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Rise of Darkness (Alvis & Malicious Lullaby)

A soft laugh came from her. “I’m sure your sisters are just as beautiful, even without them.” She said softly, her eyes closing half way, succumbing to the wonderful feelings of the wash cloth soaping her back, his expert fingers kneading out what felt like years of tension. It had been such a regular occurrence, she never even noticed until now. Ewyn certainly wasn’t complaining.
“Oh, to be one of those peoples who got the grand honor of making such an acquaintance. All magic learning aside, I’d consider that a true and full accomplishment.” She did dream. After her father told her that story, she always hoped to stumble upon a member of the Fae. Talk about never frowning or being sad again.
“Maybe I could be so lucky. I wish I could be.”
 
Faryn had a faint smile. He hadn't been home in a long time. His father hadn't been pleased with his choice to abandon the family trade to work at an inn, and the tension had just proved too much to deal with. It made things awkward. So he had not idea how his family was doing really. But he kept it from his face.
"One sister might agree with you. The other would throw a hammer at you for saying so. That one took after my father." He admit calmly. He slowly withdrew his hands from her back. There was something different than the previous belligerent sexual tension. There was a good deal more...real respect there now. Maybe even a little bit of trust. Which was a lot rarer to him than just sexual tesion.

"My your time here be good to you. And while I can't vouce for the royal court Fae, the smaller ones, like Brownies and the like, if you know where to look, and have the right bait, you can find them." He said to her with a genuine smile, not so smug this time.
 
She grinned softly and shrugged her shoulders. “I might be clever enough to deftly avoid that hammer. Might, being the operative word there.” She said softly. She let her gaze stay on his, liking what she saw. It was fun, the shameless flirting and teasing, trying to seduce him into the bath with her and calling his bluffs numerous times. But this was nice too. Just nice, soft and genuine.

“Thank you. I will try not to call on you too often. But if you hear it rapid and repeated succession, you can choose to come knocking or not. You might be surprised at what you find.” She winked, teasing him again but in all playful fun, in all good humor there.
But as he mentioned finding an actual brownie, her eyes lit up and it was as if she was a child all over again, hoping desperately to find one and spend a few minutes with one, if not an entire day. “Really?” She sat up now, turning fully to face him, gripping the edge of the tub. “Do you think you could help me with that before I go? Oh please?”
 
Faryn smiled, his eyes flicking down as she turned. He couldn't help it, he was only mortal. And a pretty young lady was naked and facing him.
"Well...you'd have to get dry and dressed, and quickly. That carriage will come looking for you sooner or later if you're too long, and we'd have a bit of a walk to make if we were going to reach the closest one." He admit, standing up. "I'll go get the bait we'll need, if you'd like to meet me out front in, say, as soon as you can manage, I'll see what I can do." He darted his head down, adn planted a quick, teasing kiss on her forehead before winking, and leaving the room, making sure the door was closed. He blew out a breath, adn rolled his sleeves back down.

It wasn't hard to get the bait. Cream, fresh this morning, bread, just as fresh, and honey. Brownies, pixies, and other Little Folk loved all of the above, and couldn't resist it. His mother had left a dish of cream out every night as an offering to the Fae, and every dday teh bowl was empty, polished clean without a single mark to show single blemish. And the house had always been meticulously clean, and fair luck had favoured them. It had been a sign as far as anyone in the family had been concerned that it was working. His parcels under his arm, he stood comfortably in front of the inn.
 
“I can do that.” She said softly, about to stand when he leaned in. She looked up at him, eyes full of question until his lips pressed to her forehead. Her eyes fluttered closed and she smiled a real soft and genuine smile, the very sensation of that kiss sending delicious flutterings throughout her. Oh, that was a nice little one. Left her in a very good mood and in high spirits to find brownies. After he left, Ewyn did a quick dunk into the water, letting the water wash over the soap that stayed on her skin and did a quick scrub on the rest of her body before dunking again.

