[excerpt from Ëlinyr's journal, presented exactly as written]
- I am human now. HUMAN. And gods, now that it’s sunk in, I feel as if a great weight has been lifted from me… I feel jubilant, ecstatic, all sorts of feelings, and so very, very intensely - is this what it’s like, being human?
- I almost think that I am legitimately happy, for the first time since I was a little girl - it’s been so very long since I last felt truly happy that I’ve forgotten what it felt like, and even then… oh gods, the FEELINGS.
- what would Father say to me, though, knowing I’ve done this? I hope he’d be happy for me, and would want me to be happy above all else, and oh goodness, I am happy, honestly happy, how did I live for so long without feeling like this? without feeling?
- I’d heard rumors about the Night Market, that you could buy almost anything there, but until a few days ago I’d never been, so I truly had no idea
- one of the Hiwani that recently joined the guild, Kazz, also changed his race - he became… agh, I can’t remember, but it’s the same race as those depicted in the statues at the elemental shrines in the desert - anyhow, he underwent extreme torture to pay the cost
- OH, I nearly forgot. We finally tracked down the dwarf, Marta, who’s been involved in the Hiwani and Gnoll abductions - apparently she even put a hit out on Gossamer because of how we took down Dobarra’s (did I spell that correctly? unsure, and whatever, she’s gone now) warehouse and slave-selling operation. Why on earth would someone want to assassinate Gossamer? I find him highly entertaining, and enjoy adventuring with him - and I don’t think warehouse destruction is a killable offense
- Anyhow, the Jin Shi have Marta now, and as I’ve written previously in my notes, we have the name of her boss and the location of her books, so she won’t be a problem any longer
- It’s a shame she’s such a vile person, I find her sass very… attractive
- aaaaaaagh I’m a human
- oh yes, there was also a boat trip as part of our most recent adventures, we went to try and find the crew of a missing merchant ship and trade some goods with some nearby mermaids while we were at it - apparently a large aquatic Hiwani named… Blackfin? I really need to get better at remembering names, anyhow, he destroyed the merchant ship by, if I remember right, punching a hole in it. (I could be entirely misremembering it, however, the past few days have been a little… muddled, memory-wise)
- I seem to have acquired an assistant - Moira, one of the students I rescued from that ill-planned student expedition to the ruins in the desert, expressed that she wished to work as my assistant - and since she proved to be, well, an enthusiastic adventurer who shows some promise, I suppose I’ll keep her
- I really should tell Mother I’m human sometime soon
- Oh gods, though, what if she tries to take Mukhif back? He’s been having such a rough time of things lately, with that blackout during the infiltration of the Corsair fort, and then that whole thing involving the coin that’s tied to The Twins and recovering memories of his daughter
- well, if she tries to take him, then I simply won’t let her. plus, I’m sure Obeah would assist in any efforts against my mother to keep Mukhif safe, after all, they are “second-besties”, whatever that means
- I do hope my newfound humanity inconveniences her, as she’s inconvenienced me so many times over the years with her constant attempts to marry me off to sun elf nobility - who’s going to want me NOW, Mother? probably no-one, boo hoo for you
[end of written entry]
Friday, July 13, 2018
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Letter from Scholar Ëlinyr to Scholar Koios, both of the Royal Academy (post-game 48)
Koios,
First, please tell Kateryn that her "grand idea" of encouraging me to join the Adventurer's Guild has most recently ended up with me exploring the sewers, which is an experience I could surely have done without - and said experience ruined one of my favorite dresses. Since this whole "adventuring" idea was hers in the first place, tell her she owes me a new dress. Preferably a red one.
