[Academy Library] of Notoriety and Infamy

[Sybil Malach]

I

Vhalar 22nd, arc 719.

Viden's academic social circles were awake with the stirring of a figure of some renown. It was hard to go far without hearing some talk of an almost household name between students or professors. Not only a notable academic, but one that has done a myriad of things to gain her renown on the global scale. Some students were even reading up on the history of that figure specifically, so as to not offend such a prestigious figure.

These strands of gossip were everywhere. Even the library itself, claiming to possess many of the known works of academia of man, was not spared from the undertones of excitement. Voices murmuring about one event or another.

It was coming to the end of a day. The library itself never quite emptied due to the amount of people attempting to grasp for academic power, or trying to desperately cram in enough information so as to not be scolded in the middle of class. But in comparison to that of the midday's races, it was at least a bit more quiet. One could truly get lost in the library stacks and at least find some level of privacy without stepping on toes or intimidating others.


Sybil sat at one of the tables along the far sides of the library itself. One hand resting against the side of their face, it was obvious that the person had just gotten out of class. Their hair was pulled back into an obnoxiously tight and braided bun, and their uniform was pressed to the best one could expect out of a quasi-rushed job. Sybil's finger idly rested on their pin, twirling the brass beneath their fingertips. Thankfully, they could touch it without gloves, inside.

Eyes dancing along the of the book cracked open in front of them, Sybil couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed. An attempt was being made at understanding alchemy again, but they were faced with a very real problem. Most of the preparatory process seemed to require a deep and intimate knowledge of chemistry in order to do safely. There were references to magic being used, among other things, but this was the only way they could get their foot in the door without compromising their morals.

... Why was distillation so hard to learn? Surgery was easier by comparison at this point! A soft sigh left Sybil's throat as they leaned forward and squished their eyes closed for a moment. They were at least happy that they weren't about to be an apothecary anytime soon. That would be a personal hell of its own design.


The table in which Sybil sat was open on all sides. All chairs were available. The main issue one might have would be that it was dimly lit, providing sub-optimal reading conditions-- Perhaps why hardly anyone bothered to sit around this zone of the Library outside of just getting books.

[Faith Augustin]

Viden Academy was a place which Faith had very mixed feelings about.

They still didn't admit slaves - and with the opening of Rharne's Institute of Innovation, it would be the only one institute out of the three open ones which were connected; both the satellite campus at Scalvoris and the new Institute allowed slaves in. However, she was here for a reason. She'd been finishing her Licentiate here - and she'd chosen Viden purposely. After all, she was a former slave and the Academy had to acknowledge that. Alongside the Licentiate, Faith had been teaching a number of guest lectures and had been supervising some lower level students who were working on their Charters.

Consequently, with the amount of responsibilities she had, Faith had spent a lot of time in her office. Where she could, she tried to get into the library. It wasn't the Athenium, or - come to that - it didn't hold a flame to Yvithia's Library. However, Faith had once told Padraig that she wanted to read all the books in Andaris - their first ever lesson together. He'd told her with a wry smile that he thought perhaps that would take rather a long time and she had ~ most earnestly ~ agreed with him. Something so small as impossible to achieve never had stopped Faith and it wasn't about to start.

She'd spent the afternoon in the library after her classes had finished. They'd been an interesting group of students and she'd stayed behind a little while to work with them. There was a different atmosphere to Viden and Faith had to admit that she didn't like it. It claimed to be about tradition, focusing on the history of the place; Faith didn't believe it, not for a moment. It was about prestige and power, it was about rich people getting richer and poor people getting poorer. Improper healthcare, slavery and all the other ills of the world were here. But, Faith was working to change it, one bit at a time. Change here was slow, but since Padraig had resurrected Treid, slightly more likely, Faith thought.

As the afternoon had progressed, Faith had found the library lighting to be rather below-par in terms of ease of reading. As was her usual tactic, she was sitting - or she had been, originally - at the table towards the side of the shelves she was wanting to access. Faith's Licentiate had considered the various types of ether and how it affected blood. But what she hadn't considered was the secondary use of blood in alchemy. Her own alchemy skill was sufficient that she understood the principles she was working with, but what Faith did not understand ~ yet, she reminded herself ~ was how an alchemical creations made utilising blood lasted longer than all her research suggested ether remained active in the blood. That was currently her issue and she really didn't have time to mess around now, because she was just on to something.

