Chapter 1 Ravira Windmere
The party consisted of elaborate, over flourished decorations that screamed, “New Money”, various nobles that her father had just met, staff elegantly catering the party, and a few well-connected merchants. Ravira glanced around the glass of wine in her hand not enough to help her promote the façade of appearing “Old money” versus “new money”.
Her father was a wealthy and incredibly lucky merchant. And by incredibly lucky Ravira found herself to be the prime example of his luck. Ravira had been told time-and-time again how she and her sister, Lumi, were fire genasi. Her human parents had made a wish with a genie. They were driven by desperation, hope, and an incredible amount of debt. They had wished for the knowledge to be wealthy and successful merchants and the luck to use the said wish.
Ravira’s eyes slid away from the noble trying to grace her father’s social circles towards the street party rampaging below-a celebration of the town’s founding.
It wouldn’t hurt. No one would notice if she were gone….say….twenty minutes.
Ravira lifted skirts just enough to be tolerated in polite society as she carefully slipped out the garden door, swiftly down the stairs and into the crowd.
Children bustled laughing on the streets, streamers, sparkling magic, and vendors lined the streets. With a handful of coins at a costume shop and Ravira found herself blending into the crowd….well, as much as a fire genasi could in a human dominated land.
Ravira glanced at herself in the mirror of a peddler’s shop. She was a full grown woman of twenty-eight, voluminous lips, hips a dancer would swoon for, and rolling flames of red down to those said hips, with permanent blush kissed skin.
Right now she wore comfortable pants and a button down shirt of a glistening red, golden embroidery around her sleeves. It might still have been a little too much to pass as a commoner. But this was a festival, Ravira was sure she could get away with it. Comfy shoes. Easy to move around in clothes. A luxury she could only afford by sneaking out first.
The bandages of her teaching herself to fight late into the night still strategically hidden by red and intricate lace arm guards up to her elbows.
The town buzzed around her, woman, elders, children, were all dressed in colors to bedazzle, the smell of greasy food permeated the air. Ravira took a bite of the cotton candy she bought, ignoring the looks of concern as her hair gave bright colors in response of her joy.
A flash drew her eye, in the Townsquare’s water fountain was a group of dancers. Their movements perfectly timed with the sound of the drums, ribbons and music decorating their dance. Ravira felt her feet stop-a terrible decision in such a crowded festival- as her eyes could not break away from the spectacle designed to enthrall and captivate.
But even more so, to Ravira’s surprise, two of the main dancers weren’t human, but what she would assume to be water genasi-like herself.
Her eyes gazed towards the male water genasi, as she scanned him over. His hair looked to be impossibly smooth as though it were made of liquid silk, his eyes were a flash of green complimenting his morning skin tone. A light green tunic, black harem pants, and a golden dance’rs waist chain to drag the eye. Ravira’s eyes wondered their way back up to a less scandalous level, traveling over the green tunic that sculpted his muscles. As her eyes met his, that man of all things! He made direct eye contact and winked! Winked at her!
Ravira’s brow furrowed, feeling her hair shift to a pink that matched her skin tone wishing it was a humbling deep red instead.
Embarrassment flushed Ravira’s cheeks a humbling crimson as she pivoted away from what she had originally thought was a mundane beautiful act. She didn’t realize she would be made into the spectacle.
Coins slipped from her hands into the next vendor in exchange for food and drink. Furious, quick, and unrefined was the manner that she was eating, glad she’s never seen steam escape her magical hair. Her mother would be scandalized to see the mess she was.
He was a water-genasi! He should have realized she was not to be made into the town’s fool!
Ravira glared down towards what was supposed to be a cold novelty brew specifically for this event…boiling. A hand ran through her hair as she stared the mug down. The cliché festivities would not be enough this time around. It would be difficult to explain why she was drenched in sweat at her father’s party swarming with nobles he needed to impress. Which mean no sneaking off to her usual haunt decorated with a punching bag that badly needed to be replaced.
There was always option number two.
Ravira pushed the door open to a shop that only seemed to appear once or twice a year. From the outside a small one-story cottage, flowers lining the garden, with windows that had an under-glow, but no candle.
