Holding Up

Morwen

This occurred prior to "For the Next Archmage" and "The Marked (New Beginnings)." I am very thankful to whomever upstairs is working with me as Iernos. It has helped me develop Morwen more fully and gives her some much-needed confidence for a character as young as she is.

Some backstory to this - Morwen (who was Docent at the time) had just decided to put her name forth to contest Shachalai after the former Archmage abruptly decided to leave.


[ -- LOG BEGINS HERE -- ]

Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit says, "Miss Docent- how are you holding up?"

Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit nods his head at you.

Morwen's brow furrows a bit, as she glances around to see if anyone else is about. Finding no one, her attention shifts to Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit. "Can I be honest?" she asks.

His immense frame drifting forward, armor ringing softly in the breeze, Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit replies: "Of course."

"I'm a bit scared... And hurt... And I haven't had time to visit my father lately... And he normally gives me the advice I need to keep being positive and moving on." Morwen admits with a sad slump in her shoulders. The young kelki's weight shifts from left to right as a sigh escapes her lips.

"Have you written him, at least?" Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit asks. His expression is unknowable, through the featureless helm he wears, but his tone of concern is evident. "It seems to me with all that's going on, at least a letter might help your peace of mind- and his."

"I should." Morwen says with a nod that bounces her ribbon-bound tentacles against her back. A few beats of silence pass before the kelki speaks again. "You knew the Archmage longer than I did..." she begins with hesitation dripping on each word, "...Why would she just abandon us like this?"

"I didn't know her well," Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit rumbles, slowly. He stares across the ocean. "I had, as you did, an outsider's view." He pauses, tentatively, his head craning toward you. "I told her once that I did not like Ascendril saying 'good elements' - the elements just are, miss Docent, at least as far as I am concerned." He pauses again. "I do not know. She was unkind. She could be very cruel. Harsh. Critical. Judgmental. Averse to dealing with people in any capacity beyond the physical. Emotions were lost on her, which I know because she terminated all three of the romances she ever carried out."

Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit says, "In spite of all of this, she worked very hard, and it is difficult to imagine why she would do what she did - and why she did it like this."

"She did seem to be a lot of those things," Morwen admits with another sigh. Her teeth chew at her inner cheek for a thoughtful moment. "But I enjoyed her company and thought I still had a lot to learn from her." The young kelki's shoulders shrug a bit as she catches another sigh in her chest, this time swallowing it back like a large lump within her throat. "...But I cannot change that she has left. All I can do is try and move forward and help the Guild the very best I can."

After a long, judicious pause, Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit turns to you again. "I had a very similar conversation with her, when she was nineteen years old," he admits. "The Archmage at the time, Lleminara, had just abandoned the Order. Nothing more than a news post, too, and she was gone." A dull laugh echoes from beneath his helmet. "Perhaps she got the idea from that. I don't know. I just know that she stood on top of this Lighthouse, and she, too, was committed to making the Order better. She served another Archmage, Xavin, for a time. Then she succeeded him."

Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit says, "This is a very great supposition indeed, but perhaps she enjoyed the idea that you would follow in her footsteps, and go through what she went through. It doesn't matter very much, anyway, for the reasons you've already named. The Order is important, now."

A faint smile touches the corners of Morwen's lips. "Yes. That is what is important. Pogg, and Eliadon, and Kalissia, and Katie... And maybe Aryanne." The young kelki pauses for a bit, peering about once ago to ensure privacy before in a low voice she adds: "...But between you and I, the vote is still out on that one."

A low chuckle echoes from Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit- "You have more good Magi before you than any other prospective Archmage in recent history," he tells you. He drifts along the top of the Lighthouse, never very far from the Master Crystal. "You should be cautious, but you have a very good starting point. It is possible, too, that what you find past the Archmage's Door may be of service to you."

Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit says, "When the time comes to breach it, miss Docent, I will help you forge the necessary Spiritmark."

"We'll see if I am up to the task," Morwen says, uncertainty waivering in her voice. "I will make every effort to earn the title and bring honor to it, should my fellows elect me to do so."

"You're nervous about it," Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit observes, gently. He turns from his ruminations upon the ocean and approaches you again, his hand flat against the Master Crystal. "I can understand feeling ill-prepared."

"It feels like just yesterday I was in this exact situation." Morwen's laugh is soft as her large, glassy eyes glance upwards at an argent Master Crystal. "I was standing on the dock with a giant turtle before me and my father and friends behind me." Her eyes close for a moment as a fond smile lifts her lips. "I was terrified, but stubbornly determined to get on that turtle's back and see the world and leave my mark upon it."

Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit's head tips forward, just a bit - his expression invisible, but his tone a bit softer, warmer: "A brave young woman," he notes, with approval. "Why take the turtle to begin with? What drove you from Kelun?"

"I felt reckless," Morwen says with a laugh. "I spent so very long teaching young kelki about the worlds I only knew from books. I wanted to -see- things for myself. I wanted to go on adventures and meet people from all the races and places I had read about." Her large eyes open once more as her attention refocuses on Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit. "I think most of all though, I wanted to find some meaning in life. A reason. A purpose... And maybe, just maybe, when I was done with all that - bring a bit of Kelsys back to my people through my discoveries. Bring them closer to home."

"Kelsys." Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit smiles, gazing down at you from his towering height. "We all ache for our homes, even if we have never set foot in them. That is a bold goal." He lays his hand against the Master Crystal once more. "As for meaning - reason - purpose - how are you doing on those?"

Morwen laughs, the sound rife with anxiety. "I think I'm about to get a crash course in those," she says with a nervous grin.

Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit laughs as well, the sound booming and hollow within his helmet.

Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit says, "You will have my guidance, if you wish it. I can safely say I know a thing or two about the Order."

Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit chuckles, indulgently, at his own joke.

Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit's laughter brings a genuine smile to Morwen's lips. "I appreciate it, Iernos," The kelki's words are enveloped with warm sincerity as they leave her lips. "I just have to have a bit of faith in myself and... Just take things a day at a time." A few beats pass before she glances about again before racing to wrap her arms around Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit in a tight, and terribly quick hug. "Thank you."

Iernos, the Eidolon of Spirit's arm bends clumsily around your comparatively small form - his armor is cool but strange to the touch. He draws back, gazing downward, and in spite of his obscured features, the sense that he is smiling is stronger than ever before. "One day at a time is the way to do things," he agrees. "You're welcome. Thank you as well," he adds, "For your willingness to try."

[ -- FIN! -- ]