Standing, water dropped from her naked frame like before and she grabbed a towel as she stepped out, drying her body quickly before bundling her hair into the towel. She grabbed her slip and slid it over her head, smoothing the sheer material over herself before finding her cream dress and her green bodice. She was able to do them both up with a little bit of practiced magic to get the parts the back of the dress she couldn’t earthly reach. Drying her hair with the towel, she flipped it and then shook her head furiously, forcing out any stray droplets of water that remained. Her hair was a wet wild mess, like she usually liked but she used her green ribbon to tie it back. When her hair dried, it was a nightmare. Putting on her half cloak, she tied it around her neck before stumbling into her boots on her way out, grabbing the key she saw out on a table. She locked her room before dashing out of the inn, finding him waiting. “Took you long enough.” She teased. “Shall we?” Excitement was pouring out of her.
 
She still had a tease on her lips, adn that did not surprise him in the least.
"Yes, terribly sorry to keep you waiting milady. I suppose it's too late, adn we'll have to call the entire thing off." He said with a sigh, and took a half step towards the inn once more, watching hte moment that she would have the crushing moment of his blowing her off, before ha linked his arm with hers, and smiled. "Come on girl. We got lots of ground to cover."

He led her around the inn, and through the back alleys, taking her outside of the village. It was a nice day, the sunlight beraming down, but the breeze kept going enough to keep the heat down. They walked throuhg the knee high grass for a time, before they climbed a hill. The land before them was a rippling wave of amber grain and hay field grasses. Off in the distance was a great bare patch, nothing growing on it, and the soil looked scorched. But Faryn said nothing about it, and simply led her on, through the fields. It took nearly half an hour to reach a small copse of trees, and he stepped away from Ewyn, and began to prepare. The bowl was first, setting it on a bare patch of ground. Then he poured out a generous measure of cream. He trook the small loaf of bread, and broke it open, wanting the smell to be able to spread out. He set the bread on the edge of the bowl, the edges of it touching hte liquid. FInally, he opened the jar of honey, and began to pour.

"Those of the realm beyond, of the lesser courts. Those who scour, those who purge, those who make right the unclean, I call you to me now. Be present, by this offering, be known, be within my sights." He said calmly, his voice shifting, as though he spoke words that he'd done a thousand thousand times, and had gotten very used to. He stood after he was done pouring the honey and speaking, adn took a long step back to be beside Ewyn. He held a finger to his lips, calling her to silence.

They didn't wait long. The sound of a tiny door slamming came to him, a sign that they had indeed some to the right place. And in a moment, he saw something move near the bowl.
"Be within my sight." He said calmly, quietly, not a command, just a statement. And in that moment, a veil of magic parted, revealing the creature behind it.

And it was not large. Barely a foot and a half tall, it had the look of a somewhat overly hairy human of that size. Faryn had seen brownies before, more than a few of them, but this one was different. Most of their kind wore simple shifts and aprons, but this one...this one wore a tailored suit, carried a cane, and seemed much mroe poised. And he was looking right at the two humans.
 
Her smugness fell from her face and her eyes almost went wide. Her lower lip almost trembled as she readied for a full on pout accompanied by the sad eyes in case he was actually serious. Especially when he started towards the inn, an almost whimper coming from her as she took a step to him. Arms linked and ready to go with his jest ever pronounced, she stuck her tongue out at him but continued on anyways, walking with him, following him, eager.

After a good walk and he started to set the scene, Ewyn watched him, looked around and felt sort of at home with all the nature, even if she did spend her larger days seated behind a table with a bevy of studying material there for her to read. Still, she did love nature and tried to spend her time out there when she could. Something about fresh air and the way it cleared her mind of daily studies, to let it breathe again. It was quite lovely.

Preparations were done and she said not a single peep as he said whatever it was he had to say, some sort of lore or summoning and instead watched with wide eyes. For once it was said, she waited and waited and just like that, she saw one. A little brownie. This tiny, adorable little thing and it was so real. She had to cover her mouth not to exclaim out of glee, not to frighten the little creature and she knelt down on her knees, never taking her gaze from his. In this very moment, Ewyn Conal was officially floored. Her hands dropped from her mouth and her lips parted to show just how mind boggled and shocked she was, but in the best way. It was like a dream come true.
 
