Balthazar walked along the portion of the beach where Elisabeth told him she'd discovered the first of Haven's ingis clams, looking down at the sand with narrow eyes. He was waiting for any settlers skilled in fishing to arrive and discretely hoped that Elisabeth would find him. Wearing his ring, he had a feeling she would know that he wanted her help. Trooper Preston, who had been with Balthazar most of the morning, walked along the beach a little bit behind Balthazar. She'd never been one for conversations and for that reason alone she was the one he spoke to most often. Perhaps it was Elisabeth rubbing off on him- giving him a desire to make the quiet a little more social.
Ronan arrived with a group of three other settlers behind him and Balthazar gave his guard a strange look. "Has something happened?" Balthazar asked, his eyes shifting back towards the buildings in search of smoke from another fire. Nothing. He looked at Ronan who seemed confused in return.
"You wanted fishermen, I fish, they fish. What did you want?" Ronan replied as if Balthazar should have been familiar with all of his hobbies.
"You fish?" Balthazar asked with more than a little surprise in his voice.
"Pick up your jaw, we all have hobbies." Balthazar smiled and nodded. It worked of quite well that Ronan knew how to fish. It made him a suited guard for the clam farm. However before he could say anything else, the familiar scent of lavender reached his nose and Balthazar turned to find the best sight on the island.
"Elisabeth! How have you been?"
word count: 278
Visible Mutations/ Marks
Mutations
Defiance: Skin always glows faintly and he is warm to the touch. His is also the center of a field of static electricity so people get shocked touching him on occasion. Rupturing: Orange etheric cracks spider-web up his arms to his elbows. His eyes and the glowing cracks going down his cheeks glow dark blue. Transmutation: He has a series of emerald, glowing cracks on his right pectoral.
Marks
Bellinos: His fingernails are always black. The color fades into his fingers. Celarion: A dim glowing ring surrounds his left forearm. Palenon: A silver lightning shaped mark about the size of a hand stretching up towards his torso.
Scars
Oops, Oops, Ouch: Balthazar Black has twenty scars across his back from a lashing as well as scars on his hands and arms from jagged rocks on Faldrass. There are two scars on the sides of his abdomen from being stabbed and a slash across his back which blends in with the whip scars.
Elisabeth, just finishing a meditation session up in Serenity Garden, felt her ring. Eyes closed, she was just beginning to come back when the familiar sensation indicated that Balthazar needed her help with something, causing her to smile. Of course, the trial might come where the ring told her of things far worse than simply needing her with him…but that had not come to pass yet. For now, she was on his mind and the ring told her that her presence was required for something.
Rising, she slowly made her way out of the Garden, thanking it for sheltering her during her meditations. It was always nice to do that, Elisabeth felt. The serene place was perfect for such training and simply being. It was a place worth protecting and cherishing. Haven and even the larger area of Faldrass included. Her home.
The ring indicated which direction to find the Yari she loved, so the young mage simply followed it to the beach. Curiously tilting her head, she smiled as she spotted him with a small group of settlers. His back was to her…but he always knew when she was approaching, even without magic. Even being as quiet as she could.
Smiling, she walked up to the group, replying to his question as he turned. “Hello to you too. I’m well. I was just finishing my meditation when a silver bird whispered in my ear that you might need me to join you. How can I help?” The wind of the beach whipped her long dark curls around a bit, causing the young mage to gently listen for a moment, wondering if there was something approaching. Nothing. False alarm. Just a windy trial in Haven.
They were standing on the spot where she had found the clams so the young woman had a sneaking suspicion that it might have something to do with that, but she waited for Balthazar to enlighten her.
Last edited by Elisabeth Black on Sat Apr 17, 2021 1:34 pm, edited 3 times in total. word count: 329
"Your discovery drew attention, I'm trying to manage it all." Balthazar explained in a quiet voice to Elisabeth while the gathered workers looked around, waiting for an explanation. "I need you to walk this group through how you found the first ingis clam and help us set up a farm for them" Balthazar said the second line louder so that his waiting farmers would hear and get some sense of what he was looking for from them. Ronan seemed confused as to why they needed Elisabeth there for that.
