Surprise Guest - Jygust 30th (ET 2rd Mark)

[Ashtallion Urdil]

" Ashari.....", he took her hand, stepping closer once more, "....you do realise, I am not performing magic on you.....the reading of a persons Skien, that's all it is. A reading. I am not Weaving a spell. To attempt to actually manipulate an individuals Skien would require power the likes of which I no longer have access to....and even then, such events can only take place on a specific night. ", the sorcerer did not shy away from the woman's gray and pleading gaze. " I can do nothing else to find out who the father is. Or at least, nothing that I know of. Neither Andolin, nor Ketch would even know that I am touching the Aether, besides, I would not be viewing their Skien, I would just look at yours to establish if the thread of life energy connects to Ketch or Andolin. You just need to be in closer proximity to either of them.....Ketch could be the easier of the two? If the thread does not stretch to him..then I will know it must be Andolin."

Ashtallion could only imagine how much she wanted to know who the father of her child was, even knowing what the possible implications could be should it prove to be Andolins. Heir to the Throne? Would the Caesar have to take her as his bride? Or keep her around as the Imperial Mistress?

" If I were more proficient in Divination, then I could have helped further....but I know very little of that Branch of magic. What do you think? Do you want to try your original idea with Andolin? Or arrange for yourself, Ketch and I to be in the same room? "

[Ashari]

The brunette looked rather disappointed. She'd expected more of the would be Arch Mage. Typical of a man to give up so easily, she thought to herself, still holding fast to him and trying not to give into berating him. There were better ways of getting him to try again. "I understand," she said taking a deep breath through her nose.

"Why isn't it working? You said you could see the baby, do you see anything else?" It was difficult for her, she was working blindly with his inept powers to lead her. It would be so much easier if she could just read her own Skein. She wouldn't give up. Perhaps he couldn't understand why it meant so much to her because he thought it was just a matter of the heir and the throne, when in fact the child was instrumental in deciding who she would tell what, and what she was going to say to Ketch.

Closing her eyes, Ash decided she'd try something different. "Focus on the Skein, and I will focus on your mind. I'll look through your eyes." Ashari delved into her core, held fast to her powers, and sent out tendrils of energy to lick at Asht's mind. He'd already agreed to let her in, it just happened to be a bit earlier than what had been originally arranged. She tapped into his mental reserve to explore his recent memories, and from there traced a pattern toward his vision.

[Ashtallion Urdil]

" It is working, Ashari. Life Energy is limited to the person it is connected. I know this is your life energy, because I can see you. The same with your child. But never having seen Ketch's or Andolins Life Patterns....how am I to recognise whose energy your child is connected to? ", he knew she was obviously frustrated with his lack of success, yet this was still a new magick to him, and he had not had the time, (nor had he remembered), to practice it. Something which he would certainly remedy in the near future.

" Besides, like I said, this is still ne--", he stopped short as she closed her eyes and said she was going to look into his mind. Had the Sorcerer any hesitations, he did not let them show. Resigned to the fact that she would not be content to believe his word until she saw it for herself, the Magus centered himself once more and opened his Aetheric vision to again read Ashari's Skien. He should be able to read it with more ease, having gained a sense of her energy and her child's already.

Within the confines of his mind, Ashtallion allowed the mental barriers to drop so Ashari would have easier access to it within being slowed down by his walls. It was a mark of the confidence and strength of friendship he felt towards the Guild Mistress to even allow her inside his head. The Magus was an adhiel that preferred to be in Control. And anything that even potentially threatened that made his nervous. Yet not with Ashari. He knew she would never violate his trust, and vice versa.

[Ashari]

This was a new world, a new vantage point, and from it, she was able to talk Ashtallion into trying again. Her eyes moved behind her lids as she wriggled free of the constraints of the physical world into the place where anything was possible. Her magick flowed through her veins with the heat of heroin, racing and filling her. His trust in her could easily be compared to a drug as well, for he didn't even question it, he just went with it. She'd not felt that sort of connection since Iorn, and she had to concentrate to leave behind the emotionality of that realization so that she could focus on what was important right now.

She moved passed his surface thoughts, those that said things about his discomfort and how he yearned for control, as well as those that were subconcious surface thoughts, like balance adjustments and breathing controls which people didn't even know they were thinking about.

