Private Eastern Brisshal No one saw it coming

[Tick Tock]

.

Honeyhome, or as a 'player liked to call it: 'Newbie Town', was one of her first recurring stops. In search of understanding, one had to take things step by step, and to Shane that's already a problematic on itself.

Fortunately she could have a break from the cities, so crowded that everyone turned out into one combulated mass of energy. It still was miles ahead to complete blindness. It simply bit her back when the word made use of it's second meaning, and too much magic had the exact same effect, like looking over your phone at three am in the darkness of your bedroom, while brightness is at maximum.

Familiarity came back to her body after having walked considerable distance by now, and a proper set of clothes made her feel right back at home despite the clash in style she could get with some. Matters not, as dead eyes dropped down to the little tome she carried. One problem solved, another surfaced, but the first tests were a complete success, evident by the proof that rests on a gloved left hand, the many utensils at her disposal carried on the right, as her pockets would do no good without a proper cap. Frankly, technological deficiencies upon this land had started to catch up to her patience, a sigh breaking such thoughts, and an abrupt, absolute halt washing them over entirely.

Shane bumped onto something, or someone, on her blissful distraction. Had she been more wary of her footing she might not have reacted by instinct and dropped literally everything to the floor, gasping in the process as the ink bottle splashed all across the floor while her tome fell right next to it facing downwards. Quill and empty sheets alike all left scattered, and several villagers turned to watch the scene, unconcerned as nothing dangerous seemed to have occurred.

"Ah, dear me, did I just bump onto you? My apologies." She mused outloud, uncertain where to look until her eyes went down to find a golden frame much smaller than her own. A frown settled in as she gently kneeled down and begun to tap around, following the last auditive cues to get herself back to her tome, only to end up picking up something else entirely. Haste didn't let her check well what. "I'm deeply sorry, I wasn't paying attention, you see. Could you at least point me out back to the general store? This whole stir left me quite lost, frankly."

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

Honeyhome was starting to become a place of calm and confidence renewal, which helped ease Azykia into whatever mindset she had to be capable of having to understand what a 'newbie friendly zone' was. When she first arrived, the near void-like existence of the physical world around her filled her head to toe with despair, but day after day that despair was picked and plucked apart by the familiar birdsongs of the morning, the chittering of insects coupling the savory smell of home-cooked meals spotting the town's evening, and the time in-between spent counting steps and building a slow confidence she never could have imagined possible in her pervious life.

More accurately, it was the feeling of self-satisfaction she felt that was so foreign to her. Why exactly that was would be left to her inner thoughts as she tried something daring today: walking more quickly, closer to a regular speed for people who could actually see where they were going. As she lasted the whole day without crashing into anything, her head was full of bubbly thoughts about what to do next as she simultaneously measured her steps in a newfound grace her old self could only have dreamt of. Even the thin, two-inch thick box held in her arms close to her chest in a hug was able to express this sort of beaming pride the young player felt.

Too bad it all vanished in an instant as she collided directly into someone else. She yelped in pain as she fell over onto the ground, dropping her box as ink splashed all over it. She wasted no time in trying to get back up, though she had to pause and rub her forehead for a few seconds first. "My apologies-" She started to say just as the other person made to apologize as well.

"Ah- No, it's my fault." Even if she was blind, she wasn't one to accept people's pity so easily, so she declared herself the one of shortcomings this evening. More importantly, someone asking for directions. Could this be a player even newer than she was? She decided to leave her box on the ground (to be picked up unknowingly by the other person) for a few seconds as she considered how to give directions to someone who could see. She tried to consider her orientation, then turned and pointed back the way she came. "It should be about eighty-seven steps that way, then seventy-four steps to the right. Then it should be on your right."

She knew it was a strange way to respond, but as she picked up a dirtied tome from the ground instead of her new outfit, she figured her pupil-less eyes and slow motions would clue this new arrival in that something wasn't quite right, even if they didn't think she was blind right out of the gate.

@Shane

 

[Tick Tock]

.

Kindness was one hell of a sentiment she's been deprived of for many years, and yet this world had much to grant in that way, moreso than what her heart could take. A gentle voice, pure and apologetic, felt the need to take the blame for her own shortcomings, but that left a bittersweet taste on her lips. Shane could accept a truce on sharing the guilt, but to let this person shoulder all of it? Out of the question.

Energy blurred out infront of her, as if the natural magic around this person was still to grow in strength, much like her own. It made it difficult to see her own hands sometimes if she didn't try and cast a spell to flare it, much like heat on an infrared, as who she assumed to be a faerin-lady pointed in one specific direction and begun to grant her instructions. Methodical, memorized, it perplexed her to no bounds to hear precision akin to a surgeon's in such a menial task. For the commoner, that is.

Her laid-back grip upon the edges of the box made her a bit uncomfortable. Was her tome always this... Boxy? Shane shook off her head, pale eyes trying to track the movements back to South-West, audibly clicking her tongue, her right hand performed a swirl-type of gesture just over the top of her tome two-inch box, as magic begun to weave, only... It didn't do much, yet the actual tome begun to shine on this stranger's hands instead as raw magic awakened from within and begun to form sigils that were fairly invisible to the naked eye, soothing in brightness to herself, and the contrast between purples and gold made her share a glance back to this box she held, despite being completely in the dark about it beyodn what touch could tell.