"I think we can look around and find some clams on our own." Ronan pointed out.
"Probably but I don't just want you to find them, we are going to farm them." Balthazar specified, vaguely. The problem was that he did not really know how to clam farm. If it was anything like normal farming he assumed that they'd need to find a bunch of small clams and put them somewhere till they grew into larger clams but it couldn't be that simple and if it was, what exactly was a clam seed? He would need to either consult a book or an expert for more information. "Collect and grow them if possible. So listen to Elisabeth, do what she says, and we will collect whatever clams we can find here now. It's a rough operation but it is a start, Ronan. Once we have some more materials I'll have the builders make a room to store and clean them while we figure out how to reliably farm them." Ronan nodded and looked to Elisabeth for further instructions.
word count: 276
Visible Mutations/ Marks
Mutations
Defiance: Skin always glows faintly and he is warm to the touch. His is also the center of a field of static electricity so people get shocked touching him on occasion. Rupturing: Orange etheric cracks spider-web up his arms to his elbows. His eyes and the glowing cracks going down his cheeks glow dark blue. Transmutation: He has a series of emerald, glowing cracks on his right pectoral.
Marks
Bellinos: His fingernails are always black. The color fades into his fingers. Celarion: A dim glowing ring surrounds his left forearm. Palenon: A silver lightning shaped mark about the size of a hand stretching up towards his torso.
Scars
Oops, Oops, Ouch: Balthazar Black has twenty scars across his back from a lashing as well as scars on his hands and arms from jagged rocks on Faldrass. There are two scars on the sides of his abdomen from being stabbed and a slash across his back which blends in with the whip scars.
Stepping closer to Balthazar, she listened as he spoke the first sentence. Oops. Elisabeth wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing that the curious clams she found had drawn attention to their settlement. Some trials, it felt like Balthazar was happily managing what they had and no more. Some trials, expansion was the plan. She hadn’t wanted to cause issues.
As he spoke the next sentence, what ‘help’ he needed became clear. Briefly touching his arm, the young woman smiled, replying softly. “Of course, I will…”
Before she could, however, Ronan spoke up. As one of the settlement’s guards, he was relatively close with Balthazar. By extension, he was usually somewhere in Elisabeth’s orbit. Balder she got along with relatively well. Ronan and Silk, well, there were issues. One such issue arose when he spoke up about their lack of need for Elisabeth to be involved in the process. Balthazar took care of it, as he always did, but Elisabeth knew that sooner or later, she would need to find her own way with the guards, so he didn’t always have to be in the middle.
Smiling at him again, she turned her attention to Ronan and the others. “I found the Ignis clam in the very early morning, right after high tide when the water began receding back into the ocean. What I noticed most was the mounds in the sand with depressions in the middle. It’s a tell-tale sign of a clam. They seem to dig very fast though, so you have to be quick. They are going to be several inches down into the sand usually. That’s really all there was to it – a bit of luck and a pair of really good eyes in the dark.”
She knew it wasn’t a lot of information but really, there hadn’t been much to it. Elisabeth didn’t even know if it was any different finding regular clams compared to Ignis clams – she was new to fishing and seafood collection – but whatever information she had, she freely would offer to them.
After Elisabeth explained how she'd found the clams Ronan gave Balthazar a look that very much said 'I could have done that on my own' and Balthazar returned a look that in essence said 'Shut up and farm clams.' Ronan took a deep breath and looked from Balthazar to Elisabeth, and then to the settlers that had come with him. This wasn't the sort of fishing they normally did but they could figure it out based on what Elisabeth had told them- at least Ronan could. "Alright... well then we'll need to get some shovels, buckets, anything to dig with and wait till low tide. We aren't in the dark now so we should have better luck." Ronan decided, "We can look for the mounds she was talkin' about and dig them up then go through the dirt we upturn to look for them. Put whatever we find in the buckets?" The other settlers seemed to grumble in agreement and Balthazar nodded.
