Bramandin
Science fiction fantasy
- Joined
- May 5, 2022
- Messages
- 576
Another attempt to start part eleven of a series. This time I'm trying to use close third, so I'd like comments on if I am having enough problems with it to go back to omniscient.
Tanyanika wondered if she should be worried. While she did want to see the village where two of her peers lived, she had never gone because of how vempari might react to seeing a Hylden there. A good science-caste would have quickly dismissed the idea as too dangerous, especially since it came from someone who thought saying ‘what could possibly go wrong’ was an invitation for bad luck. Tanyanika had figured out that she could get that question answered without the superstitious reaction if she skipped to asking Sarah what the contingency plans were. Sarah’s plans tended to lack detail but it seemed like she had gone into improbable scenarios when considering this adventure.
It had taken very little time to construct an illusion that would make Tanyanika look like a human. The greater part of preparation was spent with Sarah criticizing her ability to act human before saying that she should just be a less opinionated version of herself. Sarah then tested the illusion’s ability to hold if she stopped feeding magic into it. The answer was at least a few minutes.
They appeared at a point above the village and Tanyanika had the urge to turn back. A good science-caste would not take such an unnecessary risk. Still, she was here and could at least satisfy a bit of the curiosity that drove her to this madness. She’d heard descriptions but hadn’t been able to imagine Valeholm properly.
The village sprawled along the edges of a valley. Individual roads lined with houses meandered up the sides, much like the river that flowed through the middle. Beyond those houses were stepped fields and sloped pastures where sheep grazed. The wildness was a sharp contrast to the cities that she was used to.
Tanyanika guiltily remembered that while she was tagging along for selfish reasons, Sarah had a purpose to be here. Her mentor had stood quietly as she took in the view instead of immediately heading for their destination. Tanyanika wondered if Sarah was listening to her thoughts, but the vampire gave no indication of what she was thinking. Tanyanika took another moment to consider if she should go back home to wait. It was the safer option, but she wanted to see more. She was also eager to test how much of an illusion’s success depended on her ability to act.
“Are we waiting for something?” Tanyanika asked.
Sarah smiled. “You seemed like you needed a moment.”
As they walked into the village, they passed a few people on the road. Tanyanika nervously bowed her head at the attention she was getting, though it came equally from humans and vempari. She mentally reached out to Sarah for reassurance, and her mentor answered with a wordless sending about how the small village would be curious about a stranger.
When they reached Catullus’ house, Sarah left Tanyanika at the mercy of his children while she spoke to him in the next room. Tanyanika was sensibly wary of vempari she hadn’t met before, but logically she knew that the two older boys would not try to harm her even if they just knew that she was a Hylden. Two of the children were half-vempari, their mother was a cured vampire and they looked much like her except that they had inherited their father’s wings. They openly stared at her.
“Don’t mind them, they’ve only seen one other person from Aschedorf.” It was Ellette, the only full human of the family. After a few minutes of conversation with the girl, Tanyanika began to relax. If Ellette was fooled, maybe pretending to be a different race wasn’t as hard as Sarah had made it out to be.
Just then, Birney came into the room from another part of the house. He blinked a few times at Tanyanika and said, “You look ridiculous.”
Ellette sprang to her feet and began berating Birney for his rudeness while he couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Ellette ended her tirade with “Apologize to Anika.”
Tanyanika could sense confusion from her fellow Guardian, followed by a sense of resignation. “That was very rude of me. I’m sorry, I have no good excuse for my comment. If you’ll excuse me.” He then went through the doorway that Sarah and Catullus had used earlier.
A few minutes later, Catullus came into the room to shoo his children off to school. They scrambled to grab their satchels and coats, and within a minute they were out the door. Birney and Sarah had followed Catullus.
The moment everyone else left, Birney asked, “What were you thinking?”
“I’m sorry for surprising you,” Tanyanika said. “You didn’t deserve to get yelled at like that.”
Birney made a dismissive motion with his hand. “I don’t care about that. Why did you trick them into thinking that you were human?”
“They wouldn’t have hurt me if the illusion failed,” Tanyanika said. “Being able to quietly go places where a Hylden would draw attention might be useful.”
Birney frowned. “Don’t let her turn you into a deceitful person.”
Tanyanika considered if his anger was justified. His father was a politician and considered dishonesty as part of the job. Likewise, Archimedes was his advocate in the Circle and used trickery in the course of his duties. Then there was Sarah; he’d voiced his concerns about her plotting something nefarious despite reassurances that her motivations were good.
“It’s not like I was harming anyone, but I don’t intend to make dishonesty a habit,” Tanyanika said.
Catullus said, “I must be off. Wait here and I’ll send Grigori to you.”
Birney scowled at Sarah. “What do you want with him?”
“Stick around and you’ll find out,” Sarah said. “I don’t want to explain it again until he gets here.”
