Beyond the city of Rharne lies the Stormlands, which is home to a number of farms, forests, fields, Lake Lovalus, and the River Zynyx. This subforum also includes the Stormwastes to the south.
Mathias Blackwood
Storm's Edge: It's Not A Date!
16 Cylus 720
Mathias was nervous. He didn't even know why he was nervous but he knew that he was. Gennadiya had invited him to join her for dinner while they were working at the forge earlier and he wanted to. Immortals how he wanted to join her. But he felt odd about it. Should he really sacrifice time he could spend helping the knights with other tasks to sit around and talk with the healer? He'd be depriving Storm's Edge of a valuable asset while he sat and spoke with her. But he wanted to. He wanted a break from all the running around and all the work. He remembered her expressing interest in his magics almost exactly ten trials ago and so he'd pillaged Hound's saddle (Hound was his horse) for his grimoire. Well it could hardly be called that. It was a small, leather bound notebook where he'd inscribed the two runes he knew and his knowledge of them. He thought it might be interesting to show her Hone and maybe that was what made him so nervous. He hadn't practiced Hone in what seemed like arcs.
But the time came- that promised break when much of the fortress seemed to settle into dinner. With no sunrise and sunset it was harder to gauge the time but it was doable. Mathias arrived at the mess hall of sorts that had been assembled and looked around for the white haired- well platinum blonde haired, woman that had invited him. However he realized quickly that he needed to have food as well. How strange would he seem if he just sat and watched her eat while he played with his magic fingers? So Mathias went to see what was on the menu. It was stew. Again. Always stew. Mathias got a bowl and went back to looking for Gennadiya.
Human Male
Transmutation Mage
Glowing Silver Hand Veins
“The archer is the true weapon; the bow is just a long piece of wood.”
~ Sebastien de Castell
The healer did remember that she asked Matthias to join her for dinner, and the honest truth was a bit surprised. Not that Gennadiya at alone or wasn’t social. More so since coming to Rharne, but she enjoyed social gathering, but it was usually more of sitting down with people who were already there at the same time. It had been a while since she asked someone to join her for a meal. Genna felt a bit sad about that last time, but it had worked out the way it had. She had finished cleaning up her area in the clinic so that everything would be where it needed to be for the night surgeons.
Genna did feel tired as she came to the lunch room, and glanced around the room for Matthias. She saw the young man getting into the line to get food. Her gaze seemed to sparkle a bit when she confirmed he was there, and based on his behavior was looking for someone. Genna expression slipped from her normally friendly gaze to a pleased one. Though in all honesty you would have to know her fairly well to notice the difference. She moved across the room to join the line for the food.
The line moved at a slowly efficient pace and Genna stood quietly in line her gaze on Matthias a few places in front of her. Once they had both retrieved their stew the young healer joined Matthias as they looked for a spot in the room. Genna wasn’t a fan of stew, but one didn’t work hours in a clinic without getting used to have the same food a lot. She briefly thought back to the children at the orphanage where they strove to keep a different meal each day. She missed them and wondered when she would get the next set of letters. Normally she would be there running that and the children’s clinic, but when the call had come out Genna was one of the more skilled doctors and a decent surgeon as well. So she had come. She looked at Matthias and felt that there were some pleasant reason for being here.
“I am glad to see you. Where shall we sit?” Genna asked look then she pointed to a half full table near one of the walls. A table alone just wasn’t happening in this room. Genna stood close by Matthias as they moved across the room soon arriving at the table identified. As they took their Genna’s eyes meet Matthias and she spoke up. “How was the forge?” The Lysorian woman only then realized that she didn’t seem so tired anymore.
Mathias Blackwood
Storm's Edge: It's Not A Date!
16 Cylus 720
It was almost comical how Mathias did not notice Gennadiya a few spots behind him in the line despite him so clearly looking around for her. He was too used to shooting at targets down a straight path. He was only looking forward. Had he seen her in line he would certainly have moved back in the line to wait with her. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was because he was racking his brain trying to figure out how he was going to talk about Hone if he came up, but he didn't see her behind him. Once he was out of the line, Mathias didn't move far. He kept prodding at his stew with the spoon he'd been given to see if anything moved. Nothing did. That was comforting. Gennadiya appearing behind him was even more comforting.