It was always a shock to see teh Little Folk for the first time, and despite a long history with them, Faryn had never seen one like this. A little...too clean, too well mannered it seemed. The brownie tapped the bowl with his cane, and looked at Faryn.
"Summoner. Shalt I venture that thine offering is meant for mine own enjoyment?" The little creature said, his words archaic, but perfectly enunciated.
"Um. Yes. Such a gift was meant for thee, adn those of your kind that thou might wish to share with." Faryn struggled to recall the old forms of address. It was there, at the back of his mind, where his mother had taught him. But it had been so long since he'd spoken to one of the Fae, it was like old music, half remembered, but never truly forgotten.

"Hmph. Thou offers a generous gift, so it is with heavy heart I must ask thee what thoust might ask for by way of recompense?" The brownie asked. Faryn felt his mind race, for this was not what he'd intended. Most of the Little Folk just fell on the offering like ravenous wolves, and scattered shortly after. But this one was formal, cautious, and Faryn began to suspect that this particular brownie might have standing amongst the Courts, which made him both interesting, and insanely dangerous to try and bargain with. But the question was asked, so he was bound to answer.
"I ask that one of thine brethren approach mine companion, that she might observe them better, adn that you, or brethren of thine choice attend to mine own chambvers, rendering them spotlessly clean." Faryn phrased his words carefully, but fairly, not wanting to make it seem as though he was being unreasonable. THe Brownie nodded.
"Thine deal is still generous, and thus do I, and my brethren accept thine offer." The brownie tapped the ground hard with his cane, adn a faint ripple of green energy came from the point.

A flurry of tiny slamming doors came, and a flurry of tiny forms swarmed the dish, cream being lapped up, the breead being pulled apart, adn used to soak up the cream to better devour it. AFter a fdew moments, less than a minute, the entire dish was empty, and shone like if had been freshly scrubbed, which he assumed it had been. One Brownie, a more typical speciman of his people approached Ewyn cautiously. Clad in only a loose apron and shift, it stood no more than a foot in hieght, and shaggy brown hair protruded from it's body. It came very close to her, and shivered faintly.
"Be not afraid small one, for those who stand and crouch before thee art friends of your people. And this young lass doth wish to admire and marvel at the wonder that is thine people." Faryn explained, and the little creature seemed to calm, and come closer enough for Ewyn to touch if she tried.
 
It was so strange but so amazing to watch and hear as the brownie interacted with Faryn. Ewyn was completely stunned, watching, her head going from one direction to the other, from the brownie to Faryn, so entranced, so amazing, so stunned, her ability to speak was lost on her. They spoke so properly, like back in the older olden days and it was like music to hear it. From the proper brownie to a rather proper Faryn which did also stun her as well, considering their earlier teasing to each other. Like a beautiful lyric being carefully instructed to make her swoon. Okay, not to make her swoon but that’s what it was doing.

It touched her, the request he made which included her. She smiled softly, tentatively, not wanting to scare the little brownie away before more came. One in particular came closer to her and her eyes widened. He was an adorable little thing and at first he seemed very scared, very unsure but then as he warmed up, so did she. She was not there to cause harm, neither would she ever. No, she just wanted to make new friends, and she had always been fascinated with the Fae and their spritelings since her father told her the story of how she gained her freckles. She had known since she was in her teens that it was a false story but she always believed it, always believed in the Fae, spritelings, brownies, the whole lot of them. It was a dream to meet them. Now she was. It made her heart beat so fast, she thought she might pass out. But she didn’t. No, she relished this opportunity, an opportunity that might not come again because she was to be living in a tower with a mage, learning and learning even more than possible, honing her magic and to become an even better and more accomplished magic wielder.

Her hand came up slowly, carefully, fingers splayed before they all ducked down, except her index finger. She was left utterly speechless, unable to speak but maybe able to communicate through gestures, hand movements. Her index finger moved closer to the brownie, watching as its oh so tiny hand lifted as well and touched the pad of her finger. It felt like magic coursed through her and a big but gentle smile broke out onto her face. Such warmth in the smile, in her eyes, she did all she could not to grab the little brownie. Pulling her finger back, she held her hands together, like a cup and held them under the brownie who sat down on her palms. She brought him up closer to view him better, amazed. She felt like a little girl all over again. “Oh…” She whispered.

