Sa'Tashi was pretty mundane. I was already skilled in wielding Sorcery, it was not difficult to adapt my training to the ways of Sa'Tashi. The first lesson was learning to manipulate fire. My instructor knew who I am and made the occasional derisive remark about Da'Tashin needing to fight with their hands. I didn't let it affect me.

After my lesson, I bowed to the instructor. As I left the hall, I removed my white sash and put it in a pouch. I decided that I didn't want to cook, so I went to find some lunch.

[Yaw]

Time around 11:45 AM, location as before.

There is a proscription against cooking for many people so close to the Great Tree, so lunch requires a bit of a hike. You walk back up the road away from the Shrine for a couple of blocks before finding Rindel's. It is a small place, but popular among those in the know for good food. You just happen to be one of those in the know. You can see the backyard has already started to fill with customers. Walking past the floral gardens on either side of the main entrance, you pass into the hot room beyond.

Time around 11:50 AM, location is Rindel's Restaurant.

[jeep]

pshew, this is LONG. I enjoyed writing it, though.

I need to teach tonight, so I decide that a light fare is in order. As I sat, the hostess brought me a crusty loaf of bread and a plate with some oil expressed from a rare exotic vegetable. It wasn't my favorite, but it was good. I prefer a more standard elvish food, though. I ordered a salad with mixed greens and topped with boiled fish. Humans are known to put a sauce on their greens, but the sauces I tried seemed pretty vile. I used my Karambit to slice a little of the bread crust over the salad. I wiped it clean and put it back in it's sheath. Every time I think about the knife, I am filled with a sense of pride and honor at being the recipient of such a spectacular gift.

I stumbled. My heart started racing. Suddenly I could not see anything! I stepped to the side and hit my shoulder hard. I put my back to the tree and readied my staff. I listened carefully. All I could hear was normal sounds of the forest. I didn't hear anyone nearby. My sight slowly returned. It felt like I had been blind for several minutes but it couldn't have been more than 15 seconds. I slowed my breathing and looked around. There was no sign of my pursuer. I didn't know how I had been blinded, but I would figure it out, eventually.

Then I felt a tap on my shoulder. My father had come around the tree and tapped me on my shoulder with his staff. I had done better than before, but still had not made it back to the camp without being caught. My father and I walked back to camp in a comfortable silence. It was a good training exercise. My father and I were returning from Amstaad. We went in to teach Da'Tashi seminars to my fathers students. I have studied it all my life. My father is one of the more respected instructors of the Art and had opened a school in the city. He said he wanted to promote the Art. I thought it didn't hurt that it made pretty good money, too. My father's senior students took turns teaching at the school in one year shifts. I thought it sounded exciting and was tempted to ask my father for a turn at the school. I knew that I wouldn't be ready to teach there for a couple years. It's one thing to help out with a seminar, but it's quite another to be in charge of the students.

When we got back to camp, I pulled out my karambit. It had broken earlier that day. I spent some time trying to gather in fire to fuse the two pieces together. I tried until it started getting darker and harder to find the fire to pull in. The next morning I managed to fuse the pieces together with a very sloppy weld. It would hold for another day or two, I thought.

We broke camp and set off for home. We would spend one more night in the woods before getting back to Shina. It was a pleasant walk and we set up camp early. I dug some small holes and gathered some stones. At least I could beat my father at Mancala… most of the time. After a couple games, I picked up a branch that had fallen and whittled it into a Da'Tashi stick that was about as long as my arm. It turned out pretty good. While whittling a second one, the weld in the knife failed. I shook my head in disgust.

"I should never have tried to pry up that rock with my knife," I said.

"True," replied Father.

I packed away the knife pieces. "Want to play another game of Mancala?"

"I think I'm done for the day. Perhaps Rosali will play you."

I stood up quickly and looked around trying to detect the person Father had indicated. I saw no one. "Rosali?" I asked.

"Rosali is the Hamadryad of the tree we are camped below. She's right behind you."