Well... no, actually it startled Mathias but he quickly composed himself. Immortals, I'm blind. She was behind me. Mathias lamented in his head while Gennadiya said she was glad to see him and asked where they should sit. Mathias looked around the room for an empty table but it clearly wasn't happening in this room. So he looked for a table that would force other people not to sit near them. A table where the seats around them would be dirty or wet or otherwise undesirable. Heck he even thought about maybe discretely using his magic to decay some seats. But then Gennadiya pointed out a half full table and Mathias nodded. "I'm glad I could make it. That table will work." And so they went to sit down. Gennadiya was quick with a question about the forge and Mathias was quick with an answer. "Educational. It's fun work- and I think it might help de-noodle me, but reshaping steel with my magic is a lot easier." Mathias paused and then realized what he'd said. "Vega calls me noodle because she thinks I need to get stronger. It's part of the reason I've been working in the forge and helping with repairs. How was... healing people?"
Human Male
Transmutation Mage
Glowing Silver Hand Veins
“The archer is the true weapon; the bow is just a long piece of wood.”
~ Sebastien de Castell
The chairs weren’t particular comfortable as they sat there. Genna noticed that fairly quickly after they had sat down. It was one of those chairs that didn’t seem exactly level, like one of the legs was at a wrong angle. The young woman then realized she was trying to look for something else to focus on besides the awkward feeling that was in the air between them. The young woman forced herself to focus and fight through the awkward air. They were just having food together and getting to know each. Yes they would be working together for the foreseeable future, but Genna felt that they were both adults and could go with this where ever it went.
Genna brought that train of thought to a crashing halt right there and then. Why was she being so weird about this whole thing? The Lysorian woman focused her gaze and as much of her thoughts as possible on Mathias and what he was saying. Genna cracked a humorous smile as he explained about Vega’s description of his arm strength. She shook her head in good humor at the woman Vega’s attitude. Genna wouldn’t ever forget her introduction to the wild woman. “I am sure she does. She doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind.” She looked over at him and said. “I don’t want to know what she thinks of my arm strength.” The young woman wasn’t a fighter, but was very active and so lacked a fighters body, but fit and curvy. “Thought maybe the next time I need to lift someone who fainted on the floor I will look for you.” She said with a smile at him. She didn’t mention that she could move the person but it wasn’t nearly as easy as for some of the male healers.
“Today was fairly standard in the clinic. Cuts and concussions.” Genna said taking a sip of her soup. It wasn’t bad, but bland, clearly no one bothered with spicing up the food, that or else the cook had an overabundance of taste buds and forced everyone else to suffer. The young healer continued to eat as this was what she had come to expect of food here at Storm’s Edge. “I am beginning to understand what one of the gold cloaks meant when they said you didn’t get a lot of diversity on the battle field injuries.” She said and then smiled. “You only get surprised by the many different locations they do get injured.” She paused and then continued to speak to avoid there being an awkward silence. “In Rharne proper I help at the Orders, family clinic and orphanage. You never knew what the children would have gotten into when they walked through the door.” Her smile was a bit sad, she did miss working with the children.
“So what did the blacksmith teach you today?” she said turning the conversation back to Mathias, “my father worked in jewelry and usually taught his new apprentice stuff like heat control and melting temperatures first. Was the blacksmith similar?” Genna asked her expression curious. She had no intention of becoming a blacksmith but like to learn.
Mathias Blackwood
Storm's Edge: It's Not A Date!
16 Cylus 720
This was nice. Oddly nice. It had been a long time since Mathias just talked to someone about things that didn't really matter. Most of the time he felt more like he was reporting and debriefing than talking. His smile felt more genuine while he was listening to Gennadiya's reply about Vega than it had felt in a long time. He gave her arms a quick look before looking back to her eyes while she spoke. She had nice eyes. Bright eyes. Beautiful eyes. Eyes he looked away from the moment the word beautiful crossed his mind. He instead looked at his bland soup with newfound fascination. Was that a carrot in his soup? If not, he didn't want to know what it was. Mathias was just about half way through a sip of his soup when Gennadiya said the next time she needed to move someone she'd look for him. He smiled but because he was sipping his soup he couldn't say anything before the topic turned towards her work. Fortunately the company was more than adequate to keep Mathias distracted from his bland soup. He was very glad none of his mutations had made him a picky eater.
A standard trial of cuts and concussions sounded a lot like a trial at the forge but then again, where did he think she was getting her patients? Gennadiya talked fast which did a lot to eliminate any awkward pauses but it also cut Mathias off when it seemed as if he was going to begin a thought once or twice. Mathias hid it well though, his mouth closing before any sound could escape on each occasion so he could continue listening. She worked with children at the orphanage? Had she told him that before? Mathias had mixed feelings about children. He thought they were great and deserved to be protected from dangerous people... like him. Gennadiya was quick to turn the conversation on him when she'd run out of things to say.