"Did you just pick up my tome? I know it's on you, and whatever I have right here is clearly not my own." A hand rose to her lips to muffle a chuckle, the dots begun to connect inside of her head, and it urged her to be direct about it, yet to a stranger nonetheless that would be awkward, hostile even for a first encoutner. "Say, is it in -that- direction?" She gestured right behind Azykia, condensed dark magic wrapped around her hand, like a glove of it's own. "Here for your troubles: a box." She offered back her little box, now both hands radiating magic as she hoped this little experiment of hers could shred some light to her educated guess.

What could be the chances? Minimal, but never zero.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

As faint doses of magic came and went, her eyes always seemed to hone directly towards wherever it appeared. As Azykia was asked about a tome, she blinked a couple times and began to really feel at the object in her hands. "Ah- It seems I did. I'm sorry." Not only was it a tome, but why was this person asking her? Shouldn't they be able to see it? How else would they know she was holding one?

.... Oh. Oh. Was this really happening? To this point, she hadn't even considered that somebody else would be forfeit of sight in this world. After all, it was an option she chose at total random. No sane person would actually make their character blind like this, would they?

Before she could move to make any educated guesses or carry out any experiments of her own, she became the lab rat, and did the polite thing in answering this person's questions. She held out the tome to exchange for her box, carefully reaching out to finalize the trade offer with her own two hands, which unlike those belonging to the woman in front of her, she couldn't see and had to be more careful with.

"Erm, I'm sorry. It might be better for me to walk you there myself. You see, I'm..." She hesitated audibly. It wasn't unheard of for someone to be embarrassed of a shortcoming, but this in particular was a bit of a sore wound for Azykia still. Even if her excuse was totally valid, it was still an excuse.

Then again, this wasn't really about excuses. This person needed her help, so they needed to understand why Azzy's help came in such a strange way. "... I'm Azykia, and I'm blind. It's nice to meet you." She wanted to ask if this other person was also blind or something similar, but she both figured and hoped the answer would come out organically from here.

@Shane

 

[Tick Tock]

.

Oh it tore her heart, split it in two and discarded it, all of these blights and more just to hear her say sorry again. It's always hard to be the one in the receiving end of apologizes, yet the gravity of the situation was akin to the moon's if one should compare. Yet it all but confirmed it that both were in fact one and the same.
yet to how extent?
That's what she intended to find out.

Shane felt a tug against her grip, a signal to let go of the box, carefully setting herself to take her tome back, content to know this person didn't need to be given instructions in common courtesy. The glow on her hands faded once the cautious exchange concluded. Once hesitance was voiced out, Shane hanged her head low in an effort to keep vibrant colours off her sight. Speechless, her lips parted as awe could barely be contained at Azykia's revelation. Despite every educated guess possible, it left a hard impression to believe she stumbled upon yet another person deprived of sight. She swallowed hard, pressing her tome close to her chest as she gave her words some thought before the answer formulated in her mind satisfied her.

"I'm Shane, and it's my pleasure to meet you, miss Azykia. Furthermore I would love for your assistance, I'm certain you are far more acquainted with the layout than I am. Fate seems to have crossed us who share a similar blessing, or curse, depending how you wish to see it." A warm, soothing tone sparkled her words. "Please go ahead, I'll be right behind." She added, doing just as she said once Azykia set herself in motion. It proved hard to track her with sound alone, but proximity helped her to discern her footsteps from the bulky boots of the many that could tower over her guide.

"This is a one in a time opportunity, wouldn't you agree? I'm just going to buy some ink to further my practices, but your opinion is most appreciated if you would spare some of your time for me." For one reason or another, no one else would dare to cripple their own eyes, far outweighing the benefits in some people's cases, yet for once someone likeminded shared the same space as her. And if not? The reason would be all the more interesting to her anyways. "No one else would be able to understand, afterall."

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

Before the two could get on their way back in the proper direction, there was a quarter of a minute during which Azykia manifested a staff-like cane out of bright blue magic and walked in a careful, spiral-shaped sweep until she found something to hit it against gently. She reached forward and felt at this object with her hand, whatever it was, and determined that she need only turn left and start walking, which she did at an effortfully slow pace at first as she made sure the woman was even able to follow her in the first place.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Shane." She continued to display the most inoffensive etiquette a person could muster without being overbearing. "I don't mind sparing some of my time for you, but it might depend exactly what you have in mind. Using ink has me curious, though." She spoke like someone a lot older than she looked and sounded, not quite utilizing the youth in her voice as she kept her emotional vocal peak in the realm of bunny slopes. "Am I correct in saying that you and I both can only see magic?" She waited for a firm answer to that question before she would walk any faster, still taking her time and walking in a strange and repetitive rhythm to make counting her steps easier.

She had only her steps and this Shane person to think about at the moment, and the more she sorted her own assumptions, the more she actually began to realize. Primarily, she stopped to think about how to answer Shane's pressing of her opinion of being blind. To say being blind but being able to see magic still is anything but a blessing would normally be a pretty rude thing to say. After all, people can't help being blind.