Also, I think my mother is plotting unpleasant things. She sent me a... gift. A Rewoven, named Mukhif, who is to do whatever I say. (If you aren't already aware, Rewoven are those who have committed some sort of grave misdeed and, in order to atone for their misdeed, enter into slavery with no memory of their past or what horrible things they may have done. I believe the Night Market is involved in this somehow. In order to pay his debt and receive atonement for whatever misdeed he has done, he must serve another until whatever forces that be deem his penance complete.) Essentially, he is a slave, but I just cannot stomach the idea of owning another person. Of course, Mother would never stop to think on whether or not her daughter, whose entire existence is devoted to distancing herself from Sun Elf culture and the Lotus Court as much as possible, would even want a slave - she probably thinks she did me quite a favor. I am incredibly suspicious of her next move now. She's mentioned a noble friend of hers that is looking for a wife, and I'll be damned if I end up forced into a marriage with Lord Whats-his-elf thanks to my mother. I trust her motives even less than I trust those of Obeah (a fellow member of the Guild who I'd best describe as a scoundrel), who keeps trying to talk Mukhif into doing... inappropriate things. I sincerely hope Mother hasn't planned anything... unpleasant.
I will say, though, Mukhif has been incredibly helpful. I find myself knocked out less often when we encounter miscreants and monsters while out adventuring, and he even provided me with a cushion to sit upon when we ended up on an ocean trip to rescue some lost sailors. The ocean, I've determined, is not a place I feel comfortable - the wetness, the constant shifting of the boat, and the smells all are unpleasant, and when we sailed out of sight of land, I was filled with such anxiety. I do not want to go on a boat, ever again. No matter how many times Obeah keeps talking about the grand sailing library of one of the water peoples whose name I've since forgotten. I love books and knowledge, but not that much.
Complaints aside, adventuring has been good for me. I have seen many sights I don't think I'd have seen ordinarily, and have actually managed to make a friend in the Adventurer's Guild! She's a newcomer to the guild, a fire aetherite named Moyasu with a fondness for books and studying alchemy. I'm curious to see if there are areas where our research overlaps - it would be quite interesting to see how magic and alchemy interact.
I also have some distressing news to share. It appears that someone is capturing Hiwani and selling them as slaves - but not by normal means. The Adventurers' Guild encountered animals recently who are able to perform basic tasks and assist their owners, by use of a command gem. The animal has a gem embedded in their forehead, and the owner of said animal has a gem of their own, with which to issue commands to the animals. As you may have determined by now, these animals are actually enslaved Hiwani, whose appearance has been changed so they more closely resemble a specific animal, and given that they are trapped in animal form, they cannot speak to tell anyone that they are not what they seem. Should you see any animals with gems in their foreheads, please bring them to the Adventurers' Guild - Mukhif can remove the gems and free the trapped Hiwani, like he did very recently. I am glad he didn't outright kill the animal, as it was attacking a male dwarf and the owners of the animal didn't seem to care about its welfare - the chaptermaster of our branch of the guild said that he didn't care what was done with the animal, and Obeah had plans to retrieve the gem from its forehead, likely by any means necessary, to help fund the purchase of a boat.
Aside from the terrifying discovery involving the Hiwani and the trip to the sewers, and that damned boat trip, things have been well these past few weeks. I've taken advantage of things being somewhat quiet to focus on my studies of magic - I've learned how to summon fire and earth force bolts, in addition to air and water, which means I should be in good shape to take on most any elemental creature. I just need to get better at hand-to-hand combat, as I am still miserable at that. (Thank goodness for Mukhif being present and keeping me relatively healed up in my recent adventures.)
I am hoping this letter finds you well, and that sometime soon I shall see you at the Academy - I haven't been able to spend all that much time at the Academy as of late, as I have been traveling with the Adventurers' Guild, but I am currently in the city and will try to visit you before we leave for the desert outpost.
Sincerely,
Ëlinyr
First, please tell Kateryn that her "grand idea" of encouraging me to join the Adventurer's Guild has most recently ended up with me exploring the sewers, which is an experience I could surely have done without - and said experience ruined one of my favorite dresses. Since this whole "adventuring" idea was hers in the first place, tell her she owes me a new dress. Preferably a red one.