There was no question, no consideration in Faith's mind. She'd found a tome which was discussing the "shelf life" of alchemical concoctions - specifically potions, but Faith could work with that - and she needed to read the book. So, as Sybil sat, Faith didn't notice anyone around her. The people here might know of the famous medic, the philanthropist, all of the war against the Coven and the Lich Ellasin. But Faith was who she was and the former slave was sitting on the floor, in the last beam of light, reading the book in question. Her long black hair was loose and so it hung over her face. There she remained until she got up to get another book - referenced in the first book she was reading - with every intention of taking it back to the spot where the last of the trial's light would allow her to learn.

[Sybil Malach]

II

Vhalar 22nd, arc 719.

Slowly, Sybil flipped through the pages of the book before them. Why was this one concept so hard? They'd spoken with Doran about this sort of thing, and still, nothing. They were getting better... But only in the sedatives department. It was the thing that they worked with the most. The idea of turning cider into brandywine was something that was a lost concept, as well as anything remotely in the vein of alchemy. ... Were they hitting a brick wall yet again?

A slow shake of the head, as their eyes scanned the inked words. Sybil's left thumb slipped between their lips and the nail caught between their teeth. It was hard to focus on the line they were on. Eyes kept centering on the entire page, as though trying to read the whole thing in one go. Something... Utterly impossible to expect to be able to do. They were tired, yet their mind was afire trying to understand things. It hurt their head to think about, in the end.

Resting their eyes, Sybil took a slow breath. Fingertips tapping against the table, they let their mind run off in a flurry before their eyes opened once more. Glancing to the side, they traced the library stacks for a brief distraction.

There was someone else here. For a brief moment, Sybil's hairs stood on end. Eyes glancing at the figure in the low light, they were confused for a moment. Biting down on their bottom lip, they tried to think if they'd been talking to thin air, or anything remotely as embarrassing. Thankfully, they weren't murmuring the passages out. A slow breath left their lips, once they got a bit more comfortable. This was a public place after all. They should expect people.

"Getting colder, isn't it?" Sybil said, making idle chatter as their eyes returned to the book. While social graces weren't their forte, there was something in their mind that urged them to speak with the figure in the shadowy library stacks. Perhaps they were lulled into a sense of security with the low lighting, where it almost offered anonymity. Though more likely, it was an impulsive decision because Sybil can't keep their mouth shut, "Not looking forward to Cylus myself, strange things seem to happen when the days grow shorter."

A shudder in the back of their skull, as they remember the last time they'd run into such a thing. Sybil was running a favor with a Lotharro during Cylus. They still remember seeing that creature being burned, still gibbering quasi human things. A stray thought wondered why they hadn't... Heard of anything like that before. Perhaps Sybil was more blind to their surroundings than they thought? It was a possibility, at the very least.

That's... When this all began though, back in Cyclus of seven eighteen. The thought began to churn in their mind, as their eyes glanced back down at the text before them. Cylus was becoming a recurring thing in their history, now that they mentioned it. It was uncanny, how much they had ignored it before. ... Sybil was born on the first of Cylus, for goodness sake! They couldn't help but feel a dreading sensation of ineptitude.

But as they pinched the bridge of their nose... They knew it was just chance.

[Faith Augustin]

There were people around her, which Faith largely ignored. The book she was reading was fascinating to her and she was beginning to glean the information she needed. However, she caught sight of movement and glanced up, smiling at the ... student, she guessed, judging both by the books that the person who she was sharing a space with was studying and just general demeanour .... young woman with the pale face and somehow pale hair, too. She looked rather like she was touched by the ice around her, Faith considered. Still, Faith never had been someone who judged people by their appearances, it simply wasn't her way.

The student in question made a comment about the cold and Faith gave a smile. "I must admit to not really being able to tell the difference between degrees of freezing here," she said, softly. It was, indeed, getting colder but there was a level of how cold it was which really, Faith supposed, one needed to be a native to the place to truly appreciate. Bloody freezing, Padraig would say, and he'd be right also. Perhaps strangely, Faith was wearing warm clothes, but not the kind of thing that visitors usually needed to in these weathers. A warm woollen jumper and a soft wool skirt. Of course, that was because she was able to regulate her own temperature, plus the clothing kept her snug at all times.