“Hello. I’m Ewyn.” She spoke so softly. It was all she could really do to contain her excitement and happiness, so not to scare the little one away. Best. Day. Ever.
 
The brownie looked up at Ewyn, taking in the larger build and form, but trusting in the words of the SUmmoner that no harm was meant. And besides, this approach had been part of the agreement, and pacts were binding to the Fae. It looked to teh left, adn saw a small smudge of dirt on her hand from when she'd crouched, adn absently drew out a tiny brush, adn cleaned the smudge away. It was his natture to clean, and unlike mortals, he had no choice in his nature. He simply followed it, and gloried in what he did. But this close of a contact with a human...it was certainly very different than what he normally did. His kind was rarely if ever seen by mortal eyes, unless summoned like this. Work was done quietly and quickly while the mortals were away, that was the way of the brownie. But she had offered him her name. His mouth opened, and in a light voice, he spoke.

THe language was nothing that Ewyn had heard, not amongst the mages. Faryn had heard the words, but knew not the tongue, else he'd have translated. The Brownie stood on her palms, and gave a bow. The sound of hte cane tapping on the ground signalled that teh Brownies began to scatter. The brownie in her hands paused, and remembering a gesture he had seen amongst the humans before, placed his palm to his lips, and then to her hand. He moved in a rippled of eye blurring speed, and was gone from view. The quiet click of closing doors came as the Brownies returned home, filled and happy.

Faryn moved to teh side of Ewyn, and offered her a hand to her feet.
"Was it what you were expecting?" He asked her quietly.
 
A little fit of giggles bubbled up in her throat, she suppressing it so she didn’t embarrass the little brownie for cleaning her hand. The sensation of the little brush did tickle but she was able to remain strong and not let it get the best of her. He was adorable, so tiny and so true to his nature and who he was. If she could, Ewyn would have liked to keep him, keep him with her at all times and forge a bond of new friendship, so everlasting, neither of them would forget. Regardless, she’d never forget. It was a blessed honor to even meet him, to be this close to him, to have him in the palms of her hands.

The moment he pressed a kiss to his palm to which he pushed to her own, her heart melted a lot. Then just like that, he was gone, as were the lot of them and she was sitting there on her knees in her own world of shock and awe. She might have just fallen in love a little bit, wishing she had had more time with the little brownie before he and the rest went away once again.

After a moment longer, she was brought back to the world, looking up at Faryn and taking his outstretched hand. “No.” She stood up and then smoothed her dress down and looked at him, a sudden bright and beaming smile appearing on her face. “It was more. So much more than I expected. Thank you!” Her arms wrapped around his neck in a warm hug, the smile proving to be difficult to possibly ever wipe from her face. She kissed his cheek and pulled back, looking into his eyes. “Thank you.”
 
The look of almost shell-shock that was on her face was perfect. Faryn would have loved to have a pisture of it, some way to remember it perfectly. When a person first met the Fae, even the Little Folk, the reaction was usually one of shock and awe. And Ewyn hadn't dissapointed. He wasn't completely surprised when she hugged him. After all, he had helped her realize a dream that she'd had for a long time. The light kiss on his cheek was a little less expected, but he'd set the precedent with her forehead, so it was all fair to him. He smiled at her.
"Come on. That carriage of your is liable to come looking for you soon to finish the trip off. And last i'd heard, Mage Gall isn't the most patient man." He lifted the bowl from where it had been left, and led her back. On an impulse, partway back he reached out, and took her hand in his.

The walk back was nice, the breeze still steady. The village moved on about it's day, never really knowing that somone had just had a moment that they had wished for their entire life. That was the way of things, he knew. Profound moments rarely got to be properly acknowledged by the world at large. He led her back to the inn. The carriage shivered, adn opened it's door, giving a sharp trilling noise, as though calling her back to it.
"Seems as though I'd best bring your bags out. If you'll await me, milady?" Faryn asked her with a wink.
 