"I think that would work?" He looked towards Elisabeth and the back at Ronan, "I'll see what I can do about getting a building set up to clean and store them until we figure out how to set up the farm." It seemed reasonable but he was a little out of his depth and more or less willing to go with whatever Ronan thought would work. If it didn't produce results, he would try something else. He was certain that defiance could be used to pull the clams from the ground they were in but he was not sure if Elisabeth had the ability to do so yet. "Ronan, go with the settlers to get the tools you need and then come back here and see if you can find anything when the tide rolls out." Ronan gave a small nod and turned to leave. Ronan was off to get the supplies and Balthazar turned to Elisabeth.
"Always more to do." Balthazar mused before looking out at the water. "How are you totrial?"
word count: 344
Visible Mutations/ Marks
Mutations
Defiance: Skin always glows faintly and he is warm to the touch. His is also the center of a field of static electricity so people get shocked touching him on occasion. Rupturing: Orange etheric cracks spider-web up his arms to his elbows. His eyes and the glowing cracks going down his cheeks glow dark blue. Transmutation: He has a series of emerald, glowing cracks on his right pectoral.
Marks
Bellinos: His fingernails are always black. The color fades into his fingers. Celarion: A dim glowing ring surrounds his left forearm. Palenon: A silver lightning shaped mark about the size of a hand stretching up towards his torso.
Scars
Oops, Oops, Ouch: Balthazar Black has twenty scars across his back from a lashing as well as scars on his hands and arms from jagged rocks on Faldrass. There are two scars on the sides of his abdomen from being stabbed and a slash across his back which blends in with the whip scars.
Elisabeth caught the look Ronan gave Balthazar but thought little more of it. He had asked something of her, and she was providing it. As the exchange went on, she glanced from one man to the other, curious about their plans. The young woman herself knew nothing about clam farming and the like so it seemed they were all in new territory.
As Ronan and the others moved off, Balthazar asked her how she was…again. Smiling softly, Elisabeth let her eyes drift out to the water as well. “You already asked me that, love. I’m well. And yes, always more to do, but sometimes it’s nice to stop and look around at what one has already accomplished too.” The man she loved had confessed several nights previous that he was worried that he didn’t know how to do what he had been asked to do in helping the settlement grow. The young mage, however, knew that he did. Perhaps differently than if he still had access to magic, but he was smart and was figuring it out along the way.
“And eventually, others will be able to do many of the things you are currently doing, as Haven grows. That will allow you to focus on other things, hopefully.” She wasn’t implying anything specifically but knew that it was always good for people to take a break from time to time, letting the weight on their shoulders go for a time and doing something else. Elisabeth wanted that for him.
“How are you doing? Your lists never seem to get shorter. Is there anything I can do to help?” Shifting her gaze to him, she smiled, walking in front of him, letting a hand find it’s way to his arm, softly caressing. Elisabeth knew it was a question she asked over and over, but it was the best gift she could give him – her time, presence and support. “I know, I know…I always ask that, but I’m always willing to do what needs to be done to help you and the settlers.”
There was a lot to do in the settlement and they were handling it, together.
"By the way, thank you for the poem...and memory. Both were appreciated - more than you know."
"Yes but there were more people around when I asked then." Balthazar pointed out, trying to salvage the fact that it had slipped his mind. He was spread more thin than he would admit and in his head so often now that he forgot he'd already done things despite the fact that if he thought back a few trills later, he would find both memories clear as trial. He shook his head slightly to move forward and Elisabeth, as always, seemed fine with doing so. She spoke quickly and said a lot but he always kept up. "I like to think that when I finally do stop, I'll turn and look out on a city so strong and thriving it could endure for seasons without me or the Elements or anyone to help them." Balthazar said with a small sigh as he looked back towards the buildings. They were far from that trial, but he would hold onto that vision. Elisabeth had asked him other questions and the crashing of the waves of the sound was not loud enough to drown them out- nor was the subtle sound of the shadow shifting their weight in the sand.