I looked carefully. Even with my sharp eyes, it took me several seconds to make out the vague shape of the Hamadryad. I had never seen a Hamadryad before. I had heard the story of my father saving several hamadryads from a group of Slith looking for lumber, but the tale had always seemed too fantastic to believe, even though I knew my father would not lie. But then I was standing face to face with a real live hamadryad. It was an honor to even meet one.

"Good day, Rosali," I said.

From the tree fell three objects. I looked at them. Two were perfectly shaped Da'Tashi sticks and one was a wooden Karambit.

I laughed as I picked up the karambit. "Thank you," I said with great respect. I knew that this gift was a great honor. It's not often that anyone gets to see a hamadryad, let alone receiving a gift from one. I admired the beauty of the wooden karambit and then put it in my sheath. I thought it would make a beautiful show piece with a story behind it that no one would believe. I then picked up the sticks. The sticks were perfectly shaped. Father pulled out two sticks and took up a stance in front of him.

"I wouldn't want to damage the wonderful gift from Rosali."

Rosali laughed. My father chuckled, too. "Don't worry about that," he said. And we started doing some basic drills. The sound of the sticks hitting each other echoed through the woods. When the light began to fade, we broke off and sat down to rest.

"The sticks aren't even dented," I said. Usually a pair of sticks didn't last more than a half dozen sessions with Father.

"That wood was a gift from Rosali. You would be hard pressed to find an alchemist alive who can make wood stronger than a gift from a dryad," Father said. "Here, test out your new knife."

I easily caught the branch my father tossed to me. I knew better than to doubt Father, but I could hardly believe that a piece of wood would cut without breaking and chipping. But I still drew the karambit and looked at it again. The knife was only about one hand span long from the point to the end of the safety ring. The safety ring was large and would easily fit any of my fingers. I put my smallest finger into the safety ring. The spine felt warm against the heel of my palm. The blade was double edged and came to a wicked point. The blade curved forward like a claw. I stripped the branch my father had thrown to me with ease.

"That wooden karmabit will never dull or chip, " my father said as I stared in disbelief.

"Never? Is it a magical knife or just hardened with Alchemy?" I didn't know anyone with an enchanted blade but I had heard that such things existed. And Alchemy could make knives stronger, with edges that last longer.

"No, it's not magical. It's been hardened with magic, but it's not magical. You couldn't dispel the magic to weaken it. It's simply VERY hard wood. You could break it, I suppose, but it would probably take some magical assistance. It's as hard as steel, and not as fragile. But it wasn't created with Alchemy as we know it either. You would have to find an Alchemist to speak to the dryads to find out how they relate."

I hadn't been that excited since… well, I hadn't ever been that excited. I barely slept that night. After we broke camp I turned to the Rosali's tree and bowed to her. "Thank you for the gifts. I have never received an honor so great."

It was unlikely I would ever receive an honor so great again. I wondered how modest Father had been when telling the story of saving the hamadryads.

I still wonder about the true story. Perhaps Frandal would tell me someday.

It's not easy living in the shadow of such a great man, which is part of the reason I like Amstaad so much. Outside of the Martial Arts community, I'm only known for what I've done. Most don't know that my father is the great Aloysius. Father has given me everything I need to become great myself. I don't seek greatness, but sometimes it's hard.

I've been teaching in Amstaad for almost three years if you don't count my first year-long tour of running the school nearly a decade ago. At the end of my second tour of teaching at the school, my father had asked if I wanted to continue running the school. I had taken to city life and accepted the position. Then, a few weeks ago, my father had given me the school. He'll still come into town occasionally to run some seminars, but he wants to retire and spend more time with Mother.

I finish the meal almost without tasting it. I stand up from the table and pay for the meal. I decide to return home to meditate before teaching the senior students their class. It will start at dusk.

[Yaw]

Very cool little flashback. Let's give it around a half hour to eat, so leaving restaurant around 12:20 PM.

You enjoy an uneventful stroll back to your training hall through the green Elvish Quarter. The building is welcoming, an arched gate leading into the training yard beyond which lies the open-work hall. A small staircase off to the side of the yard leads up to your apartment above the hall. Training is still in progress, and you can see Shan putting the newest students through some exercises. He spots you between the pillars as you're about to climb the stairs, stops the class, and runs over.