Oh, the carriage. Ewyn almost frowned, only almost because she didn’t want to show her dismay. She’d completely forgotten her original excitement of being able to live and train under a brilliant mage for when she arrived in this little village, well life was full of surprises wasn’t it? She didn’t want to go. She simply nodded her head and smiled weakly, walking along with him, hoping she might be able to take her sweet slow time in following behind him. But no, he had to take her hand. Oh, who was she kidding? She wouldn’t pretend to be upset about that. She liked it. His hand was warm. She laced her fingers with his and walked the trek back with him.

It was a nice walk, nice breeze, nice melody from nature’s music and the longing to try and steal away to prolong their journey back. She didn’t want to go. She was only a teen, really, still a kid at heart who had been so kept in her books and studying, she didn’t play often, mostly only so she didn’t alarm her already elderly father with her copious amounts of energy when not harnessed in magic. Otherwise, she had been a student as far back as she could remember. She wanted to be free just a little bit longer from those bonds. But then, to learn such amazing magic and fully realize her potential…Ewyn was torn.

They arrived back to the village and there was the ominous carriage waiting for her. She sighed a little sadly, a very slight pout forming onto her face. Turning her attention to Faryn, she nodded her head slowly. “I suppose.” She mumbled, it being clear she didn’t want to go. “I’ll be here. Don’t worry.” She leaned against the carriage, only for it to decide to grow a mind of its own or just not like being leaned on and bump her off lightly, enough that she wasn’t expecting it. It caused her to fall on her bottom. If that carriage was a horse, it’d be snickering at her and the look on her face. She knew she didn’t like that thing for a reason.
 
Faryn moved quickly. If she had been with him, it might have been a different story, might have taken his time a little, but since she wasn't, he saw no reason to make her stand outside waiting on him. He found her bags easily enough, and he had to admit, he wasn't really at all sorry that he'd spent the time with her, and for her, trekking to the Brownie colony. She didn't seem to mind either. He grabbed her bags, and moved back out, just in time to see the carriage bump her over. He closed his eyes and sighed. That was new. THe carriage might go looking for errant studentrs, but he'd never seen it exhibit personality before. With a quick move, he set her bags within, and offered her a hand up.

"Obnoxious little bastard, isn't it?" he said to her, pulling her to her feet as he gestured to the carriage with his head. "Well, I hope you enjoyed the stay here. And if Mage Gall lets you out of the tower for an evening or two, I hope you'll consider coming back to the inn to spend your time." He told her. "I'd make sure you didn't end up alone in there." He smiled at her, having still not released her hand.
 
She looked up at the carriage with a not so happy look on her face and she swore she saw the face of a horse on it, snickering at her, garnering amusement from her misfortune. “Cheeky bastard.” She grumbled to herself, dusting her legs off before starting to make herself stand. All until she heard a familiar voice and looked up, finding Faryn with a waiting hand. She smiled tightly and took it, standing up and dusting her dress off. “Yeah, I knew I hated the ride over here for a reason. It’s like it’s mocking me.” Again with the over dramatic antics.

Once her things were settled in and time came for official goodbyes, she looked to Faryn and nodded her head eagerly, smiling now, a real smile and not forced or tight. “Most definitely. I’d like that. I’ll definitely come here and if I don’t see you, I will be hunting you down.” She narrowed her eyes playfully, not yet taking her hand back. Stall tactic. “You wouldn’t have a problem with that, would you?” She barely gave him time to respond. “Good, I didn’t think so.”
 
Faryn smiled as she cut him off before he could respond.
"Well, if you hunt me down, I suppose I can suffer through." He said good naturedly. "I enjoyed spending time with you. I'll look forward to the next time I can. Milady." He lifted her hand to his lips, and gently placed a kiss there. He let go of her hand, adn stepped back with a wink, thumping his hand on hte side of the carriage. He went back inside before he did something impulsive. Once past the door, he leaned on the wall and let out a breath, well, that had been interesting to say the least.

Yoristan let go of his control on the carriage, allowing it to resume it's status as an automaton without a whiff of deviation. He admit that he had been growing impatient, and so had put more power inot the carriage to try and speed thigns along. It was all well and good for the young people to make moon eyes at one another, but really, he didn't have time to indulge them right this moment. He needed his student here so he could file it off with teh academy and get back to work. Her studies wouldn't truly be picking up unitl tomorrow. And in the mean time, he was a busy man! Or at least, that's what he told himself. He was simply just irritated that these responsibilities were being forced on him. he wasn't a teacher, not by nature, and now he was going to have to make it work somehow. He sighed. She'd be here in an hour. From there, he'd just have to see what to do.
 