Mathias stumbled over his words as he tried to remember what he'd done at the forge. "No, not at all. He had me working with a hammer all trial." Mathias recalled "I stood at an anvil helping keep swords straight for breaks. Well I say swords but we were really working on one for most of the time. Turns out, it is not easy to shape metal with heat and a hammer. Much easier with magic." Mathias took another sip of the bland soup because he knew he had to finish it sooner or later and was trying to use the time to think of something to say next. Then he had it figured out. "Your father's method sounds a lot more productive. I'm not sure I actually learned anything today. Maybe that's a bad attitude but after two breaks hammering gets... repetitive. Did your father ever teach you how to make jewelry?" Mathias could imagine Gennadiya crafting little gifts for the children at the orphanage... though as he really thought about it he wasn't so sure. A medic and a jeweler? Who had the time? He was barely managing to be an archer and a mage.
Human Male
Transmutation Mage
Glowing Silver Hand Veins
“The archer is the true weapon; the bow is just a long piece of wood.”
~ Sebastien de Castell
The young woman could tell when others were nerves by the way they held their body language, or by the way they were talking especially if she knew them at all well. She was total oblivious to the fact that she was rushing as she spoke, a sure sign of how nervous she was. Physical she was in control, that was just the way she was, arcs of practice had helped, but she wasn’t aware of how her speaking patterns could give her away.
Mathias listened to what she had to say and Genna felt a bit embarrassed at how focused he was. Especially since she didn’t have much important or useful to say. Though it was nice to just talk with nothing except talking as the goal. She meet his eyes and enjoyed looking at them and watching his expression as they talked. His face was handsome, but there was a friendliness to it that was also reserved. His face was expressive but still held mystery.
Apparently his blacksmith master wasn’t very interested in teach just doing. Genna hadn’t been there so she withheld judgement as maybe there was a method to the guy’s madness. Teachers taught differently and while she preferred her father’s method it wasn’t as if she wasn’t biased. He asked her if she knew anything about Jewelry making. She gave a sad smile and raised her hand held two fingers about inch apart.
“A little.” She said. “Growing up I just didn’t actually care. I wasn’t going to be a jeweler so I didn’t learn anything, but when I got older I would help in the shop once and a while so can do some jewelry repair, maybe craft some wide links for a necklace, but not much beyond that.” She shook her head. “I was a very opinionated child and I imagine a difficult one. I tended to not listen to the wisdom of others and blundered my way through a number of problems that could have been avoided.” She looked at Mathias her eyes curious. “I have been talk to much, I apologies. I would be curious to learn more about you. Where did you learn your magic?” Genna found that she really did want to learn more about this young man. She honestly hadn't ever really been interested in magic, but it was important to Mathias, or so it would appear and so it was a good way to learn about him.
Mathias Blackwood
Storm's Edge: It's Not A Date!
16 Cylus 720
Mathias wasn't disappointed that Gennadiya didn't know much about making jewelry. He was instead amused by why she didn't know. She didn't care. He'd been like that when he was younger too. He didn't care why things happened, he just did them. Life had always been easier when he didn't wonder why things were happening to him the way that they were... though at Storm's Edge things hadn't been so bad.
Well that was not a question Mathias had been prepared to answer. He never knew how to explain the origins of his magic to people who asked and often considered spinning a false story instead... but he found that he didn't want to lie to Gennadiya about anything he didn't have to lie to her about. How did one politely say "My father, who used me as a prize fighter in my childhood, strapped me to my bed while I was sleeping and carved the runes into my body" to someone like Gennadiya? Or how would he say "I conspired with a woman I was in love with behind the back of her master in order to get this second magic you've seen me proudly using" to her? Well the answer is simple, Mathias decided after a trill, just don't say so many words.
"Well I was initiated into Transmutation by a friend." Mathias said, thinking for just beat about what he could add before deciding on, "She wanted someone to practice her magic with while our mentor was off trying to win favors in the traveling city." But he did not have just one spark. "As for Hone... well... that was something my father insisted I learn. Unfortunately I'm stubborn too so I don't know much. Just two core runes." He then realized she might not even know what that meant and part of him realized an opportunity to steer things away from his father so he continued quickly "Hone is a magic that uses ether and runes for various things. I know a rune to increase strength and a rune to increase someone's sense of touch but I haven't really learned any others. It takes a lot more focus than I'm willing to give while I can just use Transmutation for my more basic needs." Mathias shrugged at the end. He had to admit that if he were a little more dedicated he might be able to do some useful things around Storm's Edge with some runes... especially if he took after his father... but there would be a cost to that power as well.