"Welcome back. A new student arrived when you were gone," he says.

"Thanks for letting me know. I'm sure you've had him fill out the registration forms. I'll look at them when I come back down for my class."

"Actually...he didn't fill out the forms." Shan sounds somewhat perturbed by this departure.

"Excuse me?"

"He's sitting in your office now. He insisted that he speak with you."

Sighing, you turn around and walk into your office. The new student turns around in the chair facing your desk. You are surprised to see a small Tiktuk boy, no older than 10, looking at you. "Hullo!" he says. "You're the one Abraa told me to look for."

It is now 12:45 PM. Location is your training hall.

[jeep]

"Perhaps. What do you know of Abraa, and what do you think you know about me?"

I studied his tribal markings. He was young for a human. I know that I had trained boys his age back home and elves age slower than humans. But my experience with human youths is limited. Would he react in a way similar to an Elvish boy?

[Yaw]

"We went to see her yesterday. My parents and me. It's a family tradition on your tenth birthday. She looked into a crystal ball and told me I had to become a great warrior, and to find the place of Aloysius the Elf right away to talk to the master." He is kicking his legs nervously in the chair as he speaks.

"Aloysius has retired, but this is his training hall. Do you have any experi...have you fought before?"

"No. Mommy always told me not to get into fights."

"Do your parents know you're here? Are they OK with you training to be a warrior who fights?"

"They don't like it, but they want to do what Abraa says. She speaks with the Mothers."

"And what's your name?"

"Oh. I'm Osai."

"Osai. I'm not sure this is going to work..."

"Abraa also said I should show you my secret. I don't show people because they get all weird, but she said you'd understand." He screws up his face and opens his right hand palm-up. Slowly opening his eyes, he looks down and smiles. Dancing on his hand is a rather large flame.

[jeep]

I was a little surprised. It's unusual for even adult humans who come to train with me to have already mastered controlling any element. I would have to find out more about this Abraa. This boy could be trying to scam me, but if he was, he was pretty convincing.

"You never did answer my question, do your parents know you are here?"

The boy looked like he was going to try lying, but then changed his mind. "They don't know I'm here now, but they knew I was going to look for you."

"I'll need to speak with your parents before I can accept you as a student. In Shina, I taught a class to the children of the village, but I do not have a children's class here. It's not easy training. You will need to work hard."

"I will be the best student you ever had!"

"Osai, I'm not letting you train yet. I need to speak to your parents first, can you bring them here tomorrow?"

I'll let him leave and then go try to find more about Abraa, unless he has more to say.

[Yaw]

"They'll be here first thing tomorrow. Thank you!"

"I'll see them then." You politely dismiss Osai, who walks around the main hall to the gate, and then runs into the street.

Time is 1:05 PM. Location is your training hall office.

[jeep]

I sit down for 20 minutes of meditation. Afterwards, I feel refreshed and more curious about the boy than before. I empty my purse a little. There is no sense carrying much money into the Tiktuk quarter.

I leave the dojo and walk towards Tiktuk Quarter. I'm carrying my sword, I find that more people will leave me alone when it looks like I'm armed like they expect. I spent a lot of time to find a sword that was battle worn and yet still servicable as a weapon. I don't anticipate trouble, but I haven't been to the Tiktuk quarter often.

I know a pub off the main road that serves traditional Tiktuk food. It's pretty good and I've been there several times. I hope that I can find information there.

[Yaw]

Time is 1:40 PM. Location is on Allel Boulevard, at a pub on the north side.

Allel Boulevard is busy as usual, with an eclectic mix of people. There are the Elves, using the road as a thoroughfare to travel from their homes into the government areas to the south, the Nobles' District to the east, and the mercantile areas to the west. The Tiktuk are dressed more colourfully. Some are carrying wide trays of produce on their heads, selling to passerby. The Passani are dressed in white robes, having discussions in small groups while sipping mint tea. Such is life in the centre of the Old City -- three disparate lifestyles trying to move at their own paces.

