[OPEN] You were my direction and my roots.

[faithlikeaseed]

WHO: (open) Myr and everyone; (closed) Myr, Vandelin, and Kit
WHAT: Some days in the life of a busy blind mage as he settles in.
WHEN: First part of August
WHERE: All around the Gallows.
NOTES: no one here but us elves

i.

Myrobalan had hardly put his request in to Casoferrazza before the harried seneschal had given him his approval and chased him off again. The man's haste to get the mage out of his hair had been a little alarming, but Myr isn't about to question what small blessings the Maker dealt out to him.

He places the first of his glyphs on the door to his double room and builds outward, weaving a network of sound and magic he can follow like a spider does the strands of its web. One glyph by every room he needs to know, a matching pair at the end of every major hallway. They're only active when he's close, glowing green and chiming softly in an assortment of different tones; otherwise, they fade to near-transparency and fall silent.

Still, they're a fairly obvious indicator of where he's been and where he hasn't in the three days it takes him to map the length and breadth of the Gallows, measuring his steps and marking what he needs to find again.

[OOC: Myr will be everywhere but the inside of the templar quarters and the upper levels of the mage quarters; feel free to encounter him anywhere but the dungeon.]

ii.

It's been no more than two weeks since the Hasmal contingent arrived and Myr's already out of sync with the waking life of the Gallows.

It isn't something that troubles him much any longer. His gutted Circle had grown used to him being awake all hours of the night and asleep much of the day, or elsewise--he contributed as much as they all did to their survival, so what of it?--so there had been little reason try and repair his schedule.

Besides, it's afforded him certain opportunities for peace and quiet he couldn't have otherwise. He'd marked how some of the more dedicated templars (and at least one knight-enchanter) were up well before dawn to attend to their own conditioning in the courtyard; how it rang with blades or hurried activity at all other hours of the day and into the torchlit evening.

The second hour after midnight, however, sees it standing empty, and Myr slips out into the darkness as gladly as a man going to meet a lover. He takes a moment to stand without the door of the mage tower, muting the glyph there so he can enjoy the velvet silence of the night. Then he begins to pace the courtyard in a regular grid, marking obstructions as he finds them. It isn't so hard like that to locate the space others have cleared for their own practice and bound it in his mind.

Only once he's sure it will be large enough for his own needs does he strip to the waist, folding up his light robe and laying it aside outside one corner of the practice area. Then he retreats back across cleared space, staff in-hand, counting his steps to the center where he stops and crisply salutes an imaginary opponent. The ritual gesture flows easily into the first of the forms, the patterns of attack graven into his muscle-memory.

Out here, unwatched, in the predawn darkness, he becomes for a little while the creature he was meant to be.

iii. (closed)

While they're harder to notice when Myr's not nearby, the locator glyphs aren't invisible at rest. They won't be so hard to follow back to their source at his room in the mage tower, where the glyph on the door gleams faintly in mute indication of the mage's presence.

Comments

[judgemewhole]

"I see ... well. Welcome to Kirkwall, then. If this is an example of work that you are bringing to the table, you'll be most welcome." James made sure to fold his hands behind his back - see, authoritative but not threatening. "I am in charge of answering for any and all Templar queries here, so if you have any problems with any of my brothers or sisters? Please, come and see me first."

There is a ... long pause, and a faint, "There are also Seekers here as well, if you wish to go further up the ... diminished ladder - but!" And that was added quickly, "I will pleased to handle any issues that crop up."

[faithlikeaseed]

Something about all of this strikes Myr as profoundly surreal. He's silent a long, long moment in the face of Norrington's offer as he recollects himself, putting all he's been told away to consider sometime later (Seekers of Truth among the Inquisition; a knight-commander in great haste to reassure a single mage of his good intentions) when he's ready to consider the implications.

"Thank you, Ser Norrington," he manages at last, once he's sure of his own voice. He even musters a smile, though it's a wan shadow of his usual cheerful expression. "I've always thought very highly of the Order and don't anticipate coming to grief with any of your templars, but if something should come up, I will bring it to you first."

They don't feel like words he should have to say. None of this feels quite solid, and it isn't a feeling he likes at all.

[judgemewhole]

Norrington is wondering himself if he ought to take another step back, just in case. After what happened with Cade, a Templar now had to be twice as careful with their behavior with mages, going above and beyond whatever they usually did. Even the most vehenement had fallen silent, after the Seekers had proven what they would do, without mercy, to a brother.

"You are ... quiet welcome, Myrobalan, of Hamshal." He paused, and then let a little more warmth infuse his tone. "I promise, we are here only to protect you."

[faithlikeaseed]

He wishes he didn't hear Vandelin's voice in the back of his head reminding him that a templar's "protection" comes at cost; it makes it harder to say what he does with the sincerity he feels it deserves: "I know. And I'm glad of it, believe me, ser."

The uneasy feeling all this has given him has quite ruined any benefit he was getting by soaking up the sun. Time to find something to do to drive it out of his mind. "Though--my apologies, ser. I'd only meant to take a brief break from my work, and would like to get back to that, if you've no further need of me."

[judgemewhole]

He nodded his head slowly, before making sure to take a large step backwards so the mage could feel free to move in any direction he wanted. "Well, thank you for taking time to speak with me, serah. I hope your work goes well, with the Inquisition."