Except, her blindness was something that players could choose of their own accord to load into the game with. If this woman was another player, could it be that unlike Azykia, she didn't land that trait by randomizing her character?

"I'm afraid I... didn't intend to share this blessing with anyone. It was the result of my own..." She was going to say something like desperation or carelessness, but that avenue seemed too self-pitying, so she stayed silent for a moment trying to figure it out. "Well, I wasn't really too concerned with how my character turned out at the time."

@Shane

 

[Tick Tock]

.

Her chest tightened all of a sudden once bright blue appeared on her peripherical, the cursed colour usually blended quite well with hydromancy, and yet empty eyes rised only to confirm how this energy had a lack of flow to it like a liquid would,nor did it match the paleness of ice.

Why now, why me? Thinking further about it felt pointless, as it did to lower her gaze once again. Every little 'tap tap' Azykia worked as a reminder of it's existence. If Dark magic is such a tabboo around this land, then how can one keep the raw essence of magic itself excluded from such a list? The power of creation at the tip of this blind girl's fingers...

A final tap against an object made her hairs jump and remind herself how to walk once again to tag along, a finger slipping into the collar of her shirt to give one ample tug to take a breather.

The voice of a youngling, and yet the manners of a full-fledged adult. Shane focused on these two traits to forget the discomfort brought by the ar-cane. "Ah! yes, the ink." Startled, she cleared her throat. "While I'm yet to dwelve deep into the combative aspects of magic, I took my time to find practical usage on the every day. This is where ink, and your assistance, comes in." She explained, a short and sweet explanation to leave details for later as to not overwhelm her this early with a barrage on information, optin instead for a Q&A instead. Finally a straight-forward question came, as unexpected as it seemed, but assuming Azykia to know out-of-the-blue would be akin to ask her to be a mind reader. "Yes. I never expected someone else to pick this trait, I'll be honest. I'm just glad to see I'm not the only one." Who else but Azy could understand their limitations, afterall? Yet to let the possibility of deepening her research would be a waste of a precious opportunity.

Shane gave a quick double tap upon the ground, energy dissipated from her shoes in a gentle wave across the ground like ripples from an otherwise undisturbed lake. The works of a sonar that gave her a short lapse of time to pinpoint the closest magical sources around her. She picked up the pace soon after once she noticed herself lagging behind.

When an aswer came along along the lines of her comparison, guilt painted a grim frame on her features. "Oh..." It took her a second to process it, and to gather the strength to address it even. "I'm sorry." Her voice changed, from such a fictional and noblesque energy back to something far more familiar for both of them who came from the real world outside of Terrasphere. "I didn't thought you did it by accident. I don't think you can create your character again or remove this trait even." The somberness she carried took a spin once she shook off her head, allowing herself a moment to smile. "Mistakes happen. But even if it can't be reversed, you can work around it and adapt like you are doing just now... With arcane."

---

Spoiler: Reference

"Welcom- Oh wait didn't I just saw either of you two a moment ago?" Elevir replied with confusion expressed all over their face... Which sadly would never get noticed. What did go to notice on him was Azykia herself, the look on her eyes, and the lack of pupils more precisely, made the outspoken man silent
"Elevir? I'm here for some extra ink if you might, and some papyrus too. Are you paying attention?"
"...Yes, yes of course. I'll bring it in just a moment, just want to get the full order out for you two. Uh will she-"
"-Azykia, is there anything in particular you need?" Shane quickly intercepted the shopkeeper, least he says something out of place, a hint Elevir took real quick to stay quiet about. She couldn't possibly imagine how sensitive the topic could be to Azy. A mistake she wouldn't tread over twice...

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

"Right. I've heard that I... cannot." She gave a nod instead of a shrug, stopping to think for a moment how strange it was that she had replaced the passive gesture with this particularly less passive one. "But it's just as you said. I spend most of my time just trying to learn how to adapt to it. At the very least, I'm not the sort to not make an attempt to overcome a struggle simply for its difficulty.

--

From the moment she walked in, she could just about assume what kind of shop the place was, more in the way of how it would look were she able to see it. That refurbished smell of an aged and well-maintained structure was reminiscent of those off to the side antique and bauble shops reminding modern society of its own age and progress out in the real world. It was probably not the brightest shop, and it was also perhaps not wise to go banging around the merchandise with her walking stick, which was why she had dismissed it upon entry just before shaking off what little ink might still not be dried on the outside of her box.

With a polite smile on her face, she turned her head a few degrees towards Shane to give her response in a clear, inside voice. "Not at the current moment. I thank you for asking, though." There was a part of her that wanted to ask someone with eyes to make sure ink didn't get all over her new outfit, but she could maybe leave something like that to one of her close friends, and not a busy shop owner she didn't really know.

"Although, when I get the money, I wouldn't mind buying a few things to use as makeshift hairpins. It can make one look quite cute, if done right." She remarked idly, trying to maintain this avenue of almost discomforting levels of politeness exuding from her. Small talk, unlike Terrasphere, was a game Azykia was very familiar with, and utilized it here to close herself out from the conversation so that she could merely observe. Of course, it was up to the others whether or not this silent intent was understood.

