Once an isolated and dying township, an influx of academics, adventurers and thrill seekers have made Scalvoris Town their home. From scholars' tea shops to a new satellite campus for Viden Academy, this is an exciting place to visit or make your home!
It was a chilly afternoon but Eternity was sweating in her home with all her clothes laid out on her bed. She was going to be singing for free since it was her first time and she didn’t consider herself that good. In hindsight she’d probably sold herself a little short because the bar catered to dirt poor patrons but that was part of her plan. She didn’t want to perform anywhere where someone she knew might see her. She was fine with embarrassing herself in front of strangers but she certainly did not need to see people snickering when she walked down the street.
Eternity was sweating because she was nervous. In addition to picking a crappy bar she also intended to go in disguise. She stood awkwardly in front of her mirror comparing accessories to one another. She put on some earrings that she never wore, a necklace, and toyed with the idea of wearing some glasses. She didn’t need glasses but she had bought some just for the occasion. They were for fashion only and weren’t meant for correcting vision. She put them on and was not impressed with how she looked but she did think they made her look a little smarter. She combed her hair and tied it in a tight bun and then observed the result. “Not too bad,” she said as she removed her necklace since it seemed like a little overkill. She threw on some leggings, a skirt, and a long sleeve shirt. On top of it all she threw on her coat. Now she was ready to go.
When Eternity got to the bar, she noticed that it wasn’t that full; it was only at a quarter of its capacity. She nodded to the bartender who nodded back to her then pointed over to where she ought to stand and sing. She walked over nervously while noting just how poor the patrons of the bar looked. It seemed like most of them had holes in their clothes which begged the question: why were they spending their money on ale?
When Eternity stood where she was supposed to she looked around one last time then closed her eyes and started singing. It was a slow song about flowers blooming and dying. There was nothing special about it, she’d actually picked it because it only used a handful of notes that were easy to her.
“Louder!” some called out and that made Eternity miss a beat and she lost her place in her song. She furrowed her brow and started over, this time making sure to put a little more oomph in her voice. She could already tell that this was going to be a long night.
[Template credit to Pyrre]
Last edited by Eternity on Sun Mar 19, 2023 7:09 pm, edited 2 times in total. word count: 468
The stench of dirt cheap alcohol and broke bastards permeated the air and annoyed the hell out of Xavier who sat alone at a table in the corner of the bar. He hated interacting with others. Especially the poor. That conflicted with his need to stress eat while he worked. Several plates of food were scattered around the table along with several plates that had already been finished. The tables near him were also empty. He’d paid the people sitting there a laughable pittance to bugger off.
Xavier was someone who valued books and knowledge. Beer, singing, dancing, none of it appealed to him very much. He enjoyed how quiet it had been before some broad ruined it with her singing. He glowered at her from his seat. He didn’t care how good she did or did not sound. He had picked this place because it did not have any music now he regretted his choice.
“Shut up!”
He got strange looks from people but that was normal. He ignored them and held up his hands in front of him. He was not here to be serenaded. Not here to be looked at. He was here to work.
His hands formed into fists and glowed faintly. He channeled his upset emotions into pure willpower. His hands glowed brighter. A sweat formed. A nervous sweat much like the singing broad.
The hands glowed for a brief moment then they stopped without warning.
Now it was time to write his first draft of notes.
The more energy put into the technique, the brighter it gets. I have yet to find any use for this particular technique. It produces light at the expense of energy. It is like fire burning wood.
-torch
-warning
-possibility of throwing orbs
-possibility to channel orbs into beam of energy
Eternity hadn't expected much from her first performance but she certainly hadn't expected to be heckled. She had barely gotten through one song before someone had most rudely told her to shut up. She glanced over and stopped singing altogether when she'd been interrupted. She saw that it was someone who was sitting all by themselves so her first thought was he was a loner with no friends who didn't deserve any attention... But he held her attention by showing her that his hands glowed. It took a moment for it to click that he must have some sort of magical power.
It was an odd feeling for her to have finally encountered a magician after all her searching and for him to turn out to be abrasive. There was little Eternity could do for the time being though as she had a performance to give. She moved onto her next song. The next song was similar to the last in that it was comprised of only a handful of notes but it was more upbeat. She sang even louder to spite Xavier and even started doing a little dance, though it left a lot to be desired because she had two left feet. She was very thankful for a pedestal that was nearby because she tripped over herself and used it to prevent a fall. She learned that she ought to look where she’s going if she was going to dance and sing at the same time.
After she had finished singing her song, Eternity stepped away to take a break. She grabbed some water then turned her attention back to the mysterious heckler. She had some questions she wanted to ask him. She walked towards him, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Do you mind if I ask you something?" she said, her voice soft yet stern. "What is your name and how did you get those glowing hands?" she asked, taking a seat a few feet away from him. She waited for him to answer, eager to learn more about his magical abilities.