As for the words about Cylus, and the young woman's consideration that strange things happened when the trials grew short, Faith's expression turned into a thoughtful frown. "On Scalvoris," she said, motioning in entirely the opposite direction to where Scalvoris actually was. Faith's lack of a sense of direction bordered on legendary at this point. "It's the 1st of Vhalar. Always, the really weird stuff happens then." She shrugged slightly, about to go onto a tangent of wondering whether there was a wave of weirdness which just.... moved. That would be an interesting phenomena, she thought. Hmm. "It might be interesting to find out if there's a pattern, don't you think?" It could be a whole new level of study, she thought.

Pulling herself back to the here and now, Faith glanced at the books the student was looking at. "Alchemy too?" Lifting her own tome, the pale young woman who sat on the floor revealed the black nails and tattooed wrists which denoted some of her allegiances and the Immortal marks which she bore. Certainly, she made no effort to hide them. Moving forward as she did, the slight glowing in her hair demonstrated further such marks as Faith's very pale, almost porcelain-white face came into view. Her eyes, which were a shade of blue so pale they were silver, regarded Sybil with a friendly expression. "We appear to be sharing an interest. I'm Faith, nice to meet you ....?" She didn't know the woman's name, so she left the question hanging.

"Maybe we can help each other?" Faith wondered. "Alchemy isn't entirely my forte, but my husband knows it very well. My plan is to ask him if I absolutely can't work it out, but what I'm looking for is a bit of a mixture of alchemy, medicine, and ether-theory. I'm trying to work out why alchemy can utilise blood with ether in it far longer than ether remains in the blood usually." That was the crux of it for her. "Because that seems to suggest to me that ether continues to taint blood in a manner that science hasn't yet worked out - or alchemy is cheating." She gave a slight smile. She wasn't ruling it out, that was for sure. "What about you?"

[Sybil Malach]

III

Vhalar 22nd, arc 719.

A thin smile crossed Sybil's lips once they heard Faith's comment about the weather. Their eyes remained away from their book, as their jade irises rested upon her. Something in Sybil's mind responded positively to that, subliminally. Perhaps it was the humor that they often didn't get the experience of, or perhaps it's the fact that there was some strange switchbox in their mind surrounding people that could shrug off the cold. They knew someone like that, actually.

Sybil glanced to the side, as Faith continued to speak. They were still listening, but their braid was starting to come undone. Reaching up with slim fingers, they began to carefully pluck the pin from between the strands and allow the follicles to ease their strain. Placing the clay pin upon the table, their fingers then worked to slowly slide their hair back over their shoulder. Sybil wasn't one to braid their hair in the middle of conversation: They'd been yelled at for that.

There was a pause, though. Something that caught their eye. Something strange.

A pattern was proposed. An eyebrow raised, as Sybil's lips parted, as though they were about to dismiss the notion as a conversational jest. Yet... Their lips sealed, instead. An eyebrow quirked. There was a point there. In Viden, there seemed to be strange things happening when things were dark. Certainly there were other things that happened in other places that seemed a bit too common. Whether if it was superstition or researchable, it was still interesting.

"Perhaps. Though I'm afraid I don't know much about Scalvoris. I went there, once. It was a... Educational experience. I don't remember where, though. It was some arcs ago." Came their milquetoast answer. Sybil wasn't about to start going into theoreticals with someone they just met, it seems. A breath, "Though, I must admit, it would be hard to resist researching something like that if that were my field of expertise."

As Faith mentioned alchemy, Sybil nodded their head, tapping the cover of their own book. Though... Glistening in the half light, their eyes were drawn to those strange nails. They had... Seen those before, actually. Their brows furrowed. A great many things had happened after they went borderline rabid researching how to remove the Mistress from their mind. The worshipper of Vri that they met seemingly slipped their mind.

Sybil made no effort to hide the fact that they didn't understand what was going on with her nails. Their right cheek rose, and their brows furrowed. A complete mental flatline, one they'd likely be embarrassed about later.

"Sybil Malach. I'm a native here." Sybil introduces without much fanfare. No true Videnese would lie, or skimp around with just telling their identity. At least, that's what they thought, ignorant of the horrors of the world around them, "A pleasure to meet you, Faith."

Wait. Faith?

"Faith?" Sybil's eyes slowly blinks. Their head cocks to the side, and their brows furrow. They seem brazenly confused now, one might fear that their face just may stick this way, "That definitely... Is quite the familiar name."

Indeed. Quite the understatement. Though, they resisted the urge to ask for help understanding the concepts that their professors were so rapt over. Sybil... Wasn't quite there yet, still ignorant to things outside of being a sawbones.

