[Nexus] Delmah Phor

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

The still quite befuddled drow simply shakes his head and watches the drowess slip out of his office. He then looks down at young Yasril'cice. "So... daughter, ah... how old are you?" Sornnolu asks carefully. A simple question to start. More complicated queries could wait until later. There was time.

[Mr. Moon]

[Administrative Headquarters]

Little Lady Yasril'cice still hasn't lowered her hood, and she stands with her head lowered and her hands clasped together. Sornnolu can just make out the Xar'Cha blue skin tone between the gap in the overlap of her sleeve cuffs.

"I'm eight," she says. Looking up, two wide purple eyes peer up suspiciously at Sornnolu from beneath the shadow of her hood, framed by a shock of perfectly curled white hair.

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

Sornnolu smiles softly at her, a rare expression of genuine affection from a drow. The Mage's young life had been somewhat more loving than most of his kind, and it has apparently influenced how he treats children especially, it seems, his own.

"And a lovely eight year old you are. Please, have a seat whilst I read what the Matron has to say." He gestures to an empty chair in front of his desk, while he takes his own. "Do you require anything? Some sort of refreshment, perhaps? I could send for something." He offers as he break the seal on the letter and begins to read.

[Mr. Moon]

[Administrative Headquarters]

"Um. I am somewhat peckish. Something to eat would be lovely," says Yasril'cice as she climbs up onto the chair. Her legs don't quite reach the ground from it yet, so at first she tucks her feet behind one of the chair legs. But as she sits there, hands in her lap, quietly watching Sornnolu from under her hood, they slowly unhook and begin to quietly kick back and forth.

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

Sornnolu nods absently, his focus on the letter. He does, however, press a button on the underside of the desk. A panel in the wall clicks open and a silver tray floats out. Its edges were worked to resemble a field of mushrooms. The handles were a pair of sinuous dragons, hiding in the small underdark forest. Tiny rubies decorated their eyes. On it rode a pair of matching pitchers, a goblet, a large serving plate, and a smaller plate for personal use. The serving plate was filled with a large variety of small treats, some sweet, some savory, mostly underdark faire, but a few of the sweeter options contained surface ingredients, like fruit. The pitchers contained some sort of orangish juice, refreshing, slightly tart, but sweet, and a hot, dark liquid, some sort of tea.

The tray settles down at the center of the desk. "Please, help yourself." Should she take a plate, she will find that a duplicate has appeared on the tray in its place. The same will happen for the goblet. When food or drink is taken, the serving ware will remain full.

[Mr. Moon]

[Administrative Headquarters]

The fine worksmanship of the plates and tray is unfortunately lost on its young audience. Little Yasril'cice's eyes grow wide as the platter appears before her. Look at all those sweets! But her instinct to grab as many sweets she can and eat them at once is held in check (barely). She is a lady and so she must eat nicely. Yasril picks up one of the sweets and raises it - "Oh!" She picked up that sweet tart, but there's another on the platter right where she got it from. How odd! Her eyebrows knitting together in confusion, Yasril glances up at Sornnolu before taking a cautious nibble of her tart.

Hmm. Odd. It tasted solid, and extremely delicious at that. Yasril quickly devours the tart, washing it down with a swallow of the juice, and turns her attention on the second tart. And the third that replaces it. And the fourth. Pretty soon Yasril's eyes go wide as she realizes what's going on here. Infinite candy. This was the best thing ever.

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

Sornnolu carefully folded the letter and set it down, before serving himself a cup of tea from the platter. He takes a careful sip and smiles. It was made just to his tastes.

"It's an old spell my father taught me, which I reworked with some other enchantments." He explains. "It's wonderful for when I have unexpected guests who need serving, or if I simply do not want to bother ordering something from the kitchens. The food is quite real, and somewhat rejuvenating. Not nearly as potent as the original spell, but still, a nice pick-me-up." The mage did so enjoy explaining his enchanted items. He doesn't discourage Yasril'cice from eating as many sweets as she wanted to. If she earned herself a stomach ache, it would teach her a valuable lesson on the dangers of overindulgence.

The older drow selects a more savory treat from the tray and eats it in a few bites. "Please, make yourself comfortable. You needn't keep your hood up. While this isn't home, precisely, it is my office and you are welcome here."

[Mr. Moon]

[Administrative Headquarters]

"Oh! It's magic?" asks Yasril'cice, barely pausing in her eating long enough to swallow and speak with a clear mouth. She takes another bite of something that vaugly resembles a brownie, swallows, and lifts her hood to peer closer at the tray. It settles around her shoulders, revealing shoulder-length hair that must have been carefully curled some time before. Bronze hoops hang from her pointed little ears, bedecked with sapphires. "I've read about magic, but haven't actually seen any. Do you know magic, Mr. Sornnolu?" She peers up at him, most of her suspicion gone, as she nibbles on another pastry.