The bell chimed, the clerk calling a welcome and music seeming to come from nowhere. Books flew about the room forever being organized in the five stories at the center of the room a spiraling stairs, the ceiling decorated in stars that were moving.
“Ah, My Lady Windmere, I’ll be right with you.” A voice that illustrated elegance and was so smooth even the world’s favorite courtesans would have killed for it flowed into her brain. Before Ravira could respond a soft wind similar to a pond spring breeze surrounded her. Ravira blinked.
Then before her stood a woman born with skin that was worshipped by the sun, brilliant cobalt blue eyes, and a golden dress. A bracelet with the head of a snake, small wings sticking out of its waist coiled around her arm.
“Lady Windmere, welcome, welcome. I hear your father is shmoozing with the local nobles, perfect time to sneak out for a rendezvous, yes?”
Ravira smiled, “Mylene, please, you know this is my favorite rendezvous.”
A smile broke out onto Mylene’s face, her practiced accent slipping a bit, “Glad, I am still better than that punching bag you keep.”
Ravira gasped, “How do you know that? Did you spy on me?”
Mylene shrugged already heading up three floors, “I was almost your godmother you know. Gotta check in on my girl and make sure you’re good. But also…” Mylene’s eyes scanned over Ravira’s hair.
Ravira hated that look. Of pity. Concern. Worry because Ravira was different. Ravira knew as a genasi or as a human woman, she was beautiful.
But Mylene’s look was guilt. Mylened had sold her impoverished parents a genie’s lamp as their final gamble.
But in exchange both of her parent’s daughters were born fire geansi and lit up every room, literally.
“So, your ballroom escape led you here.” Mylened smiled, “I could take you away if you want.”
Ravira laughed, Mylene had been jokingly saying that since Ravira was five. At one point Mylene stated she should have asked her parent’s for their firstborn in exchange for the lamp instead of coin.
Mylene’s eyes moved towards the constellations that decorated the ceiling, “Be careful over there.”
Over an hour went by as Ravia and Mylene bantered over the concepts of magic. It seemed silly to banter with an expert in magic over magic, especially while her familiars and duplicates ran the shop on the floor below them. But Ravira never once felt looked down on or talked over about her questions or theories involving magic.
If a druid and a sorcerer could both pass magic to their child, why can only a druid’s magic also be taught? Is a druid’s child more likely to be a druid if the druid wildshapes while pregnant? What’s the fundamental difference between a bard, artificer and an enchanter? How come curses can be removed from people but never the item itself?
They laughed listening to each other’s theories, Ravira smiled knowing that Mylened was attempting to encourage her dreams. Ravira wanted to one day create a magical artifact of her own.
Two hours later Mylene’s keys hit the lock, “Now ya darlin’, head straight back to that party. It may be a festival but the streets haven’t been safe lately.”
Ravira nodded before waving good-bye and heading down the street, struggling to suppress her laughter as Mylene’s poorly hidden familiar escorting her home. It was a Palmerian with a purple ethereal glow about it. Even hidden on a dark alley it just pulled the eye towards the creature.
The main streets were still crowded, Ravira turned deciding towards the alleys behind the large tents for the street performers much to Mylene’s familiar’s dismayed expressed through soft growls.
It would be only moments before a woman’s screams for help and footsteps were running towards Ravira as they echoed in the alley.
Ravira moved strengthening her stance, arms rising to the front of her chest as a man with a purse barreled towards her. Ravira frowned her first punch complete missing the man, he was beginning to skid to a stop. The second punch hit causing the man to stumbling, whipping the knife out of his pocket as he swung and missed her. She only had seconds to make this count, the martial arts that she had begged to learn, to make it benefit someone. She grabbed the man’s shoulder’s dragging him down and repeatedly slamming her knee into the burglar’s stomach. Disgusting vile left the burgular’s mouth as his stolen goods scattered to the ground and he darted towards the alleyway.
The footsteps that were giving chase finally appearing- the water genasi from the festival, a hand running through his glistening hair. Ravira glanced towards him as she began picking up the scattered jewels and coins.
The man’s voice escaped him, silky and harmonious, “Leave it to the pretend noble to be a purse thief.”
romaincrisis
areudirty
blakekathryn
tangentwithtanner
kianamaiart