The pub faces the busy street, tucked between the backs of two Tiktuk housing complexes. It is dark inside, lit by flickering candles at each table. It is after the lunch rush, so very few people are inside and the main lights have been allowed to die to avoid wasting them. You ease up to the bar and sit at a stool.

The barkeeper, and older Tiktuk woman, greets you. "What'll you have?"

"I'm really just looking for directions."

"We have our special homebrewed millet beer, or if you want something harder..."

"Alright. No beer though. Some tea will be fine."

She walks into the back and a few minutes later returns with a steaming cup. "So, where are you looking to go?"

"It's not a where, it's a who. I'm looking for Abraa."

She pauses for a minute. "Nope, haven't heard of her."

"Would you have any idea who might? It has something to do with a message from the Mothers."

"The Mothers don't give messages to Elves."

"Normally, I'd agree. But she got one."

"What strange times we live in. Well, the Elves have always been good neighbours, and it must be important if the Mothers would send a message to one. I don't know all the seers. But my son doesn't need to help around here until dinner time, so he can show you to the nearest one and lead you from there."

"Thank you very much for your help."

"May you walk well. That'll be 3 Ams."

Time is 1:55 PM. Location still the pub. (No, her son is not Osai. You're just going to get a guide for a bit.)

[jeep]

I pay the tab and leave a little extra for her help.

I look at her son. "Lead the way." I have no reason to distrust the boy, but I never feel quite right without the trees around.

[jeep]

I follow the boy as he leads me into the Tiktuk quarter proper. As soon as we turn off the main road, the houses start showing some disrepair. The houses that are occupied are noticeably in better shape than those that have been left vacant. After only a few minutes, we walk into a housing compound and the boy speaks to a young woman. The woman has markings similar enough to the boys that I suspect they are in the same tribe. If I take Osai as a student, I will need to have him teach me more about the Tiktuk.

After the brief conversation, the young woman walks off to the back of the compound.

"She'll ask about Abraa," the boy says.

I nod. In a few minutes, the same young woman comes back and speaks to the boy. I wish I understood Tiktuk. I've heard that it's possible to use sorcery to figure out what people are talking about, but that's quite a ways outside my specialty. It would certainly involve a lot of air and a little water… The boy turns towards me and I forget about trying to figure out a spell that I am unlikely to figure out anyway.

"Follow me," the boy says.

We walk by many housing compounds and I see many Slith in the area. Slith rarely come into the Elvish quarter. As we walk, I consider the questions I need answered. I'll have to figure out a polite way of asking about things, but I don't know much about Tiktuk culture.

Was she really using divination when she spoke to Osai and his parents? I only ever saw tea leaves when I was tested to see if I was capable of Divination. I made up an interesting story that made the lady testing me get a little excited, but they quickly found out that it was just something I was making up. I hear that the Tiktuk seers fall into a trance. It's apparently a big deal. The Evlish Seers tend to just swirl some tea around.

Was there some reason he is being sent to train with Elves? And if so, why Da'Tashi and not Sa'Tashi? The boy clearly has a talent in Sorcery.

And finally, Tiktuk are generally not known to be wealthy, how would they afford my fees? Back home, I taught just to teach, but here the school is a business. That's why Father adapted the Sa'Tashi system of displaying what the student has learned. It's hard keeping it from becoming a ranking system. If we did use it as a ranking system, it could conflict with the ranking system used by the military. That would ruin our ability to work with the military. I suppose the boy could do some chores around the training hall instead of paying cash… If there is a reason this boy should be trained, then is it my duty to train him, even if it's for free? I don't charge anyone that I award a brown sash to… I can afford to have one non-paying student in the introductory program.

My guide stops at a building and knocks. It's a very long building. I'm a little surprised that we didn't enter a communal living area… but depending on how deep the building is, you could probably fit a commune in it.

[Yaw]

You probably want to edit the last sentence in the first paragraph. "If I take Osai as a student, I will need to have him teach me more about the

Osai

Tiktuk."