Oh wow, well if she was going to be treated like that, especially by a man she had been naked in front of, she’d definitely come to the village any chance she could. If not for anything else but a reprieve from her teacher. She always needed that time to herself. Otherwise she probably would have exploded a long while ago as it is.
“Bye.” She said it so softly, watching as he walked away, her hand falling at her side once more. She could still the feel the kiss on her hand, the warmth of his lips when he touched them to her skin…Ewyn wouldn’t be washing her hand ever!

Once he was out of sight, she had no choice but to go into the ominous carriage, the door opening for her as she turned to it. Climbing inside, the door shut and she opened the window’s little door and looked out of it, watching the village. The carriage started to move again, leaving the village and onwards to her new residence. Sitting back, she closed her eyes and rest her head next to the open window she left open for some fresh, beautiful breeze and nature’s music. It lulled her to a nice but short sleep which helped to make the journey go faster.

Coming to a stop a little bit later, the jerked stop roused her from her sleep. Her eyes open to half lids now, vision focusing, Ewyn saw out the window, seeing the stone walls of a tower. She was here. With a heavy sigh that turned into a yawn, she stretched her body, hearing delicious cracks in her back, legs and even her toes in her boots before pushing herself out of the carriage. Grabbing her things, she turned to the ominous ride and bowed and then walked to the tower’s door. Standing before it, she looked back in the direction she was assuming she came from the village. She’d need to get her head back into the books, studying, magic. It just wasn’t there at the moment.
 
Yoristan was elbow deep in an experiemtn when the faint chime came of someone approaching the tower. He sighed, and waved a hand, a stasis spell coming into being, and enfolding his experiement, leaving it for alter. He squared his shoulders, and began the walk downstairs. He waved a hand, calling his somewhat more official crobe onto his body, the heavier fabric hanging loosely off of his shoulders. It did put good emphasis on his height and the bredth of his shoulders, something that didn't come just by nature. A person had to work at getting a build like this, and magery wasn't the kind of work that was needed.

The ground floor was under his feet very quickly. His stairs were layered with enchantments to speed passage along, letting a person climb nine flights in under a minute if they were motivated. It took some practice to get used to, but soon it was second nature. He'd make sure to warn her. He gestured, adn the door swung open. Yoristan Gall stepped out of his tower for the first time in two years. The sun beat down, but he liked the breeze on his skin. It reminded him of a time before magic had permeated his being. The carriage was rocking slightly, waiting to be dismissed, and return to the academy, but he saw his student, and lost track of the carriage.

For starters, it was a she. ANd that was not what he'd expected at all. Let alone a girl that looked twelve or more years younger than he was. She was just getting into the prime of her life, though if the way she carried herself was any indication, she already knew full well how to get into trouble. He sighed, adn put on a smile.
"Mageling. Welcome to the Sorcerers Roost. I am to be your new instructor. I am Yoristan Gall, and it is good to meet you." He said with a short bow of mutual respect that mages would offer each other.

He was already a little out of his depth. Teaching! If he'd wanted to be involved in that, he'd have stayed at the Academy! He was a Battle Mage, and an experimenter. Not...not this. He hadn't really spoken with women in years, adn now a young one was supposed to be living with him. Yeah, this was going to be a challenge for both of them.
 
She turned and her gaze landed upon the man who she quickly assumed to be her teacher. They both looked stunned. He was stunned about something and she was stunned about the fact that he certainly wasn’t what she imagined. She expected her new teacher to be like her father, old, white beard old, shoulders hunched and a big smile that could light up her world. This one didn’t smile and immediately she was put off by it. She had certain things she was used to. A smile was one of them. Her father always said that it started with a smile, and his day always started with her smile.