@Shane

 

[Tick Tock]

.

"That's a shame really, we got some nice articles aroun' here. Usually at a small discount for you travelers, since you are a bunch of nice business wherever you go. Buut you are always welcome to come again, miss." Elevir remarked, charismatic if only typical for a man at advanced age in such a shop that one could describe by smell alone: ancient, worn out, a place that has existed for far more than just eight years of game time. The ashes, leftovers from a pipe, carefully rest on a wooden bowl that functioned the same as an ash tray would in real life, only the herbs used as fuel for this man's addiction were far more nauseating (or bitter, is the word he would use) than anything else the humble abode had.

Shane nodded, placing both hands over her tome, one of the back and one on the cover. She could swear the texture of it didn't quite match what she could feel right now behind her gloves, the ink had reached even to her coat, yet the ebony colour blended quite well with the ink to make sure it wasn't so visible on a dim-lighted room such as this. She paid close attention to what extra thoughts Azykia would share, humming to herself seconds before her lips parted, only to be interrupted once the distinctive sound of glass and reed stacked against the crooked counter, to which Shane begun to check every pocket on her person to look for some change. Top left, top right, bottom right...

Finally she rolled about three gold coins upon the counter, one of the coins caught by Ele before it could roll off, which caught a smile on her lips, amusement holding back a laughter if only to remain respectful. She took a sweet second to tap over the surface of the table in search of what product she just bought before storing it on her coat, with the stack of papyrus kept over her tome.

"We got all we need, miss Azykia. It's time to leave."

"Just that huh? Well It's okay, the great horned Owl is always ope-"

"Goodbye Elevir." She quickly shut him off in the most innocent manner one could, a line between civil and... Not so civil. She quickly faced outside where the light breached through the open, exit door where they once came from. "After you, miss." Shane smiled, an eloquent little wave from her hand gesturing to the outdoors.

"Rude!" He huffed.

Finally away from the stench of that store, Shane took a deep breathe in from the actual fresh air of the town, so attuned to nature by it's proximity one could take in the season like they would in real life with just their nose to guide them. "I agree, by the way. Hairpins are quite troublesome to get one's hands on here though, as most seem to be cast out of materials beyond just plastic. There is also been a constant push towards weaponry and utensils to better supply the many travelers coming in everyday to this world." She explained, pausing only to ponder what direction to head from. This point of interest and the rune she left upon the store worked as enough of a guide to her, and after a few moments she turned West, where the last remaining buildings of the town are present before the well-guarded West side entrance.

"I'm quite puzzled here, Azykia. Your voice, so youthful and energetic, doesn't quite match the mannerisms you carry. I could understand it from a noble youngling from this game, but you are an actual player." She inquired, as curiosity had pinched her ever since their meeting, yet she tried to be as gentle as it could be when addressing such matter. "It's not strange by any means, I'm surprised if anything- Ah, we should take a seat, it will be easier to show you what this all was for." She interluded. "There is a bench west from here. I think it's on the right side of the road, yes." Shane tapped the floor twice, yet the many structures her aura clashed with made it difficult to discern them all from the bench, at this distance at least. "Let's not waste anymore time, my legs are starting to give up by now." A wry smile followed her jest, as she set herself to take the lead this time around, yet haste was not one of the things she is known for. Careful steps and consistent usage of magic meant she could zone out what memory could not, until they would eventually reach the aforementioned bench.

Finally she dropped herself over the woden bench, a sigh of relief mixed with joy spreading out of her lips once exhausted bones were given a rest from ceaseless trips. "I should leave a rune here later on just in case. But alas, it's good to finally sit down, I've been walking for hours trying to get a good word from the locals about the town." She paused for a moment to open her tome and push past the blank pages, one after another, facing on Azy's general direction now that fewer villagers were around to overwhelm her with the fragments of what magic they hold. "Can you believe there is not a bookstore here? They say that books are quite valuable, treasured even. Information is recorded differently to our world, so if you stumble upon one don't hesitate to store it. It might fetch you a good price." A little 'did you know?' kind of commentary, which might just rub the wrong way given the implications of what literature meant for them, and any reaction based on that could be given a wry smile in return. "Ah but that's what we are here for. Tell me, how experimented are you with your own masteries? Err, magic that is."

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

Most of Shane's attempts to light the dark world of having purely magical sight didn't fall to the wayside, but Azykia wasn't confident enough in her own motions in this world yet to take full advantage of them, so for the most part simply followed Shane around like a lost puppy that was counting her steps. Paying so much attention to counting them was probably why a lot of her less pressing comments received little to no answer aside from a polite hum of affirmation (though she couldn't help but to giggle under her breath at the way she imagined the nonexistent tension between this woman and the shopkeeper.

As they left the store and began their westward migration, Azzy responded to Shane's short socioeconomic commentary. "It's a shame. I'm finding out all too late that this is a game tailored to those who seek to fight things. Perhaps it won't keep me from finding my peace forever, though."

As her age was pressed, she began to strongly consider how to respond, and what exactly to reveal to this Shane character, but shortly after was given conversational whiplash that she was for once quite grateful for and agreed that there is indeed a bench where she had suspected. At least she was fairly certain, and she had no qualms with taking a break to sit down. "In the real world, I'm far more used to walking around than in this body, so I run into that problem often." She half-joked back.