Time is 2:30 PM. Location is in the middle of the Tiktuk Quarter

The door is opened by a Slith. Your guide speaks to him in Tiktuk, and the Slith nods and steps aside. Your guide stays outside while you enter.

The room is dim, lit by candles inside coloured glass lamps. You call out a greeting, and in response a curtain is swept aside in front of you.

Sunlight pours in through the next room, illuminating a Tiktuk woman standing in front of a table. She is middle aged, with long black hair arranged in many tight braids, all swept off her face with a red and gold piece of cloth. She is wearing tied cloths of similar colours. Her eyes widen with familiarity.

"Welcome! I did not expect you to come. This must be about the boy...Osai?"

"Yes. You are Abraa?"

"I am. Come in. Sit down, be comfortable." She motions to a chair facing the window. You sit, and she draws the curtain behind you before walking around the table to the chair facing you. "I'll pour us some water," she continues, and pours from a metal jug into two half-gourds, presenting you with one before sitting.

"Now, where are my manners?" she says with an inward smile. "How are you? Is your family in good health?"

Time is 2:35 PM. Location as before.

[jeep]

I look at Abraa trying to appraise her. "My family and I are all doing well, unless you know differently..." I accept her as a true Seer. "I don't mean to rush things, but I don't have a lot of time today. What can you tell me about Osai and why did you send him to me?"

[Yaw]

"

I

did not send him to you. I simply spoke the messages given to me.

"You must understand that there are things I cannot say. The messages are personal, and I am sworn not to make the affairs of others public. But where it concerns you...I was told that there would be a time soon when he would need to be a warrior. I was shown your face, and told that you were the Master of the place where he should train, the school of Aloysius."

"You were told that he should learn the Elven art of Da-Tashi?"

"I know nothing about how Elves fight, or what you call it. I found it strange, as you do. There are many Tiktuk who could train Osai. But the Mothers have said that you should be the one to train him, so that is the message he was to hear. I do not know why, but I trust their judgement."

"And what do you know about Osai?"

"I met him yesterday for the first time, but I know his family. They are one of several that ask me to give them messages from the Mothers. There are not many of us who will do personal consultations; most Tiktuk do not use the crystal. I saw and heard other things about Osai when I asked the Mothers about him, but he seemed familiar with everything else. You could ask him."

I'll put on a time at the end of the conversation. Just want to give you a chance to ask more if you feel like it.

[jeep]

The conversation ends with the usual pleasantries. I really do need to get back to the training hall and I'm not sure my guide will be there to escort me back. I'm pretty sure I can retrace my steps. If not, it's really not all that difficult to get around the Old City once you get used to it.

I step out of the building expecting to have to find my own way home.

[Yaw]

Time is 2:50 PM. Location as before.

To your surprise, the boy is still outside, talking with the Slith guard in Tiktuk. He notices your exit. "Ready to go?"

"Yes. Thank you for staying. You didn't have to."

"I wouldn't want you to get lost. I'll take you back to the main road."

The roads in the Tiktuk Quarter are narrow, and for the most part pass between Tiktuk housing complexes -- squat red buildings with an opening in the front through which you can see goats and hanging laundry. At one point you hear a "whoosh" overhead as a drake swoops down and plucks a cat off the street in front of you in its claws, wings barely missing the buildings on either side, and takes off into the sky with its meal in a flash of amethyst scales. You follow the drake's path upwards with your eyes. If only there were trees here...

After a bit of a walk you arrive at the Cenotaph, and amiably part from your guide. Leaving the grey obelisk's shadow, you pass into the Elvish Quarter to arrive back at your training hall.

Time is 3:20 PM. Location is your training hall.

[jeep]

I walk into my office and set my staff next to my desk. I splash some water on my face to wash up a little and drink the remaining water in the waterskin. There is another full one on a table by the door. I mentally review my plans for the advanced group class this evening.