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

What a sheltered life she must have led. "I know it quite well." Sornnolu tells her. "I am our House's wizard, and a former Master of the Sorcere school. Arcane magic is what I do, aside from administrative things in running our outpost here." He waves a hand at a bit of paperwork neatly stacked on his desk. "Our family has a talent for Arcane magic, beyond the usual abilities open to those of our race and status. Your mother is a fine practitioner of the Art. Ah, that reminds me, you should call me 'father' from here on out. That is very important. We both know that is not the truth of the thing, but I shall act as much as a father to you as I can. It is imperative that no one knows your true parentage. As far as anyone shall know, I am your father. This is for your safety, do you understand?"

[Mr. Moon]

[Administrative Headquarters]

Yasril'cice's eyes widen as Sornnolu touches on his magical history. But as he segues into his new relationship to her, the tentative joy falls for her face and her gaze drops. "I know," she says, "Ms. Zynecyrl told me. Mother doesn't want me in the capital."

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

"I believe it is a wise course of action." Sornnolu agrees. "Menzoberranzan is a dangerous city. That is not to say you would not be safe within the walls of our family's compound, but the political environment would be difficult to navigate at your young age. Members of our household would seek to manipulate you, use you for their personal gain. By keeping you away from such a turbulent environment, you may grow as yourself without such influences, and soon will enter into them stronger and able to hold your own. Here in Delmah Phor, you will be more... insulated from the turmoil of our homeland. You will be trained, and I am sure you will flourish in this place."

[Mr. Moon]

Admin HQ

Yasril'cice blinks up at Sornnolu as he goes on. It wasn't that she couldn't understand such loquacious speech - she was, after all, Properly Educated. But that was an awful lot of it quite quickly, and the young heiress was having a bit of a hard time keeping up. After the administrator finishes speaking, Yasril still hasn't quite puzzled through it. The basics of it seemed to be that her mother was right, and boring politic stuff mostly. All stuff that wasn't magic. This conversation was getting dangerously derailed and it was up to Yasril to save it.
"Um. Yes. Lord Sornno, I mean, ah, Father, do you think I could learn magic like you?"

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

"Absolutely!" The Archmage assured her with a grin, the one that so much resembled his father's. "I cannot guarantee that you will hone your skills as finely as I have, but I am certain you have talent. With your parentage, I would say it is impossible for you not to. The Matron would be proud to learn that you have taken up the Arcane Arts. I will warn you, however," Sornnolu raised a finger. "It will not be easy. You will have to study and practice for long hours. You must teach yourself discipline and self control. But I will train you personally. You could not ask for a better teacher. Saver, perhaps, for the Matron herself."

[Mr. Moon]

Admin HQ

Her eyes lighting up, a grin stretches across Yarsil'cice's face. "Do you really think so?" she beams, leaning forward. The tray of sweets has long ago been forgotten. "I'll try really hard, I promise! Can we start now?" I mean, how hard can self-discipline be? Zynecyril was the most controlled, disciplined drow Yasril knew, and she made it look easy. Of course she was mean and scary, so Yasril would have to work on not being mean and scary. But how hard could that be?

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

"As you wish." Sornnolu bowed his head, conceding to the young girl's desires. "First we shall hone your innate abilities. You are a noble drow. Your very blood gives you command of magics beyond other races, and even the commoners of our own proud people. Come." Sornnolu stood, gathering up his staff and gesturing to the door. "Let us step into the Audience Chamber. It should be empty, and we will have much more room to work with. The ceilings are certainly higher." He adds cheerily.

[Mr. Moon]

Admin HQ

Barely stifling a whoop of joy, Yasril'cice hops down from the chair and bounds over to the door. She pauses there for a moment, waiting for Sornnolu to catch up, before a thought occurs to her. As Sorn collects his staff and makes his way to the door, she scurries back to her chair, picks up a plate of sweets and a glass of juice, and drops another sweet into her pocket for later eating. There. Much better. Thusly equipped, the drowling skips to catch up to her new adoptive father.
"What am I going to be learning, Lord Sor- Father?"

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

Sornnolu stood at the center of the darkened hall. Today, the chandeliers were unlit, and the faerie fire burned low, leaving the room in almost total darkness. Which was completely comfortable for any drow. He nods to her, acknowledging her effort to remain in character, so to speak.

"First we shall cover the most basic, and perhaps most useful of spells. Our innate ability to create light." At that word, without so much as a gesture or incantation a quartet of softly glowing blue orbs of light appeared above Sornnolu, slowly orbiting the pair a few feet above their heads. "It can be used to illuminate your work, when flame might be too dangerous, to signal others at a distance, to attract attention to a particular place. A more advanced technique even allows you to shape the light into the sillouette of a person. " The quartet of lights floated over beside Srnnolu and coalesced into a humanoid shape. The glowing blue figure bows to Yasril'cice and disappears, as easily is it was summoned.