How was he? The list never got shorter? She was always willing to help? "I'm adjusting. Every solution we come up with seems to breed more problems but we're making progress. With Ronan supervising the clam gathering during his guard shifts and the research station going up, I think we're doing well. Magic would make it better but alas," Balthazar turned to look at his shadow, hoping to see irritation and finding none. Elisabeth thanked him for the poem and Balthazar's face seemed to shift a little red. Perhaps it was the time under the sun. He nodded to her. "And thank you for what you wrote." He said quietly, unwilling to say more and saved from the necessity by the return of Ronan and the fishing settlers with shovels and buckets. "Alright, start looking for mounds and dig them up." Balthazar instructed to the men and two women, gesturing towards the beach beside them before turning back to Elisabeth. "I have a handle on the list. I'm working on clean water, the farms, and keeping the population in order but anything helps. Materials, unique foods and animals, whatever you can find around the safe areas to explore. Otherwise, keep working on your magic."
word count: 411
Visible Mutations/ Marks
Mutations
Defiance: Skin always glows faintly and he is warm to the touch. His is also the center of a field of static electricity so people get shocked touching him on occasion. Rupturing: Orange etheric cracks spider-web up his arms to his elbows. His eyes and the glowing cracks going down his cheeks glow dark blue. Transmutation: He has a series of emerald, glowing cracks on his right pectoral.
Marks
Bellinos: His fingernails are always black. The color fades into his fingers. Celarion: A dim glowing ring surrounds his left forearm. Palenon: A silver lightning shaped mark about the size of a hand stretching up towards his torso.
Scars
Oops, Oops, Ouch: Balthazar Black has twenty scars across his back from a lashing as well as scars on his hands and arms from jagged rocks on Faldrass. There are two scars on the sides of his abdomen from being stabbed and a slash across his back which blends in with the whip scars.
Smiling at him, she arched her eyebrow and pressed the issue no further. Nice try, Clever Boy. You don’t fool me…
Lots of things tended to slip Balthazar’s mind, which was so very odd since he had such an amazing memory recall ability. The problem was, he needed to be reminded to remember sometimes. It was a bit of a never-ending loop but she didn’t much care. She loved him for him - jumbled memory and all. It was even somewhat adorable when he tried to hide it from her.
He spoke of his vision and she shared in it. “It will happen, Balthazar. Although I hope before that, we get a few trials away. As much as I love it here, it would eventually be nice to have a little time alone with you.” There was no sadness or anger in her voice. Elisabeth accepted things as they were, even though she thought the measures taken were excessive. The young mage resented Balthazar being so closely monitored that he felt the need to check his words to her before they were spoken. Or that he felt uncomfortable showing affection. It was difficult for her, but she wasn’t angry at him. Far from it.
Balthazar talked of progress, and in truth, there had been a lot of it. Nodding her head, she shifted her gaze back around to the settlement. Everywhere one looked, there was progress. The problem was Balthazar always wanted more. He was driven in almost all aspects of his life. It was one of the things she loved most about him. He was trying to make up for the lost time they had spent detained by working harder and harder. Rising first, going to bed last. Being a light sleeper, she was aware of his habits and often thought to say something…but no. There was a need inside of him and she wouldn’t question it.
Elisabeth knew had the shadow not been there, he would have said more to her regarding the poem…but she didn’t need words from him. Not anymore.
Seeing the settlers returning with tools, in the distance, she took that moment to do something she had been wanting to do for a few trials. Taking his hand, she gave him a smile and placed something small within his grasp. When he looked, he would see the fire pearl Elisabeth had liberated from one of the first clams she found. It was a bit misshapen and wasn’t jewelry-quality, but it was still breathtakingly beautiful with its deep orange swirls of color. Speaking softly to him, she stepped closer. “It might not be perfect, but it’s still precious to me… and now it’s yours. It's not a weapon - forgive me.”
Laughing softly, she closed his hand around the pearl gently, letting her eyes linger against his for a moment longer before returning them to the sea. “Materials, foods, animals, and magic. I can do that. Oh…I almost forgot to tell you. Please bring the guards past the tent for dinner tonight. I have a surprise for all of you. Well, at least I hope it’s a surprise. A good one at any rate. One can only hope I suppose...“
Tossing a soft grin in his direction, she watched Ronan and the settlers on the beach, chasing her elusive clams, happy that it wasn’t her doing so this time.