I walk into the training hall. Nael is off in one corner drawing a fair bit of fire and water. I don't recognize what he is doing, so he's probably experimenting. Other than that the room is empty, so I take this opportunity to check on the QiuTi (pronounced "chew tea?"). The balls surrounding the arena. The are full of energy. Even though they are not as powerful as Frandal's, they hold a significant amount of raw energy. None will work alone. They were tied together by some means known only to the Dwarven Alchemists. Although they are only a foot in diameter, they weigh far more than they look. I helped move the QiuTi KongQi (The Air Sphere, some would call it) when my father added the QiuTi to the training hall. It took five students using sorcery to put it in place. They are pretty efficient in reclaiming the energy that is drawn from it- when the resource is allowed to dissipate. The QiuTi allow us to draw a lot of energy without having to worry about where to draw the resources from- which is good for practice- as long as one learns to draw resources from other sources.

If any of the spheres had been depleted, I would have drawn in the resource needed and have it surround the sphere. When fully encased, it will know it's being fed energy and it would absorb it. How it works is baffling.

The other eight QiuTi are QiuTi RaoLuan- spheres of disruption. One might think that because they are Elven, they would be easier for me to understand. One would be wrong. Somehow they prevent magic from killing or seriously harming people. They aren't perfect, but they do have a safety feature that is quite handy. When you touch them with all four elements at once, all magic within the sphere is negated. It only lasts for a few seconds, but that is generally enough. They do not require any maintenance, fortunately.

I came down here to speak to Nael, but decide not to interrupt him. Instead, I survey the training hall. It's large, about 50 by 40 feet and the ceiling is high enough that an Aeryn can fly in it. There is a small hidden balcony that leads to my office. In the center there is a 15 feet square arena surrounded by the Qiuti. There are four other arenas next to it, two on each side. Those do not have the protection of the QiuTi and are marked with chalk on the floor. There are two doors to the room, one leads out to the front room and the other, larger door, leads outside. Both will be locked for tonight's class. In one corner there is a locked closet. Inside is an impressive array of weapons and armor. Students are required to acquire their own, but they are allowed to use my weapons to help them figure out what best suits them. The walls are decorated with murals and weapons. This room feels like home. It's refreshing to be here.

There will be two new students wearing brown tonight. Which means I decided to invite them into the next level of training. Both are elven, which is not really a surprise. Most of my students are Elven. We have about 20 humans that train with us off and on. Only five are truly dedicated to learning. We also have one Aeryn who has been training with me for a few months. He is the only person I explicitly sought out. I'm hoping that he will be able to help us advance the art to be more robust in handling aerial attacks.

I return to my office and start mapping out some ideas for a training program that will allow students to continue to train and learn even if they do not start wearing Brown.

Barring any interruption, I will continue to do this until class begins, which I'll write up tomorrow

[Yaw]

I see what you mean about tenses. Present can be a bit clunky when it becomes "I do X, then I do Y..."

No interruptions, though. Let's make it around 4 PM, but feel free to just fast-forward it to your class.

[jeep]

I walk into the training hall and lock the door behind me. Shan bars the door leading outside. In the room are 12 Elves wearing their brown sashes, Shan and myself.

"Welcome to our two new members. I think everyone knows each other, right?"

The students nod.

"Normally we'll train in the smaller room, but today we're going to use the QiuTi. Tiakin and Whis you will need to pick the classes you want to teach. We have room for classes and privates in every specialty. Let's circle up."

The 14 of us form a circle and bow. "What questions came out of your classes this week?" I ask as I begin some calisthenics. We spend the next 10 minutes discussing the various issues and concerns that the students had during classes while we warm up and stretch. It often amazes me when I think about how much the teachers learn from their students. As we continue our exercises I say, "This month we're working on Sorcery. In this segment, you will learn tactics for fights involving sorcery. We'll also work on using sorcery during a fight. Like our physical movement, when you are in a fight, you are less likely to be able to pull of extremely intricate spells. We'll certainly be teaching you some intricate spells, but mostly we want to work on using spells that do not require extremely accurate mixtures of elements."