But then she was asked about her masteries. "My magic? Not very much. I've only just begun trying to experiment with it at all. You've seen about the upper limit of what I can do without help. I can't read the menus, so trying to use the... what was it called, auto-assist, I believe? Is fairly useless to me."

She slowly held her hand out in front of her, bending and uncurling her fingers a few times. "But I feel as though I've developed a pretty practical frame to practice my magic with. I had the opportunity to take an 'art in architecture' class, and one of the projects involved utilizing the golden ratio to deconstruct well-known structures and their integrity. It was just a fun little thing, but I had to draw that spiral so many times that I make one whenever I have to throw my magic really far out. That way I know if anything is in that particular direction in a measured little cone." She said that last bit as though it were something simple and quaint, which almost made her sound like everything she had just said were supposed to be a joke. At any rate, she waited eagerly for Shane to unveil whatever authorial piece she was presumably going to be working on was.

@Shane

 

[Tick Tock]

.

That answer certainly wasn't exclusive to Azykia herself, as she sighed with shared sentiment. "It may look like that for sure. However, this 'game' of sorts is incredibly permissive with what you can and can't do. So far, I have found not a single difference to the outside world." All the more suspicious to her, despite the possibilities it opened to her in comparison to the grim reality. "I assure you that if something is missing, you can create it yourself. Although I wouldn't be able to tell, as this is the first game I ever played. I can see why people are addicted to these though." She chuckled at her own past-ignorance.

And almost on-topic, the moment they managed to take a break, Azzy cracked half a joke, half a statement. Hardly possible to differentiate with just speech pattern alone, yet she felt appropiate to open up with a smile out of instinct, but the sourness of the topic made her all the more silent, her voice erupting abruptly so once it became more uncomfortable than she wished it to be. "Ah! Just be sure not to spend too many hours in this game. VR can be quite exhausting, and Terrasphere pushes that to the limits. I can almost feel myself working out just from walking from place to place. With that said, how is the outside world doing nowdays?" Genuine intrigue obvious upon her voice, yet she tried to keep embarassment from showing up. She hasn't tried to open her UI ever since she could feel her own toes, her fingers and the echo of her voice. A dream turned reality, and yet what would be of the outside now that she's here?

"Y-yeah, about that... I know this might sound strange, but if you are to use it again, could you try to do it while I'm not paying attention? It's one of these things were it feels like someone has a knife pointed at me at all times, that type in particular." The quick mention was enough to put her at edge, as her mind could piece it all together on itself: arcanamancy is scary, way scarier than any other form of magic. Not even Animancy could bring forth life on it's own, and yet here is Azykia, master of creation that can bring anything her mind wishes out of thin air. The possibilities, the chaos one could pull with that, even such a simple cane could become a weapon of mass destruction with enough force.

A complex explanation followed and Shane couldn't be any less impressed once the young girl made use of the concept of the divine ratio and even applied it by memory to her own magical works, something not many can grasp and more than one aspirant artist still wishes they could understand it fully, despite it's simplicity. "Wow, you are full of surprises, miss Azykia." She quickly added, her gaze set upon her golden silhouette. "Real life concepts sure have their application in this world. It's not all just throwing fireballs or swinging a sword like that. That train of thought will let you achieve many great things, outside and inside the game. I'm certain." She concluded, right before she clasped her hands together in tandem to a change of subject.

"So, you may be wondering why do I carry a tome if we cannot see. Or maybe you don't, so here's the trick- Hold this out for me and open it on the last page. I got it on my right hand, above your left I presume." Shane quickly dropped her tome on her lap, and instead pulled her own little diary from her coat's plentiful of pockets, holding it away from the bench, and quickly switching to the right instead, between the both of them.

Once Azykia peered upon the last page, magic would trace a line all across the edges of it, leaving a clear outline of it's dimensions. "I traced most of these pages, but it's an effort I must do at least four times per day. Dark magic is quite efficient as fuel, but even then it's no permanent solution. Still, just a matter of adapting to the width and length of the book itself." Her voice disregarded the possibility she had to change once it ran out of pages, but that was future Shane's problems, not present Shane's. "Now, remember the ink? I've learned that it's a simple trick to sparkle it with magic and let it make a trace of it. Specially with the connotions dark magic has, but we don't need to think about nefarious uses, this is purely practical." And with her quill at hand and the fresh bottle of ink uncorked, Shane hoped that would be enough to let Azy stand still, least she knocks it off by accident.

The quill begun to trace itself across the page once Shane got it down, essentially: writing with magic, and tracing a rune across the sheet.