Not sure what she would see of this Skein, she spoke through her mind to him. It's ok, Asht, I trust this. Look for my baby's thread, even thinking the word 'baby' made for the lump in her throat to grow. Shhh, the thought transferred easily over to her companion. Sorry, ok.. maybe I'm a little scared, she let out a shuddering breath that would've been laced with tears if she'd allowed it, but she didn't - not yet. Follow it, trace that other line that goes from the baby outward, she suggested thinking on how he'd described it. Let's see if I can cue onto what you're seeing.

[Meridiuz]

It took Ashtallion only a couple of flickers to regain his concentration and be able to focus on Ashari's Skien again. He would have had a much more difficult time if he had been fighting Ashari's presence in his mind, but as he fully allowed her to be there, he didn't lose any concentration on it.

As soon as Ashtallion started to read the Skien, Ashari could see it. She saw what Ashtallion saw. It was almost too overwhelming, seeing your own Skien through the eyes of someone else.

The sorcerer followed the the strands until he found the baby's translucent red energies again. Again he saw the crimson and the magenta threads doing their dance. At the current level however, Ashstallion wasn't able to see which of the threads actually connected to the baby, when there was one thing to be sure of, which was that one of them had to be connected to the baby. He would have to dig deeper to find that out, which would not be all too difficult. After that, one question would remain. How would he be able to tell who was Mr. Magenta and who was Mr. Crimson? It would definitely be a good challenge, perhaps one which was more a challenge of the mind than a challenge of magical abilities. The connection that Ashari had with Ashtallion had been passive, because her first goal was just to see what he was seeing. But now seeing the Skien, seeing the skien of her baby and the crimson and magenta lines....it was hard to stay passive. She had full access to an unshielded mind and she had the power to control him. Control his mind, control his movements. It would be so easy.

[Ashari]

In invading Ashtallion's mind she had, for the first time, a glimpse at the power he wielded. Viewing the thoughts of others she had found them to be weak and easily manipulated. Aerin, for example, could just as easily be a student as she could be a new source of power for Ashari herself. Ashtallion, though, had at his fingertips a vast and deep fount that pulsed with prowess. In a very dark part of her, it made it all the more alluring for what he posessed.

She hadn't understood until now the problem that her friend faced. There was a tangled weave - her life... all her world. Through it ran so many lives, so many of them ending in abrupt and ragged explosions that also wove into her tapestry, in turn manipulating the direction of her prominent line. The temptation to use him to follow the course further than now was something she could taste.

Can you... can you get closer? To it.. I mean.. can we look at it closer? She didn't understand exactly what they were looking at, nor how to use one's mind to access it, or how to manipulate his vision so as to inspect the criss-crossing lines, particularly that of the small transluscent thread of her as-yet unborn baby. Even the thought of that gave over to it's own curiosity - not of knowing her path, but ensuring the safety and long life of her child to be. It was all so tantalizingly close. Maybe if I look at them I can figure out who is who without having to follow their lines back to them? She wasn't sure by what means she could do that, but there was always that gut feeling, and she'd done good through her life by following that. For now, it was telling her that they needed to continue with this. She wanted to know.

[Ashtallion Urdil]

The sorcerer, while not clueless, did not even contemplate the potential danger there was in allowing one such as Ashari into the mind of a reasonably powerful Magus. With her abilities, and his, she would be a singularly terrible force to reckon with. As it stood....Ashtallion merely allowed his friend access to his mind. Truth be told, the adhiel still possesed a small naivety, and he still believed in trusting those he thought close to him, and few of such he had.

Ashtallion did not want to reply in constructed thought to Ashari least he lose the momentum and concentration on the life energy, instead the gilded magus sent back a feeling reassurance and agreement, assuming that the Mindcrafter would sense it. He let the knowledge that Ashari was in mind slip away, and focus his thoughts on the crimson and magneta energies. Delving his sight deeper into the Skien that he had previously, narrowing his vision on the two specifically. If this were to be a task for his mind rather than an application of magic, he had to approach it with a critically analytical 'eye'.

Both energies possessed different shades. But where there any other differences. What about the actual quality of those energies? Did one sparkle more than the other? Did one appear older, or worn? Where there other colours shot through it, so small as to be near indiscernable? Did either energy have a particular 'sense', whether of strength, nobility or cunning? Could they even possess such qualities. There was but one what of find these things out.

