98 Ashan 717
Everything had changed this season. What she had once considered as set in stone had become as fluid as the waves on the shore. She thought she'd still be in Rynmere - and now she was in Viden. She thought she'd have reconnected with Narav again - instead, she was the one who had left. She thought that it would just be her and Aeodan, like always - and now Duncan was a part of her beloved family. But perhaps most importantly, she thought she would be unnoticed as always - and now Ralaith had seen fit to bless her with his marking of time.
That, more than anything, had galvanised Edalene into action. Her focus in Andaris had been on the history of the Seven Houses, and though there were texts on Rynmerian history here in Viden, what purpose did that serve her? She had been reluctant to come to Viden; it was a big change, from everything she had known to something strange and alien. By moving here, she had thought she was giving up everything. Instead, she had gained the world.
And with Ralaith's blessing, that ever-ticking clock on the back of her neck, her constant awareness of the hour and the time, she had been given a new purpose. Well, Ti'atha had helped. A whole field of history had opened itself up to her that she had never even considered. Something she considered too far off to even bother working with. She had previously considered Aeodan’s focus on the Joukardi to be esoteric (privately, of course – she would never distrust anything her brother did), but her new field of research would be even farther removed.
Pre-Shattering Idalos.
It was her reading that textbook with the Mortalborn that had ignited her new passion. Even now, as Edalene sat in the Caesious Wing in one of the staffrooms, she could feel Ti’atha’s presence, a warm boon in the back of her mind. Somewhere, wherever she was, the Mortalborn was joyful – it kept her warm in the cold Viden weather. Shaking her head of the distractions, Edalene turned herself back to the texts she was working with.
Spread out before her were several textbooks, messily scattered all over the desk. She had pieces of parchment around her, most with illegible scribblings, but she had one piece before her that focused exclusively on making neat and precise notes. One of the things she found she loved more about the Viden Academy is they gave her more freedom to work on her own interests, rather than on whatever was given her – hungry as they were for knowledge.
Everything had changed this season. What she had once considered as set in stone had become as fluid as the waves on the shore. She thought she'd still be in Rynmere - and now she was in Viden. She thought she'd have reconnected with Narav again - instead, she was the one who had left. She thought that it would just be her and Aeodan, like always - and now Duncan was a part of her beloved family. But perhaps most importantly, she thought she would be unnoticed as always - and now Ralaith had seen fit to bless her with his marking of time.
That, more than anything, had galvanised Edalene into action. Her focus in Andaris had been on the history of the Seven Houses, and though there were texts on Rynmerian history here in Viden, what purpose did that serve her? She had been reluctant to come to Viden; it was a big change, from everything she had known to something strange and alien. By moving here, she had thought she was giving up everything. Instead, she had gained the world.
And with Ralaith's blessing, that ever-ticking clock on the back of her neck, her constant awareness of the hour and the time, she had been given a new purpose. Well, Ti'atha had helped. A whole field of history had opened itself up to her that she had never even considered. Something she considered too far off to even bother working with. She had previously considered Aeodan’s focus on the Joukardi to be esoteric (privately, of course – she would never distrust anything her brother did), but her new field of research would be even farther removed.
Pre-Shattering Idalos.
It was her reading that textbook with the Mortalborn that had ignited her new passion. Even now, as Edalene sat in the Caesious Wing in one of the staffrooms, she could feel Ti’atha’s presence, a warm boon in the back of her mind. Somewhere, wherever she was, the Mortalborn was joyful – it kept her warm in the cold Viden weather. Shaking her head of the distractions, Edalene turned herself back to the texts she was working with.
Spread out before her were several textbooks, messily scattered all over the desk. She had pieces of parchment around her, most with illegible scribblings, but she had one piece before her that focused exclusively on making neat and precise notes. One of the things she found she loved more about the Viden Academy is they gave her more freedom to work on her own interests, rather than on whatever was given her – hungry as they were for knowledge.
Also, the line, "After all, to a Shirvain, what did the passage of time mean?" gave me goosebumps.