"Of course, we cannot utilize english as a basis for this. The typography is particulary tight, and unless I wish for temporary sentences, they won't last long enough least you pour more power into them, which will in turn make them brighter. With how packed up english is, there will be nothing but a blur for us to see." And she did so to showcase that exactly, yet awaited for Azykia to catch up to the explanation. "I'm still working on it, but I wanted your opinion on this. How does it look? If I wrote a few things myself and you gave it a try, maybe we could figure out if our eyes work differently? I've begun to write down a runic system for my own personal use, but we won't use that, so write at your heart's content and try to space out each letter, if you would like to assist me on this, that is." There were few chances like this one, and Shane eagerly awaited for an answer with a quill offered to her partner-in-writing.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

It took the younger of the unseeing duo a while to process everything that she was being shown, listening as carefully as she could so as to not lose focus in the face of such marvel and wonder. The magic itself was faint. Not the frustratingly close to invisible as some of the weaker magical effects had been so far, but something like the wall of a room lit only by a cell phone on low brightness. You could see it, even if the lack of colors played tricks on your eyes. Azykia could only see one color per variety of magic, though, so she didn't really have that problem.

She could see the quill by the mark of its ink and had memorized that it was some sort of writing utensil from when Shane had scribed out a rune in example, so she was able to very carefully take it in hand and feel at the amount of room she had to work with. Making a language, huh? This wasn't even remotely on the list of things she thought she'd be trying to accomplish while she was blind in this new world, but it was as the apparent researcher had nearly said before: anything was possible in Terrasphere.

"How very interesting. So you want me to help you invent a whole new language for people with magical sight, like us?" Just saying that aloud had a pretty interesting connotation. Shouldn't there be other people out in this world like the two of them who could only see magic? How was it that she was the only one who decided to remain in Honeyhome and adapt to it? Perhaps it was more timing's fault than anything else. She hadn't been here too long, after all, yet the game had apparently been around for years already.

"So we'd want that are fairly spaced out, but can fit a lot of information in that space. Would the solution then be something like stenography?" Despite how she was supposed to be getting in practice acting more in-character, Azzy didn't seem to have any problems discussing topics most people probably wouldn't hear about until the corner of adulthood quite frequently, much less understand them to the even still basic extent that she did.

She drew the pen in a rightward curve, then just below it a leftward curve. It looked as though a mirrored 'S' had been broken in two. "So then you could suppose that this top symbol on its own could be, for example, 'el', while the bottom one on its own could be 'ha'."

She drew the same two curves, but this time partially overlapping. Then she drew them once more, but at the same height on the paper, so that it was more like two 'C's mirroring and half-way inside of each other.

"But then, utilizing how the symbols are physically positioned compared to the ones they are touching can produce different sounds altogether, saving on characters and making the most of the space on the paper. So this first one where they're overlapping vertically, you might say 'hall', flattening the 'ah' in 'ha' and the 'eh' in 'el'."

She pointed to the one overlapping horizontally. "But this one has them both level, so maybe you would flatten out only one of the sounds, and end up with 'hell'." She giggled a bit, drawing the two curves yet again, stacked vertically but with the opposite curve on top this time. "So then in this last iteration, you could heighten both of the sounds, and end up with the word 'hail'. That way, with the equivalent of writing the letter 'S' three times, I've produced three different words."

The fourteen year-old turned her head vaguely in Shane's direction with a gleeful smile, seeming to actually be having fun with this exercise in creativity. "What do you think, Shane?"

@Shane

 

[Tick Tock]

.

"Step by step. First us two, and once we are sure the project is good enough? Then we will think about releasing it to the public. As it is, we can only hope to teach others like us as we find them." She voiced out, only for a smile to pull from her lips, optimism bleeding from body language with each gesture her left hand did upon the air. "But first things first, we need a system before we can teach anyone how it works." Rather than voiced as a complication, she believed this to be one of said steps. The very first brick on the foundation of their ideal.

The moment stenography was so much as dropped into the conversation, Shane delighted herself on the thought, index and thumb finger scratched unceasingly against her chin, while dead eyes were set upon the pages as Azykia begun to trace the quill's 'magical' ink upon it. "Stenography? You have my attention, elaborate." The concept didn't elude her knowledge, yet specifics were needed, and specifics were given as a throughful explanation of the most simplest followed and Shane wondered if Azykia was a true litterateur outside of Terrasphere.

A play in sound gave forth to a little joke, almost like planned beforehand, but it did got a giggle out of her and broke the serious attention with which she listened, only breaking this silence at a conclusion that asked for her own thoughts this time around. How the tables turn for her to be the one interviewed!

Her eyes set on Azykia, little nods of her head almost giving away half of her response already. "Well would you look at it, I'm gonna have to put your name on big letters if we ever publish a book, make sure mine is in the smallest font size one can possibly read." She snickered, a shook off her head leaving silly gigs behind her for now. "Stenography is a system not so many have learned. It used to be far more common long, long ago. Back when machines and technology weren't so advanced one could catch anything said and have it written down in a matter of seconds." A little bit of trivia that she felt both parts necessary and unecessary to say. "It is also one that requires years of practice, since it has many different systems to it. Just think about the many combinations we have here, we would need to write a manual three times as big just for the masses. And for us to fall back to when in doubt, even." There was so much someone could fit in their minds before requiring a memorandum...