Within him, Ashari would no doubt sense all that he was thinking, trying to apply logic to his discernment. She herself may be able to give him ideas, or spot something he missed, but would she if it was viewed through the sorcerers perception?

[Meridiuz]

Zooming in a level deeper, Ashtallion, as well as Ashari, could now see that it was the magenta one that actually branched off with the baby. It took them a few flickers to actually realize what that meant. Mr. Magenta was the father. They were now looking at the father of Ashari's baby. But why was he? Ketch or Andolin? Who was Mr. Magenta?

Analyzing the strands of energy was something that neither Ashtallion nor Ashari had done before. Now it wasn't the idea to look at it up close, but in as much ways as possible. What kind of information would they be able to read from the Skien anyway? Ashtallion tried to read the qualities of the energies, but the energies seemed to have the same brightness. The quality didn't get him much further. Meanwhile nothing changed in his vision, but Ashari could read what his trail of thought was, since he had left his mind completely unshielded. The strands didn't look older or more worn in principle, however when he was taking a closer look, he did see that the magenta one was a little longer than the crimson strand. The other difference was the pattern of the strands. They were quite unique, each having it's peaks and lows at different places and at different frequencies.

OOC: If it helps, you could see the Skien much like an X-ray. If you place two of them next to each other, you wouldn't really see much difference in quality, but you would see that one arm has been broken in more places than the other.

[Ashari]

Ashari's heart could go no faster than it did as she viewed her own Skien, comparing the intersecting lines that wove through and around her own, mixing with her, being important factors in her life. These weren't strands they were men. They were her only lovers since Iorn, and one of them was the father of her child. She felt as if she might die from the stress of it all, from the realization and recollection of these facts, and this was not simply Mr. Magenta vs Mr. Crimson, it was Ketch and Andolin and she loved them both for she was a selfish woman who couldn't pick one over the other; for neither could be Iorn... neither ever would be.

And so she watched, with Ashtallion's guiding hand, as they inspected them and the realization that it was the magenta line which connected between she and her as yet unborn baby. One was longer than the other, and her stomach started to sink as she had a strong feeling of which of the men were older. "W- which one crosses mine first?" She asked... "That will tell. I knew Ketch a time before Andolin - a good time before." Her voice was a hoarse whisper.

It would be a minor intersection to start, her first meeting with Ketch, when he snuck into her room to deliver the message for Iorn, the message that was the beginning of the end of him, and of them. Then there would be the second meeting, upon Carling's Field where she learned about Bocce Ball and Iorn's play in the Underworld which she would soon become enbroiled with, and then, finally, the day of the Riot, when Ketch and she almost died together. It would be a pitch of highs and lows for their intersecting lines, while the meetings with Andolin came a half yahren after these events. Likely more than enough time to be able to distinguish one from the other.

[Ashtallion Urdil]

Again, the Sorcerer sent no verbal reply, he did not want to run the risk of losing concentration, his mind so focused on the Skiens. Yet she would sense his agreement to her proposal, and started to shift his vision. Ashtallion, ever so slightly, took a visual step back so that he could encompass Ashari's Skien, and that of the Skien belonging to the Father to see when it would cross sectioned with her own. If he could gain a sense of time, and compare it to any other lovers she has had in the last several yahren, it would at last give the Mindcrafter clarification on who the father was. The magus did not know all of those she had lain with. However having seen her Skien, it was hardly excessive.

OOC: Not much of a post sorry, feeling somewhat frazzled! Apologies again for delay Ash

[Meridiuz]

Ashtallion was looking at the Skien at such a level that he couldn't see her entire history at this point. He, as well as Ashari, were tracing the Magenta strand back to when it first connected with her Skien. It was quite the display. At the moment the magenta strand first intersected with Ashari's, there was a big drop, the white of her strand almost fading and a different strand. Another strand, a blue one, was visible here. It seemed to be tightly intertwined with Ashari's before the drop, but unlike hers, it faded completely at the lowest point of the drop.

The magenta strand connected slightly again soon after the drop and then once again, stronger this time, a while later. The crimson strand didn't connect with her skien until quite some length, or time, later. Which gave both Ashari and Ashtillion the answer they were looking for. There it was. To the left, the magenta strand connected and all the way to the right, the crimson one connected for the firt time. It was clear, according to the Skien, Ketch was the father.