Human Male
Transmutation Mage
Glowing Silver Hand Veins
“The archer is the true weapon; the bow is just a long piece of wood.”
~ Sebastien de Castell
The young healer listened as Mathias explained brief how he had come into his magic. Genna found his statements both vague and very telling. There was a story behind each of those events, but one he didn’t feel up telling. Blue eyes still showing curiosity Genna just smiled and didn’t push any farther about the full stories. The Lysorian woman could very well respect that people had history and it wasn’t something they always wanted to share. Though the bits and hints of who Mathias was under who he presented where very curious. “It sounds like you’re a good friend, to learn magic just to help a friend practice.” Genna smiled and winked at him. She nodded when he said that his father made him. She actually had no understanding of that. Her father had rules and there were things she had had to do, but something as drastic as magic wasn’t it.
She titled her head and asked. “Can you use either on others as well as yourself or just yourself?” she asked curious. “If the person is willing it then you could say use it to aid others.” Genna could see how an increased sense of touch could help in her job as a healer as sometimes you just had to feel around with your hands to find answers.
Genna briefly looked down at the food she was eating and the looked up and said. “Okay, I am up for trying something new this evening. Do you want to join me? Nothing serious but we are here in this Fortress both of having new experience lets try one together. While I have ridden horses, I haven’t ever been taught how to really master horse riding.” She paused then. “There are a lot of things I haven’t tried either. Maybe exploring a bit around the fortress seeing new plants and other such. Maybe learn some engineering.” Her blue eyes were dancing and she looked at the handsome young man.
“What is something new you would like to try or learn?”
Mathias Blackwood
Storm's Edge: It's Not A Date!
16 Cylus 720
Mathias was grateful that Gennadiya didn't push on the topic of how he'd gained his magic. He felt strange enough for avoiding the truth as much as he had but he still thought he'd told her a fair amount. When she said he must have been a good friend, Mathias's heart ached just a little. He had been an excellent friend. Had been. He hadn't talked to Sylvia in a long time despite promises to the contrary and now, when he probably should have been looking for a way to contact her, he was distracting himself at Storm's Edge with a healer he couldn't quite stop thinking about. At times Mathias remembered the world beyond the walls of the fortress and he lamented that he had to return to it. He could not remain in Rharne forever, fighting their monsters for nothing but great company and training. He wanted to... but he wasn't sure he could. Sooner or later the Flameborn would overwhelm them or they'd overwhelm the Flameborn and this war would end. Mathias just wanted to enjoy the time he had with these people before that. So a good friend, yes... but only when he was focused on it. Transmutation had been a power he found fascinating before Sylvia asked him to help her.
"Well in all honesty I'm not sure." Mathias said when Gennadiya asked if he could use his magic on other people. He'd heard of Hone mages writing runes across others but he'd never been able to do it so he thought those stories were lies. He knew first hand that transmutation would have little affect on a person so he disregarded it but Hone was a more complicated case. He figured it would be best just to explain that to Gennadiya. "I have never been able to put runes on another person but my mentor once insisted it was possible. Maybe with more practice I'd be able to but at the moment, no. I can't. Transmutation is more complicated but you really don't want me transmuting anything you have unless you want to keep me around all the time to stop it from decaying." He had learned the hard way that a bolstered shirt would eventually fall apart like everything else.
When Gennadiya expressed interest in trying something new, Mathias arched an eyebrow and sat up a little straighter. Something new? At Storm's Edge? He was interested to say the least. She gave a lot of intriguing options and Mathias couldn't even pretend he wasn't interested. He knew how to ride a horse as well but he, like her, was no master of it. But did he want to ride a horse around Storm's Edge? Not quite. Would he ride a horse around Storm's Edge to spend more time with Gennadiya? Absolutely. Yet she proposed other options like learning some engineering. Engineering had always interested Mathias because of the potential that had been described to him. He had a lot of ideas but no practical knowledge of how to build them and engineering was what he believed would help bridge the gap between idea and creation... but it also could have ended up being a horribly bland lesson. He wanted to show off a little... "Have you ever practiced with a bow before?" Mathias asked a few trills after Genna's question. "It's not new to me but maybe I could teach you a little? Then you could teach me something? Or we could go find some horses, riding is a useful skill to work on." Or he could show her his blanket that turned him into a pig! But maybe she wasn't ready for that.
Human Male
Transmutation Mage
Glowing Silver Hand Veins
“The archer is the true weapon; the bow is just a long piece of wood.”
~ Sebastien de Castell