Also, I think my mother is plotting unpleasant things. She sent me a... gift. A Rewoven, named Mukhif, who is to do whatever I say. (If you aren't already aware, Rewoven are those who have committed some sort of grave misdeed and, in order to atone for their misdeed, enter into slavery with no memory of their past or what horrible things they may have done. I believe the Night Market is involved in this somehow. In order to pay his debt and receive atonement for whatever misdeed he has done, he must serve another until whatever forces that be deem his penance complete.) Essentially, he is a slave, but I just cannot stomach the idea of owning another person. Of course, Mother would never stop to think on whether or not her daughter, whose entire existence is devoted to distancing herself from Sun Elf culture and the Lotus Court as much as possible, would even want a slave - she probably thinks she did me quite a favor. I am incredibly suspicious of her next move now. She's mentioned a noble friend of hers that is looking for a wife, and I'll be damned if I end up forced into a marriage with Lord Whats-his-elf thanks to my mother. I trust her motives even less than I trust those of Obeah (a fellow member of the Guild who I'd best describe as a scoundrel), who keeps trying to talk Mukhif into doing... inappropriate things. I sincerely hope Mother hasn't planned anything... unpleasant.
I will say, though, Mukhif has been incredibly helpful. I find myself knocked out less often when we encounter miscreants and monsters while out adventuring, and he even provided me with a cushion to sit upon when we ended up on an ocean trip to rescue some lost sailors. The ocean, I've determined, is not a place I feel comfortable - the wetness, the constant shifting of the boat, and the smells all are unpleasant, and when we sailed out of sight of land, I was filled with such anxiety. I do not want to go on a boat, ever again. No matter how many times Obeah keeps talking about the grand sailing library of one of the water peoples whose name I've since forgotten. I love books and knowledge, but not that much.
Complaints aside, adventuring has been good for me. I have seen many sights I don't think I'd have seen ordinarily, and have actually managed to make a friend in the Adventurer's Guild! She's a newcomer to the guild, a fire aetherite named Moyasu with a fondness for books and studying alchemy. I'm curious to see if there are areas where our research overlaps - it would be quite interesting to see how magic and alchemy interact.
I also have some distressing news to share. It appears that someone is capturing Hiwani and selling them as slaves - but not by normal means. The Adventurers' Guild encountered animals recently who are able to perform basic tasks and assist their owners, by use of a command gem. The animal has a gem embedded in their forehead, and the owner of said animal has a gem of their own, with which to issue commands to the animals. As you may have determined by now, these animals are actually enslaved Hiwani, whose appearance has been changed so they more closely resemble a specific animal, and given that they are trapped in animal form, they cannot speak to tell anyone that they are not what they seem. Should you see any animals with gems in their foreheads, please bring them to the Adventurers' Guild - Mukhif can remove the gems and free the trapped Hiwani, like he did very recently. I am glad he didn't outright kill the animal, as it was attacking a male dwarf and the owners of the animal didn't seem to care about its welfare - the chaptermaster of our branch of the guild said that he didn't care what was done with the animal, and Obeah had plans to retrieve the gem from its forehead, likely by any means necessary, to help fund the purchase of a boat.
Aside from the terrifying discovery involving the Hiwani and the trip to the sewers, and that damned boat trip, things have been well these past few weeks. I've taken advantage of things being somewhat quiet to focus on my studies of magic - I've learned how to summon fire and earth force bolts, in addition to air and water, which means I should be in good shape to take on most any elemental creature. I just need to get better at hand-to-hand combat, as I am still miserable at that. (Thank goodness for Mukhif being present and keeping me relatively healed up in my recent adventures.)
I am hoping this letter finds you well, and that sometime soon I shall see you at the Academy - I haven't been able to spend all that much time at the Academy as of late, as I have been traveling with the Adventurers' Guild, but I am currently in the city and will try to visit you before we leave for the desert outpost.
Sincerely,
Ëlinyr
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