"Ether... In the blood." Sybil repeated, as Faith finished the sentence. Their mind was confused by the concept, but they scanned their memories, as they closed their eyes. Was there something that even came close to what she was asking about? "Well... I don't know if the Tanners are considered... Ether-ish. But they most certainly have blood. They burn well, too. They're dead things made living, at least that's what some of the Rangers say. Perhaps... They've some alchemical merit that might help?"

Those Tanner Mantises were disgusting. The mere mention of it made Sybil's skin crawl.

But it was another horror entirely, when the disease leapt species.

A slow roll of the shoulders is given, though, when it comes to what they're looking for. In truth, it's excessively simple, they just don't grasp it, "... Alchemy as a whole is lost on me. Perhaps it's how I'm studying, but the basics elude me like..." Their lips knit to the side as they tried to come up with a simile. An apprehensive look crosses their features, "Like a person that doesn't grasp the basics of something."

Smart move, Sybil. Way to show the woman you don't read anything artistic. Definitely doing the Academy proud with how much of a shut-in you are.

[Faith Augustin]

Faith gave a slight smile, her pale eyes briefly focusing in the middle distance. "Scalvoris is unlike anywhere else I've been. It was the first place to allow me into the university, knowing I had been a slave." she shrugged slightly. "They were the first of the then-three to admit slaves. Of course, Viden still doesn't. Yet." It was definitely a case of 'yet' as far as Faith was concerned. "And I agree. I wonder if anyone has researched such. So much to learn." She knew that there was, that there were always more things that she would want to know. It was fascinating to her, and Faith got a flash, for a moment, of a similar feeling from the woman in the library - Sybil as she introduced herself as. Faith gave a slight shrug at the fact that it was a familiar name. Her expression mirrored her words as she looked just a touch awkward. "People seem to think that anything I did, I did alone. That is most certainly not the case. Yet, somehow, it is me who gets well-known. What strange things," Faith said with a smile, "we mortals are."

They spoke then of alchemy, perhaps a little, and then Sybil spoke of 'Tanners', and Faith raised an eyebrow. When Sybil had finished, though, she frowned slightly, in thought. "I have never heard of them referred to as Tanners, but that sounds like necromantic thralls." Faith considered for a moment, and then considered. "There was a Coven base here, just ... well, not very long ago. The aim of the group who ran it was to bring a plague - the one that decimated Rynmere - to all corners of the world. The necromantic thralls were plague carriers, was the aim and, with every person that died, they added to their numbers." Faith spoke calmly, looking at Sybil with a gaze which was almost serene. She had seen horrors untold, but Faith saw no reason to share more than facts with anyone and her own sense of discipline kicked in.

If she thought anything of Sybil doing her hair as they spoke, Faith did not say anything about it. She simply appeared not to notice, in fairness. Sybil spoke of the Tanners and Faith wondered whether they were Thralls or not. "The name Tanners, is that a local name or a species?" Faith wondered. Sybil didn't answer her question regarding helping each other - or, come to that, the more direct 'what about you' question. Faith understood what that meant and she had no wish to intrude on someone's time, nor intention of asking twice. It simply wasn't her way; as a slave she had understood the rules of speech and they really hadn't changed as a free person. Considering their conversation, Faith recognised that Sybil had made a passing comment, which Faith had picked up on. When she'd offered to work together, there had been no response and thus, that gave the answer. Faith didn't mind that in the slightest, she wasn't about pressuring people.

So, a gentle smile and, because she was who she was, she made sure that Sybil knew. "Well, I won't interrupt your studies further, Sybil. It's been a pleasure talking to you and thank you so much for your help - I appreciate it. If you want any help with that Alchemy, or would like to discuss anything, they've given me an office while I'm here. You're always welcome." Picking up her books, Faith considered that it was probably time to check these out of the library and make her way home for the evening. There, her husband and children were waiting and she was more than happy to spend an evening playing games. "They insist on calling me 'Professor Augustin', although in my mind, that's my husband. But still. Good luck with those studies." That said, Faith gave a slight nod, picked up her things and made her way out.

Off Topic

Fun first encounter, thanks! If Syb would seek Faith out, we can continue here, I'm quite happy. If not, no worries!!

[Doran]

Sybil:

Knowledge: -
Loot: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

Faith:

Knowledge: -
Loot: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

- - -

Comments: This was an interesting first meeting!

I agree that Sybil and Faith have a few things in common. I wonder if they’ll ever meet again!

I found what Sybil said about the Tanner Mantises especially interesting. Are they really dead things made living? Someone should research that!

Anyway, enjoy your rewards!