He watched the singing broad come to bother him. He would have never told her to shut up if he knew this was going to happen. He sneered when he heard her questions. Was she so dumb she did not know what magic was? He decided to stay calm and not let her presence get to him. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on the task at hand. He had to find a way to answer her questions without encouraging her to stay.
"My name?" echoed the ever 'abrasive' man.
"My name is Xavier. Xavier Shien and these glowing orbs are made from magic. Transmutation magic to be specific. Years of study coupled with my natural genius had made me this strong."
An intense crease formed on his forehead and he held his hands up once more to show the glow. He wished he could explain the phenomena. He had put a lot of effort into that one so it had glowed much brighter but his frown showed what he thought about it. He slammed his fists onto the table expecting to break it.
When it did not break, he looked to the girl and scowled. He half expected her to laugh at him and that would have set him off. Non magicals rarely understood how difficult it was to be a magician. To them it may be just glowing hands but he knew there had to be more to it.
"Is that all? I have work to do."
He hoped that would be the end of it. He looked down from the beauty and went back to his notes.
Maximum glow leaves much to be desired.
Does not seem to have any offensive capability.
Should experiment with various materials to find some hidden power.
Eternity would not be so easily dissuaded. She had quite literally been searching for a mage for most of the season and now that one was finally in front of her she would be damned if he dismissed her. When he held up his glowing hands the second time it was significantly less impressive than the first time. They didn’t seem to do anything. If he wanted to intimidate her he was going to have to try harder than that. Eternity actually wished he would do something and show that he actually was a powerful magician that she ought to respect. So, she stuck around.
Eternity peered at the notes he was taking. She couldn’t make out everything from across the table and it did not help that everything was upside down to her but she managed to make out a few blurbs. It was clear that he was experimenting and recording his results, though that much could have likely been deduced without reading the notes.
“What else can you do, besides make your hands glow,” Eternity asked with a sly smirk, “and why are you so angry? You’re the one that chose to come here and start showing off. How about you calm down and we can have a nice civilized conversation? Who knows, maybe we could help each other. I have been in search of a magician for quite some time now and you look like you’re in desperate need of a friend."
Eternity narrowed her eyes gently and gave him a subtly seductive look to hopefully make him a little more interested in her. If he’d look at her she’d try locking eyes with him and try conveying her desire nonverbally. If all went well she’d hold the look for a handful of trills then look away.
She’d taken long enough of a break and it was time to go sing another few songs. She really ought not to be taking breaks at all but she wasn’t there to entertain, she was primarily there to get some practice in front of an audience. She’d sing a few more songs then walk back over to Xavier who would hopefully be a little more willing to chat amiably.
Xavier was none too happy that this broad wouldn't take a hint. He fell for her silver tongue and calmed himself a little but did not know what to make of the look she gave him. Was she trying to tease him? Get in his pants? The thought lingered in his mind even when he turned back to his notes.
The glow may attract women. I know it sounds crazy, but it has seemed to produce this effect.
He tried for the third and final time for the day to make his hands glow. The crease formed on his forehead again when he concentrated. The glow was weaker than before but he was still able to put his glowing hands on a piece of paper and touch his own forearm for a few short seconds.
Xavier sighed so deeply he thought he might sink into the floor.
Glow does not damage skin or paper.
Cannot think of any possible use unless it is to be used in conjunction with the unforseen.
Possible the only use is to act as a light source.
Concievable that large enough ether usage will make extremely bright light.
May be able to take someone by surprise, maybe even blind.
He had a few more thoughts to jot down but the broad was back again.
"What did you want again? You said so much then left without letting me get a word in. Ah, you asked if I can do anything else. Nothing that would dazzle you, I’m sure. This is an intellectual magic, a dumb broad wouldn’t be able to understand.”
Xavier looked her in her eyes and thought to pull at her emotional strings but it was too much to manage when trying to hold a conversation.
“Actually, hold my hand and look into my eye. I may be able to impress you yet.”
If she did then Xavier would try to make her scared with his empathy spell. It would be the last spell that he would attempt because he knew not to use too many spells.
Eternity's voice was already feeling a little tired. The songs she'd chosen utilized a lot of sharp and flat notes that were a bit too hard for her to pull off confidently and she'd seen people visibly wince at a couple parts. She thought the problem was that she wasn't used to putting in so much effort into singing in a short period of time. Typically she would sing quietly to herself so stamina was hardly an issue. Singing as loud as she could was another beast entirely. So, she didn't think she'd be singing much more for the rest of the night. She had a newfound respect for musicians that managed to keep music going for hours.