"Now, I'm certain we are both in the same page here and will emphasize clear transcription as opposed to speed. It's important to set clear what we aim for when it comes to shorthand. Unfortunately, we cannot make use of real life examples, not me at least." A little bit of grimmace on her voice at that. Only one of them could truly go back to the real world and look up for inspiration sources to adapt into Terrasphere. "But that's no problem, we just need to simplify prefixes and make a clear manual for ourselves. The simpler it is, the easier to learn and the faster we can put it in practice. Another, albeit more unorthodox method that i've come up with has been the utilization of runes. These are used commonly for sinister purposes, but they can be given individual meaning. It's no different to the norse alphabet. And the sharp lines as opposed to curvatures from english make them easily readable and just as compact as any other language!" Her voice peaked, only to quickly drop back with a loud sigh that tried to bring some air back to her lungs and just... Relax for a second. One nerveous pull from the collar of her shirt, and a clear of her throat later, she spoke with far less excitement as earlier. "I'm sorry, I get real noisy nowdays, I'll keep explanations shorter from now on." It's been so long since she got to use her voice, it felt awkward to apologize once given the option to indulge, like a mute who broke whatever curse held back their vocal cords, only to show restraint at their newfound freedom.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

While she giggled softly from being regarded so highly by this woman, she couldn't help but to change her tune as not being able to make use of real life examples was mentioned. She had to ask about that. From what she had heard by now from two other people, it could mean something terrible.

"Please, don't apologize for being a little loud. Being surrounded by a lot of quiet noises scares me nowadays, so if it's all the same to you, I would celebrate your vocalized enthusiasm, rather than wish to quell it. Furthermore, I have a personal endeavor to face even beyond being physically blind, and your excitement over this would assist me if anything." She took that moment of trying to encourage the woman sitting next to her full of dreams quite grand.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, and you certainly don't have to give me a straight answer, but..." The younger girl's look of concern was only halfway towards the woman she could only barely see in the first place. "Can you not return to the Starcalled Realm?" She was careful how she phrased things in Honeyhome anymore, after that time she caught an attitude from that tailor for calling it the real world.

@Shane

 

[Tick Tock]

.

Encouraging. Emboldening even, Shane fell short of words at first, a bashful look upon her features wiped clean at the realization such visual cue would not get through for certain, and the fear of a misunderstanding loomed closer than she wished, rushing her voice back to life once again. "I appreciate that, It's been far too long, but you quenched the conversationalist side of me already. I owe you more than you imagine, miss Azykia." Yet she couldn't go into elaborations once she felt her voice would falter, weaken itself not out of sadness but joy. Both so similar in this situation where tears could freely roll if she haven't trained herself to resist that urge.

Yet caution followed and brought a distinctive change in mood, and Shane's silence for once became intentional, prolonged. Wording aside, the girl next to her was prepared for a lie or a half-truth on the spot. A bitter taste that swirled on her stomach, the mere idea made up her mind with questions rather than answers. A deep breath followed, audible if only from her nostrils and the intensity that Shane brought with it, a necessity to keep her mind straight and piece together an explanation that wouldn't just...

"No. I was given another chance to start over, away from all the issues that plagued me back then, and I took it. Followed a set of orders, and ended up stuck in this world." Atleast that's the sweet and short of it. A frown crossed her features, hands curled onto fists as her eyes tracked Azykia's, or where they were supposed to be, based on what her own revealed. "I can't say I miss it, if not one or two people that I left behind. But I'm sure they are doing just fine without me." Forlorn in tone, a fragile mask with cracks that show yet can't tell, not in depth. Not when hope still blossoms on her heart that they, at least, paid their respects. "Ah, but how about you? You mentioned earlier a personal endeavor? While I might not have the most experience with the world as a whole, I'm a good listener, and I would love to hear your reasons to be in this world. If you feel like disclosing it, that is." She couldn't, wouldn't force someone to pay back with the same coin afterall.

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

She truly couldn't see much of the woman next to her, so she didn't really try too hard, instead putting her effort into listening carefully both to what Shane was saying and how she was saying it. This woman had resolution, Azykia felt, but also... regret. It wasn't so much what she said, but again how she said it and her trepidation before doing so. Of course people with painful truths were going to obfuscate them. She was no exception to this.

Unlike Shane however, she didn't take long at all to respond with a perhaps unseen smile on her face, where most of her subtle bitterness was held rather than her tone as she spoke calmly about it. "In the Starcalled Realm," she wouldn't call it reality or the outside world around someone who was very clearly UI-Locked, "I live a life of monotony and perfection, thanks to my father. When I was younger, my mother died, which caused him to become far too over-protective of me."

Azykia wasn't scared to talk about painful truths, she realized partway through speaking. Not to someone who could never go to that world and see the fairytale-like hell she lived for themselves. "I've never had friends, or failures. Never acquaintances, nor assailants. My entire life is one without... premise." She seemed to be very deliberate about the word she chose there before continuing.

"But the struggles of being blind in Terrasphere paint my life with excitement. For the first time in what feels like forever, I have challenges to overcome, and the anxiety of the risk of failure looming around me." She finally turned her head nearly all the way toward Shane as she went to tie her words back into the original question. "Just how excited you sound to overcome the same struggles as me, I feel so resonant with someone for the first time in forever. Your words are intriguing to me, and your very spirit justifies my complaints about a life that no one should be able to complain about."

"I hope my words make sense to you. Speaking about my feelings is still something I'm not quite used to, so keeping my thoughts organized is just a little bit more of a chore than normal."