[Ashari]

Ashari's heart stopped. "It's over... all my carefully laid plans. It's done," with a level of devastation in her voice she released her tendrils of mindcrafting and dejectedly sat back on the sofa her hand moving over the small roundness growing at her midsection. She felt empty - devoid of the would-be-power that she felt in viewing Ashtallion's mind and also of the emotions she'd built herself up to be expecting. What would she do now? It would only be a matter of time before Andolin would find out, before he'd know, and then it'd be entirely over. She winced at the thought. The mage feared gaining his disfavor.

"I had so thought... just.. so thought that it was Andolin's," she said in a weak voice that trembled with a mixture of exasperation as well as a touch of relief. This child wouldn't be the heir to the throne. It had a future in whatever it wanted. Wasn't that the best thing she could offer it? Ashari would never have want of money, or so she planned, and thus she could offer a bright future for her tiny baby, and she would protect it, even from the world that Andolin would've offered. "Thank you for helping," she said to her friend.

[Ashtallion Urdil]

His eyes closed briefly as he pulled back from Ashari's Skien and almost immediately, his hand darted forward to help the mindcrafter sit back. Whatever she had seen through his eyes had been enough to give her a shock, the sound of it thick in her voice. Then, she stated that she thought, or rather hoped?, the child was the Ceasar's...but by that, he gathered the father was Ketch. From Prince to Pauper then.

But no, Ashari was a woman of no small means, and while Ashtallion could not vouch for the father's wealth, he assumed his friend had provisons enough in place to secure a happy childhood. Besides, the woman was a powerful mage, few would seek to cross her or her child.

"I'm....sorry....Ashari. Would it have been better had I not showed you?", he looked away from her, somewhat distracted, biting his lower lip for a moment before looking down at her again. The sorcerer remained standing for now, golden eyes filled with...not pity...but an understanding almost, of what the disappointment and pain she must have been feeling was like. At least now, she knows and can pick up whatever pieces have been shattered in her plans. "Is there anything I can do, Ashari? You know that you have my aid if you ever need it....", he bent down to his knees before her, taking one of her hands in his two. "....and though you don't need it, you and your child have my protection also should you want it. What litle I have to offer at any rate.", he smiled gently.

[Ashari]

"No, no, not better at all, I'm relieved for knowing," she said with a nod, though her eyes blinked furiously for the frustration she felt at the knowledge. All that she'd built up, the world that she'd been creating was one that depended on the idea that the child in her womb belonged to the Caesar.

When her friend bent down she took in a deep clear cool breath of air through her nose and nodded as he spoke and took her hand.

"You've done all you can do for now," she said. "Thank you, Asht, really - for helping me know and for the rest. It's better this way, actually... to know, so that I might be strong for the Priestess when she does her ritual. It will be done officially, and that way he cannot question it either - thinking that I'm stealing away his would-be heir. I wouldn't want for that either."

She forced a smile. "I wonder if Ketch will be happy... I don't know, I'd only been thinking about how horribly I was going to hurt him eventually - that I would have to end it with him, but now it's very different. It's all very different." Her mind spun with the things she'd thought she'd be doing, and the things that she now would be and how they contradicted one another. Ash broke her hand free of his grasp and cupped his jaw in her palm, her eyes strongly meeting his in polar opposition to his golden orbs. "You are the best friend I could ever hope for, you know," she said and gave an actual smile, radiance breaking through the dismal clouds of her shattered world.

"Damn you for your love of men," she laughed. "Imagine the team we could've been." Ash would never love another adhiel the way she'd loved Iorn, for in his life he'd explained the pain that she was meant to burden him with with her shorter life. Eventually Ashtallion would know the pain of her life's end, but maybe that meant he could be there for her child. She withdrew her hand and placed it beside her patting the spot next to her on the sofa. "Sit with me a while? Until I get my head settled?"

[Ashtallion Urdil]

There was something inside his chest that constricted a little, not unpleasently, as Ashari offered her endearing words. He had never had a friend......truly.....in all his yahrens, he had never felt such a connection with a woman, save his sister. To be able to express himself and show affection, without it being mistaken for something else.