Eternity was happy that Xavier was more willing to talk to her this time. He'd insulted her again but that was to be expected at this point. She supposed it was just part of his "charm" if one could call it that. She held his hand as requested and waited for him to cast a spell.
"Alright, let's see what you can do," she said with a pleased smile. She maintained her smile for a while but after some time she started to feel something strange inside her. She felt a certain dissatisfaction creeping up inside her. Her expression turned to one of mild disgust and then she pulled her hand away.
Just how much her mental state had been affected wasn't apparent until she broke her connection to the spell. The dissatisfaction faded away and she felt normal again rather quickly. "Was that really transmutation magic?" she asked warily. She heard rumors that there was a magic that could affect your emotions but that seemed so absurd she'd never really believed it to be possible.
Xavier broke into a laugh that was borderline evil.
“Wouldn’t you like to know? That was just a taste of what I will one day be capable of.”
He smirked. If that didn’t impress her then nothing he could do, would. He did not know why he wanted to impress her at all because all she did was consume his time and distract him. She had a way about her that was too likeable to ignore even for someone like himself.
He could not fathom what he might be able to do in the future else he would have bragged about it. He typically did not use that school of magic because it reminded him of the depression he got after initiation. The memory brought a somber demeanor about him. His mood was spoiled.
“I tire. I will leave soon.”
He remembered he had food left so he slopilly ate from one of his plates without offering any to the broad. He was too selfish for that no matter how much he now desired her to linger. He thought of something to say to keep her around.
“What do they call you, broad?”
He ate some more. He used his clean hand to gather his things into a pile.
“Is singing your profession? You don’t look like the singing type.”
He noticed her ‘smart’ look that she’d gone for. She seemed more of a desk worker type with those spectacles. He’d seen her almost fall earlier and that told him that she was new or plainly bad at her job.
Eternity surmised that Xavier was not a very powerful magician based on his displays and even his own admission. Still, she saw the value in having a magician as a friend. He could serve as a valuable source of information even if she didn’t find much use in his powers. The information a magician could give her was borderline priceless to her. On top of that, there was always the possibility that he might be able to help her with a theft someday.
“You’re full of mysteries, aren’t you,” Eternity said to his first comment and she nodded when he said he would leave. “Well, I won’t keep you if you must be going.” She expected him to get up but he didn’t seem set on leaving quite yet. He ate and asked her a few more questions.
“My name is Eternity. And no, I’m not a singer though I might like to be someday. This was my first performance, ever, believe it or not. I got my first heckler too, it’s been an interesting night to say the least.” She winked at him and smiled. She felt as if he were warming up to her at least a little bit. She was doing her best to like him despite the fact that he kept calling her broad and took every opportunity to be rude. Typically if she couldn’t win someone over with her looks she’d just move onto someone who fell for her charm. Making friends with someone who seemed to deliberately want to avoid friendship was hard work.
Eternity avoided directly answering the question about her profession and said, “if singing doesn’t work out I hope to be an ensorceller someday. I’m taking a course on Fractive Studies at the university. It’s actually fairly interesting. Maybe we can meet up there sometime. I’d love to pick your brain about magic and I can definitely make it worth your while.”
She would try to touch his hand and drag it ever so gently up his forearm as she said that last line. When she spoke the line she slowed down her words at the end in an attempt to tantalize him with the possibility of spending some time with her. She’d even leaned towards his ear and reduced the sound of her voice so it’d be almost a whisper towards the end. She hoped that he would take her seductive bait and choose to accept her invitation because this was truly the hardest she’d ever had to work to draw someone’s interest.
Eternity would stick around long enough to get his response then get ready to go home. She knew she ought to stay and sing some more to get more practice in but she could hardly think about singing when magic was on her mind.
When Xavier heard that the woman he was talking to was a student, he was surprised and impressed. He had assumed she was poor, like everyone else in this bar, but he could now see that she had ambition and drive. He suddenly found himself admiring her determination and resilience.
“So you’re not just some broad”
He was going to talk about himself but this girl had other plans. She touched him and came close. She whispered in his ear. He knew exactly what was going on because she was none too subtle about it. That did not mean he could resist. Her trap had been laid and he bit the bait. He wanted to see her again.
“Yes ma’am we can meet again.”
She had been right. He did need more friends. If he had to have one he couldn’t go wrong with a pretty one. He stumbled over his words because he did not want to blow his shot.
“But not at the school. We can meet somewhere else. Here for instance. Then maybe later, somewhere else. Tomorrow?”
He assumed she would come back tomorrow. If she didn’t that would be a betrayal of his trust and he would not be giving her a second chance. He felt like a slob with his hand covered in oil and chunks of food on his shirt. Embarrassment ensued.
Before leaving he wrote one final note. It was the most important note he would take that day.