Right now, she didn’t even smile. She simply held her bags closer to her if she could and even as he did finally smile, she seemed to have taken a step back, very small and minimal. “Thank you.” She bowed at the last minute out of pure instinct and not so much of respect before correcting her stance once more. She cleared her throat and managed to peer in through the entrance for a look inside but instead, her gaze shifted to his. Her head tilted and she finally smiled, a real smile. “You should smile more. It won’t kill you, only take away the wrinkles.”

He was probably right. She probably did get into a lot of trouble. Ewyn often had no filter in what she said, regardless of who she spoke to. She was a firm believer that respect was earned and not just garnered because of high status. Until then, she showed quite the opposite. In her own, snarky, comical, troublesome way. His life in this tower was about to get shaken up, rather incredibly now.
 
Well, it seemed that she had a mouth on her. Frankly, Yoristan could appreciate that. It showed a certain amount of spirit, and that was essential to truly mastering magic. He quirked a half smile.
"Well, when I'm old enough to have wrinkles, I'll start being concerned about it. Now, I'd imagine you want to get away from that damned carriage, and see where you'll be staying? Don't worry about your bags." He gave a mental command, and from the tower a pair of what looked like smoothly carved men made of stone came into view, moving to slide her bags out of the carriage. They both gave brief nods to her, and settled into a flanking position, almost like an escort. Yoristan waved her inside.

"Careful of the stairs, they're...shorter flights of stairs then they look. Come, I'll show you." He said, heading for them. The ground floor of the tower was made to be what looked like a greeting area, the floor was smoothly polished, mostly covered in various rugs that looked like they'd come from all over the world. Yoristan had either travelled a lot, or just had access to a lot of merchants. The walls were decorated with a lot of different symbols carved into the stone, and with teh right angle, they seemed to shimmer with bluish light. Magic permeated the air around them, this tower having clearly been a labour of love for the man who lived within it. As they stepped ontot he stairs, the air around them blurred, and a few short seconds later, Yoristan was holding her in place, already at the second floor. This floor just had a hallway that ran to teh far wall, doors on either side of the hall, clearly being used as living space.
 
She actually grinned. So he might not smile often but at least he had a sense of humor which she could definitely appreciate. It meant that it wouldn’t be so supremely dull here and she wouldn’t try to avoid him. Well, even if he didn’t have a sense of humor, she wouldn’t avoid him. Where was the fun in that? This place needed a reason to be more alive than it was. That’s where Ewyn came into the picture.
“Yes, I would actually. That carriage is an ominous little bugger. We. Are. Not. Friends.” She carefully enunciated with a punctuating force of her eyes. Over dramatic. Ewyn was known for it.

A slight gasp came from her when she saw stone men come and take her bags. Okay, that was nice of them but she wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact they were made of stone. Did this mage really live a life in full seclusion? Walking inside, the moment her boot clad foot touched the floor inside, she felt the full rise of energy within her come to life with the aura of magic all around them. It was almost intimidating but it was also very comfortable. As if for the first time, she didn’t feel like she was going to explode into oblivion when her energy was so prominent. What was that?

Stepping onto the first set of stairs with him, she gasped with the speed in which they went, instinctively leaning into him and feeling him even hold her in place. She stood like she was in some sort of defense stance, looking about like something might pop out at her from either side. “Oh.” Was all she said before correcting herself, standing normally and stepped off the staircase. “Your home is…” She smiled a little bit, more to herself than him and walked along down the hall. “I like how I feel here.”
 
"That would be the ambient magic in the air. Keeps a mage topped up, and makes it easier to work our spells. This whole tower is built on a nexus of Ley Lines. It would be why you'll be feeling a little...more settled I suppose. The more magic you use, the more used to it you get, and the better you'll be at managing your magical resources." Yoristan explained. "And you'll get used to teh stairs. Just take it slow at first, adn you'll figure them out." He led her down the hall, to one of the doors, and opened it. "This is where you'll be sleeping."

