Zali sat on the white stone steps of a small house within the Crimson Sprawl. Quaint and ordinary from the outside as it rested upon a small plateau that on one side had a sheer drop off with its steep cliffside plummeting down to the small beach while the other side dropped off in a softer winding stepping sort of way that lead into the heart of the Sprawl.
A breeze blew through the tops of the pines that scattered the plateau bringing with it the smell of the water below. Along one of the cliffs edges a small walk way had been under construction, whether it was meant to be a flightway or just a spot to take in the view was undiscernible at this stage in its construction but it was sturdy enough to hold the weight of the giant fluffy bumble bee that soon landed on it carrying Thal'anil, who slid off its back and patting and petting it as its wings vibrated and its feet stamped the ground before it took flight once more.
"Interesting choice dear." Zali smiled and stood up, smoothing out her robe skirts as she did.
Thal'anil walked across the plateau towards her. His long black hair slicked back into a tight pony tail, his copper spectacles adjusted and pushed up onto the bridge of his nose better.
"Well to be honest I thought you would have less of a startle to it Mother." he grinned knowing her aversion to a great deal of insects.
He looked around this little slice of the Sprawl. He had not been out this far as both his father and her had kept him bouncing around with this or that since his father had returned to his Magisterial duties and all of the turmoil had befallen Silvermoon.
"So what are we doing here? And whos house is this?" his hand gestured to the house behind her.
"Your father and I have made the decision that we would like you to prepare this place to accept the children and faculty of the Academy should the need arise and an evacuation needs to take place." she smiled knowing this simple statement would unleash a volley of questions. To this she held up a finger to pre-emptively stop him.
"For now the Academy is secure but with the going ons with the Sunwell and the encroachment of the void your father would like a back up alternative to be in place in the event something does happen that would put the students in jeopardy." she paused now to allow for him to take that in.
Thal'anil scrunched his brow down as if mulling over all that she had said and having a fast paced conversation in his head before allowing the words to pour out of him as he stepped up onto the porch.
"Okay…and just how do either of you expect me to fit all of those students here? " his hand pressed against the plain wooden door before dropping to his side. "There is hundreds of them and to house that many children, much less the professors and the other staff would be..would take much more room?"
Zali smiled and placed a hand on her sons shoulder "You must have faith dear. Faith is the foundation of so many things. Faith in your fathers choice to have you take on this responsibility and faith in yourself to be able to carry it out. I already have faith in both of you so my end is secure." with that she pushed open the door revealing a small two room house, bare of anything other than the wooden floors, walls and plain windows. The only thing that was in the house was soon to be them and Zali walked in to stand in the middle of the room waiting for Thal'anil to follow. Reluctantly he did and the door closed behind them.
Thal'anil looked around the barren rooms of the house, how could she or his father expect him to turn this into a place to house so many? It would take a Goblin crew forever to undertake such a task not to mention the gold involved and would they even listen to a young man his age, much less an elf at that? So many questions raced around his head and his face must have shown it, he did not have the years experience of hiding his thoughts or emotions behind a stoney mask like his mother.
Zali touched his arm "You need to look beyond what is and see what can be. I know that in the recent weeks and months you have found yourself at the junction of new things. Things that have set your view of yourself and perhaps your role in the world into question." she smiled "I also know these new changes do not ease the mountains of questions you continue to mull around in your head about things you have glimpsed and been unwillingly privy to. And to this your father and I have employed various methods of distraction to attempt to take your mind off of such things."
As she talked she had moved back over to the door. On its frame there was a small stone plaque attached to the wood. A small indent on the smooth surface, like a worn spot of having been rubbed and fiddled with over the course of many years laid bare in the middle. She reached into her robe sleeve and produce a small oval stone, plain and grey. She held it up slightly, perched between her fingers and thumb to show to him.
"I know we put much weight on your shoulders. It is an unfortunate side effect of being the first born child of any House, much less this House that you were born into. While your father may not have always had the desire to take hold of the role of head of the Bloodcrest Household, your role in our family has always been none the less important. And you might feel that the task ahead of you now is unfair or much bigger than what you can accomplish but this is where faith in yourself and in the fact that we believe you can acommplish this task."
She held out the stone for him. He looked at her and at the stone. How would this small thing let him do what they asked of him? He exhaled through his nose and crossed the few steps to join her at the door and take the stone from her hand. He mulled it over in his fingers, its surface exceptionally smooth but not polished.
"So what is the purpose of this stone?"
"That stone will be the conduit for everything you will do here. Though you will need to create a rune for it, something of your own design and with a small amount of your own blood, that way it is bound to you and all your endeavors here." she smiled watching something in his face shift ever so slightly when she brought up the blood "And no nothing crazy is needed like some gaudy blood troll ritual where you bathe yourself in blood and awful while stomping around in some Gods forsaken swamp hollering like hit dogs to the sky. Just a simple prick of the finger and drawing your rune with the intent of having it do as you desire."
He brushed off her detest of the non elven races knowing the only reason it was being shown was that they were away from the prying eyes of the public where her words might make his father look bad in one regard or another. He roilled the stone over in his fingers one more time before giving a shrug and bringing his free hand up bite at his thumb until he heard the distinct pop of flesh between teeth and the coppery taste hit his tongue and he knew he had bitten hard enough.
He pulled his thumb from his mouth and a small sheen of red began to spread, he took a breath and put the digit to the stone and began to make a rune. It was nothing eloquent but then again he wasnt using ink and a quill. The bloody rune set atop the stones surface briefly before disappearing into it as if it had never been there to begin with.
"Now. Put the stone here on the plaque."
He did as she instructed and once the stone was touched to the plaque small red veins spidered out across the building, like the netting of tent worms that nested in trees. Then they too disappeared and the stone cracked and crumbled to the floor.
"Now this is where you put your brains and your faith to the test my dear. I want you to create all that you need to make this place into what you believe would best fulfill your fathers wishes of what the Academy needs. This place is now a connection of your will and desire.." she was cut off.
"Wait, wait..Im supposed to just make things appear?"
"Yes."
"Using nothing but my mind and faith that I can do it?"
"Yes."
There was a small scoff, the kind teenagers did when they were being on the verge of being dramatic when asked to do something seemingly impossible.
"So what? Just Im just supposed close my eyes and wave my hands to conjure up a what, chair I guess? And it will happen?"
Zali stood there hands clasped in front of her, the purse of her lips at the somewhat rudeness to which she was being spoken softened into a smirk as behind Thal'anil a small stoll began to materialize, the bits and pieces struggling a bit as he was not fully concentrating on the task at hand but more so bringing it into existance out of annoyance rather than desire. But it eventually formed, a bit lop sided and disheveled but there.
She only pointed behind him "Yes that is what I expect."
He turned around, mouth agape like a fish hauled onto land. He walked over and touched it to make sure it was real.
"Now. I think that should you put some more effort into it and apply some faith in yourself Im sure by the time your father comes round to see what youve done you will have worked wonders."
She patted his shoulder and moved to open the door. "I will send some people to help you. They will move things, make meals and do as you like. You will be in charge of them, how you treat them will set a precident on your character and the character of this House, so choose wisely in word and deeds. I have faith that you will do wonderfully."
Once she was out the door and it closed behind her Thal'anil let himself slump down onto the stool, hands now clasped between his knees. Eventually he would move and convince himself that he was able to do what was asked of him. Playing with making small imperfect things that never looked or felt right. An aggrevation that would take many days of failures and howling in frustration untill success finally came. Success that lit a spark of confidence that built something from nothing, brick by brick.