Birney had to finish getting dressed and prepared for the day, so that left Sarah and Tanyanika to discuss particulars about the illusion and her first experience using one.
Tanyanika wondered if she should be worried. While she did want to see the village where two of her peers lived, she had never gone because of how vempari might react to seeing a Hylden there. A good science-caste would have quickly dismissed the idea as too dangerous, especially since it came from someone who thought saying ‘what could possibly go wrong’ was an invitation for bad luck. Tanyanika had figured out that she could get that question answered without the superstitious reaction if she skipped to asking Sarah what the contingency plans were. Sarah’s plans tended to lack detail but it seemed like she had gone into improbable scenarios when considering this adventure.
It had taken very little time to construct an illusion that would make Tanyanika look like a human. The greater part of preparation was spent with Sarah criticizing her ability to act human before saying that she should just be a less opinionated version of herself. Sarah then tested the illusion’s ability to hold if she stopped feeding magic into it. The answer was at least a few minutes.
They appeared at a point above the village and Tanyanika had the urge to turn back. A good science-caste would not take such an unnecessary risk. Still, she was here and could at least satisfy a bit of the curiosity that drove her to this madness. She’d heard descriptions but hadn’t been able to imagine Valeholm properly.
The village sprawled along the edges of a valley. Individual roads lined with houses meandered up the sides, much like the river that flowed through the middle. Beyond those houses were stepped fields and sloped pastures where sheep grazed. The wildness was a sharp contrast to the cities that she was used to.
Tanyanika guiltily remembered that while she was tagging along for selfish reasons, Sarah had a purpose to be here. Her mentor had stood quietly as she took in the view instead of immediately heading for their destination. Tanyanika wondered if Sarah was listening to her thoughts, but the vampire gave no indication of what she was thinking. Tanyanika took another moment to consider if she should go back home to wait. It was the safer option, but she wanted to see more. She was also eager to test how much of an illusion’s success depended on her ability to act.
“Are we waiting for something?” Tanyanika asked.
Sarah smiled. “You seemed like you needed a moment.”
As they walked into the village, they passed a few people on the road. Tanyanika nervously bowed her head at the attention she was getting, though it came equally from humans and vempari. She mentally reached out to Sarah for reassurance, and her mentor answered with a wordless sending about how the small village would be curious about a stranger.
When they reached Catullus’ house, Sarah left Tanyanika at the mercy of his children while she spoke to him in the next room. Tanyanika was sensibly wary of vempari she hadn’t met before, but logically she knew that the two older boys would not try to harm her even if they just knew that she was a Hylden. Two of the children were half-vempari, their mother was a cured vampire and they looked much like her except that they had inherited their father’s wings. They openly stared at her.
“Don’t mind them, they’ve only seen one other person from Aschedorf.” It was Ellette, the only full human of the family. After a few minutes of conversation with the girl, Tanyanika began to relax. If Ellette was fooled, maybe pretending to be a different race wasn’t as hard as Sarah had made it out to be.
Just then, Birney came into the room from another part of the house. He blinked a few times at Tanyanika and said, “You look ridiculous.”
Ellette sprang to her feet and began berating Birney for his rudeness while he couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Ellette ended her tirade with “Apologize to Anika.”
Tanyanika could sense confusion from her fellow Guardian, followed by a sense of resignation. “That was very rude of me. I’m sorry, I have no good excuse for my comment. If you’ll excuse me.” He then went through the doorway that Sarah and Catullus had used earlier.
A few minutes later, Catullus came into the room to shoo his children off to school. They scrambled to grab their satchels and coats, and within a minute they were out the door. Birney and Sarah had followed Catullus.
The moment everyone else left, Birney asked, “What were you thinking?”
“I’m sorry for surprising you,” Tanyanika said. “You didn’t deserve to get yelled at like that.”
Birney made a dismissive motion with his hand. “I don’t care about that. Why did you trick them into thinking that you were human?”
“They wouldn’t have hurt me if the illusion failed,” Tanyanika said. “Being able to quietly go places where a Hylden would draw attention might be useful.”
Birney frowned. “Don’t let her turn you into a deceitful person.”
Tanyanika considered if his anger was justified. His father was a politician and considered dishonesty as part of the job. Likewise, Archimedes was his advocate in the Circle and used trickery in the course of his duties. Then there was Sarah; he’d voiced his concerns about her plotting something nefarious despite reassurances that her motivations were good.
“It’s not like I was harming anyone, but I don’t intend to make dishonesty a habit,” Tanyanika said.
Catullus said, “I must be off. Wait here and I’ll send Grigori to you.”
Birney scowled at Sarah. “What do you want with him?”
“Stick around and you’ll find out,” Sarah said. “I don’t want to explain it again until he gets here.”
Birney had to finish getting dressed and prepared for the day, so that left Sarah and Tanyanika to discuss particulars about the illusion and her first experience using one.