The room was...well, it looked larger within than without. It should have only been a ten by ten cell of a room, but it looked more than four times that. A huge bed was against one wall, looking thickly cushioned and coavered in blankets. A monster of a desk was set up, a U shaped top, though with squard corners, while the chair sat inside of it. There would be a lot of room to handle paperwork adn the like from there. A fully equipped mages lab set was against a wall, and even from the door, the strength of the protective enchantments on it could be felt. It was clear that no matter how spectacularly a person wanted to try and blow their eyebrows off, they'd not damage the rest of the room. A pair of wardrobes were set up, each of them a dark wood and carve with impossible detail. It barely looked humanly possible to acheive that level of skill. The floor was covered in flawlessly joined wodden planks, making it considereably less cold than stone would have been. Rugs were about in a few places, near the wardrobes and lab, giving something more comfortable to stand on. A reading stand was set up, as well as a coat tree, adn both pieces of furniture thrummed with quiet magic.
"I hope it's up tot he standards that you're used to. I admit I had to throw it together on pretty short notice." He said with a real smile.
 
She loved it and it certainly made her feel better. But then it just might also prove she wouldn’t need outside time more often if it was contained better or simply harnessed better, her energy. Nodding her head, she followed his lead down the hall, stopping outside of a door. Once opened, she stepped forward into the room, taking in its opulent furnishings and the fact it was a lot larger than she’d ever expect. It was beautiful, spacious and she could probably jump on the bed without hitting her head on the ceiling. Ewyn turned slowly, taking it all in from the beautiful ornate furniture, the study space, the magic lab, the wardrobes and then…the bed.

Ewyn stepped towards it on her own accord, no longer hearing anything he was saying and she stared at the beautiful cushiony heaven like it was calling to her. It was. It was saying, ‘Ewyn…Ewyn…come lay on me, sleep on me, be comfortable…’
She pulled her boots off and climbed onto the bed, settling herself on her stomach and nuzzling her cheek on the pillow. She closed her eyes and the look of absolute bliss and heaven was on her face. Her limbs stretched out after that terrible carriage ride and t he fact she just couldn’t make use of the bed at the village inn and she sighed contently. “I have died and gone to the heavens, this bed is a dream realized.”
 
Yoristan chuckled as she fell into place on the bed. The way she went on about it, he began to suspect that she might enjoy the feel of the down mattress. He shook his head, and the stone men plodded into the room, their feet somehow not scuffing the wooden floor. They set her bags down, adn departed, returning to their normal posts on the ground floor.
"It seems that you might need the chance to rest up a bit. You've the day and the night to yourself. DO as ytou wish. The basement is sealed, so you can't get into there. As is the uppermost floor. Other than that, feel free to explore, or just sleep as you wish. If you need anything, ring the bell on the night stand, and help will come." He said calmly. He shook his head, and stepped back, closing her door to give her some privacy.

Well, this might be interesting to say the least, Yoristan thought as he moved back up to his experiment. A young girl had a way of making things potentially more complicated by her simple presence, and he knew that well. Not by his time as a mage, but by the life he'd been living before that. Not so young as to be unknowing about the way the world worked, it had been one of the reasons he'd been reluctant to get into magic. But now it was a part of him, he'd paid his dues, and made his sacrifices. No sense in fighting it now. Power spilling out around him, he got back to work, though this time with a smile.
 
As much as she wanted to eat something or go exploring and get into all sorts of shenanigans—he did say there were two places she could not go because they were sealed but when did that ever stop her?—but she was already lying on the bed. It felt like it was going to be a chore just to try and get up, something she didn’t want to do, not when she was already so happy and comfortable on this bed. No, instead, Ewyn stayed put as he left. Her eyes fluttered closed and she easily and quickly drifted into a nice sleep. It was comfortable, quiet, comfortable and did I mention she was very comfortable?

The hours ticked by. Soon it was dark outside and when her eyes opened, it illuminated the darkness inside. It made it difficult to want to get out of bed but her stomach growled for the umpteenth times. She figured she should probably eat something then so as difficult as it was, she swung her legs to the edge, neglected her boots and let her feet touch the smoothness of the hard wood floors. Walking out of her room, she walked to the stairs and she looked around. Oh, she didn’t want to walk on those again. Her stomach growled again, urging her to. What if she fell off this time since there was no Master Gall to hold her steady? Taking a deep breath, she walked onto the stairs and went up and then it moved. She closed her eyes and even held her breath the entire time. She was on the third floor. Wait, which was the kitchen again? He didn’t say. What if it was on the first floor? She endured that for nothing?!
 
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