"Alright everyone, form a circle in the safe zone," I command. Shan and I take up positions outside the safe zone to watch. "Alright, we're going to work on huxiang chuan. Torydyn, you'll start with Fire. Tiakin and Whis watch what is done by the others, but basically, Torydyn will form a ball of fire and encase it with air so that it can move. He'll release control of the ball and Tasny will take it move it to the person to his left and so on and so forth. When it gets back to the beginning, we'll see if it's the same strength as when it left."

Torydyn gathered fire from the QiuTi Huo. Encased it with air and passed it to the person on his left. This drill is not too difficult, but it's beyond most of the students at the school. The ball is almost at its original strength when it comes to Tiakin. It takes him a moment to encase the fire and quite a bit dissipates. He starts to draw fire from the lanterns to return it to its original strength.

"No no, just pass along whatever you managed to keep. This drill is not to see if you can create a light ball, it's to work on control."

Tiakin passes the now dim ball to Whis and it looses another significant amount of energy. After a full circuit, the ball is maybe 25% it's original strength.

"Keep it going," I command.

This time the ball makes it around with only a little bit of energy lost. The smaller amount of fire is easier to control.

"Alright, I'll start another fire, wait until it gets a few people in, then I'll start another ball… but it might not be fire… We'll see how many we can get going."

I start a light ball. After a few passes, I start another one. When that gets a few people down, I start one with water in it. I wait for the first fire to get back to the starting point.

"Torydyn, let it go"

The light ball dissipates and I pass him one with dirt. The circle is doing pretty good considering there are two Elves who have never done this before.

"Alright, let's split up. Tiakin and Whis stay here. Shan, get everyone else set up." The 10 more advanced students split up in the other four arenas while I look at Tiakin and Whis. "For this section of the class, I want you to practice gathering elements someplace other than yourself. Work on gathering pure fire a foot further than you usually do. Then two. Then three. As far out as you can manage. It really doesn't work any different than drawing the element from someplace else, but it will probably seem pretty awkward. Go ahead and begin." I watch as they both draw fire to themselves and push it out from them.

"Okay, nice try, but instead of bringing it to yourself, try gathering it directly to the target"

I glance around the room and see that Shan had the others doing some simple counter attack drills. Tiakin and Whis seem to understand the concept and are working hard to wrap their head around the mechanics of doing this. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to help them figure it out. They know how to manipulate energy from one point to another. They just need to figure it out and then it will be trivial for them.

I wander the room and make a few suggestions to the students as needed. I return to the center and see that Tiakin seems to have had his eureka moment. The allotted time is almost over. "Whis, keep practicing this throughout the next week. I recommend you do it only in the safety zone until you get it figured out. Also, I want to make sure that both of you schedule a private meeting with me sometime in the next week. Be sure to know which specialty class you will want to help out with."

"Yessir" they both say.

"Alright, c'mon," I say to them. Then much louder, "Circle up!"

We all form a circle. "It was a good class today. We ran over time a little, but what's new, right?"

I dismiss the class and return to my office. I think I have figured out how to continue training students even if they don't have the strength or desire to move to brown. Now I just need to write it down and see what the other instructors think.

I'm happy with jumping to the morning at this point. My third scene can play out anytime, really.

[Yaw]

Well, we should probably stop when you go to sleep and take some time to step out of role and reflect. In theory, midnight is the "match point", which no player passes before all players get there -- to avoid anyone getting several days ahead of other players in time. So that would make for a natural place to stop.

I really liked the "fire gathering" exercise with Tiakin and Whis -- it reminds me of an Arthur Hull listening skills technique, where you listen to the farthest thing away, then something farther away than that, and so forth. Might have to use this idea somewhere, just because the linkage is cool.

Anyway, you said 90-minute class...dusk is around 6:30PM, with a bit of overrun, so we'll say that scene ends at 8:10PM. Do feel free to include the other scene you had planned, since we're ending for now when you go to sleep. Or if you prefer to put it off, that's fine too.

[jeep]

I review my plan and nod in satisfaction. I think this will work out well.

As I walk upstairs to my apartment I think. I've never really been comfortable managing the business side of the school. I teach because I love to teach. I meditate. I prepare for bed. I go to sleep.

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