R'sath, Tower of Starlight - Part 1 - Attendants and Conversations

In the hour before anyone came to his guest room, Ahsch dragged himself off the bed and - much to his familiar's endless amusement - resumed his tinkering with his spells. Rather than continue to frustrate himself with combining Arsenal of Ecstasy and Edge of Glory, he went back to attempting the full merge of Mage Sight, Heart Sight, and Enhanced Senses. Before he messed with the actual, fully-integrated spell, he first layered each of the three sensory spells over each other... and found that while significantly reduced, something in the combination was still causing overload.

After a bit of toying with different layerings of each spell combination, he concluded that while he was quite accustomed to Mage Sight - and now also Enhanced Senses, thanks to his nigh two weeks of almost constant use of it - and Heart Sight wasn't too strenuous, the specific combinations he hadn't dealt with already - namely Enhanced Senses with either of the other two spells - were still somewhat taxing, making the completed trio quite bothersome.

Sighing in annoyance at the fragility of brains, the Dominant Mage put Mage Sight and Enhanced Senses together and resigned himself to at least another few weeks of acclimatization before he was ready to put all three together for real. It also occurred to him that, when that time came, building in the ability to filter each of the senses - or potentially add more - would be important, or at the very least, useful. He didn't always need access to each of the different senses, and while the combined cost of all three effects in one spell would be significantly reduced compared to the combined cost of three separate spells, if there was a way to adjust the Mana cost for each active sense within the spell, that would make the end result even better. Especially since making a separate spell for each individual combination of senses would be quite a time sink - and the hrafthi was willing to bet that he would eventually get at least a few more senses in his repertoire, further compounding the issue.

He was still considering the framework for such a complex spell - probably the most complex one he'd ever worked on so far, given the various variables and switches he'd have to build into it to account for increasing effects included in it - that he was startled by the firm knock at the door.

"Come in!" he called, after a quick glance and a mental gesture at his familiar sent her from her lounging, nude monster form to her lounging, furred beast form.

Ahsch was slightly surprised when a young man who looked to be a servant of some kind entered, shut the door firmly, then bowed politely - though not very deeply. "Mister Ahsch, I am Dorin, and I will be your attendant whilst you are here in R'sath."

The mage looked Dorin up and down, quickly judging him to be about his own age, maybe a little younger, and essentially without magic; like anyone - or anything, really - on Euphoria, the boy had some Mana within his body, but there was no ebb or flow to it, nothing to indicate any use of that mystical energy.

"Good to meet you, Dorin," Ahsch replied. "Clearly you know me, but you should also meet Mahat, my familiar. She is intelligent and can assume a monster's form, though I wouldn't expect her to transform in front of you."

The attendant smiled slightly. "Of course. If need be, I can step out to allow her to change and dress, should you desire?" The hrafthi was surprised for only a moment before realizing that, of course the seat of power and magic in the Kingdom would see its fair share of familiars and that therefore the servants here would know some of the quirks.

No need, Mahat informed her Master in response to the attendant's question, for now I'll just use you as my mouthpiece.

The Dominant Mage closed his eyes for a moment to avoid rolling them in Dorin's direction by accident. "She'll be okay," he relayed. "If you don't mind, could you just... explain what being an attendant means? I've, uh... well, I live in a fairly small village, so..."

The servant gave a deep nod. "Of course, Mister Ahsch. The short version is that I am here to assist with nearly anything you might need, even if it is only to relay a message to servants more appropriate to a given task. Should you be hungry outside of mealtimes, you may call me and I can query the kitchen staff about food for you. If you wish to tour R'sath - the open parts, that is - I can guide you; same if you need to go somewhere. In essence, any and all requests, concerns, and questions you may have can be directed to me, and I shall make sure to fulfill, ameliorate, and answer them all, or find others better suited to it."

"Wow, that's... a lot. If you don't mind, I actually have a question right away?"

"Of course."

"When we arrived, Michlas told us he would come see us as soon as he could, but didn't really say when that would be..."

"Ah, yes. Regretfully, due to recent... developments, I expect that Master Michlas will not be able to visit with you anytime soon. Most likely it won't be until tomorrow that your business with him will be able to continue."