"I will only ask you to summon a single light, today. Concentrate and imagine it. Hold the image of that orb of light in your mind, and then bring it into being. Will it to be so. You are drow. You are in command of yourself and your environment. Bring light to the darkness." At the archmage's words, the faintly glowing faerie fire was extingushed, leaving the pair standing in complete darkness.

[Mr. Moon]

Admin HQ

Yasril'cice nods as Sornnolu speaks, wide eyes watching his every motion with rapt attention. The plate she carried with her lays abandoned by the doorway, emptied by the time they arrived. (The one in her pocket was still there, though, and mostly forgotten about in the excitement.) An amazed, open-mouthed smile lights up her face as Sornnolu conjures the little man, and she can't help but wave to it when it bows to her.

Alright. Her turn now. Fortunately, Sornnolu's instructions are rather sobering and help Yasril to calm down enough to actually focus. The young drow takes a deep breath, closing her eyes despite the pitch blackness. Okay. Light. Light light light. Come ooon. Light. Yasril's face scrunches up into a frown, irritation mounting. Come on, this was so easy for Lord Sornnolu! She was imagining it and everything. The little blaze of blue light was flickering away in her mind's eye, but each time she cracked her actual eye open to check there was nothing but darkness.

"Grr. It's not working!"

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

"It's alright." Sornnolu tells her, his expression neutral. "Try adding a gesture. Point to where you want the light to appear. Feel it flowing from your thoughts, down your arm and into the air. Speak a word, a special word with meaning, if you like. I prefer using Draconic for my spells." The Archmage had an affinity for dragons. "Observe. Mitne." The drow points to a place above their heads, producing another orb of light, this one a soft silvery color, like moonlight.

[Mr. Moon]

Admin HQ

Yasril's frown deepens in the faerie fire light. She watches as Sornnolu demonstrates again with mounting irritation. This was so easy for him! And the only language she knew was Undercommon. Well, Zynecyril had tried to teach her Elvish, but that hadn't really stuck. She could count to about ten and that was abou-
Gah! Stop that! She was already getting distracted. This was just what Lord Sonnolu had been talking about. Focus, darn it!

Lifting her left hand, Yasril focuses on it. She imagines a star of light bursting from the tip of her finger, bright and dazzling. Pointing at the air above her, she thrusts her finger at it and lets out a cry of "Light."
Nothing.
She tries again. "Light!"
Still nothing.
"LIGHT!"
Darkness.

Argh! Okay, maybe she was going about this wrong. The light had to come from somewhere, didn't it? Yasril closes her eyes again, tries to breath deeply. Where was the light coming from? If it was her light, then maybe she could use a part of herself to make it? But what did she have? Breath, boogers (hehe, boogers), blood. Blood? That... could work. She clenches her fists, trying to dig her nails into her skin deep enough to break it. Ow, ow, ow, that really hurt. Yasril has to clench her teeth to keep from complaining. It feelt like an eternity before she finally felt a little bead of blood well up on her right palm.

Focusing on that, Yasril tries to imagine the bead of blood growing into a balloon sized orb of light. She focuses on the way that blood shines in the light, taking that and making it bigger. It starts as a glimmer, a faint sparkle of purple growing on the palm of her hand. Soon it is the size of a tangerine, then of a large apple as Yasril watches in amazement. The flickering orb of red light lifts a few inches off her palm, floating there and casting a weak light.
"Look!" she cries out, "Lord Sornnolu, look! I did it!"

[Jacklu]

Ball - Dias

Irzayle sees Aly slipping off and turns to the Matron.

Forgive me, Matron, but I see you are busy here and would be remiss if I did not slip away and let you continue in relative private. I thank you again for granting my request.

They slip back away from the Matron and angle towards Aly.

Please, allow me the honor of accompanying you out.

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

Sornnolu raised an eyebrow. "That is a... creative solution, daughter. However I think we will have to work on it, so you don't injure yourself every time you cast a spell. Were you to use magics as strong as I can, you would need far more than a drop of blood to power them." The mage frowns in concern. "I apologize. It has been quite some time since I have taught a student, and those had already received extensive training. Given some time, I will be able to formulate some basic instructions and exercises so you can strengthen your magical abilities. Besides you must be tired from your journey." He seems to insist upon the last bit. What other explanation could there be that she could not produce the most simple of incantations, an innate ability of her race? "Still, your dedication is commendable. But please remember to call me father."