"Ah yes....the world over, women weep for the great loss of not bedding me.", he chuckled to himself as he followed her gesture and sat beside the dark haired beauty. "But still.....we need not be lovers to make a great team. I think that was pretty much evidenced when the old Guild was set aflame.", he smiled lightly.

"Of course I'll sit with you.....as long as you need me. We don't have to discuss it, unless you want to talk it all out. I would say however, not to tell Ketch straight away. Give yourself a few more days to adjust your plans? And it goes without saying, that if you want me there with you for support when you do tell him, just let me know."

[Ashari]

Ashari curled in next to Ashtallion as he sat, still laughing. Her body conformed to the space offered as she placed her head against his shoulder and stared off into the abyss that was the swirling, shifting expanse of her mind. "I imagine we'd be dangerous in the bedroom," she said. "One mage is enough, I think.. wouldn't want to destroy the world on accident." She laughed a bit more, settling into her new view and finding the company very pleasant in it.

"Ketch has a way of showing up when he will, I'm not sure I can lie to him now that I know for sure, but, if the time is right, I will tell him. He is a good man, a trustworthy man. I think I can handle it on my own, but.. don't become a stranger. I wish the Uni hadn't gone off to Sierra so that you could be closer."

She took a deep breath. Ashari felt more at peace now, for knowing, and tomorrow her planning could begin in earnest. Things would change now. Her initial idea of roping the Caesar in by her womb was no longer an option - atleast not for a number of months and it was likely that between now and then he'd have gotten himself a proper caesarii. She wouldn't rule the Empire by him. How else could she become the Empress? Andolin would never understand what he'd lost.

[Ashtallion Urdil]

"Had I not been restricted by the Blood Debt....I might well have moved closer, though I'm not certain I am required to remain within the University grounds.", he couldn't see her face, but he was content to let his own gaze drift off as the mindcrafter rested against him. "There is much that I still have to learn from the University, and yet I don't know if that's the Path for me anymore. Perhaps I would best serve myself as a more independent sorcerer.", he shrugged lightly.

"I certainly want to be closer to you, to help out when needed, and not just with the child. I shall enquire about that actually, with Professor Peckerton.", Ashtallion nodded, more so to himself. "Besides, I want to learn a thing or two from you.", he chuckled, "If I can't get more power from the Secrets of Creation....I may need to take up a second discipline.."

[Ashari]

"Find out, ask who you must. There would be a place for you here if you wanted it, though I'm sure you have the means to procuring a private residence relatively easily." When he shrugged he could feel her head nodding, even though he couldn't see it. "Anything I can help you with, I will," she said. "And strengthening my other disciplines is of the utmost importance to me as well." Her sorcery was lame at best (when compared to her mind crafting).

After that a peaceful sort of silence befell the two friends until Ash found herself hitting her second wind. "Perhaps before the mark draws too late you should be heading off to where ever it is you're staying here in the city. You're welcome to use my coach if you'd like, it'll take them ten burns to prepare it, but it's yours if you'll have it for the ride," she offered.

Ashari smiled and sat up properly, and then stood to walk Ashtallion to the door, stopping along the way to ring a bell if he wanted the black carriage. "Will you return to the Uni tomorrow?"

[Ashtallion Urdil]

He simply nodded and smiled at her kind words, he knew it all too well, which accounted for the war within him. Part of him clinging to the University in the hope that the place would enstill him with yet more power, and the other side that wanted independance from the confining walls of the institute and to find the freedom to become his own Sorcerer, and not one that belonged to the University. With Ashari's teachings, he knew he could only grow in power anyway.

With that though prevailing on his mind, he shook the distraction away as he answered. "Go to no trouble on my expense, my friend. I will be heading to the Portal to return to Sierra and rather enjoy walking. It allows me the time to take in the ambiance of the Citadel before being swallowed by the Jungle once more.", his smile widened.

"I have duties to attend to early in the Morningtide at the University, so I must be back there tonight.", he stopped at the door with her, then turned casually to look over what he could see of her dwelling, a small frown pinching his brow down. "I will think more on how I can Ward your home....there are a few variables I want to mull over. I will write to you soon though and not just drop in un-annouced as I have this eveningtide.", he stepped towards Ash, placing an arm around her, there was not much to his touch, but it still held a gentle warmth, one that radiated from the mage when with his friend.

"Remember, call on me whenever you have the need.", withdrawing, he smiled tenderly yet again before turning for the door.