@Shane

 

[Tick Tock]

.

She decided to save any thoughts for the last, giving Azykia the time she rightfully deserved to express herself and even elaborate further on her life, on her feelings, on what she could easily tell were locked doors opened to someone anonymous like herself, a mere magical shade in a literal sense if their sight were to be taken as absolute. The realm of the Starcalled surely held little to this girl, and yet it all wrapped up with that one conclusion that had her thetered a smile onto her. Where she struggled, Azy held to a much more hopeful if not somber energy, at least to Shane, that is.

"You been through a lot, haven't you?" She started, vague implications, but nonetheless the question gave extra seconds for her to take a deep breathe and let her hands rest on her own lap. "I was told my father sold me over as a last ditch effort to pay a blood debt he had to, well, you could say my new father." A crude start, but this time the words were there, engrained inside of her head, easy to repeat once given form to a story much easier to digest once certain details were omitted. "It has always been struggles for me. But that's the life I knew, and I persisted through it all to try and earn freedom for myself and others." Her eyes fell to her hands, despite them being mere rays of light, instinct took over for that alone: she knew where they were, in anycase. "I understand what you mean now. A life without struggle is no life at all. I'm sorry for what happened to your mother. I cannot imagine living without a single worry in my life, I'll be honest. But neither would I switch places with you, because mine is a life everyone should be able to complain about, and no one should ever have to go through." It pained her to say so. So many lives were lost for hers, and here she is with the mere idea of switching places. Even mention of it, despite her denial, made her sick on the stomach.

"Never forget what you have, miss Azykia. It gives you the opportunity to live in this world and to fill in that which you are missing. It would be hypocritical of me to say this is just a game, because it saved my life, but you need to unplug yourself every now and then. And when you do? Remember that this realm will wait for you, yes? Let that be what motivates you through your day in the starcalled realm. And you will always find me in Honeyhome whenever you need me. So..." She clasped her hands together, finally turning her head towards her newfound friend.

​

Spoiler

"Let's struggle together, yes?"

​

​

@Azykia

 

[Azykia]

Just as Shane listened to her, Azykia listened to Shane just as politely and as patiently as ever. The two seemed to have that sort of thing going on, where each of them had more thoughts behind their lips than they anticipated before actually beginning to speak. At the same time, perhaps Azzy was just hoping she wasn't the only one between the two of them with that flaw. Sometimes it could be too easy to open up to someone when you feel anonymous enough, and free of consequence. Especially someone who was so understanding of her desire to struggle and face obstacles for one reason or another.

At the same time, it was simply more likely that this Shane person was simply very insightful. In fact, she was almost certain of it at this point. She was just living up to her image spilling all of her problems onto this stranger, and this stranger was doing their best to be helpful. It was politeness, after all, wasn't it?

Being sold by your father, earning your freedom. These are the horrors of reality that made her situation feel worse and worse, as she really couldn't complain. This poor woman, really. A life without struggle is no life at all. At first it felt as though the two agreed, but the more she listened to Shane skirt around the details of her own life, she realized it must truly be beyond complaint. The opposite of her too-perfect life, she didn't even need to say how terrible it was outside of a couple vague sentiments.

She stared down with a guilt-infested frown of worry. It's not as though she could see anyway.

She closed her eyes and forced a smile out of mere habit to the other girl. Let's struggle together, yes?

"Yes, let's. And if you need anything..." She bit her lip, making idle strokes with the quill without allowing it to touch the paper and waste the ink. "Well, I can't say I'm all too useful of a person, but anything I can manage, I'll make sure you can have it."

There was a pause, where she gulped and considered her words. "And, my apologies for complaining to you, Shane. I'll take your advice to heart."

@Shane

 

[Tick Tock]

.

A little giggle broke past her lips, the silence that fell upon them was grim, black and white around a world that was so colorful, or probably that's how it would if they could ever witness it.

And yet she felt like laughing with confidence in the face of such coldness that stained their conversation

"Useful? miss Azykia, you have strength of heart and mind. Where others stagnate with commodities, you seek a life of adversity and challenge." She stroke her chin with quizzical abandon.

Specially confused at such an abrupt apology.

"You don't need to apologize. I cannot fully understand your blights and I will not say that I do because our lives were different. But you did not complain, you only let your heart speak. I hope you feel better, because I sure do now that someone had a second to listen to my story, a pigment of it at least." Closure to that with reassurance, and feeling like an answer would only prompt for more, Shane reached out for the bottle of ink and pulled free the skin-tight glove to submerge and coat her index finger on the viscous liquid.

"You already gave me what I wanted, but there is something else you can do for me. If you would allow me-" Shane took a second to tap her hand over the journal, gently closing it so the front cover could be seen, and with ink on her finger and bold, huge letters to spread a message loud and clear to those who read it, she left her personal mark upon it that begun to glow faintly so in purple.

And with that done, her finger smeared the remnants across her own clothes, something most would find a waste with how expensive did her wardrobe look- She's been used to rags her entire life, the value matters little on this jacket, be it in this world or the starcalled's

"Let's leave the name of the authors on the cover, yes? This is all I ask for. Afterall, credit should be shared."

@Azykia