[Mr. Moon]

Admin HQ

Yes. Those are all reasons why the daughter of the matron can't use natural magic. It's impossible that she might not be able to actually access her own magic without using blood as a conduit. Right? Right.

Yasril's proud beam of delight falls from her face like a bird shot in flight, and with it vanishes her little orb of light. Why wasn't he happy? She'd done what he asked - she worked hard! She was proud of herself! And he was talking about it like what she'd done was a bad thing. And that was taking all the good she was feeling and making it all gross and sticky. "Oh... I'm sorry Lor- Father. I'll try harder next time." She lowers her gaze.

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

Sornnolu knelt before Yasril'cice and produced a clean white handkerchief from a pocket in his robes, offering it to her with a smile. "You did well. You produced the spell and the light was bright and strong. I just don't want you to hurt yourself."

[Mr. Moon]

Admin HQ

"You... Do you really think so?" The light had looked feeble compared to Lord Sorn- her Father's. But it was her first, she supposed. Yasril'cice accepts the tissue, pressing it against her palm. The blood leaves a tiny pinprick of crimson on the corner, but it's already mostly dried up by now. All that's left are three deep crescent moon welts on her palm where she dug in her nails. "Can we try again?"

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

The older drow smiled, pleased with her perseverance. "As you wish." He stood and stepped back, giving her space to work in.

It was then that the double doors at the front of the hall opened a crack and a feminine form slipped through. "Sorn?" Her voice called as she shut the door behind her. "What are you doing in here? Why have you turned the lights out?" She cast the same spell they had been practicing, producing an orb of soft silvery light.

"Felyn'wae!" There was a bit of panic in Sornnolu's voice.

Felyn'wae walked closer, giving him an odd look. "And who is this?" She looked down at Yasril'cice

"She.. This is... My daughter."

The drowess frowned. "Don't lie to me, Sornnolu. Who are you, darling? Really? It's alright to say." She said to Yasril'cice, smiling sweetly.

[Mr. Moon]

Admin HQ

Panic flashes across Yasril's face, amethyst eyes widening, as the stranger enters the room. She wasn't used to strangers, Zynecyrl had kept them from her. Strangers were dangerous, she'd told the heiress. You cannot trust them. Instinctively she moves closer to Sornnolu, his handkerchief balled up in her hands. And, oh dear, the stranger was talking to her now. Um um um what was she supposed to say? Wait. Zynecyrl had gone over this with her. Yasril takes a deep breath. "Um," she says, "I'm Yasril'cice. Lord Sornnolu adopted me. I just arrived."

Which was technically true.

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

Sornnolu smiled proudly. It was a fine explanation, and she'd thought of it quickly too. Felyn'wae looked at him, and he nodded confirming Yasril'cice story.

"That was very generous of you. Who is she, though?" The drowess pressed. "A daughter of some lesser cousin or something?"

"Or something." Sornnolu agreed.

"Hmm... We'll have to discuss this later." Felyn'wae decided. "I presume she will be staying in the palace?"

"Actually, I was thinking she would stay with us...?" Sornnolu smiled hopefully in the face of the drowess' frown.

"You're too cute for your own good, Sornnolu Xar'Cha." Felyn'wae declared. Again she looked down at Yasril'cice. "What do you think of that? Do you think you can live under my roof? Under my rules?"

[Mr. Moon]

Admin HQ

"Um," Yasril says again, squishing Sornnolu's handkerchief alternately with both hands. Without realizing it or intending to, she finds herself moving even closer to Sornnolu until she is almost behind his legs. She peeks out from behind him, purple eyes wide and never on this strange woman for more than three seconds at a time. "I don't... know you."

[Artemis97]

[Administrative Headquarters]

Sornnolu reached down to put a hand on Yasril'cice's shoulder. Felyn'wae laughed at her response. "Now there's a good answer. You're a smart girl. You'll do well, I think, if you listen to Sorn and I."

"Felyn'wae is a dear friend of mine." the mage explained. "I trust her completely, and I would like that you might, in time, come to do the same. She will watch out for you as I will."

"Oh will I?" The drowess smirked. "Since it's you asking me, Sorn, of course I will. I am your 'dear friend', after all." She put an odd emphasis there, apparently offended. His shoulders sank, knowing he'd messed up. Felyn'wae turned a more genuine smile to the young drow. "You don't need to worry. I think I'm rather good with children. I have a son a bit older than you. You two should get along nicely."

"Thank you." Sornnolu said to her quietly. "I will make this up to you." He promised.

Felyn'wae stepped closer to him. "You'd better." She said taking him by the chin and planting a kiss on his lips. It was a quick gesture, however passionate. The next moment, she stood apart from him again, at a comfortable conversational distance. Sornnolu looked down, and tugged at the collar of his robes. Under the view of darkvision, his face flushed white with heat, but he was smiling.