'Master' Michlas, Mahat mused. Interesting. I wonder what more he is other than the brat's bodyguard.

"I see," Ahsch murmured. "What exactly happened that's got him and Kira... er... Lady Celes rushing back here?"

For a moment, Dorin seemed acutely uncomfortable, but the boy quickly composed himself. Ahsch's Heart Sight still detected his discomfort though, as well as feelings of sadness and disbelief. "It... It's not my place to say, Mister Ahsch. I'm sure that Michlas would be able to tell you when you see him."

"Okay. Sorry if I put you in an uncomfortable position."

The attendant put a small smile on. It wasn't backed by much other than some appreciation. "Not at all, Mister Ahsch. Though I do regret telling you that I would be your go-to for any questions, and then I immediately must decline to answer one."

The Dominant Mage waved the apology away. "You're just doing your job, and I'm sure there's all sorts of rules about who tells people what. Then I guess onto less serious matters, when is dinner? Trail rations and soup are all well and good, but three weeks of it becomes rather harsh on one's palate."

"Of course, sir. Dinner should be ready in another hour and a half. Should you and your companions wish, you may dine together in the guest dining room, or separately in your chambers. I believe that the kitchen is..."

After a few more basic questions, Ahsch went to confer with his sister and mother, who agreed to share supper together. Comparing notes, none of them were able to figure out what had happened to case Kirasiel and Michlas to rush back to the Capitol, both of their own personal attendants unwilling - or unable - to comment on the matter; likewise, 'tomorrow' was the best they were able to get about when they would see Michlas.

"Whatever happened, it's significant," Dahil told her children as they convened in her room. "To explicitly invite us but then be **** to put off actually dealing with the matter that brought us here suggests at least that much."

"To be fair, Michlas wasn't the one who invited us," Ariin pointed out.

"And I don't think Kira ca... ahem, Kirasiel cares about making us - and more specifically me - wait around doing nothing."

The twins' mother huffed a laugh. "Don't bother thinking you're not going to be spending most of our time here either working on your spells or bedding your sister and familiar, young man." Both siblings vocally objected to being called out while Mahat yawned lazily, laughing in her Master's head. Then Dahil turned her attention to Ahsch. "And don't forget, we have more to talk about regarding your little stunt with the dragon."

He sighed. "We've already talked about that _several _times, mother," he objected. "And I completely agree that under literally any other circumstances, what I did was reckless and stupid. As it was, it was just... objectionable, but rejecting the her wasn't exactly a viable option. I don't think even with the rest of the family there - in addition to Michlas and Kirasiel and the knights - that we could have beaten her if she decided to fight."

"She didn't suggest that she would attack if you declined to spar," his mother pointed out.

"No, but even worse, I would - I think the term was 'disappoint?' - a goddess. I don't know about you, but after getting Phashak's attention, I don't intend to change it from 'mildly interested' to 'upset in any way, shape, or form.' She could squish me like a bug, or even worse..." He trailed off. To be fair, he wasn't sure if Phashak could actually harm him directly. Were gods living things? Did they transcend the definition of life as it applied to Life Resist? She could probably teleport him into the ocean. Or space. Or any number of other decidedly awful places.

Or, even worse - she could go after the people he cared about. A consequence he could see his mother wasn't ignorant of.

With a sigh, Dahil closed her eyes. "I know. I know. But... I still worry. And I'm a mother - so much of me is still caught on the 'reckless and stupid' part." She gave Ahsch a small smile. "And I can't exactly say that the entire situation isn't a little insane. The gods don't involve themselves with us as a rule. That you spoke with Phashak, and not only that, but she bears any degree of interest in you..." The hrafthi woman shook her head. "I don't know what to make of that. You're my precious, miraculous baby."

Ahsch blushed. "We make the best of it that we can," he replied. "I don't think she has any animosity towards me. And honestly, given what I am," he combed his fingers through his hair, brushing a specific feather repeatedly. "I don't think that gaining the non-lethal attention of a goddess is the worst thing that could have happened."

The other two hrafthi's expressions darkened a little. "I can't say you're wrong about that," Dahil admitted. "But that doesn't mean that I won't still worry about you."

The boy smiled lovingly at the woman who birthed him.