"Ask the Albarech when she comes," Balthazar said with a small laugh. It wasn't a particularly amused laugh but it met all the other qualifications. "You can add it to the other hundred things you want to know about. Therapy hasn't gone well so I don't imagine we'll get alone time in this world without Kura giving it to you as a personal favor." He mused before she took his hand and slipped something into it. His fingers closed around a small misshapen orb and his thumb scratched at it, finding it a little coarse like sand but when his eyes drifted downward and he saw what she'd given him, he thought he was mistaken. She apologized that it wasn't a weapon and Balthazar grinned, "I have a bag full of weapons, I don't need any more. Thank you for this." He held up the fire pearl and examined it a little more.
There was a small pang of sadness somewhere in his heart as he wanted to reach out to the pearl with his sparks and found himself unable to. He didn't let it show, instead displaying his fascination with the orange swirls in the malformed fire pearl. He closed his hand around it and thought about what he would do with it. In truth, he'd probably slip a memory into it and give it back but not totrial. When he had a memory he knew she would really enjoy. For now he would protect the little pearl, maybe let Fuego enjoy it a bit, and think about what to do. Elisabeth asked Balthazar to bring the guards by for dinner and Balthazar raised a curious brow. "Silk, Balder, Ronan, Miranda, Trean, and Tib'ron? Or just Silk, Balder, Ronan, and whichever trooper is on duty?" Balthazar looked over towards Trooper Preston, "Are you having dinner with us tonight or is your shift done by then?"
Miranda thought for a trill or so and then looked towards Elisabeth, because ultimately her answer depended on if Elisabeth wanted them all there or not.
word count: 355
Visible Mutations/ Marks
Mutations
Defiance: Skin always glows faintly and he is warm to the touch. His is also the center of a field of static electricity so people get shocked touching him on occasion. Rupturing: Orange etheric cracks spider-web up his arms to his elbows. His eyes and the glowing cracks going down his cheeks glow dark blue. Transmutation: He has a series of emerald, glowing cracks on his right pectoral.
Marks
Bellinos: His fingernails are always black. The color fades into his fingers. Celarion: A dim glowing ring surrounds his left forearm. Palenon: A silver lightning shaped mark about the size of a hand stretching up towards his torso.
Scars
Oops, Oops, Ouch: Balthazar Black has twenty scars across his back from a lashing as well as scars on his hands and arms from jagged rocks on Faldrass. There are two scars on the sides of his abdomen from being stabbed and a slash across his back which blends in with the whip scars.
Elisabeth smiled as she watched him gaze at the pearl. It was a beautiful little thing, having surprised her when she popped open a clam. One of the settlers had told her that could happen, but pearls were pretty rare so not to expect them in every clam, which was fine with her. That was part of the reason she wanted him to have it. For her, rare things were just that – rare. She didn’t covet possession like some others, but there were things that were special to her. In fact, her most prized possessions were the silver ring she wore, the poem he had written her, and the small scrap of paper that had contained a memory. They were precious simply because they had been gifts from Balthazar.
His question regarding dinner caught her off-guard. The shadows, she didn’t consider them ‘guards’ but now that the question was out in the open and people were looking at her for the answer, she had to scramble a bit. “The Elements are welcome, of course.” Truthfully, she wasn’t sure if they were allowed to join them, considering they were technically there to guard Balthazar, and eating food they hadn’t prepared themselves was risky. At least, that’s how she thought, tossing a look at Trooper Preston and then to Balthazar. “I think it depends more on if they are allowed to join us…”
Gazing out at the beach, she watched Ronan and the others digging up clams. It seemed that they were having much more success than she had, which was good for the settlement. If she understood the theory behind a clam farm, they would need healthy specimens to produce the ‘seed clams’ but it sounded like they had it under control. An idea was in place and she was excited to see what results would be produced.
